Between pride and shame. Media narratives on "Belgrade Pride Parade" in contemporary Serbia

Ivan, Đorđević

Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU

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http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/Article.aspx?ID=0350-08611502351D

2015-2020/03/24/13:59:37

This paper discusses the position of the key social and political actors in contemporary Serbia, referring to the broadly accepted concept defined as “European values”. The article focuses on the so-called “Belgrade Pride Parade”, a highly contested event in the Serbian public, which is at the same time considered as the essential part of the EU accession process. Through the analysis of the media discourses related to the “Pride” events in 2010 and 2014, the paper shows the complex relation between the officially proclaimed politics of “European integration” and still very strong nationalist discourses, inherited from the 1990s. The aim of the article is to analyse the present hegemonic struggles between the political forces defending “traditional”, conservative values and the political agents that promote “dangerous”, liberal “European” ideas, such as protecting the rights of sexual minorities. The comparative analysis of the media representation of two events in 2010 and 2014 shows the changes in the public narrative. I argue that the violent clashes that occurred in 2010 Belgrade Pride Parade between the police and the members of right wing organisations were mostly the result of the lack of the political will among the Serbian elites, followed by ambivalent media representations, promoting at the same time the necessity of accepting “European values” and justification of violence. On the other hand, the absence of violent events in 2014 shows the will of the state apparatus to secure the “Pride”. However, the media reports on the event, as well as the public statements made by Serbian officials, still remain ambivalent towards the very nature of the “Pride”, justifying it only by the pressure made by the EU and the protection of constitutional rights. Moreover, the presence of new narratives in the media, discussing the high price of organizing such event, shows the shift in the public discourse from common nationalist arguments to the new, neoliberal rhetoric. This change doesn’t indicate the radical shift of the social climate in Serbia from conservative to liberal, but, more likely, establishes Serbia as just one of the many states on the European periphery, operating within wider framework of neoliberal agendas. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177026: Kulturno nasleđe i identitet]

European integration, Belgrade Pride Parade, football fans, LGBT rights, right-wing politics