Lessons from the “Periphery”: Countering anglo-geographic hegemony over geographies of sexuality and gender

Abstract

This article has three aims. First, I discuss the existing inequalities within the systems of knowledge production dominated by “Anglo-American” academia and critically examine the “East-West” binary to show that sexuality and gender/feminist scholars in geography should learn from their deconstructive skills to overcome hegemonies erected by these binaries both in academia and the related geopolitical landscapes. Second, I critically discuss the concept of “Central and Eastern Europe” (CEE) which I do not intend to stabilize, and hold up a mirror to the various hegemonic misunderstandings that take the form of “homogenization”, “dehistoricization”, “isolation” or by ascribing “backwardness”, by which they effectively erase or overlook knowledges and contributions of “non-Anglo-American” scholars often left “beyond translation.” Last, I concentrate on the discussion of the development of geographies of sexualities and gender/feminist thought in CEE geography and illustrate the challenges that scholars from different institutional and national contexts must still face. By this article, I attempt to stand for our/their recognition.