Analysis: Nationalism and Sexuality in Modern Armenian Discourse

Good analysis by Marine Margaryan of PINK Armenia and Tamar Shirinian, PhD candidate in cultural anthropology. Few quotes below. For article in full: read Hetq Online (Armenian, English)

[re: DIY firebombing and attack on Diversity march] “If we comprehensively analyze this situation and the details of the events of the past year and the concrete incidents that took place, it becomes clear that the root of the problem is not nationalist organizations or their work in opposition toward LGBT people. Rather, we can consider these organizations as tools - mechanisms of a larger chain which are directed towards the public to strengthen the discourse of the authorities. Furthermore, LGBT issues have never been in this kind of agenda within our public before, and this is the result of the problem’s artificial escalation. The manipulation of LGBT issues through nationalist forces acts as one of a few mechanisms, through which authorities mobilize public, which is then naturally used to establish and secure power.”

“When public attention is focused on LGBT issues, authorities can guarantee that it will be able to distract away from dangerous topics and take social discourse toward their desired directions. It must be noted that this technique used by the state is not a new one. The target group being used can change.”

“Here we can cite Kagarlitsky (2006) who argues that fascism as an ideology comes about at a time when it is possible to create an illusion for the masses that they can solve poor social conditions by subjecting themselves to nationalist prejudice.”

[re: cancelling Parada film screening] “The discussion around LGBT issues in this manner creates a problem not only for human rights defenders, activists and anybody who advocates for LGBT peoples’ rights but also for international organizations who cannot even find a space to show a film. This should indicate to all of the various institutions that provide support to Armenia, financial and otherwise, for promoting democracy and human rights reforms to properly monitor the state’s actions, otherwise the work done by international organizations can be considered inconsistent and ineffective.”

Study: Homophobia is associated with... homosexual arousal

What we all knew based on anecdotal evidence - that the most homophobic people could be in fact ‘repressed’ homosexuals - has its scientific proof. With all its limitations, this study from mid-90s published by the American Psychological Association provides conclusions that all homophobes out there will - without doubts - be ‘thrilled’ to know.

Is Homophobia Associated With Homosexual Arousal?

(access to full research paper)

The authors investigated the role of homosexual arousal in exclusively heterosexual men who admitted negative affect toward homosexual individuals. Participants consisted of a group of homophobic men (n = 35) and a group of nonhomophobic men (n = 29); they were assigned to groups on the basis of their scores on the Index of Homophobia (W. W. Hudson & W. A. Ricketts, 1980).

The men were exposed to sexually explicit erotic stimuli consisting of heterosexual, male homosexual, and lesbian videotapes, and changes in penile circumference were monitored. They also completed an Aggression Questionnaire (A. H. Buss & M. Perry, 1992). Both groups exhibited increases in penile circumference to the heterosexual and female homosexual videos. Only the homophobic men showed an increase in penile erection to male homosexual stimuli. The groups did not differ in aggression. Homophobia is apparently associated with homosexual arousal that the homophobic individual is either unaware of or denies.

Study: "Sexy intelligence"

The Economist: There are few better ways of upsetting a certain sort of politically correct person than to suggest that intelligence (or, rather, the variation in intelligence between individuals) is under genetic control. That, however, is one implication of a paper about to be published in Intelligence by Rosalind Arden of King’s College, London, and her colleagues. Another is that brainy people are intrinsically healthier than those less intellectually endowed. And the third, a consequence of the second, is that intelligence is sexy. The most surprising thing of all, though, is that these results have emerged from an unrelated study of the quality of men’s sperm. More...

*Illustration - by Peter Schrank /The Economist

Gay Armenians in Diaspora: still a taboo

For anyone who wants to get some inside on how it is to be gay Armenian in LA, a home to the one of the largest Armenian communities in Diaspora, I would recommend reading this brief paper by Ani Garibyan (2005), which was prepared as part of her student term project at UCLA.

It is not an in-depth study but rather descriptive one, involving several interviews with LGBT people, members of community and church. However, it’s well written and gives general picture of and some of the challenges faced by Armenian LGBT people in fighting prejudice and discrimination in their local communities, in this case Southern California (US).

It’s not a secret that Armenian society (inside and outside Armenia) is feeling pretty uncomfortable and at times hostile towards the fact that there are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people among us. One of the reactions when they are confronted with the reality is homophobia, another possibility is confusion, minority would be pretty accepting and welcoming. But one of the commonest reactions is… silence.

Very convenient attitude, isn’t it? We frequently think that if we ignore an issue around us, if we ignore existence of something or someone which does not fit into the ‘picture’, we would end up with that ‘picture’, as if it is for real. It may be very convenient but what we would end up with actually, as we do in many other cases too, is mixing the real reality with the reality which suites us.

As Ani Garibyan writes in her brief student paper, which, by the way, one of the rarest works on the state of LGBT Armenians in Diaspora, when confronted with the fact that there are gay and lesbian Armenians in Southern California… you guessed it right: “The community does not speak about it.” So Ani decided to explore the subject further, to see what are the obstacles on the way of acceptance and tolerance towards LGBT people within the Armenian community in California.

There are hundreds of openly gay Armenians in California, there are much more who hide their sexual identity and remain ‘in closet’ because of intolerance. “They are mostly well educated, successful and well rounded people,” as the author notes. One of the main reasons of intolerance towards them is coming from Armenian churches which have strong influence especially in local communities in Diaspora.

Reference:

Ani Garibyan, “The Unspoken Words: Gay, Lesbian,” Term project for History 111C, UCLA, 2005. <http://webpages.charter.net/georgebbruin/projects>, accessed [24 January 2008].

Other useful related links:

GALAS - Gay and Lesbian Armenian Society of LA, established in 1998, the biggest and the oldest Armenian LGBT organisation in Diaspora.

Club Nur – gay Middle Eastern Nights in LA, Armenian friendly.