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Gender Based Social Movements and Lgbt Movements in Post-Soviet Russia

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Gender Based Social Movements and Lgbt Movements in Post-Soviet Russia GENDER BASED SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND LGBT MOVEMENTS IN POST-SOVIET RUSSIA A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY ECEM SECKIN IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF EURASIAN STUDIES SEPTEMBER 2015 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Meliha Altunışık Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pınar Akçalı Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science. _______________________ Assist. Prof. Dr. Işık Kuşçu Bonnenfant Supervisor Examining Committee Members Assoc. Prof. Dr. Havva Kök Arslan (Hacettepe, IR) Assist. Prof. Dr. Işık Kuşçu Bonnenfant (METU, IR) Assist. Prof. Dr. Tuba Ünlü Bilgiç (METU, IR) I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name: Ecem Seckin Signature : iii ABSTRACT GENDER BASED SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND LGBT MOVEMENT IN POST-SOVIET RUSSIA Seckin, Ecem M.Sc., Department of Eurasian Studies Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Işık Kuşçu Bonnenfant September 2015, 194 pages This study examines the emergence and development of gender based social movements and LGBT movements in post-Soviet Russia with the legacy of homophobic and sexist policies of Tsarist and Soviet Russia. From a historical perspective, this thesis aims to analyze how gender related social issues have been perceived by the Russian society and how activists desired changes in the Russian society through social movements. In this thesis, social movements and gender related problems are investigated in a historical context because today’s movements have been affected by gender policies of the Tsarist and Soviet Russia. The main research problem is how Russian activists make gender related social issues visible and raise their concerns in public sphere through framing gender issue, creating their networks and collective identity for new recruitments, as well as producing their own repertoire and using strategies in social movements under repressive gender policies of the Russian Federation. The thesis argues that despite the regimes changes Russia went through and its recent transition to democracy, there is limited space for social movements related to gender issue in contemporary Russia. Despite that gender based social movements and LGBT movements in Russia are proved to be crucial in terms of challenging gender related social problems like discrimination, inequality and violence. Even if it is difficult to be a significant social change in the short turn, these movements are vital for the visibility of gender related social issues and for raising awareness in public about these issues in the long term in post-Soviet Russia. Keyword: Social Movements, Gender, LGBT, Tsarist, Soviet, Russia iv ÖZ SOVYET SONRASI RUSYA’DA CİNSİYET TEMELLİ SOSYAL HAREKETLER VE LGBT HAREKETLERİ Seckin, Ecem Master, Avrasya Çalışmaları Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. Işık Kuşçu Bonnenfant Eylül 2015, 194 sayfa Bu çalışma Çarlık ve Sovyet Rusya’nın homofobik ve cinsiyetçi politikalarının mirası olan Sovyet sonrası Rusya’da cinsiyet temelli sosyal hareketlerin ve LGBT hareketlerinin ortaya çıkışını ve gelişimini incelemektedir. Bu tez, tarihsel bir perspektiften bakıldığında, cinsiyetle ilgili sosyal sorunların Rus toplumu tarafından nasıl algılandığını ve aktivistlerin Rus toplumunda sosyal hareketler ile nasıl bir değişiklik yapmak istediklerini analiz etmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu tezde, sosyal hareketler ve cinsiyetle ilgili problemler tarihsel bağlamda incelenmiştir çünkü bugünkü sosyal hareketler Çarlık ve Sovyet Rusya’nın cinsiyet politikalarından etkilenmişlerdir. Temel araştırma problemi, Rus aktivistlerin cinsiyet sorunlarını belirleyerek, yeni aktivistler için bağlantılar ve kolektif kimlik oluşturarak, aynı zamanda kendi repertuarlarını üretip, stratejilerini kullanarak sosyal hareketlerle nasıl cinsiyet ile ilgili sosyal problemleri görünür hale getirdikleri ve kaygılarını toplumsal alanda, Rusya Federasyonu’nun baskıcı cinsiyet politikalarına rağmen nasıl ifade ettikleridir. Bu tez, Rusya’daki rejim değişiklerine ve son zamanlardaki demokrasiye geçişine rağmen, günümüz Rusya’sında cinsiyet temelli sosyal hareketler için kısıtlı bir alan bulunduğunu savunmaktadır. Ancak, Rusya’daki cinsiyet temelli sosyal hareketler ile LGBT hareketlerinin ayrımcılık, eşitsizlik ve şiddet gibi cinsiyetle ilgili sosyal problemlere meydan okuması açısından önem taşır. Kısa dönemde önemli bir sosyal değişikliğin olması zor olsa da, uzun dönemde bu toplumsal hareketler cinsiyetle ilgili sosyal sorunların görünürlüğü ve toplumun bu sorunlar ile ilgili farkındalığının artması açısından önemlidir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Sosyal Hareketler, Cinsiyet, LGBT, Çarlık, Sovyet, Rusya v To All the People who are Victim of Discrimination and Violence because of Their Gender or Sexual Orientation... vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to my advisor, Assist Prof. Dr. Işık Kuşçu Bonnenfant for her valuable guidance, criticism, insight and encouragement throughout the research. It is also a pleasure to thank all my committee members, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Havva Kök Arslan and Assist. Prof. Dr. Tuba Ünlü Bilgiç for their critical evaluations, comments and suggestions. I owe special thanks to my dearest parents, to my mother Işıl Seçkin and to my father İhsan Seçkin for their encouragement, patience and understanding. I would also thank to my brother Efecan Seçkin, for his moral support and for making me smile. Thanks to their unconditional love, I have overcome all the hard times during my life. I would like to thank to my aunt Yeşim Eraslan for her delicious food. I am also grateful to my grandparents, to my grandmother Zuhal Torun and to my grandfather Lütfü Torun for their blessings and endless love. I am very thankful to for my friends, Oğuz Balaban, Murat Özmen, Doğuşhan Kara, Perihan Öztürk, Gamze Karaca and Eren Düzenli for their valuable friendship and moral support during my study. I would also thank to Emre Gökyer for his love, positive energy and also for his confidence in me. Finally, I am greatly thankful to all people who study in social movements and gender issue. I would like to thank to all brave people who struggle for equal rights and challenge gender related social problems. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM...........................................................................................................iii ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. iv ÖZ ............................................................................................................................... v DEDICATION .......................................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................... vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................ viii LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................. xii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................ xiii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1 2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ................................................................. 5 2.1 Social Movement Theories .................................................................... 5 2.1.1 Mass Society Theory ................................................................... 6 2.1.2 Collective Behavior Theory ......................................................... 6 2.1.3 Relative Deprivation Theory ........................................................ 7 2.1.4 Resource Mobilization Theory ..................................................... 8 2.1.5 Political Opportunity/ Process Theory ......................................... 9 2.1.6 Rational Choice Theory .............................................................. 10 2.1.7 Framing Theory .......................................................................... 10 2.1.8 New Social Movement Theory ................................................... 11 2.2 Stages of Social Movements ............................................................... 14 2.3 Social Movements and Gender Issue .................................................. 15 3. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ................................................................... 18 3.1 Gender Issue in Historical Context ..................................................... 18 3.1.1 Gender Issue in the Tsarist Russia .......................................... 18 3.1.1.1 Positioning of Gender .................................................. 18 3.1.1.2 Gender Perception in the Society ................................ 21 viii 3.1.1.3 Gender Roles Attributed to Woman and Man ............ 23 3.1.2 Gender Issue in the Soviet Russia ..........................................
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