Being a Lesbian Woman in Yugoslavia

Lesbian Activists
Lesbians--Identity
Yugoslavia
Sex discrimination against women

This is an interview with Jelena Topalović* about being a queer woman in Yugoslavia during the Yugoslav Wars. She discusses nationalism of the Serbian government, women’s rights, and social attitudes toward homosexuality. Topalović discusses the role of women in Serbian society- that of the mother and the nurturer, and how being a lesbian places people outside that paradigm. She also discusses the government campaign to ban abortion, explaining that this makes lesbian women 'useless' members of society because they do not fit into a nationalistic image that a woman's purpose is to bear children to increase the Serbian population. While she notes there were no specific bans in place against lesbians, the government could still make life very difficult for them. She then discusses Arkadia, Serbia’s first Lesbian Lobby, in which she provides a space for women to gather and discuss issues that affect them, and how to fight misconceptions about lesbianism propagated by the government, and social stigmas against lesbians and single women.

*Name changed for privacy

Linda Chapman [Executive Producer]
Mary Patierno [Executive Producer]
Ana Maria Simo [Executive Producer]

Copyright Dyke TV: Linda Chapman, Mary Patierno, Ana Maria Simo. Tapes and digital files held by the Lesbian Herstory Archives. Tapes reproduced with permission from the copyright holders.

Video Recording

en-US

054-04_yugoslav-interview_a_c.mp4

Balkan Peninsula