(Dis-)Identifying with Capitalism?: Sexual Dissent in 1990s-Early 2000s Ukraine

• In Event: Queer Ukraine: Culture, Literature, Legislation

Abstract

The presentation will focus on the emergence of the ‘Orchid’ theatre of provocative fashion in Luhan’sk. I argue that this example of artistic sexual/gender dissent provides us with an important insight into the nonnormative social formations of the 1990s Ukraine. Placing ‘Orchid’ in dialogue with the self-published materials of the time, I trace the development of the ‘LGBT activism’ in Ukraine and its attitude to capitalist sexual and gender practices. I argue that employing the Jose Esteban Munoz’s concept of dis-identification helps us to understand better not only the creative practices, but also the survival practices of nonnormative people in Ukraine under conditions of global capitalism.

Author

• Olena Dmytryk, Independent Scholar