Orchestrating Vulnerability: A critical analysis of the socially induced precarious condition of Georgian LGBTQ+ bodies as a source of social protest

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dc.contributor.advisorVersteeg, W.
dc.contributor.advisorFiore, E.
dc.contributor.authorGraaff, R.C.J. de
dc.date.issued2020-07-03
dc.description.abstractGeorgia decriminalised homosexuality in 2000 and adopted the Anti-Discrimination Law in 2014. Despite these laws, societal exclusion of and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people remain prevalent. This thesis aims to explore how Georgian LGBTQ+ bodies fall outside of what is alleged to be a normative notion of being a valuable human being. Building on theoretical concepts such as biopower, vulnerability, public space/sphere, and the politics of in/visibility, this thesis asks: How can the vulnerability of bodies of the Georgian LGBTQ+ community enact form of public resistance to socio-political discourses which shape that vulnerability? Based on my analysis of news articles/photos and legalisation reports on the topic of LGBTQ+ rights in Georgia's societal debate, and relating it to geopolitical, religious, sociocultural factors, I will make clear that Georgia's biopower system reinforces a heterosexual and reproductive norm. Deviating from these norms, Georgian queer bodies are considered to endanger the nation's biological heritage as well as the deeply rooted traditional values. My study shows that both the Georgian Orthodox Church and nationalist groups seek to reduce LGBTQ+ presence, whether by disrupting the assemblies of the LGBTQ+ activists in the public space or by heavily against the premier of a queer themed film that facilitates the LGBTQ+ community's visibility. The thesis furthermore shows that the lack of support from Georgian authorities not only violates the basic human rights of the LGBTQ+ people, but reduces their bodies to precarity. It subsequently makes clear that through recognising this precarious condition and by exposing their bodily vulnerability collectively, forms of social agency against dominant power relations can be enacted. The importance here lies in recognising human interdependency as an invariable feature of social existence. This will lead to a collective responsibility and solidarity, which in turn, can bridge the gap constructed by biopolitical practices.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://theses.ubn.ru.nl/handle/123456789/9530
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.thesis.facultyFaculteit der Letterenen_US
dc.thesis.specialisationCreative Industriesen_US
dc.thesis.studyprogrammeMaster Kunst- en Cultuurwetenschappenen_US
dc.thesis.typeMasteren_US
dc.titleOrchestrating Vulnerability: A critical analysis of the socially induced precarious condition of Georgian LGBTQ+ bodies as a source of social protesten_US
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