"This Is a Union of Values": The Rise of the LGBTI Rights Norm as Part of the EU's Identity Construction. (27th August 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Eigenmann, Laura
• Is Part Of: Social politics. Volume 29:Number 1(2022)
• Page Start: 95
• Page End: 117
• Publication Date: 2021-08-27
• Subjects: Women -- Government policy -- Periodicals; Social policy -- Periodicals; Sex role -- Periodicals; 305.3
• DOI: 10.1093/sp/jxab028
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1072-4745

Abstract

Abstract: Since the early 1990s, the EU has increasingly institutionalized lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) rights and more recently started to use them as a symbol for its modern and progressive identity. This article investigates this development, focusing on EU actors and institutions. Combining a genealogical analysis with the analysis of current discursive struggles around LGBTI rights within EU institutions, it shows that the rise of LGBTI rights is closely intertwined with the search for a common European identity, shared values, and attempts to strengthen solidarity in times when right-wing, nationalist, and Eurosceptic movements are increasingly challenging the EU's legitimacy.