gisw13_chapters

gradually become the primary field for socialengagement, participation, and intellectual and politicaldebate, with developments in real-life spacesand institutions appearing often as mere reflectionsof what is happening in this virtual “world”. At thesame time, processes, dynamics and tensions inthe outside world have often been aggregated andextended in the social media space. Unpredictableand volatile, net-based activism came in to complementactual real-life social movements, increasinglystanding in as a substitute for them where they hadbeen absent.Defending the rights of minoritiesInfluenced by different stereotypes and prejudices,few Bulgarians are prepared to defend therights of minorities, including LGBT minorities.“Bulgarian democracy is not yet in that stage thatthe majority cares about the minority; the minorityhas to justify the lack of equal rights,” said MonikaPisankaneva, 7 an LGBT rights activist and founderof Bilitis Resource Centre Foundation. In her view,Bulgaria’s government has achieved the minimumstandard, for example, with the Anti-DiscriminationAct, through which it has complied with EU accessionrequirements. But few further steps have beenmade since 2007 when Bulgaria joined the EU.Bulgarian societal attitudes toward homosexual,bisexual or transsexual people can still be categorisedas negative. According to a 2012 report byAmnesty International, 8 unjustified violence againstthese groups persists, with a lack of concern shownby state institutions.There were minor improvements over the pasttwo years, mostly due to increased access to theinternet, which has made it possible for peopleto organise protests on the streets. Through thenew channels of communication, various civil societymovements have arrived at a common ground,and formulated common demands, such as transparencyof institutions and civic oversight of theiroperations. However, interestingly, this cohesionwas not sustained. Referring to the recent protestsin Bulgaria’s major cities, Tatyana Kmetova, 9 executivedirector of the Centre of Women’s Studies andPolicies (CWSP) Foundation explains: “The February2013 protests were organised through socialmedia. When people communicated in forums or7 Monika Pisankaneva, personal interview, 17 April 2013.8 Amnesty International (2012) Changing laws, changing minds:Challenging homophobic and transphobic hate crimes in Bulgaria.www.ilga-europe.org/home/guide_europe/country_by_country/bulgaria/changing_laws_changing_minds_challenging_homophobic_and_transphobic_hate_crimes_in_bulgaria9 Tatyana Kmetova, personal interview, 19 April 2013.social media there was a high level of agreementbetween them. However, when they went onto thestreet, they couldn’t articulate a common message.They immediately divided and started to fight. Theystarted fighting in conventional media against eachother.”The primary discussion within the LGBT communityemerged over the possibility of modifying theconstitution. “If there is going to be a revision of theconstitution, of course the LGBT movement will demandthat it be changed on the topic of marriage,”Pisankaneva explains. However, advocating openlyabout LGBT rights has been difficult. Stana Iliev, 10 aGerman activist in Sofia, confirms that “nobody wasasking for social change in the sense of, we have torespect minorities, be more aware of gender.” Iliev,a Red Cross social worker, has also seen a changeinside Bulgarian society in her five-year stay in thecapital city: “For sure, civil movements increasedtremendously and social media have a big role inthis.” Some of the LGBT activists participate in theprotests, but do not represent their struggle, andeven hide their homosexual identity, Pisankanevaadds.Fear of rejection, aggressiveness, prejudicesand hate are some of the reasons that stopped theLGBT collective from taking part in the last protest inBulgaria. As reported by Pisankaneva: “LGBT peoplesimply don’t know how people will react. It’s acommon prejudice that LGBT people are demandingspecial rights. Maybe if LGBT people go with theirown demands as part of a national protest, peoplefrom the other protest will start beating them orsomething.”At the same time, prominent LGBT activists haveengaged with other causes, not necessarily linkedwith the values and goals of the movement. Forinstance, lesbian activist Desislava Petrova (aliasSoldier) has joined a freedom of choice movementwhose primary focus is in favour of tobacco smokingand against recently adopted legislation thatprohibits it in public. This has been met with somedisapproval. “It is worrying to see an LGBT activistjoining forces with industry front groups against apiece of legislation which aims to resolve a problemthat has proven to have grave effects on womenand young girls in Bulgaria,” commented Dr. MashaGavrailova, a co-founder of the Women Against TobaccoSociety and a former public health official.Gender and women’s rights issues did not geta prominent place in the course of the recent protests,either. While many individual women ledand participated in the protests, few organisations10 Stana Iliev, personal interview, 18 April 2013.81 / Global Information Society Watch