Paper short abstract:

Proposed paper explores the connections between grassroots initiatives, activism, civil society and politics. By analyzing the campaigns of the new MP's who were (or are) involved in activities related to supporting women's rights it asks the question of the role of female subjectivity in politics.

Paper long abstract:

When analyzing non-governmental civic engagement as a form of resistance towards the hegemony of the state the question of the political involvement of the civil society actors is crucial, especially in a country like Poland, where distrust in mainstream politics seems to fuel the production of new hegemonies. Baldez in her work on women's movements points out that the emergence of women's protest relates to the exclusion within the [political] opposition (2003: 258). Last elections proved that there is a space in the mainstream politics for MP's who openly refer to the female subject - some of the 21 Left MP's in the current Polish parliament were (or are) involved in activities related to supporting women's rights, lobbying for more feminist approaches or working in NGO's dealing with women's issues. By analyzing the speeches and interviews with those left MP's who have had an experience with the nongovernmental activism, feminist actions or organizing the black protest (2016-2018) I try to answer the question of the conscious female subjectivity in its role in the last parliamentary elections in Poland. This paper also explores the ways those MP's position themselves in the mainstream politics by using their "civic female engagement" experience. Simultaneously, by using the example of MP's who are rooted in the civil society, this paper asks the question about the interconnections between mainstream politics and civil society and tries to explore it beyond the commonly perceived binary opposition: politician - activist.