From hostile political rhetoric to unsolicited d*ck pics: Researching LGBTQI+ populations across Europe with the backdrop of culture wars

While some scholarly attention has been already dedicated to the experiences of LGBTQI+ scholars or the epistemic positionality of queer studies within academia, very little attention has been paid to scholars who have been more recently caught up within the „culture wars“ (Hesová 2021) of their country of stay. Stemming from 49 self-reporting questionnaires with scholars studying LGBTQI+ issues and populations, this study aims to look at the recent attacks on academic freedoms and anti-gender mobilisations across Europe (Krizsan and Roggeband 2021) via personal accounts of these scholars. While the accounts show similar experiences with anti-gender mobilisations against scholars or academic institutions across Europe (as also discussed by Patternote and Verloo 2020), experiences with harassment from the general public are a more recent trend. These are usually the direct result of the medialisation of one’s research work, regardless of whether this publicization happens in a positive manner or negative one from right wing, conservative or outright conspiracy media. This creates a dilemma for scholars on how to interact with media and how to respond to such heterosexist and oftentimes populist rhetoric. Hesová, Z. (2021). Three types of culture wars and the populist strategies in central Europe. Politologický časopis-Czech Journal of Political Science, 28(2), 130-150. Krizsán, A., & Roggeband, C. (2021). Politicizing gender and democracy in the context of the Istanbul Convention. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Paternotte, D. and Verloo, M. (2020). Political science at risk in Europe, in B. Engeli and G. Illustrated (eds.) Political Science in Europe: Achievements, Challenges, Prospects, London, UK: ECPR Press, pp. 287–309.