Difficult Intersections: Nation(alism) and the LGBTIQ Movement in Cyprus

Abstract

This chapter studies Cypriot LGBTIQs’ intersectional politics amidst the sociopolitical environment within which these are articulated, marked by strong nationalistic discourses as well as tensions with European identity and belonging. Specifically, it examines the ways in which local and EU discourses about nationhood, gender and sexuality shape dynamics of intersectionality. It does so by analysing how gender and sexual identities are formed, and by questioning how these formations inform LGBTIQ movement politics in contentious contexts. The chapter employs a qualitative research design and thematically analyses empirical ethnographic data that includes interviews with Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot LGBTIQ participants. It marks intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic dynamics of in-group exclusions. The research argues that these exclusions are reinforced by local notions about “Europe,” expressed through the “Europe/West-versus-the-Rest” dichotomy. Nonetheless, it also finds that the successes of the Cypriot LGBTIQ movement have been based on opportunities afforded by “Europe” and Europeanisation. Therefore, this chapter builds a theoretical and empirical framework for understanding the implications of understandings of nationhood, gender and sexuality on LGBTIQ politics when the “Rest” meets the “West/Europe.”