Wir sind Conchita, nicht Russland, oder: Homonationalismus auf gut Österreichisch

Abstract

Abstract: This paper analyses the discursive intersection of homosexuality, Russia and Austria’s commitment to European values in the contemporary Austrian media. It focuses on discourses about the so-called “anti-homosexual propaganda law” and homophobic violence in Russia in online and print media (Kurier, Kronen Zeitung, Die Presse, Der Standard, etc.). Moreover, it analyzes reports in LGBT media (Pride, Lambda Nachrichten, XTRA) and the solidarity campaign To Russia with Love Austria. The article focuses on media publications between the introduction of the “anti-homosexual propaganda law” in June 2013 and the victory of Conchita Wurst at the Eurovision Song Contest in May 2014, since this was the period where most news examples were published on the matter. It discusses how Russian homophobic violence and the victims of such violence are discursively produced in the Austrian media as being in opposition to Austria, which in turn, apears as a progressive, homo-tolerant nation and as a genuine part of the European value system.