Abstract
This chapter addresses the challenges faced by sexual minorities in Georgia. In contemporary Georgia, homosexuality and broader LGBTI issues are employed as a political tool by a range of actors to discredit opponents and mobilize voters, with media monitoring revealing a notable increase in hate speech directed against LGBTI persons, in particular during election periods or other important political events. In this way, Georgia’s 2016 parliamentary election and the wave of state-sponsored homophobia was no exception, nor the notable absence of figures from Georgia’s political elite ready to raise the issue of rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. This chapter explores the politicization of sexual minority issues and how it affects the lives and well-being of LBT women in Georgia.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aghdgomelashvili, Ekaterine. 2012. “Homophobia and Regulation Mechanisms—Public Policy Paper.” South Caucasus Office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation. Tbilisi.
———. 2016. “From Prejudice to Equality—Study of Societal Attitudes, Knowledge and Information Regarding the LGBT Community and Their Rights.” Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group (WISG). Tbilisi, Georgia.
BBC News. 2013. “Georgia’s Mighty Orthodox Church.” https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23103853.
de Beauvoir, Simone. 1997. The Second Sex. London: Vintage Classics.
Civil Georgia. 2013. “Violence Against Anti-homophobia Rally.” Daily News Online, May 18. https://old.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=26073.
———. 2014. “Georgian Church Calls for Family Day on May 17.” Daily News Online, May 11. https://old.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=27221.
———. 2016. “MPs Launch Proceedings for Setting Constitutional Bar to Same-Sex Marriage.” Daily News Online, March 18. http://www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=29049.
DFWatch. 2017. “Georgian Sentenced to 13 Years for Killing a Transgender Woman.” Democracy Freedom Watch, February 7. https://dfwatch.net/georgian-sentenced-to-13-years-for-killing-a-transgender-woman-47558.
EU-Georgia Relations Factsheet. 2017. https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage_en/23634/EU-Georgia%20relations,%20factsheet.
Gabunia, Shorena. 2009. “Homosexuality in Tbilisi’s Urban Culture.” South Caucasus Office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation. Tbilisi, Georgia.
———. 2010. Role of Virtual Communication in Lives of Lesbians Living in Tbilisi. Women’s Fund of Georgia, Tbilisi, Georgia.
Gvianishvili, Natia. 2012. “Internalized Homophobia in Georgian LGBQ Community.” South Caucasus Regional Office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation. Tbilisi, Georgia.
———. 2014. “Situation of Transgender People in Georgia.” Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group. Tbilisi. https://women.ge/en/publications/40/.
———. 2017. “Being Transgender in Georgia.” In Gender in Georgia: Feminist Perspectives on Culture, Nation, and History in the South Caucasus, edited by Maia Barkaia and Alisse Waterston, 194–204. New York: Berghahn Books.
Healey, Dan. 2001. Homosexual Desire in Revolutionary Russia: The Regulation of Sexual and Gender Dissent. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Jalagania, Lika. 2016. Legal Situation of LGBTI Persons in Georgia. Human Rights Education and Monitoring Centre (EMC), Tbilisi, Georgia.
Kintsurashvili, Tamar. 2016. Hate Speech—Report for 2016. Media Development Foundation, Tbilisi, Georgia.
Kharchilava, Nino. 2010. “Representation of Female Homosexuality in Georgian Printed Media.” PhD diss., Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia.
Khorbaladze Tamar. 2015. “Homophobia and Gender Identity.” Media Monitoring Report 2014–2015. Media Development Foundation, Tbilisi, Georgia. http://mdfgeorgia.ge/uploads/library/Homophobia-ENG-web%20(1).pdf.
McLaughlin, Daniel. 2013. “EU Condemns Attack on Gay Rights Rally in Tbilisi, Georgia.” Irish Times, May 21. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/eu-condemns-attack-on-gay-rights-rally-in-tbilisi-georgia-1.1400440.
Minesashvili, Salome. 2017. “The Georgian Orthodox Church as a Civil Actor: Challenges and Capabilities.” Policy Brief No. 8. Tbilisi, Georgia.
Morrison, Thea, and Nicholas Waller. 2016. “NGOs Condemn Attack on Tbilisi Transgender Woman.” Georgia Today, October 17. http://georgiatoday.ge/news/4940/NGOs-Condemn-Attack-on-Tbilisi-Transgender-Woman.
Pew Research Centre. 2017. Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern Europe: Social Views and Morality. May 10. https://www.pewforum.org/2017/05/10/social-views-and-morality/.
Popovaite, Inga. 2014. “Transwoman killed and Flat Set on Fire in Tbilisi.” Democracy & Freedom Watch Net, November 11. http://dfwatch.net/transwoman-killed-and-flat-set-on-fire-in-tbilisi-24236-32143.
Ratiani, Tsiala, Ekaterine Aghdgomelashvili, and Rusudan Gotsiridze. 2015. Discrimination and Hate Crimes Against LGBT People in Georgia. Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group (WISG), Tbilisi, Georgia.
Rubin, Gayle, S. 2011. Deviations: A Gayle Rubin Reader. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Stella, Francesca. 2016. Lesbian Lives in Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia: Post/Socialism and Gendered Sexualities. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Synovitz, Ron. 2017. “Georgian Dream Doubles Down on Same-Sex Marriage Ban.” Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, June 24. https://www.rferl.org/a/georgian-dream-doubles-down-same-sex-marriage-ban/28577114.html.
The World Bank. 2012. Fighting Corruption in Public Services: Chronicling Georgia’s Reforms. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/518301468256183463/pdf/664490PUB0EPI0065774B09780821394755.pdf.
Tsereteli, Tamar. 2010. “Nationalism and Representation of Gays and Lesbians in Post-Soviet Georgia.” PhD diss., Central European University, Budapest, Hungary.
Women’s Initiatives Supporting Group (WISG). 2012. “Situation of LGBT Persons in Georgia 2012.” http://women.ge/data/docs/publications/WISG_situation-of-lgbt-persons-in-Georgia_ENG-www.pdf.
World Value Study Survey. 2014. “Findings and Insights 2008–2015.” http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/WVSContents.jsp?CMSID=Findings.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gvianishvili, N. (2020). Invisible Battlefield: How the Politicization of LGBT Issues Affects the Visibility of LBT Women in Georgia. In: Ziemer, U. (eds) Women's Everyday Lives in War and Peace in the South Caucasus. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25517-6_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25517-6_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-25516-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-25517-6
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)