Abstract
While the legitimacy of the EU’s formal institutions and the idea of Europe itself appear to lose consensus with the rising of nationalist formations, ‘Europe’ has been evoked as an avant-garde institutional landscape by specific groups and communities, notably the LGBT one. By exploring a variegated series of cases across the continent, this volume edited by Phillip Ayoub and David Paternotte, offers an interesting analysis of the ways LGBT communities have deployed and reshaped the idea of Europe both in the present and the past.
In addition to the introduction and the conclusion by the editors, the volume is composed of three parts. The first (chs. 2-4), Meanings of Europe, deals with the normative power of the idea of Europe across time and space. In chapter 2, Leila J. Rupp analyzes the historical roots of the current (male-dominated and European) character of ILGA (now International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) by focusing on transnational homophile activism in the 1950s. The third chapter by Cai Wilkinson expands the geographical perspective of the book beyond European borders by exploring the ways LGBT activism in the post-Soviet Central Asian republic of Kyrgystan has been influenced by Europe, both concretely and ideologically. Wilkinson shows how several Europe-based agencies and organizations provide different forms of support to local LGBT associations and NGOs, while the idea of Europe as protecting LGBT rights acts as a ‘source of inspiration and aspiration’ (p. 51). The fourth chapter by Gianmaria Colpani and Adriano José Habed deals with one of the most controversial European cases in terms of sexual politics: Italy, here interestingly defined as ‘peripheral’. By looking at the ways in which Europe is constructed as a beacon for civil rights and equality, the authors use Puar’s conceptualization of homonationalism to highlight the Europeanness of European homonationalism aimed at reproducing an imagery of Europe ‘as a space of sexual exceptionalism and ultimately as a sexual fortress under siege’ (p. 74). To do so they analyze the imagery diffused across several Italian public institutions, including courts and LGBT mainstream organizations, showing how ‘the southern periphery of Europe refuses to fully identify as such and pushes instead the European borders further South’ (p. 87).
The second part (chs. 5-7), Practicing Europe in LGBTQ Activism, offers a multi-layered perspective of how activists concretely practice the ‘idea of Europe’. In chapter 5, Kelly Kollman compares the debates around same-sex unions in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, showing how ‘Europe’ has been deployed differently in these countries by LGBT activists. We see how the idea of ‘Europe’ enters the domestic political realm, assuming different connotations depending on the context in which it is operationalized. Chapter 6 by Anna van der Vleuten focuses on the ways the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights have made use of ‘Europe’, showing the tight connections established between institutions and LGBT activists. In chapter 7, Konstantinos Eleftheriadis gives voice to the queer component of the acronym of LGBTQ, thus enriching the analytical perspective of the book far beyond institutionalized activism. The chapter focuses on queer festivals in several European cities, showing how leftist (anti-capitalist or anarchic) activists practice specific forms of ‘Europeanness’/transnationalism, although never referring directly to the institutional idea of Europe. By emphasizing the variety of non-hierarchical, fluid and solidarity practices that characterize queer festivals, Eleftheriadis challenges static theorizations of activism based on institutional identity politics and methodological nationalism.
The third part, Becoming European, deals with the ways LGBT activism defines both new rights/identities and the meaning/sense of Europe. In chapter 8, Carsten Balzer and Jan Simon Hutta develop an in-depth analysis of the professionalization of trans activism in Europe, combining both grassroots and NGOs. This process produces a scalar shift, with the movement becoming more and more pan-European and transnational. In chapter 9, Jon Binnie and Christian Klesse go back to their well-known work on LGBT activism in Poland, this time focusing on sexual politics solidarity within transnational activism. Chapter 10 by Kevin Moss challenges one of the most successful conceptualizations of recent times in sexualities studies, homonationalism, from a Central and Eastern European (CEE) perspective. By focusing on the case of the Split Pride 2011 in Croatia, his analysis reveals the complexity of the process at work in claiming LGBT rights and visibility: here the appeal to ‘European values’ of democracy and freedom by LGBT activists and pro-EU governmental forces faces the violent opposition of right-wing, nationalist groups. This violent opposition materializes when queers seek to occupy public space in Pride demonstrations. How is it possible to avoid a dualistic opposition between a homonegative East and a tolerant and friendly West that erases the agency of LGBT activists on the ground? By addressing this crucial question, Moss’ contribution marks a step forward in the debate on national citizenship, identity politics and LGBT rights.
LGBT Activism and the Making of Europe represents an important contribution for a better understanding of the institutionalization of LGBT politics in Europe, while constructing a dynamic conceptualization of ‘Europe’ itself, both as a normative power and an inspirational imagery. Indeed one of the main arguments addressed by the collection as a whole concerns how ‘Europe’ works in two directions for LGBT activists, as stated by Ayoub and Paternotte in their conclusions: ‘While LGBT issues are linked to Europe’s normative structures from above, by using “Europe” as an argument for demanding LGBT recognition from their states and societies, the activists on the ground subsequently, and indirectly, recreate the idea that Europe is united around the LGBT issue’ (p. 239). The questions raised by the volume become even more relevant if we consider the current dynamics of European politics. With the implementation of austerity measures and the progressive dismissal of social rights across the continent, what is the meaning of LGBT equality politics implemented by EU institutions? How do LGBT activists position themselves in the context of the rapid loss of consensus and legitimacy of European institutions? What lies ahead for ‘European democratic values’ in the face of rising right-wing, nationalist parties and the rampant opposition of the Catholic church to LGBT rights? Future work in the field should address these questions to build on the analytical foundations of Ayoub and Paternotte’s edited collection.