Since the law against so-called 'gay-propaganda' was passed in 2013, the Russian media discourse has been developing into a somewhat 'left-wing / right-wing' model (though these terms need to be used with reservations when talking about Russian politics). The media outlets that position themselves as being neutral to the current political tension or as supporting the views and agenda of the anti-Kremlin opposition tend to portray LGBTQ individuals as 'normal people'. The focus though is not on the normality of being gay, but on the similarities of lifestyles of gay and non-gay people.
For example, the text called 'Non-traditional Values' presents a narrative about the lifestyles of two gay and two lesbian couples who raise children. The author Anna Baidakova aims to destroy the common stereotype about gay people being unable to have a family and children and starts the article with the question 'What if same-sex couples can start families, bear and adopt children, and these families are not very much different from traditional, heterosexual families?'. This very important and obviously LGBTQ supportive text still reflects the problems journalists face when deciding to tackle LGBTQ issues. One can immediately spot at least a couple and I am going to comment on them.
Undoubtedly, the pun of the title is understandable: the anti-LGBTQ law was introduced to make sure that the embedding of the so-called 'traditional' values (i.e. heteronormativity) among minors is not hindered by access to information about gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer people. I do understand the author's aim is to prove that same-sex couples can be loving and caring parents, but why label such families 'non-traditional' in the title? Loving your children, whether the biological or adopted ones, is a very traditional value and it is immanent to all human beings regardless of their sexuality, religious beliefs or political views. It seems to me, even though in the first paragraph the author declares that the four same-sex couples she is describing consider their families traditional in terms of values their share and moral guidelines they follow, nevertheless this title will probably only convince homophobes of same-sex couples being non-traditional.
Another problem faced by the authors of probably 99% of LGBTQ-related texts I have read so far is the English word 'gay'. In the English language this word can be used to describe both men and women. One often hears such phrases as 'she is gay', 'she is a gay woman'. However, I would argue that this reference to women is not present in the Russian borrowed word гей (gei). In Russia we normally refer to gay men when we say words like геи (geii; gay people), гей (gei; a gay person), гейский (geiskii; belonging to or characteristic of gay people). Thus, when Russian journalists use the word 'гей' in their texts, it immediately evokes associations with gay men. It is therefore a bit of a shock to see women in the focus of such a text. I would suggest that expressions with the word 'same-sex' (однополый), i.e. 'same-sex couple', 'same-sex family', 'same-relationship' are more desirable to use when referring to both gay men and women.
Regardless of the minor problems spotted above, the article about gay parents published on snob.ru is a very successful attempt at writing a text that would support LGBTQ but would not abuse the federal law against propaganda of 'non-traditional' family relationships. Anna Baidakova managed to create a very positive, touching and beautiful narrative. This is definitely journalism of a very high level of skill and expertise and I do hope there will be more and more texts like appearing in a contemporary Russian media space.
For example, the text called 'Non-traditional Values' presents a narrative about the lifestyles of two gay and two lesbian couples who raise children. The author Anna Baidakova aims to destroy the common stereotype about gay people being unable to have a family and children and starts the article with the question 'What if same-sex couples can start families, bear and adopt children, and these families are not very much different from traditional, heterosexual families?'. This very important and obviously LGBTQ supportive text still reflects the problems journalists face when deciding to tackle LGBTQ issues. One can immediately spot at least a couple and I am going to comment on them.
Undoubtedly, the pun of the title is understandable: the anti-LGBTQ law was introduced to make sure that the embedding of the so-called 'traditional' values (i.e. heteronormativity) among minors is not hindered by access to information about gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer people. I do understand the author's aim is to prove that same-sex couples can be loving and caring parents, but why label such families 'non-traditional' in the title? Loving your children, whether the biological or adopted ones, is a very traditional value and it is immanent to all human beings regardless of their sexuality, religious beliefs or political views. It seems to me, even though in the first paragraph the author declares that the four same-sex couples she is describing consider their families traditional in terms of values their share and moral guidelines they follow, nevertheless this title will probably only convince homophobes of same-sex couples being non-traditional.
Another problem faced by the authors of probably 99% of LGBTQ-related texts I have read so far is the English word 'gay'. In the English language this word can be used to describe both men and women. One often hears such phrases as 'she is gay', 'she is a gay woman'. However, I would argue that this reference to women is not present in the Russian borrowed word гей (gei). In Russia we normally refer to gay men when we say words like геи (geii; gay people), гей (gei; a gay person), гейский (geiskii; belonging to or characteristic of gay people). Thus, when Russian journalists use the word 'гей' in their texts, it immediately evokes associations with gay men. It is therefore a bit of a shock to see women in the focus of such a text. I would suggest that expressions with the word 'same-sex' (однополый), i.e. 'same-sex couple', 'same-sex family', 'same-relationship' are more desirable to use when referring to both gay men and women.
Regardless of the minor problems spotted above, the article about gay parents published on snob.ru is a very successful attempt at writing a text that would support LGBTQ but would not abuse the federal law against propaganda of 'non-traditional' family relationships. Anna Baidakova managed to create a very positive, touching and beautiful narrative. This is definitely journalism of a very high level of skill and expertise and I do hope there will be more and more texts like appearing in a contemporary Russian media space.
No comments:
Post a Comment