De/Constructing a Polish Nation. On the Entanglements of Gender, Sexuality, Family and Nationalism in Right-Wing Sexual Politics in Poland

Abstract

The article provides an overview of (far-right) sexual politics in Poland, its historical traditions and contexts, and also discusses some of its recent developments, highlighting international and geopolitical contexts. It is argued that the political restructuring process initiated by the Law and Justice Party (PiS) in 2015 and further advanced by a right-wing coalition does not only target the state and democratic principles of the rule of law. Through the introduction of specifically familist, right-wing nationalist policies, society as such is also targeted, conservative and national Catholic values and lifestyles are privileged, while other groups such as LGBTQ* people are threatened with social and political exclusion. The war against Ukraine, which escalated in 2022, revealed further geopolitical dimensions of gender and sexual politics.

Keywords: Poland, sexual politics, LGBTQ*, geopolitics, familist nationalism.