Masculine nations, queer bodies and the in/visibilities of gender

Abstract

This article explores the overlapping systems of gender and nation and particularly the connections of masculinities with national construction. Based on the analysis of the video ‘Por España’ performed by the queer artist Samantha Hudson, I discuss how in/visibilities affect the recognizability of queer bodies in relation to national construction and unveil how hegemonic masculinities have been the norm. Queer ‘inappropriate’ bodies have been left aside from the hegemonic representations of the national bodies in the military, in politics or in sport. Queer visible bodies attached to national symbols oppose the still prevalent masculinist models of patriotism in a context of growing right-wing masculinities and antigender right-wing populisms. Changing the rules of what bodies can appear in public in relation to national symbols can affect the construction of the collective ‘we’ and turn invisibility into recognition and political agency. In/visibilities are ambivalent and paradoxical: they trigger empowerment and agency but also stigma, repression and control. Sticking queer bodies to national sentiments (‘Por España’) and symbols (bulls, Spanish flags, folklore, food, dress and so on) is an invitation to see other bodies, genders and sexualities and to imagine other nations that question the traditional geometries of power and their visibility regimes.