Maryna Shevtsova
Political scientist and LGBT rights activist with interdisciplinary background (International Economic Relations, Gender Studies, Psychology, Political Science).
I define myself as an independent researcher, political scientist, psychologist, and human rights defender. I hold PhD degrees in Political Science from Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany, and in Economics from Oles Honchar National University, Dnipro, Ukraine. I also work as a program officer at Civil Organization “Parents Initiative "TERGO” which is an organization for parents and families of LGBTQ+ people.
My research interests and expertise include education policies, human rights and, in particular, rights of LGBTQ+ people, and promotion of human rights norms in post-Soviet and post-socialist space and in MENA region. At the moment my research projects include discursive practices in post-Soviet countries on HIV/AIDS prevention; development of civil society organizations in Central and Eastern Europe; refugee regimes and asylum policies for LGBTQ+ people in the EU and the USA; and role of Western donors in democracy promotion in former Soviet republics.
As a coach and freelance consultant and trainer, I offer workshops, seminars, presentations and talks on tolerance, diversity, sexual education, sexuality, education abroad, fundraising, grant-writing, gender equality, and other topics upon request.
I define myself as an independent researcher, political scientist, psychologist, and human rights defender. I hold PhD degrees in Political Science from Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany, and in Economics from Oles Honchar National University, Dnipro, Ukraine. I also work as a program officer at Civil Organization “Parents Initiative "TERGO” which is an organization for parents and families of LGBTQ+ people.
My research interests and expertise include education policies, human rights and, in particular, rights of LGBTQ+ people, and promotion of human rights norms in post-Soviet and post-socialist space and in MENA region. At the moment my research projects include discursive practices in post-Soviet countries on HIV/AIDS prevention; development of civil society organizations in Central and Eastern Europe; refugee regimes and asylum policies for LGBTQ+ people in the EU and the USA; and role of Western donors in democracy promotion in former Soviet republics.
As a coach and freelance consultant and trainer, I offer workshops, seminars, presentations and talks on tolerance, diversity, sexual education, sexuality, education abroad, fundraising, grant-writing, gender equality, and other topics upon request.
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Ukrainian government adapted targets for the implementation of the Global Goals taking into account the specifics of national development, and in September 2017 launched the National Baseline Report Sustainable Development Goals: Ukraine, which presents a specially developed national system of 86 national tasks and 172 indicators for monitoring their implementation.
Despite the fact that the main slogan of the Sustainable Development Goals is Leaving no one behind, the national targets, indicators, as well as measures for their implementation, are not LGBTQI-inclusive.
The report is mainly based on the analysis of Ukrainian legislation in the context of SOGIESC (sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, sexual characteristics), as well as the answers of Ukrainian ministries to information requests regarding measures to implement Sustainable Development Goals, with a special focus on SOGIESC component.
nationalistic movements and growing militarization in the
country has caused what is often mistakenly referred to as “Ukrainian
homonationalism” and what I further label as “Ukrainian
homonormative patriotism.” By homonormative patriotism I refer
to discursive practices that are actively used by certain parts of the
Ukrainian LGBT movement,2 which imply that, provided certain
conditions are met, a gay or lesbian person can be integrated into
the Ukrainian society. As this chapter further shows, these conditions
indispensably include a Ukrainian patriotic component and
one’s readiness to defend his or her (but mostly his) country. While
this kind of tactic used by Ukrainian LGBT activists seems to bear
fruit, this chapter problematizes its further usage, deconstructing
its homonormativity and exclusive character. I argue that the ongoing
public discourses and practices (including the notorious March
of Equality in Kyiv) end up leaving behind too many of those who
do not conform to the image of a “good patriotic (male) gay citizen
of Ukraine”, reproducing, in such a manner, discriminatory practices
and a power imbalance in Ukrainian society. It is worth noting
that the issue raised in this chapter is to be addressed from an intersectional
perspective, i.e. including not only sexual orientation
and gender identity, but also gender, class, ethnicity, and other possible
dimensions. The present piece, therefore, speaks both to a
STRATEGIES TO FIGHT HOMOPHOBIA 353
larger body of scholarship on homonationalism and to the works of
those challenging the applicability of Western theories and concepts
to the realities of LGBT movements in Central and Eastern
European countries (e.g. Colpani and Habed 2014; Kondakov 2010;
Puar 2013).
Аннотация
Данная статья охватывает проблемы, связанные с междисциплинарными исследованиями в международной научной деятельности, направленной на преодоление барьеров между гендерными исследованиями, квир и ЛГБТ тематикой, исследованиями сексуальности и такими более консервативными и классическими науками, как политология, международные отношения, а также юриспруденция или правоведение. Тогда как ведущие мировые университеты декларируют всяческую поддержку междисциплинарных проектов, реальность оказывается несколько другой. Поэтому при принятии решении о начале проекта на стыке нескольких областей знаний и науки, для исследовательницы особенно необходимо в полной мере осознавать, с какими препятствиями предстоит столкнуться в процессе реализации научной работы. Основываясь на обзоре тематической литературы, интервью с экспертками и экспертами и ведущими учеными в области социальных наук, а также на анализе специализированных научно-академических изданий, в данной статье выделены три группы факторов. Прежде всего, статья подвергает критическому анализу дискуссии между так называемыми «Восточным» и «Западным» феминизмами. Далее, в статье предлагается количественный контент-анализ ведущих научных изданий в области политологии и международных отношений для рассмотрения проблемы исключения и маргинализации проектов, связанных с квир-исследованиями из мейнстримной западной политологии и международных отношений. Наконец, в статье обсуждаются сложные взаимоотношения между научной средой и гражданским обществом и активизмом, в процессе чего затрагиваются такие важные вопросы, как позиционирование, исследовательская этика, а также постоянная рефлексия. Ключевые слова: квир исследования, междисциплинарные исследования, активизм, гендерные исследования, квир международные отношения, ЛГБТ
underdeveloped. Yet lately foreign observers have defined civil society in Ukraine as the richest in the former
Soviet Union in terms of the number and variety of organizations. In the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity,
as the state institutions are unable to perform their basic functions, civil society organizations (CSOs) have
been compelled to take over some of their duties, getting involved into multiple spheres of public life, such as
volunteering in the army, crowd-funding for internally displaced people and military needs. They are particularly
strong in advocacy for reforms and acting as watchdogs of institutional change. However, while having proven
its resilience in crisis, civil society in Ukraine still shows low sustainability and a high level of dependency on
foreign donors.
Having acknowledged the positive role of foreign donors in the development of national civil society, the
present article goes beyond this one-sided evaluation and answers the following questions: How do foreign
donors influence Ukrainian CSOs working with civic participation and human rights advocacy? What are the
main obstacles the CSOs face on the way to full independence and sustainability in post-Euromaidan Ukraine
in the years 2014–2017? Drawing on the empirical data collected through the analysis of major national media
sources and social media, participant observation, and interviews with civil society actors, policy-makers and
foreign donors’ representatives, this article argues that the role of foreign donors may be more complex
than the way it used to be portrayed, as it should be assessed in the context of domestic social and political
dynamics. The failure to do so may lead to unintended consequences and render previous achievements null.
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Ukrainian government adapted targets for the implementation of the Global Goals taking into account the specifics of national development, and in September 2017 launched the National Baseline Report Sustainable Development Goals: Ukraine, which presents a specially developed national system of 86 national tasks and 172 indicators for monitoring their implementation.
Despite the fact that the main slogan of the Sustainable Development Goals is Leaving no one behind, the national targets, indicators, as well as measures for their implementation, are not LGBTQI-inclusive.
The report is mainly based on the analysis of Ukrainian legislation in the context of SOGIESC (sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, sexual characteristics), as well as the answers of Ukrainian ministries to information requests regarding measures to implement Sustainable Development Goals, with a special focus on SOGIESC component.
nationalistic movements and growing militarization in the
country has caused what is often mistakenly referred to as “Ukrainian
homonationalism” and what I further label as “Ukrainian
homonormative patriotism.” By homonormative patriotism I refer
to discursive practices that are actively used by certain parts of the
Ukrainian LGBT movement,2 which imply that, provided certain
conditions are met, a gay or lesbian person can be integrated into
the Ukrainian society. As this chapter further shows, these conditions
indispensably include a Ukrainian patriotic component and
one’s readiness to defend his or her (but mostly his) country. While
this kind of tactic used by Ukrainian LGBT activists seems to bear
fruit, this chapter problematizes its further usage, deconstructing
its homonormativity and exclusive character. I argue that the ongoing
public discourses and practices (including the notorious March
of Equality in Kyiv) end up leaving behind too many of those who
do not conform to the image of a “good patriotic (male) gay citizen
of Ukraine”, reproducing, in such a manner, discriminatory practices
and a power imbalance in Ukrainian society. It is worth noting
that the issue raised in this chapter is to be addressed from an intersectional
perspective, i.e. including not only sexual orientation
and gender identity, but also gender, class, ethnicity, and other possible
dimensions. The present piece, therefore, speaks both to a
STRATEGIES TO FIGHT HOMOPHOBIA 353
larger body of scholarship on homonationalism and to the works of
those challenging the applicability of Western theories and concepts
to the realities of LGBT movements in Central and Eastern
European countries (e.g. Colpani and Habed 2014; Kondakov 2010;
Puar 2013).
Аннотация
Данная статья охватывает проблемы, связанные с междисциплинарными исследованиями в международной научной деятельности, направленной на преодоление барьеров между гендерными исследованиями, квир и ЛГБТ тематикой, исследованиями сексуальности и такими более консервативными и классическими науками, как политология, международные отношения, а также юриспруденция или правоведение. Тогда как ведущие мировые университеты декларируют всяческую поддержку междисциплинарных проектов, реальность оказывается несколько другой. Поэтому при принятии решении о начале проекта на стыке нескольких областей знаний и науки, для исследовательницы особенно необходимо в полной мере осознавать, с какими препятствиями предстоит столкнуться в процессе реализации научной работы. Основываясь на обзоре тематической литературы, интервью с экспертками и экспертами и ведущими учеными в области социальных наук, а также на анализе специализированных научно-академических изданий, в данной статье выделены три группы факторов. Прежде всего, статья подвергает критическому анализу дискуссии между так называемыми «Восточным» и «Западным» феминизмами. Далее, в статье предлагается количественный контент-анализ ведущих научных изданий в области политологии и международных отношений для рассмотрения проблемы исключения и маргинализации проектов, связанных с квир-исследованиями из мейнстримной западной политологии и международных отношений. Наконец, в статье обсуждаются сложные взаимоотношения между научной средой и гражданским обществом и активизмом, в процессе чего затрагиваются такие важные вопросы, как позиционирование, исследовательская этика, а также постоянная рефлексия. Ключевые слова: квир исследования, междисциплинарные исследования, активизм, гендерные исследования, квир международные отношения, ЛГБТ
underdeveloped. Yet lately foreign observers have defined civil society in Ukraine as the richest in the former
Soviet Union in terms of the number and variety of organizations. In the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity,
as the state institutions are unable to perform their basic functions, civil society organizations (CSOs) have
been compelled to take over some of their duties, getting involved into multiple spheres of public life, such as
volunteering in the army, crowd-funding for internally displaced people and military needs. They are particularly
strong in advocacy for reforms and acting as watchdogs of institutional change. However, while having proven
its resilience in crisis, civil society in Ukraine still shows low sustainability and a high level of dependency on
foreign donors.
Having acknowledged the positive role of foreign donors in the development of national civil society, the
present article goes beyond this one-sided evaluation and answers the following questions: How do foreign
donors influence Ukrainian CSOs working with civic participation and human rights advocacy? What are the
main obstacles the CSOs face on the way to full independence and sustainability in post-Euromaidan Ukraine
in the years 2014–2017? Drawing on the empirical data collected through the analysis of major national media
sources and social media, participant observation, and interviews with civil society actors, policy-makers and
foreign donors’ representatives, this article argues that the role of foreign donors may be more complex
than the way it used to be portrayed, as it should be assessed in the context of domestic social and political
dynamics. The failure to do so may lead to unintended consequences and render previous achievements null.