Greek Homonationalism: Entanglement of Sexual Politics with Issues of Race and Nationalism in the Case of Lesbian and Gay Movements and Queer Activist Groups in Greece

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Contemporary lesbian, gay and queer rights movements in Europe occupy a vital role in local, national and international politics, mobilising a wide range of diverse sub-groups and interests. In light of transnational migration, investigating who is included and who is excluded within these movements is a critical project. Focusing specifically on the case of Greek lesbian and gay rights movements and the recently emergent queer activist groups, the research goal of HomoPolitics is to address, through the use of innovative qualitative methodologies, the entanglement of sexual politics with issues of race and nationalism. It asks: what narratives, images, symbols and representations do Greek lesbian and gay movements and queer activist groups utilise in order to assert their rights to citizenship and who is left out of the imagined “us” they construct? Approaching the well-established lesbian and gay movements as distinct from the newly formed queer groups, the project adopts an intersectional and interdisciplinary perspective in order to explore unequal power relations and practices of exclusion within the movements and groups themselves. Indeed, this is a timely and urgent undertaking since a large number of immigrants, refugees and asylum-seeking populations have arrived in Greece, some of them making sexuality-based refugee or asylum claims. In this light, by analysing attempts at the integration of gay, lesbian and queer immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers into the Greek society, the project aligns with one of the cross-cutting priorities of H2020−Migration. Additionally, it highlights an issue being expected to impact on Greek society in the coming decades−Migration and demographic dynamics challenging European societies (see Horizon 2020: Work Programme 2018-2020. General Introduction).