Security, sexuality, and the Gay Clown Putin meme: Queer theory and international responses to Russian political homophobia

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

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Security, sexuality, and the Gay Clown Putin meme : Queer theory and international responses to Russian political homophobia. / Cooper-Cunningham, Dean.

In: Security Dialogue, Vol. 53, No. 4, 08.2022, p. 302-323.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Harvard

Cooper-Cunningham, D 2022, 'Security, sexuality, and the Gay Clown Putin meme: Queer theory and international responses to Russian political homophobia', Security Dialogue, vol. 53, no. 4, pp. 302-323. https://doi.org/10.1177/09670106211055308

APA

Cooper-Cunningham, D. (2022). Security, sexuality, and the Gay Clown Putin meme: Queer theory and international responses to Russian political homophobia. Security Dialogue, 53(4), 302-323. https://doi.org/10.1177/09670106211055308

Vancouver

Cooper-Cunningham D. Security, sexuality, and the Gay Clown Putin meme: Queer theory and international responses to Russian political homophobia. Security Dialogue. 2022 Aug;53(4):302-323. https://doi.org/10.1177/09670106211055308

Author

Cooper-Cunningham, Dean. / Security, sexuality, and the Gay Clown Putin meme : Queer theory and international responses to Russian political homophobia. In: Security Dialogue. 2022 ; Vol. 53, No. 4. pp. 302-323.

Bibtex

@article{84020d2047594171a2d0463287598e3a,
title = "Security, sexuality, and the Gay Clown Putin meme: Queer theory and international responses to Russian political homophobia",
abstract = "Focusing on the case of {\textquoteleft}Gay Clown Putin{\textquoteright}, this article theorizes memes as visual interventions in international politics. While not all memes are political interventions, Gay Clown Putin is an iconic meme that is part of the international response to Russian state-directed political homophobia that emerged after the gay propaganda law was passed in 2013. How it has circulated and the attention it has received make it apt for exploring memes as visual political interventions that challenge national security discourses. Here, I provide three readings of Gay Clown Putin that suggest different possibilities for how the meme might work politically. In so doing, I deepen international relations{\textquoteright} engagement with queer theory by bringing in the politics of play that works through a queer epistemology that embraces deviance. Bringing memes to the study of international security, I show how the collection of images making up the Gay Clown Putin meme provides space for understanding the visual politics of security.",
keywords = "Critical security studies, memes, queer, sexuality, visual politics, Critical security studies, memes, queer, sexuality, visual politics",
author = "Dean Cooper-Cunningham",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2022.",
year = "2022",
month = aug,
doi = "10.1177/09670106211055308",
language = "English",
volume = "53",
pages = "302--323",
journal = "Security Dialogue",
issn = "0967-0106",
publisher = "SAGE Publications",
number = "4",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Security, sexuality, and the Gay Clown Putin meme

T2 - Queer theory and international responses to Russian political homophobia

AU - Cooper-Cunningham, Dean

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2022.

PY - 2022/8

Y1 - 2022/8

N2 - Focusing on the case of ‘Gay Clown Putin’, this article theorizes memes as visual interventions in international politics. While not all memes are political interventions, Gay Clown Putin is an iconic meme that is part of the international response to Russian state-directed political homophobia that emerged after the gay propaganda law was passed in 2013. How it has circulated and the attention it has received make it apt for exploring memes as visual political interventions that challenge national security discourses. Here, I provide three readings of Gay Clown Putin that suggest different possibilities for how the meme might work politically. In so doing, I deepen international relations’ engagement with queer theory by bringing in the politics of play that works through a queer epistemology that embraces deviance. Bringing memes to the study of international security, I show how the collection of images making up the Gay Clown Putin meme provides space for understanding the visual politics of security.

AB - Focusing on the case of ‘Gay Clown Putin’, this article theorizes memes as visual interventions in international politics. While not all memes are political interventions, Gay Clown Putin is an iconic meme that is part of the international response to Russian state-directed political homophobia that emerged after the gay propaganda law was passed in 2013. How it has circulated and the attention it has received make it apt for exploring memes as visual political interventions that challenge national security discourses. Here, I provide three readings of Gay Clown Putin that suggest different possibilities for how the meme might work politically. In so doing, I deepen international relations’ engagement with queer theory by bringing in the politics of play that works through a queer epistemology that embraces deviance. Bringing memes to the study of international security, I show how the collection of images making up the Gay Clown Putin meme provides space for understanding the visual politics of security.

KW - Critical security studies

KW - memes

KW - queer

KW - sexuality

KW - visual politics

KW - Critical security studies

KW - memes

KW - queer

KW - sexuality

KW - visual politics

U2 - 10.1177/09670106211055308

DO - 10.1177/09670106211055308

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85127966673

VL - 53

SP - 302

EP - 323

JO - Security Dialogue

JF - Security Dialogue

SN - 0967-0106

IS - 4

ER -

ID: 347108623