Synopses & Reviews
In
Queer in Russia Laurie Essig examines the formation of gay identity and community in the former Soviet Union. As a sociological fieldworker, she began her research during the late 1980s, before any kind of a public queer identity existed in that country. After a decade of conducting interviews, as well as observing and analyzing plays, books, pop music, and graffiti, Essig presents the first sustained study of how and why there was no Soviet gay community or even gay identity before
perestroika and the degree to which this situation hasandmdash;or has notandmdash;changed.
and#9;While male homosexual acts were criminalized in Russia before 1993, women attracted to women were policed by the medical community, who saw them less as criminals than as diseased persons potentially cured by drug therapy or transsexual surgery. After describing accounts of pre-perestroika persecution, Essig examines the more recent state of sexual identities in Russia. Although the fall of communism brought new freedom to Russian queers, there are still no signs of a mass movement forming around the issue, and few identify themselves as lesbians or gay men, even when they are involved in same-sex relations. Essig does reveal, however, vibrant manifestations of gay life found at the local levelandmdash;in restaurants, discos, clubs, and cruising strips, in newspapers, journals, literature, and the theater. Concluding with a powerful exploration of the surprising affinities between some of Russiaandrsquo;s most prominent nationalists and its queers, Queer in Russia fills a gap in both Russian and cultural studies.
Review
andldquo;An entirely original investigation of the gay and lesbian scene in Russia and a book of enormous value, Queer in Russia will serve as a beachhead in the field of Russian queer studies. In one volume one finds a concise history of sexual transgression in the Russian context as well as the rise of queer Russian identity.andrdquo;andmdash;Luc Beaudoin, University of Denver
Review
andldquo;Laurie Essigandrsquo;s book is significant both for Russianists and for queer theorists. Essig demonstrates that andlsquo;queernessandrsquo; in Russia is not defined as a matter of identity politics, and, in so doing, she raises important theoretical questions about the nature(s) of queerness as it crosses cultural borders.andrdquo;andmdash;Jehanne M Gheith, Duke University
Synopsis
An ethnographic exploration of gay and lesbian lives in contemporary Russia.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [229]-237) and index.
About the Author
Laurie Essig has taught sociology at Columbia University and Trinity College in Connecticut. She is a columnist for New York Blade and Chicagoandrsquo;s Outline.