Sexualities, Ahead of Print.
Based on 27 in-depth interviews, web platforms analysis, and participatory observations this study investigates (a) the emergence and the development of the Bulgarian lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex (LGBTQI) movement; and (b) the activists’ motivation for engagement with the movement. Challenging the new social movements’ theories the data from the study suggest that (a) the LGBTQI movement in Bulgaria emerged within the political and the economic transformations marked by anti-communist rhetoric, rather than collective sexual identity; (b) most of the diverse activist communities and the incorporation of “bottom-up” approach did not emerge spontaneously but were established by funded and professionalized project activities; (c) an increasing number of younger activists use left-oriented intersectional approaches in their activism emphasizing on the economic rather than the cultural conditions: (d) the stable financial and social resources of the anti-gender campaigns require reconsideration of the resources and the structure of the LGBTQI movements seen primarily as social entities, often neglecting the economic and the political structures.