Research Colloquium | Maryna Shevtsova (Leuven) | Anti-Gender Movements and Regional Contestations of LGBTQ+ Rights and Gender Equality in the Context of Russia's War in Ukraine

Abstract:

The so-called clash of European and traditional family values has for years served as a political tool for various actors andhas culminated in turning into one of the justifications for Russia's aggression against Ukraine. The idea behind this talk isto reflect on how the shifting regional security landscape is reconfiguring the struggles between opponents of sexual andgender equality and LGBTQ movements in Ukraine and Georgia with the full-fledged Russian aggression, on the one hand,and increased credibility of EU membership and approximation of the countries in the EU neighborhood with Brussels. The talk will discuss how the full-scale invasion has engendered an unlikely coalition between right-wing and LGBTQ groups inUkraine as part of a fight for the nation’s survival and emancipation from Russia. Building on a combination of qualitativemethods, including critical discourse analysis and frame analysis, the talk will provide original evidence on how theRussian invasion of Ukraine reconfigures anti-genderism and its effects on LGBTQ lives in the Eastern European regioncontributing to ongoing debates on the role gender and sexuality play within international security.

Maryna Shevtsova:

Maryna Shevtsova is a human rights and LGBT rights activist, bringing an interdisciplinary background to her work (International Economic Relations, Gender Studies, Psychology, Political Science). In 2017, she successfully obtained her PhD in Political Science from Humboldt University, Berlin. Currently, Maryna serves as a FWO senior postdoctoral fellow at KU Leuven, Belgium.

This event is organised in cooperation with the equal opportunities officers of the GS OSES (UR).