LGBTQ+ free zones in Poland (eBook)

Essay from the year 2020 in the subject Cultural Studies - GLBT / LGBTIQ, grade: 1,3, , language: English, abstract: This essay examines LGBTQ+ free zones in Poland. Looking at the political landscape the conservative right-wing party “Prawo i Sprawiedliwość” (PiS) has undergone a political upswing since their founding in 2001 and has recently been in government from 2015 on. The party drives a very strict anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and policy agenda, especially Andrzej Duda made it a central issue for his election campaign in July 2020.

Although the Polish constitution implies a division between church and state, the Catholic church has a big influence in the political decision-making process. The LGBTQ+ community in Poland has “long struggled with acceptance, but it is only recently that people have become bolder in showing their reluctance” and express homophobia and transphobia even more openly.

As can be seen by the attacks on participants at Pride marches in Bialystok, Lublin, Wroclaw and several others. Discrimination based on sexual orientation is illegal in Poland but so are same-sex marriage and civil unions. In 2019, multiple Polish provinces have declared themselves a “LGBTQ+ free zone”, meaning they are distancing themselves from the alleged “LGBTQ+ ideology” and show that they are refraining from broad tolerance which consequently makes the approval of LGBTQ+ events like pride marches improbable.