Under Western Eyes

This book 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 Orientalist idea of the "Slavic Femme"―that is the hypersexualized trickster.