Paper short abstract:

The paper investigates how feminist and gay/lesbian activist circles in contemporary Poland use a category of 'the West' to forge discursive identities and strategies; what the theoretical and practical problems are that dominant approaches evoke; and how they are being contested on a grass root level.

Paper long abstract:

Attempts to establish a feminist and gay/lesbian movement in contemporary Poland emerged in the 1980s, but it was not until 1989 with democratization that the first organizations were able to register formally. Since then interests in gender and sexuality issues on academic and socio-political level in the country have been gradually developing. However, the people involved appear to be still in search for common political identities and strategies. In their attempts to fight against gender and sexual discrimination in society, activists frequently evoke Western (mainly Anglo-American) ideas and models. It is commonly assumed within mainstream activist circles that the Western discourse and practice constitute an efficient remedy for Eastern problems. But, different factions produce different images of 'the West' that needs to be followed. Moreover, multidimensional dissimilarity of contexts between various countries labeled by the discussed narratives as 'the West' and those labeled as 'the East' (including Poland), which makes any literal transition of models or ideas impossible.

In the proposed paper I shall analyze discourses in which a category of 'the West' is negotiated by both mainstream and grass root feminist and gay/lesbian activist circles in contemporary Poland. In particular, I shall investigate what specific discursive identities and strategies are being forged in this process; what are theoretical and practical problems that dominant approaches evoke; and how they are being continuously contested on a grass root level. In light of gathered material it seems that any form of the-East-needs-to-catch-up-with-the-West rhetoric does not contribute to a common political identity or strategy, but blurs actual heterogeneity of social realities, which should be taken into account if any common activism is to proceed in contemporary Poland.