The New Battle: Queercore vs Homonationalism

by Raz Ion

Unsettling parallels with past eras of repression are beginning to emerge. Fifty years after Stonewall, the so-called gay-panic defence seems absurd. Yet, for decades, it held the power of law, serving as a stark reminder of what could return. Alarmingly, in some countries, the gay-panic defence or trans-panic defense is still invoked in legal cases involving violent aggression against LGBT victims. 

In the face of these challenges, the resurgence of the practical homonationalism, a New Queercore movement feels more urgent than ever. What began as an attempt to write an op-ed has evolved into something closer to a manifesto—one that critiques ‘our’ own organisations for allowing the rise of threats against our people. They have the eyes on the money not on the ‘ball’. They’ve traded purpose for profit, leaving the real battle unguarded.

Illustration by GAY45

Illustration by GAY45

Europe is increasingly dominated by far-right politics, with approximately 80% of its governments leaning toward nationalist, exclusionary ideologies. In the United States, the Trump era’s divisive policies loom large as echoes of its rhetoric resurface. Meanwhile, in Africa and the Middle East, progress on LGBT rights remains stagnant or even regressive, with queerness still a matter of survival in many regions.

Queer journalism, once a reputable force for representation and activism, has been dealt blow after blow in this hostile climate. Publications that once thrived are now struggling to endure, leaving the community with dwindling platforms for expression and advocacy.

Queer Gen Z found itself overwhelmed by the cacophony of noise around them, focusing on changing pronouns and redesigning flags, transforming Pride from a protest into little more than a dance parade. Meanwhile, homonationalism — in a more adapted practical term — and corporate fascism quietly flourished, largely unchallenged.

We live in a time of relentless assaults on the queer community—attacks that come not just from overt opponents but also from within the walls of our own organizations. While the broader fight for equality intensifies, it is becoming painfully clear that some of the institutions meant to protect and uplift us have strayed from their mission. Their eyes, once firmly fixed on the liberation of our people, now seem more focused on fundraising galas and corporate sponsorships.

Meanwhile, all major social media platforms announced last weeks that they will cease fact-checking on their platforms, raising further concerns about the spread of misinformation and the accountability of influential organisations.

Companies that promoted themselves as champions of equality, such as Meta, Amazon, McDonald’s, Walmart, Ford, Lowe’s, Harley-Davidson, Brown-Forman, John Deere, and many more, have eliminated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within their organisations and fired the leaders of the respective departments not only in the USA, but globally. LGBT was good when we made a profit for them. Now, they’ve dropped us like something disgusting and unwanted. It’s like they just need a small incentive. The only company that stood up for queer people was Apple, even Tim Cook, the openly gay CEO, was present at Trump’s inauguration.

This trend can be analysed through the lens of homonationalism, the concept introduced by scholar Jasbir Puar in her 2007 book Terrorist Assemblages: Homonationalism in Queer Times.

Taking the progress towards marriage equality as an example, marriage has been considered the pinnacle of gay and lesbian participation in civic life, providing equality with straight citizens. However, it also upholds an institution that entrenches Western sexual and family norms as supreme and exceptional compared to those of other cultures. Moreover, marriage reinforces the nation-state as the supreme arbiter of sexuality, sometimes granting those inside the institution rights to remain or citizenship, while others outside of it can face deportation.

This alignment of LGBT rights with nationalist agendas can lead to the exclusion of more radical or intersectional forms of activism, as mainstream organisations may prioritise issues that align with state interests. Consequently, the focus on marriage equality and similar causes can overshadow other pressing concerns within the LGBT community, such as racial and economic justice or trans-rights. 

While advancements like marriage equality represent significant progress, they can also reflect a homonationalist trend where LGBT rights are co-opted to support nationalist ideologies, potentially sidelining more comprehensive and inclusive forms of activism.

Far-right policies pose unique and severe threats to LGBT immigrants, who often face compounded vulnerabilities due to their sexual orientation, gender identity, and immigration status. For many, returning to their home countries—mandated by far-right governments—could lead to imprisonment or even death. Far-right anti-immigrant ideologies creates a perilous environment for queer immigrants.

Far-right movements increasingly co-opt segments of the LGBT community through homonationalism, presenting themselves as defenders of LGBT people against perceived external threats, such as immigration. This divisive strategy fosters racism and xenophobia within queer spaces, weakening solidarity and undermining the broader movement for equality.

Many LGBT individuals who support far-right partiesand not in a small proportion as we reported before – cite Islamophobia and racism as primary motivations for their political alignment. This revision reflects findings from academic studies, such as the one published in The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, which discusses how far-right groups attempt to appeal to the LGBT community by emphasising anti-Islamic sentiments. 

A Brief Analyse From Austria to Vietnam: The Global State of Queerness

In Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary, queerness is often supplanted by a bourgeois LGBT culture that thrives within heteronormative frameworks. 

Alarmingly, 26% of LGBT voters in Austria supported far-right parties like the FPÖ, a party founded by former SS officers. 

Germany’s AfD, led by Alice Weidel, an openly lesbian politician married to a Sri Lankan woman, highlights the paradox of LGBT individuals endorsing parties with exclusionary, nationalist agendas. 

Serbia’s former Prime Minister and now President of the Parliament, Ana Brnabić, an open lesbian, imposed restrictions on IVF for queer couples while banning EuroPride in Belgrade, underscoring a broader shift towards conservative policies within queer leadership. 

In France, Mila Orriols, a rising lesbian politician, has aligned herself with far-right ideologies, joining the ranks of lesbian supporters of Marine Le Pen. She is backed by Julien Odoul, a member of the shadow cabinet, who notably appeared almost nude on the cover of the gay magazine Têtu in 2014.

Conversely, countries like Vietnam or Cuba present a striking contrast. 

Vietnam, despite being a one-party communist state with a single political party and one official newspaper, has embraced queer visibility through government-sanctioned Pride events and drag shows. More than that, same-sex cohabitation and wedding ceremonies have been permitted since 2013, transgender individuals enjoy some legal protections, conversion therapy is prohibited by law, and the Health Ministry has officially instructed medical professionals to respect individuals’ gender and sexual orientation. There is still much to be achieved, but in this so-called ‘non-democracy,’ there are more rights for queer people than the USA has ever had.

Cuba, also a one-party communist state, has made notable advancements in LGBT rights. Same-sex marriage has been legal since September 2022, same-sex couples now have the right to adopt children. Assisted reproductive technology and surrogacy are now accessible to same-sex couples. Employment discrimination based on sexual orientation is now illegal, and housing discrimination against LGBT individuals has similarly been banned. Again, more rights than the USA. There is still progress to be made for sure.

In the UK and Canada, the birthplaces of punk and queercore, this movement remains vibrant, showing minimal signs of homonationalism.

It is worth mentioning here—though we did not intend to provide a comprehensive review—that Taiwan stands out. As the most progressive country in Asia, Taiwan is also renowned for President Tsai Ing-wen’s public congratulations to Taiwanese-American drag queen Nymphia Wind for winning RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, however, face unique challenges where queer survival is often a matter of life and death, making ideological debates secondary to daily struggles against violence and systemic oppression.

In USA, well, we know what is happening at the dawn of Trump era.

The Legacy of Resistance

Far-right regimes often view LGBT activism as a form of dissent. In Russia, the queer movement was classified as terrorist-organised crime.

Even when ‘our’ organisations wanted to trade us as merchandise, we still have the power to come back.

Today, a new iteration of Queercore–New Queercore–offer the resistance needed to combat homonationalism and the creeping normalisation of far-right ideologies within queer spaces. Through quality journalism, zines, punk collectives, alternative media, and grassroots activism, this movement could reignite the critical, countercultural spirit that defined its origins.

Queercore rejected the idea of assimilation into mainstream society, and even more so, the mainstream gay community. It stood in opposition to the “bourgeoisification” of the gay movement, challenging the belief that queer people should aspire to be respectable or indistinguishable from their straight counterparts.

Originally born in the 1980s as a radical offshoot of punk, Queercore (first named Homocore) rejected the assimilationist tendencies of mainstream gay culture and championed a defiant, unapologetic queer identity. It celebrated creativity, rebellion, and a staunch refusal to conform.

The queer punk movement, Queercore, is making a resounding return to counter the rise of homonationalism and the troubling alignment of LGBT identities with far-right, nationalist ideologies. Once the avant-garde of radical queer resistance, queercore is again challenging the growing conformity in LGBT communities, marked by aspirations for middle-class respectability, suburban ideals, and assimilation into heteronormative structures.

Queer filmmaker and cultural icon G.B. Jones encapsulated the spirit of queercore, saying, ‘Occupying a position outside the laws of your country gives you a critical faculty to examine society. You navigate a hostile landscape, and nothing is taken for granted.’

New Queercore’s roots lie in resistance against both heteronormative oppression and the assimilationist tendencies of mainstream LGBT culture. This ethos rejects assimilation, embracing a countercultural identity that celebrates nonconformity, creativity, and rebellion, all of which contribute to progress. 

Towards a Queer Renaissance

Today, queercore is revitalising its mission as a cultural and political force. Through zines, independent films, and punk collectives, the movement challenges the ‘gay orthodoxy’ that prioritises respectability over rebellion. 

In a world where far-right ideologies increasingly appeal to disillusioned queer voters, queercore stands as a reminder of queerness’s inherently radical and transformative potential.

In 1996, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who died last week, a French Parliament member and  controversial far-right politician, founder of the National Front (now National Rally) and father of Marie Le Pen, while addressing a hostile crowd, shouted at a demonstrator, saying, ‘I’ll make you run away, you red-haired faggot!’. Immediately, a big demonstration and protests were organised mostly by ActUp and the punk homocore movement.

In 2024, our micro-society exhibits a significant prevalence of Islamophobia, racism, and the daily reinforcement of heteronormative behaviours. President Donald Trump has delineated between ‘good gays’ and ‘bad gays’, contributing to increased segregation within our micro-society.

As the world teeters on the brink of regression, New Queercore is not merely a cultural revival, not just a call to action—it is a lifeline for those who refuse to let queerness be silenced or subsumed by conformity and hate far-right politics. 

Now, more than ever, we need the raw, unfiltered energy of a New Queercore to disrupt the status quo and remind the world that queerness is resistance, resilience, and revolution.

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Author

  • Răzvan Ion (Raz Ion) is the founder of GAY45 and a university professor of curatorial studies, artificial intelligence theory, journalism, and critical thinking in Vienna. He is frequently invited to lecture internationally on the roles of AI and critical thinking as tools within journalism, art, and queer theory. He was an associate professor and lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley; Lisbon University; Central University of New York; University of London; Sofia University; University of Kyiv; University of Bucharest, etc. where he taught Curatorial Studies and Critical Thinking. He has held conferences and lectures at different art institutions like Witte de With, Rotterdam; Kunsthalle Vienna; Art in General, New York; Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon; Casa Encedida, Madrid, etc. Recently he curated the exhibition „Wie wir Dinge betrachten“ on the occasion of the Austrian EU Presidency. He wrote for several media outlets like The New York Times, The Look, De Volkskrant, The Guardian, Bay Area Reporter, a.o.

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