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“Neoliberalism, Class, Gender and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Politics in Poland”

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Abstract

While the growth of visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) political struggles in Poland, and illiberal neo-populist reactions to the queer presence in public space and the public sphere since 2004 has spawned much academic debate, there has been less critical discussion of LGBTQ politics in relation to class and neoliberalism. This article seeks to make two key contributions to understandings of the relationships between gender, sexuality and political economy. The first is recognition of the tensions and contradictions inherent within practices of neoliberalisation. It is suggested that neoliberalism can be both generative and hostile towards LGBTQ politics. Processes of neoliberalisation produce queer winners and losers, and it is suggested that if sexually progressive alternatives to neoliberalism are to be developed, they need to recognise the tensions and contradictions inherent within processes of neoliberalism. In so doing, the class dimensions of neoliberal sexualities need to be made visible and examined critically. Secondly, it is argued that discussions of classed sexualities are often framed within specific national contexts, and thereby fail to recognise the transnational dimensions of classed sexualities. Discussions of the sexual politics of neoliberalism are often grounded in Anglo-American contexts and sometimes fail to recognise how neoliberal sexualities are framed outside of the West. These two key objectives are addressed by an examination of the economic and class dimensions of contemporary LGBTQ political struggles in Poland—specifically the organisation of marches for equality and tolerance within Polish cities since 2001.

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  1. Reader in Human Geography, School of Science and Environment, Manchester Metropolitan University, John Dalton Building, Chester Street, Manchester, M1 5GD, UK

    Jon Binnie

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Binnie, J. “Neoliberalism, Class, Gender and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Politics in Poland”. Int J Polit Cult Soc 27, 241–257 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10767-013-9153-8

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