Resisting erasure: queer artistic reclamation in the face of political homophobia

Abstract

Populist right-wing governments often deploy political homophobia to construct a scapegoated ‘other’ that distracts and deviates societies for political goals. This manifests in anti-LGBTQ+ discourse within political spheres, functioning as a Panopticon: a system of surveillance and control that excludes, categorises, and restricts individuals, leading to epistemic silencing and the erasure of queer heritage. In such contexts, queer individuals are denied societal recognition, limiting their ability to contribute to cultural and epistemic life. This paper examines queer artistic practices in Turkey as a means of resisting epistemic injustice. It focuses on the impact of the state’s Islamist-nationalist discourse on queer communities and investigates how queer heritage is systematically effaced. Using arts-based research and narrative inquiry, artworks are approached as narrative tools that challenge dominant discourses. The study argues that while queer communities in Turkey face systematic erasure, they also engage in resistance by appropriating neo-Ottoman visual aesthetics and positioning queer subjects at the centre of their work. Through this strategy, they assert their presence and reclaim historical narrative. This paper contributes to growing scholarship on epistemic justice by proposing queer art as a form of resistance and a method of re-inscribing marginalised histories into the cultural record. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.