ABSTRACT
This chapter asks how nascent Romanian lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual/transgender (LGBT) movements rely on racist discourses against Roma in order to claim a place for homosexuality in this heteronormative nation. It explores how the LGBT movement in Romania relies on racial exclusion in the unique and dynamic space and time of post-socialist neo-liberalism. Drawing on a range of sources, chapter traces the introduction of identity categories and politics in the temporal and political context of European Union (EU) accession, charting the creation of an LGBT movement in the model of Western LGBT movements, and the contestation of these categories on the ground at Pride parades. The chapter explores who is included in and excluded from the LGBT movement, and how this violent process of containment masquerading as liberation has been contested and scaffolded by individuals and institutions in the recent debates provoked by Madonna's observations.
