[lbo-talk] Homosexuality in Poland

Wojtek Sokolowski sokol at jhu.edu
Fri Oct 29 07:24:12 PDT 2004


Chris:
>
> To my question: In Poland, pre-1989, was homosexuality
> illegal, and, if so, was the law enforced? I ask
> because it was illegal here until 1993, but everybody
> I talk to says they never heard of anybody actually
> being arrested for it, which makes me think it
> probably was not enforced? Thanks!

To be honest, I do not know for sure, but I do not think so. The only illegal sex-related activity that I know of was abetting prostitution. Polish law was very progressive in its letter - for example rape was defined as a crime against liberty rather than a "deviant sex act" provided all kinds of protection to women in domestic dispute/divorce cases.

However, "in its letter" is an important qualification - because as we all know, the hallmark of Eastern Europe is that there is very little connection between de jure and de facto. The reality of Polish courts was that the judiciary did not follow the letter of the law or even the supreme court's directions (which btw were not binding as in the US since in the civil law tradition case decisions do not set precedents for other decisions) especially in the sex-related cases. For example, victim's sexual "history" was often admitted in courts despite rape shield laws. Ditto for domestic violence - it was illegal but cops seldom intervened in "domestic affairs."

I was not aware of any court cases involving homosexuality - but I think it was treated like domestic violence a private and embarrassing matter with which the law did not wanted to be bothered.

Prudish and rigid morality was probably a more important means of social control than the law. There was a very strong pressure against homosexuality, especially in small towns. Suspected homosexuals were ridiculed, ostracized or beaten while the authorities were looking the other way. The same treatment, btw, was reserved for those few women who dared to report their abusive husbands to the police.

Big cities were a bit more tolerant of homosexuality - suspected gays were treated as amusing curiosities rather than public enemies. A few cultural icons were visibly gay (but not openly - there was no such a thing as coming out of the closet) - and a typical public reaction was smirking or cracking a gay joke.

Another interesting twist - homosexuality was almost exclusively male, same sex among women did not even enter popular consciousness as "deviant." I had one openly lesbian friend, and her homosexuality was much more readily accepted than male homosexuality, at least in the bohemian circles.

PS. When it comes to women's and gay rights, the US is far ahead of most countries except Scandinavia and maybe the Netherlands. Those who think otherwise should travel a bit more.

Wojtek



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