Lion of Love
Representations of Russian Homosexuality and Homophobia in Netflix's Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
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Abstract
Alexander Lemtov, the Russian antagonist of Netflix's 2020 musical comedy Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, embodies and dramatizes contentions over Russian homophobia, disavowals of homosexuality in Russian entertainment, and the construction of LGBTQ+ equality as a defining value of ‘European’ space which have surrounded the real-life Eurovision Song Contest since the mid-2000s. An assertively-heterosexual sex symbol in public, Lemtov in private exemplifies the trope of the closeted gay entertainer whose performances of machismo allow him to hide his admiration for the male body in plain sight. His depiction could potentially open space for exploring how other queer male Russian entertainers have historically negotiated homophobia but is constrained within a liberal sexual geopolitics that demands further recontextualization following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Contributor Notes
Catherine Baker is reader in twentieth-century history, University of Hull. Her research interests include the construction of narratives of national/European identity in popular culture, the cultural politics of masculinity, and dynamics of racialization in south-east Europe. Her books include Sounds of the Borderland: Popular Music, War and Nationalism in Croatia since 1991 (2010), Race and the Yugoslav Region: Postsocialist, Post-Conflict, Postcolonial? (2018), and the edited volume Gender in 20th Century Eastern Europe and the USSR (2017). Her articles on performances of national, European, and sexual identities through Eurovision have appeared in Popular Communication, European Journal of International Relations, and elsewhere. Email: catherine.baker@hull.ac.uk | ORCID: