SOCIO-CULTURAL AND IDEOLOGICAL ORIGINS OF HOMOPHOBIA IN RUSSIA
Rubrics: REVIEW
Abstract and keywords
Abstract (English):
In 2013 the State Duma of Russian Federation adopted a Federal Law “banning propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations among minors». This law provoked great discussions between sexual minorities and their opponents in the media: the first began to criticize the Law as infringing upon their rights, others, after a long silence, resumed their attacks on the homosexuals. Due to such discussions Sociologists think that homophobia is reviving in Russia. According to the American psychological Association, only 16% of the population in modern Russia can accept homosexuality as the norm (against 60% in USA and 80% in Europe). This is the public opinion in Russia. And only such cautious, squeamish attitude toward those people as not quite healthy pones allows sociologists to talk about a revival of homophobic attitudes in our country. In the article authors make an attempt to understand the arguments of opponents of sexual orientation and to trace the ideological origins of “Russian homophobia”. For this, the authors of the research are trying to answer the questions: is it correct to justify homosexuality as normal behavior, referring to the homosexual behavior of animals, how is homosexuality caused by norms of Russian culture, what is its contribution to the arts, what do world religions say about same-sex relationships, what is its impact on the development of the society, what does the modern medicine think about this phenomenon. There is an attempt to reproduce the logic of homophobic arguments, so common today in Russia, to understand its origins and ideological Foundation. This is done only for the purpose of finding compromises and developing balanced, tolerant positions on both sides. The authors hope that considerations expressed in the article will be useful in resolving such an important social and cultural issue as a confrontation between homosexuals and heterosexuals, and will make the contribution to the guarantees of rights and freedoms in the Russian Federation.

Keywords:
homosexuality, heterosexuality, bestiality, sodomy, homophobia, sexual culture, sexual orientation
Text

Казалось бы, еще совсем недавно, всего двадцать лет назад, гомосексуализм в нашей стране считался уголовным преступлением (Ст. 121 УК РФ «Мужеложство»). Отношение к гомосексуализму в СССР среди населения было откровенно предосудительным. И хотя соответствующая уголовная статья Уголовного кодекса к ним применялась не слишком часто [11] (главным образом, в качестве «упаковки» в политических процессах) [12], люди, замеченные в однополых связях, автоматически становились «нерукопожатными», их исключали из комсомола, не принимали в партию, старались не брать на работу, словом, стигматизировали их.

References

1. Beyl´kin M. Gordiev uzel seksologii. M.: Feniks-OST, 2007.

2. Berdyaev N.A. Ekzistentsial´naya dialektika bozhestvennogo i chelovecheskogo. Berdyaev N.A. O naznachenii cheloveka. M.: Respublika, 1993.

3. Berzin A. Problematika buddiyskoy seksual´noy etiki. Buddiyskaya biblioteka d-ra Aleksandra Berzina. URL: http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/ru/index.html (data obrashcheniya: 29.07.2015).

4. Gomoseksualizm est´ odna iz dvizhushchikh sil evolyutsii zhivotnykh - uchenye. Moskva, 17 iyunya - RIA Novosti. URL: http://www.rian.ru/science/20090617/174596550.html (data obrashcheniya: 15.07.2015).

5. Gomoseksualizm i demograficheskaya katastrofa. Portal «Fond imeni Pitirima Sorokina» URL: http://www.sorokinfond.ru/index.php?id=399 (data obrashcheniya: 13.07.2015).

6. Zhil´tsov Yu. 80% za gomoseksualizm, uzhasayushchaya statistika. Nezavisimoe informatsionnoe agentstvo «Real´naya politika». URL: http://realpolitic.ru/rassledovaniya/80-zagomoseksualizmuzhasayushhaya- statistika-1108 (data obrashcheniya: 12.07.2015).

7. Katekhizis katolicheskoy tserkvi, chast´ III, razdel 2, punkt 2357-2359 / Biblioteka Informatsionnogo katolicheskogo agentstva Agnus.

8. Mozhet li medved´ byt´ gomoseksualistom? Interv´yu realist.ru s E.Yu. Fedorovich i I.P. Voshchanovoy. URL: http://www.realisti.ru/main/homosexualism/gomoseksualizm_sredi_jivotnyh. htm (data obrashcheniya: 18.07.2015).

9. Novye podkhody obshchestvennogo zdravookhraneniya. YuNEYDS. 21.06.2011.

10. Osnovy sotsial´noy kontseptsii Russkoy Pravoslavnoy Tserkvi. M., 2000.

11. Prava gomoseksualov i lesbiyanok v Rossiyskoy Federatsii. Otchet Mezhdunarodnoy komissii po pravam cheloveka dlya gomoseksualov i lesbiyanok» podgotovlen Mashey Gessen. Vvedenie L. I. Bogoraz. San Francisco. IGLHRC. 1993.

12. Khili D. Gomoseksual´noe vlechenie v revolyutsionnoy Rossii. M. 2008.

13. American Psychiatric Association. Sexual orientation and homosexuality Pew Global Attitudes Project. «Dolzhna li gomoseksual´nost´ prinimat´sya obshchestvom?» 2013.

14. Bell A. P. and Weinberg M. S. Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity Among Men and Women. New York. Simon and Schuster. 1978; Sm. takzhe: Bell A. P., Weinberg M. S. and Hammersmith S. K. Sexual Preference. Bloomington. Indiana University Press. 1981.

15. CDC Fact Sheet «HIV and AIDS among Gay and Bisexual Men». Sept. 2011. URL: http://www.cdc.gov/ nchhstp/newsroom/docs/fastfacts-msm-final508comp.pdf (data obrashcheniya: 10.01.2012).

16. Didier François. L’homosexualité dans le cinéma français. Paris. 2013. P. 322.

17. Gross Larry. Contested Closets: The Politics and Ethics of Outing». Minneapolis & London. University of Minneapolis Press, 1993.

18. Imaam Ahmad, 2/479; sm. takzhe: Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5865; al-Tirmidhi, 1/243; sm. takzhe: Saheeh alJaami’, 5918.

19. Owen James. Homosexual Activity Among Animals Stirs Debate. National Geographic News. July 23. 2004; Seidler Christoph. Gay Marriage in the Animal Kingdom. Spiegel online. October 25. 2006.

20. Paul Van de Ven et al. A Comparative Demographic and Sexual Profile of Older Homosexually Active Men. Journal of Sex Research. No 34.1997.

21. Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects.

22. Sex Survey Results. Genre. October 1996, quoted in «Survey Finds 40 percent of Gay Men Have Had More Than 40 Sex Partners». Lambda Report. January 1998.

23. Sexuality. New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. V. 5. Thomson Gale. 2005.

24. Smith T.W. Adult Sexual Behavior in 1989: Number of Partners, Frequency of Intercourse and Risk of AIDS. Family Planning Perspectives. Vol. 23. No. 3. May - Jun. 1991.

25. Svetec N., Houot B., Ferveur J.F. Effect of Genes, Social Experience, and Their Interaction on the Courtship Behavior of Transgenic Drosophila Males. Genet. Res. 2005.

26. Swift Michael. Gay Revolutionary. Gay Community News. Feb. 15-21. 1987.

27. Whitehead Neil, Whitehead Briar. My Genes Made Me Do It! A Scientific Look at Sexual Orientation. Lafayette. LA. Huntington House, 1999.

28. Yakubovich Immanuel. Encyclopedia of Judaism. Jerusalem. Keter publishing. 1968.

29. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/26/gay-marriage-protest-paris (data obrashcheniya: 18.08.2015).

30. http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/historic-first-gay-marriage-in-france-a-902555.html (data obrashcheniya: 18.08.2015).

Login or Create
* Forgot password?