‘Traditional values’ and the narrative of gay rights as modernity: Sexual politics beyond polarization

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Examining the Russian state’s turn to ‘traditional values’ in the 2010s, this article aims to understand traditionalist state discourses in a global context where LGBT inclusion has been incorporated into notions of national exceptionalism. It argues that the Putin regime has articulated, provided ideological coherence to, and made visible a narrative according to which resistance to LGBT rights appears as a logical choice for states seeking to position themselves in opposition to the ‘liberal West.’ That narrative both counters the homonationalist idea of ‘gay-friendliness’ as a signifier of modernity and good statehood and incorporates some of its elements, notably externalization of homophobia onto racialized, Muslim Others.