'A Quiet Revolution?' Discursive Representations of Non-Heteronormative Sexuality

Building on the PI's leadership in post-Soviet non-heteronormative sexuality (NHS), this project will examine the range of available discourses on NHS in post-Soviet Russia (1999-2019). It will bring together grassroots, semi- and official media discourses in order to understand the formation of what some have called a 'quiet revolution'.
Within Putin's conservative nation-building agenda, the Russian mediascape excludes or marginalises alternative sexualities' voices from official discourse. However, certain manifestations of NHS infiltrate public space through convergent traditional and new media (Jenkins, 2006) and the performativity of NHS in popular culture (Estrada, internet memes, Eurovision Song Contest entries), which can potentially challenge, inform or authenticate establishment discourse.
While there is an emerging interest in reconceptualising alternative sexual identities in the post-Soviet region (Mole, 2011; Pietilä, 2010; Tereskinas, 2009) and Russia (Baer, 2009; Healey, 2001; Kon, 2010; Stella, 2015), there is insufficient research on media representations of NHS in Russia. My pilot project (2014) indicated an urgent need for this research. This study is also particularly timely in light of recent broader trends in global discourse: the rising 'traditional, conservative values' rhetoric in the USA, some parts of Western and Eastern Europe.
This study brings together approaches from Cultural, Gender, Media and Area Studies to produce the first interdisciplinary account of how convergent media amalgamates discourses on NHS into distinct (nation-specific) representational systems in Russia. There are three main research questions: (RQ1) How is NHS constructed in post-Soviet Russia? (RQ2) What is the role of mainstream and alternative media in this process? (RQ3) How have discursive representations of NHS in Russia evolved over time?
The project will explore the last 20 years of NHS mediation in Russia (1999-2019) and will account for discursive representations at three different levels (grassroots, semi-official and state media). It will employ a Laclauan model of hegemony (1985) adapted for the post-Soviet context, and an interpretative framework by Barbero (1992) on how media texts relate to social and cultural practices. It will demonstrate how the meanings related to NHS change during the process of circulation between official and grassroots levels (challenging, subverting and attenuating mainstream media discourse). The project will also account for the intercultural dialogue dimension, as 'western' NHS codes are re-translated in the Russian cultural context.
This will be the first substantive interdisciplinary study of discursive representations of NHS in the Russian context resulting in the online database (DB), a vital contribution to the knowledge in the absence of any systematic work on the topic and the peripheral status of Gender studied in the region. The exploration of the NHS in official and the semi-official convergent media will be supplemented with the grassroots responses (interviews with the public to explore how different audiences engage with and respond to discourses of NHS in media) and cross-referenced with official engagement (policy). The research will focus on media texts, reoccurring static and moving images, voices, tropes, etc. The Russia case study will inform comparable or related studies in the UK.
Research beneficiaries will include academics, media practitioners, policy-makers, human rights organisations, LGBT networks, and the general public. A series of events in the UK and Russia will gather interim feedback from these groups to inform the DB development. Impacts will include recommendations for media and policy-makers and broader discussions on the role of culture in social cohesion and inclusion. A new Post-Soviet Sexualities Forum will be established, to provide a sustained collaborative space for areas of research and impact after the project is completed.

The project's progress will be monitored and guided by the advisory board (see Case for Support). Emergent findings will be shared and discussed through ongoing consultation with stakeholders throughout the research. Findings and recommendations will be disseminated through a number of academic and non-academic, publicly-accessible outputs and events, outlined in the Academic Beneficiaries and Pathways to Impact sections.

The research will: i) monitor, document and publicise post-Soviet media representations of non-mainstream sexuality, to problematize rhetoric on non-heteronormative sexuality (NHS) and challenge grassroots homophobic culture; ii) involve media monitoring agencies, policy-makers and media industry leaders, particularly during data analysis and dissemination stages; iii) create a Post-Soviet Sexualities Forum (PSSF) to provide informed insights and feed into national and regional public policy on media coverage of NHS.

Who Will Benefit?

1. Academics will gain a greater understanding of how NHS is represented in the post-Soviet context; how convergent media amalgamates discourses on NHS into nation-specific representational systems and how the discourses on NHS have evolved over time (via the new online database, the PSSF, etc.).
2. Media practitioners and journalism students will gain a greater awareness of the nature and dynamic of media coverage of NHS in contemporary Russia.
3. Media monitoring agencies (e.g. SOVA in Russia), media outlets and professional bodies (e.g. journalist unions) will benefit from systematic feedback on representations of sexuality-related matters. It will enable a more precise lobbying around representations of NHS and the role of media in this process.
4. Think tanks such as Chatham House will gain access to rigorous evidence about media practice on NHS, feeding into complex debates around media discourse, sexuality, culture and human rights.
5. General public can learn more about the interrelationship between NHS and media.
4. Policy makers will get access to a systematised catalogue of data and deepen their understanding of the media's role in representing NHS.
5. Human rights and LGBT activists will have access to the findings, to support their campaigns on tackling homophobia and, thus, improve LGBT citizens' quality of life.

How They Will Benefit?

The project will:
1. Provide a novel perspective on studying the culture and representation of sexuality. It will encourage strategic thinking among early career academics on how meanings are transferred across mediascapes, between official and grassroots discourses.
2. Provide a new online database which documents media representations of NHS, contributing to a more connected community and providing a useful resource for research, teaching and policy activities.
3. The Post-Soviet Sexualities Forum (PSSF) will provide a collaborative space to inform new areas of research.
4. Enhance public knowledge about the dynamic of mediation of NHS in Russia, thus fostering community cohesion and respect for sexual minorities
5. Engage with, and feed into, national and regional public debate, to inform policy initiatives and enhance public service provision for NHS individuals.
6. Increases national media effectiveness in dealing with NHS matters via briefings on trends uncovered; informs about the mediation of NHS (in the post-Soviet context) and ensure balanced reporting on Russia by other countries' media (BBC, etc.).
8. Challenge the perception of an overwhelming, homogeneous control over state media in Russia, raising awareness about media transformations and potential for comparative studies in the UK and elsewhere.
9. Bring to light an overlooked issue of the complex flow of meanings on NHS between western and post-Soviet culture, to open new avenues for intercultural dialogue and exchange (e.g. music entertainment industry, the Eurovision Song Contest).