Overview

As the USSR crumbled in the late 1980s and early 1990s, another transformation of seismic proportions was occurring: the Russian ""iron-closet"" was slowly opening, allowing some of the most invisible and marginalized members of Russian society to emerge from the shadows of law and psychiatry. Laurie Essig was a witness to this movement. As a sociological field-worker, she was there before public queerness existed and also after public queerness became commonplace. Until 1993, male homosexual acts were criminalized. There was no ""gay community"" and people did not publicly acknowledge sexual identities. Perestroika brought a new freedom to Russian queers (a term Essig uses to encompass all sexual minorities), but there is no sign of a mass movement forming around sexual identity. Instead public queerness finds its most vibrant manifestations at the local level - in restaurants, discos, clubs, cruising strips - and in various queer media, including newspapers, books, journals and theatre. Essig concludes with a powerful exploration of the surprising affinities between some of Russia's most prominent nationalists and queer activists. ""Queer in Russia"" should interest scholars and students of gay and lesbian studies, Russian history and culture, and sociology, as well as all readers interested in gay and lesbian issues.

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9780822323129

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... this is an important book for scholars of sexuality, women, and culture in post-Soviet Russia. --Choice Essig's book is an informative account of the birth of Russian queer groups, newspapers and clubs. --SEER, 72, 2, 2001 Laurie Essig's book is significant both for Russianists and for queer theorists. Essig demonstrates that 'queerness' in Russia is not defined as a matter of identity politics, and, in so doing, she raises important theoretical questions about the nature(s) of queerness as it crosses cultural borders. Jehanne M Gheith, Duke University An entirely original investigation of the gay and lesbian scene in Russia and a book of enormous value, Queer in Russia will serve as a beachhead in the field of Russian queer studies. In one volume one finds a concise history of sexual transgression in the Russian context as well as the rise of queer Russian identity. Luc Beaudoin, University of Denver

... this is an important book for scholars of sexuality, women, and culture in post-Soviet Russia. --Choice Essig's book is an informative account of the birth of Russian queer groups, newspapers and clubs. --SEER, 72, 2, 2001 Laurie Essig's book is significant both for Russianists and for queer theorists. Essig demonstrates that 'queerness' in Russia is not defined as a matter of identity politics, and, in so doing, she raises important theoretical questions about the nature(s) of queerness as it crosses cultural borders. Jehanne M Gheith, Duke University An entirely original investigation of the gay and lesbian scene in Russia and a book of enormous value, Queer in Russia will serve as a beachhead in the field of Russian queer studies. In one volume one finds a concise history of sexual transgression in the Russian context as well as the rise of queer Russian identity. Luc Beaudoin, University of Denver

"" ... this is an important book for scholars of sexuality, women, and culture in post-Soviet Russia.""--Choice ""Essig's book is an informative account of the birth of Russian queer groups, newspapers and clubs.""--SEER, 72, 2, 2001 ""Laurie Essig's book is significant both for Russianists and for queer theorists. Essig demonstrates that 'queerness' in Russia is not defined as a matter of identity politics, and, in so doing, she raises important theoretical questions about the nature(s) of queerness as it crosses cultural borders."" Jehanne M Gheith, Duke University ""An entirely original investigation of the gay and lesbian scene in Russia and a book of enormous value, Queer in Russia will serve as a beachhead in the field of Russian queer studies. In one volume one finds a concise history of sexual transgression in the Russian context as well as the rise of queer Russian identity. "" Luc Beaudoin, University of Denver

An entirely original investigation of the gay and lesbian scene in Russia and a book of enormous value, Queer in Russia will serve as a beachhead in the field of Russian queer studies. In one volume one finds a concise history of sexual transgression in the Russian context as well as the rise of queer Russian identity. -Luc Beaudoin, University of Denver Laurie Essig's book is significant both for Russianists and for queer theorists. Essig demonstrates that 'queerness' in Russia is not defined as a matter of identity politics, and, in so doing, she raises important theoretical questions about the nature(s) of queerness as it crosses cultural borders. -Jehanne M Gheith, Duke University

Author Information

Laurie Essig has taught sociology at Columbia University and Trinity College in Connecticut. She is a columnist for New York Blade and Chicago’s Outline.

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