Challenging abortion stigma: framing abortion in Ireland and Poland

Abortion stigma, while observable as a global phenomenon, is constructed locally through various pathways and institutions, and at the intersection of transnational and local discourses. Stigmatisation of abortion has been challenged in varied ways by pro-choice adherents. This article investigates strategies for identifying and opposing stigmatisation of abortion in Ireland and Poland, focusing on campaigns aimed in one context, at repealing a near total prohibition of abortion, and in another, on resisting further restrictions concerning reproductive rights. We examine how mobilisation on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) in both contexts worked to address stigma and discrimination in SRH, drawing on the concept of framing and showing similarities between these two national contexts. Our analysis explains how the logic of inclusion and exclusion works in efforts at destigmatising abortion

Social Movements and Gender–an Intersectional Perspective: the Women’s Congress and the Movement to Restore the Child Support Fund

The author analyses the identity strategies appearing in women’s social movements in contemporary Poland. She considers the importance of gender in the process of constructing collective identity and how specific gender identity strategies influence their social reception and, in consequence, the success or failure of women’s initiatives as well. The aim of her considerations is to deepen critical reflection on the category of gender in the intersectional perspective, particularly in the context of research into social movements. The analysis includes two examples of women’s mass movements in the last decade: the movement to restore the Child Support Fund and the Women’s Congress. Her conclusions are based on a qualitative analysis of the media discussion, the self-representations of proponents of both initiatives (in publications and online), as well as interviews with their representatives and participants conducted in the years 2009-201

Jak wyjaśnić masowy sprzeciw wobec całkowitego zakazu aborcji w Polsce? Siła połączonego działania

This article examines successful mass mobilization of Polish women against the proposed total ban on abortion in 2016. It is argued that the mass participation in the protests resulted from a range of factors, e.g. the heightened political climate in Poland and normalization of street protests, as well as an emotional dynamic of mobilization and wide use of social media for communication and networking. The analysis shows that the protests followed the logic of connective action based on the use of flexible, easily personalized action frames, which were well-embedded in local cultural narratives referencing the struggle for Poland’s independence and resistance against an oppressive state.Artykuł analizuje masową mobilizację Polek przeciwko projektowi ustawy zawierającej całkowity zakaz aborcji w 2016 r. Mobilizacja ta wynikała z wielu czynników, w tym politycznej polaryzacji polskiego społeczeństwa i normalizacji protestów ulicznych, emocjonalnej dynamiki mobilizacji oraz wykorzystania mediów społecznościowych jako narzędzia komunikacji i budowania sieci współpracy. Protesty charakteryzowała logika połączonego działania, w której kluczową funkcję odgrywają komunikaty o charakterze kulturowych memów. Są one elastyczne i można je łatwo spersonalizować, a tu nawiązywały także do popularnych kulturowych narracji opowiadających o tradycji oporu wobec opresyjnego państwa

‘The purest citizens’ and ‘IVF children’ : Reproductive citizenship in contemporary Poland

This article examines the public debate on reproductive technologies in contemporary Poland, focusing on the rhetoricalstrategies used by the main opponents of IVF: conservative politicians representing the leading parties in the Polish parliament andthe representatives of the Catholic Church. The analysis highlights the exclusionary logic inscribed in the construction of the maincategories of political subjects in this debate, revealing important limitations of reproductive citizenship in the Polish context. Thestudy draws on a variety of texts published in print and electronic media between 2007 and 2015, including articles on infertility andreproductive technologies published in the main Polish daily and weekly print publications, online resources (web pages, forums andFacebook pages), documents issued by the representatives of the Church, politicians and experts, e.g. open letters, commentaries,information for the media and interviews.This paper was presented at the Brocher Symposium ‘Between Policy and Practice: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Assisted ReproductiveTechnologies and Equitable Access to Health Care,’ held at the Brocher Foundation, Hermance, Switzerland in July 2015. The BrocherFoundation’s mission is to encourage research on the ethical, legal and social implications of new medical technologies. Its main activities areto host visiting researchers and to organize symposia, workshops and summer academies. More information on the Brocher foundationprogramme is available at www.brocher.ch</p

The Social Construction of Motherhood and Daughterhood in Contemporary Poland-a Trans-Generational Perspective

The mother-daughter relationship has received increasing attention over the last few decades, both at the conceptual level and in empirical research. Unfortunately, however, this domain has not yet been sufficiently explored in the Polish context. Equally infrequent are empirical projects which strive to combine analysis of individual experiences with the examination of public discourse and social change within particular historical and cultural contexts. The present text analyzes the process of defining motherhood and daughterhood in Poland, focusing specifically on the trans-generational aspect of female identity construction. It is based on qualitative research carried out in the Warsaw area in 2005–2008. Arguably, such an analysis should help us to map the complicated intersections of gender, generation and positionality in times of social change and contribute to the development of a new perspective on the process of identity construction

Bunt kobiet AD 2016 : skąd się wziął i czego nas uczy?

Masowe protesty przeciwko projektowi całkowitego zakazu aborcji w 2016 okazały się sukcesem. Udało się nie tylko zmobilizować do działania setki tysięcy kobiet, ale też wymusić na rządzących zmianę decyzji. Projekt Ordo Iuris został odrzucony po pierwszym czytaniu w Sejmie i choć nie była to z pewnością ostatnia próba zaostrzenia prawa aborcyjnego w Polsce, udało się wygrać przynajmniej tę bitwę. Skala i zasięg protestów pokazują ogromny potencjał zaangażowania kobiet, które nie mieszkają w wielkich miastach i które nie uczestniczyły do tej pory w życiu politycznym, a przynajmniej nie tak aktywnie jak przy okazji Czarnych Protestów. Okazało się, że polskie społeczeństwo obywatelskie nie jest bynajmniej uśpione i apatyczne, ale aktywne i gotowe do wyjścia na ulice, gdy sytuacja tego wymaga. Ten rozdział stara się odpowiedzieć na pytania: dlaczego kobiety zmobilizowały się właśnie w tym momencie i jak to się stało, że w 2016 roku doszło do masowego buntu Polek

Anti-Gender Politics in the Populist Moment

This book charts the new phase of global struggles around gender equality and sexual democracy: the ultraconservative mobilization against "gender ideology" and feminist efforts to counteract it. It argues that anti-gender campaigns, which emerged around 2010 in Europe, are not a simple continuation of the anti-feminist backlash dating back to the 1970s, but part of a new political configuration. Opposition to "gender" has become a key element of the rise of right-wing populism, which successfully harnesses the anxiety, shame and anger caused by neoliberalism and threatens to destroy liberal democracy.　 Anti-Gender Politics in the Populist Moment offers a novel conceptualization of the relationship between the ultraconservative anti-gender movement and right-wing populist parties, examining the opportunistic synergy between these actors. The authors map the anti-gender campaigns as a global movement, putting the Polish case in a comparative perspective. They show that the anti-gender rhetoric is best understood as a reactionary critique of neoliberalism as a socio-cultural formation. The book also studies the recent wave of feminist mass mobilizations, viewing the transnational revolt of women as a left populist movement.　 　　 This is an important study for those doing research in politics, cultural studies, gender and sexuality studies and sociology. It will also be useful for activists and policy makers

Searching for feminist geographies: mappings outside the discipline in Poland

Feminist geography in Poland does not exist as a sub-discipline of geography. While there are individual Polish geographers pushing for feminist perspectives, most feminist analyses of issues relating to place, space and politics of location can be found within gender studies or feminist sociology. In this sense, feminist geography in Poland cannot compare to Anglophone feminist geography and attempts to incorporate it within such an established field risks being reductive. Instead, in this report, we shift the focus to the scholarship and activism that does exist in Poland, outside of geography. This contribution focuses on shedding light on geographical questions such as the body, the city and gendered geopolitics that have been recurring themes in gender studies, feminist sociology and feminist activism in Poland. We conclude by pointing to the need to mobilise broadly, and internationally, between disciplines with the intention of de-centering dominant knowledges. For feminist scholarship this is particularly important in the context of recent political successes of right-wing forces

Gender as ‘Ebola from Brussels’ : The Anti-colonial Frame and the Rise of Illiberal Populism

This article examines the recent wave of grassroots mobilizations opposing gender equality, LGBT rights and sex education, which vilify the term gender in public debates and policy document. The anti-gender movement emerged simultaneously in various locations after 2010. We argue that it is not just another wave of anti-feminist backlash, or a new tactic of the Vatican in its ongoing efforts to undermine gender equality, but a new ideological and political configuration, which emerged in response to global economic crisis of 2008 and the ongoing crisis of liberal democracy. The backlash of the 80s and 90s combined neo-conservatism with market fundamentalism (which is to some extent still the case with neoconservative Christian fundamentalists in the US and elsewhere), while the new movement – though in many ways a continuation of earlier trends – tends to combine  gender conservatism with a critique of neoliberalism and globalization. Liberal elites are presented as “colonizers”; “genderism” is demonized as an ideology imposed by the world’s rich on the poor. Thanks to the anti-colonial frame, anti-genderism has remarkable ideological coherence and great mobilizing power: right-wing populists have captured the imagination and hearts of large portions of local populations more effectively than progressive movements have managed to do. The article examines the basic tenets of anti-genderism, shedding light on how this ideological construct contributes to the contemporary transnational resurgence of illiberal populism. We argue that today’s global right, while selectively borrowing from liberal-left and feminist discourses, is in fact constructing a new universalism, an illiberal one. While the examples discussed are mostly from Poland, the pattern is transnational, and our conclusions may have serious implications for feminist theory and activism.