ABSTRACT

This article explores Irish and international news reporting on the gay Irish politician Leo Varadkar during his term as Irish Prime Minister (2017–2020). Focusing on two media events occurring in 2019 – first, the outing of Varadkar as a Kylie Minogue fan in the KylieGate scandal and, second, his St. Patrick's Day meeting with then U.S. Vice President Mike Pence – the article argues that the Irish and international media differentially employed both homoheroic and homophobic narratives in their accounts. The article introduces the concept of homoheroism, which exists in tension with lingering homophobic scripts, as a structuring dynamic for understanding the contemporary media's affirmative rendering of the cultural capital associated with being an out LGBTQ politician. Whereas the international press hailed Varadkar as a homoheroic intersectional leader capable of challenging homophobia internationally and forging a progressive internationally respected identity for Ireland, the Irish press treated Varadkar's gay, Indian-Irish identities as evidence of political illegitimacy in coverage laced with anti-gay stereotypes. The Varadkar case speaks more broadly to the emergence of a generation of global political leaders whose LGBTQ status poses challenges for media representation, may raise expectations around homonationalism, and carries geopolitical implications for the branding of the politicians and their countries.

摘要

本文探讨了同性恋同性恋政治家利奥·瓦拉德卡（Leo Varadkar）担任爱尔兰总理期间（2017-2020年）的爱尔兰和国际新闻报道。文章着眼于2019年发生的两个媒体事件-首先，在KylieGate丑闻中作为Kylie Minogue粉丝参加Varadkar的郊游，其次是他与当时的美国副总统迈克·彭斯（Mike Pence）举行的圣帕特里克节（St. Patrick's Day）会议-文章认为，爱尔兰和国际社会媒体在其叙述中采用同型和同型叙事两种方式。文章介绍了同构主义的概念，该概念一直存在于同感缠绵的仇恨文字中，作为理解当代媒体对与LGBTQ政客相关联的文化资本的肯定性呈现的一种结构动力。国际媒体称赞Varadkar为同志交际领袖，能够在国际上挑战同性恋恐惧症，并在爱尔兰树立国际公认的进取身份，而爱尔兰媒体则将Varadkar的同性恋，印度和爱尔兰身份视为政治上的合法性证据，并带有反同性恋的刻板印象。 。Varadkar案更广泛地说明了一代全球政治领袖的出现，他们的LGBTQ地位给媒体代表带来了挑战，可能提高了对同民族主义的期望，并为政治家及其国家的品牌塑造带来了地缘政治影响。印度-爱尔兰身份作为反同性恋刻板印象报道政治不合法的证据。Varadkar案更广泛地说明了一代全球政治领袖的出现，他们的LGBTQ地位给媒体代表带来了挑战，可能提高了对同民族主义的期望，并为政治家及其国家的品牌塑造带来了地缘政治影响。印度-爱尔兰身份作为反同性恋刻板印象报道政治不合法的证据。Varadkar案更广泛地说明了一代全球政治领袖的出现，他们的LGBTQ地位给媒体代表带来了挑战，可能提高了对同民族主义的期望，并为政治家及其国家的品牌塑造带来了地缘政治影响。