Katharina Wiedlack, "Under Western Eyes: Vulnerable Minorities and the Russian State in New Cold War Cultures" (Academic Studies Press, 2025)

About this episode

The episode discusses the portrayal of vulnerable minorities in Russian media amidst the New Cold War, focusing on LGBTIQ+ issues and gender representations.

Under Western Eyes: Vulnerable Minorities and the Russian State in New Cold War Cultures (Academic Studies Press, 2025) examines the New Cold War between Anglophone Western and Russian media, focusing on its coverage of LGBTIQ+ topics and representations of Russian femininity, masculinity, racial and gender diversity, and disability. It interrogates how the Anglophone media constructs images of vulnerable bodies and groups in Russia, juxtaposing them with the vengeful state and the powerful figure of Putin. These media discourses delineate and unify liberal values as American and Western and contrast them with "backward" Russian values. Paradoxically, in its endeavor to accentuate American dominance and its role in global affairs, various news outlets and entertainment media amplify homophobic, heteronormative, and racist narratives stemming from Russian sources and lend support to Putin's self-portrayal as a formidable opponent to the West. While the West expresses outrage at Putin’s criminalization of LGBTIQ+ activity, it draws on homophobic language to mock his shirtless horse-riding and “bromance” with Trump; the West condemns Russia's oppression of women, yet peddles the…

People in this episode

Guest: Katharina Wiedlack

Topics covered

• New Cold War
• LGBTIQ+ topics
• media representation
• Russian state
• gender diversity
• racial diversity
• disability

Keywords

• New Cold War
• LGBTIQ+
• Russian state
• media discourse
• gender
• race
• disability
• Putin
• Trump

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Academic Studies Press

Books & works: Under Western Eyes: Vulnerable Minorities and the Russian State in New Cold War Cultures

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