Throughout the course of this term I have had many interesting interactions with our fellow, Romanian, residents of Gaudeamus. During our first week here, I was making eggs for myself in the kitchen when a student I had met the previous night came in to make himself breakfast.We had a pleasant conversation while going about our business. Then the student turned to me and asked if I was religious. I responded that no, although I was raised in the Lutheran church I no longer consider myself to be religious. He responded that Romania is a very religious country and that he is also religious. The student continued on to say that that was why he “doesn’t like gay people,” because he is so religious. I was taken aback, and could not come up with a response. The student seemed not to notice and began discussing how some people might have that “problem” but most gay people are just looking for attention. Again, I did not respond.
In the days following this interaction, I continued to reflect on how he framed this argument. I found it interesting that, rather than telling me he did not approve of homosexuality, he framed it as if being gay inherently went against Christianity. That he was not homophobic, but rather a good Christian. This argument is one I have heard commonly used, however in the context of Romania and nationalism I found it particularly interesting. As a large portion of Romania is Christian, I wonder if this framing translates to a wider feeling that, because homosexuality is non-christian, it is also non-Romanian. Would being gay, in his eyes, disqualify a person from being Romanian?
Many of our tour guides have told us that people of different religions live in harmony in Romania. Yet this perspective disregards how some, such as the Romanian student in the dorm, might place identities that do not fit into the Christian mold at a lower status. Some might claim that a lack of violent interactions between religions is evidence of “living in harmony.” Unfortunately there are still high rates of violence against the LGBTQ+ community in Romania, as outlined by the presenter from the LGBTQ+ non-governmental organization Mozaique. When Christianity is used as a means to justify homophobia, such as in my interaction with the Romanian student, I question how much tolerance and harmony really exists with Christianity in Romania.
The presenter from Mozaique offered further interesting and important insight into gay rights in Romania. He discussed how people were imprisoned for being gay in Romania until the 1990’s and it was not until Romania wanted to join the European Union that homosexuality was decriminalized in the country. Due to this process of decriminalization, the advancement of LGBTQ+ rights in Romania has felt like an imposition of moral politics from the European Union and Western nations. Keeping in mind this history and context, the conversation with the Romanian student goes much deeper to hit at issues of Romanian nationalism, identity and autonomy. As authors like Larry Wolf describe, the Balkans have long been subjected to otherization and moral policing from the West. This context might explain part of the resistance to LGBTQ+ rights in Romania.
Although the history of LGBTQ+ rights in Romania is important to consider in interactions such as mine with the Romanian student in the kitchen, it is equally important to hold individuals accountable for their words and actions. This specific student studies sociology and has access to all of the education the modern internet has to offer. As a highly educated person, I hope he has the opportunity to think critically and question his homophobia in the future. I should have asked him about his beliefs myself and if I was not so upset by the interaction I would have. I wonder if questioned regarding the logic of his beliefs, what his answer would be.
