title: "Telling our stories": Print media interpretations of Moscow lesbians' life stories in 2004 and 2005.
abstract: This article analyzes print media interviews of Moscow lesbians in Moskovsky Komsomolets in 2004 and 2005 using qualitative content analysis. The qualitative content analysis shows recurring and consistent themes: (1) the stereotypes lesbians face; (2) public negativity toward same-sex relations and the impact on their families; (3) the expectations of heterosexuality and all that that entails; (4) the existence of lesbian-only spaces in Russia and the importance of those spaces; and (5) the complexities of navigating motherhood, previous heterosexual relationships, and current partnerships. Analysis of print media representations of female same-sex sexuality in a period of economic prosperity, popular culture visibility, and before restrictive laws were passed that suppress homosexuality adds to the previous literature on lesbianism in Russia.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Political Science , Loyola University New Orleans , New Orleans , Louisiana , USA.
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bingham
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D049674:History, 21st Century; D018452:Homosexuality, Female / Q000266:history; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008402:Mass Media; D009031:Moscow
keywords: Russia; female homosexuality; lesbian families; print media; state socialism