Takes the reader on a wild joy ride deep into the hinterlands of Japanese culture, society and radical politics by way of the weird and wonderful world of the country's distinctive sex film movements. Focusing on one of the most notorious secrets of Japanese filmmaking, the erotic Pink Film (or pinku eiga) genre, Behind the Pink Curtain features numerous interviews with leading figures in the field and offers an exhaustive, yet colourful, trawl through Japan's most vibrant and prolific film sector.
How homophobic backlash unexpectedly strengthened mobilization for LGBT political rights in post-communist Europe While LGBT activism has increased worldwide, there has been strong backlash against LGBT people in Eastern Europe. Although Russia is the most prominent anti-gay regime in the region, LGBT individuals in other post-communist countries also suffer from discriminatory laws and prejudiced social institutions. Combining an historical overview with interviews and case studies in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, Conor O’Dwyer analyzes the development and impact of LGBT movements in post-communist Eastern and Central Europe. O’Dwyer argues that backlash against LGBT individuals has had the paradoxical effect of encouraging stronger and more organized activism, significantly impacting the social movement landscape in the region. As these peripheral Eastern and Central European countries vie for inclusion or at least recognition in the increasingly LGBT-friendly European Union, activist groups and organizations have become even more emboldened to push for change. Using fieldwork in five countries and interviews with activists, organizers, and public officials, O’Dwyer explores the intricacies of these LGBT social movements and their structures, functions, and impact. The book provides a unique and engaging exploration of LGBT rights groups in Eastern and Central Europe and their ability to serve as models for future movements attempting to resist backlash. Thorough, theoretically grounded, and empirically sound, Coming Out of Communism is sure to be a significant work in the study of LGBT politics, European politics, and social movements.
De-Centring Western Sexualities critically assesses the current state of knowledge about sexualities outside the framings of 'The West', by focusing on gender and sexuality within the context of Central and Eastern Europe. Providing rich case studies drawn from a range of "post-communist" countries, this interdisciplinary volume brings together the latest research on the formation of sexualities in Central and Eastern Europe, alongside analyses of the sexual and national identity politics of the region. Engaged with current debates within queer studies surrounding temporality and knowledge production, and inspired by post-colonial critique, the book problematises the Western hegemony that often characterises sexuality studies, and presents local theoretical insights better attuned to their geo-temporal realities. As such, it offers a cultural and social re-evaluation of everyday life experiences, and will be of interest to sociologists, queer studies scholars, geographers and anthropologists.
A provocative, eye-opening, and original book on the science of sexuality beyond gender from an internationally bestselling pop-psychologist Significant strides have been made in the movement for LGBTQ+ rights, visibility, and empowerment, but the conversation is far from over. For psychological scientist and bestselling author Dr. Julia Shaw, the dearth of information on bisexuality was crushing, so she dug deep and found a colorful and fascinating world that she could help bring out of the shadows. In Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality, Shaw explores all that we know about the world’s largest sexual minority on a personal journey that starts with her own openly bisexual identity and celebrates the resilience and beautiful diversity of the bi community. This rigorous and entertaining book will challenge us to think deeper about who we are and how we love.
This book explores changes and continuations in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer lives, identities and spatial practices in the 21st century from around the globe, using a range of methods to connect pasts, places and policies with contemporary times, linking individual and social presences (and absences) affectively and materially.
Homophobia exists in many different forms across Europe. Member States offer uneven levels of legal protection for lesbian and gay rights; at the same time the social meanings and practices relating to homosexuality are culturally distinct and intersect in complex ways with gender, class and ethnicity in different national contexts. The essays in this volume illustrate the findings of a European project on homophobia and fundamental rights in which sociologists and legal experts have analysed the position in four Member States: Italy, Slovenia, Hungary and the UK. The first part of the book investigates the sociological dimensions of homophobia through qualitative methods involving both heterosexual and self-defined lesbian and gay respondents, including those in ethnic communities. The aim is to understand how homophobia and homosexuality are defined and experienced in the everyday life of participants. The second part is devoted to a legal analysis of how homophobia is reproduced 'in law' and how it is confronted 'with law'. The analysis examines statute and case law; 'soft law'; administrative practices; the discussion of bills within parliamentary committees; and decisions of public authorities. Among the areas discussed are 'hate crimes' and 'hate speech'; education at all levels; free movement, immigration and asylum; and cross-border reproductive services. Please note that this book is also available as a free PDF download. For further information please click on the link below: www.citidive.eu/en/rapporti-e-prodotti/.
Bringing together a range of theoretical and critical approaches, this edited collection is the first book to examine representations of the body in Eastern European and Russian cinema after the Second World War. Drawing on the history of the region, as well as Western and Eastern scholarship on the body, the book focuses on three areas: the traumatized body, the body as a site of erotic pleasure, and the relationship between the body and history. Critically dissecting the different ideological and aesthetic ways human bodies are framed, The Cinematic Bodies of Eastern Europe and Russia also demonstrates how bodily discourses oscillate between complicity and subversion, and how they shaped individuals and societies both during and after the period of state socialism.
Set against the backdrop of a country which upholds a heteronormative and narrow view of family, this book provides insights into the lives of Hungarian same-sex couples and their heterosexual relatives. Béres-Deák utilizes the theoretical framework of intimate citizenship, as well as findings from ethnographic interviews, participant observation and online sources. Instead of emphasizing the divide between non-heterosexual people and their heterosexual kin, the author recognizes that these members of queer families share many similar experiences and challenges.Queer Families in Hungary looks at experiences of coming out, negotiation of visibility, and kinship practices, and offers valuable insights into how individuals and families can resist heterosexist constraints through their discourses and practices. Students and scholars researching kinship studies, LGBT and queer studies, post-socialist studies, and citizenship studies, will find this book of interest.
This book explores the role and place of feminist politics in the transformation of the former socialist world and points out the geopolitical mechanisms involved in the deployment of technocratic norms, expert discourses, activist repertoires and academic knowledge on women’s rights and gender equality in the 1990s-2000s. Based on an interdisciplinary approach and scrutinizing transnational flows of people, resources and ideas, the analysis brings together themes and spaces that have been disconnected in previous scholarship. It sheds light on the integration of feminist resources into contemporary governance through complex entanglements of international aid to democratization, “activism beyond borders” and systemic transformation of higher education.The book will be of interest to researchers and students of sociology, political science, gender studies, and East-European studies.
