Identity Politics and the (B)orders of Heterosexism: Lesbians, Gays and Feminists in the Czech Media after 1989
Abstract
In the Czech Republic so far there is no organic interconnection and cooperation between gays, lesbians and feminists. Czech feminist activists and scholars active in so-called "gender debates" rarely appear in discussions, which concern rights of lesbians and gays (for example the Registered Partnership, Antidiscrimination Law, fight against homophobia and others) even though such themes are inextricably linked.
In both the academic discourse and media presentation there exists an abyss between the themes of "women and gender" and "homosexuality and homophobia". These topics are understood and presented separately, not as one mutually intertwined problem of heterosexism in Czech society.
Both sides have a tendency to promote their "own" interests through a narrow definition of their own identity as "gays and lesbians", and feminists respectively. The reason for this separation and inability to communicate, as the author shows, is connected to the ways, in which Czech media represented debates about h