Homophobic Discourses and Their Soviet History in Estonia

Abstract

In this article I discuss the links between homophobic discourses and the history of non-normative sex-gender subjects in Soviet Estonia. How was homosexuality seen and handled publicly during the Soviet period? What was the relationship between official discourse and non-normative sex-gender subjects? By working through a selection of archival materials on criminal investigations under the Pederasty Article of the Soviet Estonian Criminal Code and analysing the period’s sexual health discourse I outline an official discourse about non-normative sex-gender subjects in Soviet Estonia. I also analyse the manifestations of this official discourse in historical sources. In addition to the official discourse, the archival and ethnographic sources allow me to trace some of the experiences that differed and dissented from the repressive ideologies set by legal, medical, and social regulations.