Pan-Yugoslavia as performative queer 'urban' space: online drag shows disrupting the 'rural'

The project explores the significance of online drag spaces in former Yugoslavian societies where LGBTQ+ physical spaces are rare. Focusing on the Dragoslavia online community, it will: 1) investigate the significance of Dragoslavia for the expression/negotiation of queer identities in the region; 2) explore how Dragoslavia challenges perceptions of the region as 'rural' and limited regarding LGBTQ+ community presence; and 3) challenge prevailing views that Eastern European drag imitates Anglo-American LGBTQ+ culture by exploring the role of pan-Yugoslav identities/nostalgia in Dragoslavia.

The research speaks to the White Rose DTP's Data, Communication and New Technologies Pathway's grand challenges in how "social dynamics shape and are shaped by digital data and infrastructures involving new models of engagement with societal issues". The online drag community in former Yugoslavia provides an important space where LGBTQ+ community can develop and where wider society might positively encounter LGBTQ+ culture. The role of online platforms in building LGBTQ+ communities in Eastern Europe is under-researched, so this project will make important contributions to debates about technology and social change. It will use new techniques to explore the impact of online performance spaces, and expand its interests beyond the Global North and Global South.