Nation Queer? Discourses of Nationhood and Homo- Sexuality in Times of Transformation: Case Studies from Poland
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Online Repository of Birkbeck Institutional Theses ORBIT - Online Repository of Birkbeck Institutional Theses Enabling Open Access to Birkbecks Research Degree output Nation Queer? Discourses Of Nationhood And Homo- sexuality In Times Of Transformation: Case Studies From Poland http://bbktheses.da.ulcc.ac.uk/20/ Version: Full Version Citation: Kulpa, Robert (2012) Nation Queer? Discourses Of Nationhood And Homosexuality In Times Of Transformation: Case Studies From Poland. PhD the- sis, Birkbeck, University of London. c 2012 The Author(s) All material available through ORBIT is protected by intellectual property law, including copyright law. Any use made of the contents should comply with the relevant law. Deposit guide Contact: email Nation Queer? Discourses Of Nationhood And Homosexuality In Times Of Transformation: Case Studies From Poland. Robert Kulpa Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Birkbeck College University of London London 12 July 2012 Declaration I, Robert Kulpa, herby declare that the thesis is my own work: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 Abstract Nation Queer? Discourses of Nationhood and Homosexuality In Times of Transformation: Case Studies From Poland. This thesis explores the relationship between discourses of nationhood and homosexuality in the context of Polish “post-communist transformations” that have taken place over the last decade. It begins with the hypothesis that there must be a more complex relationship between the two discourses than a situation where nationhood simply and straightforwardly rejects the homosexuality. As such, the thesis explores possibilities for going beyond (or further into) the dialectics of the same/other, as a way to develop understandings about the relationship between the nation and homosexuality. The focus is on undercurrents and internal dynamics, constantly negotiating and re-working mutual dependencies between the two discourses. In this context, the thesis is especially geared to exploring the “unforeseen” (or possible), the “wilful”, “unintended” (or hoped for) in the two discourses. The thesis is organised around three major research problems: (1) How is homosexuality framed by national discourse (when performed by the nation- state)? (2) How do discourses of homosexuality relate to nationhood (in times of national distress)? (3) How might national/ist rhetoric be present in discourses of LGBT organisations? Methodologically, the thesis is grounded in a case study approach and discourse analysis. Overall, I argue that we may map out the relations between the nationhood and homosexuality through discourses of rejection as well as dependency, oscillating on the continuum between “sameness” and “otherness”. These relations are best described via the concepts of “dis-location”, “be-longing”, “attachment”, and “dis-identification”. This research is important for at least three reasons. There is a scarcity of work about sexualities in Central and Eastern Europe and a need for more work in this area. Additionally, we have recently witnessed a rise of concern with “homonationalism” in queer studies. Attention to Poland is a valuable addition to this scholarship, which so far is about only the “West” and “Islam”. Finally, it also contributes to nationalism studies, where sexuality is still an under-explored topic, and it offers new insights for scholars interested in Polish nationalism studies. 3 Table of Contents List of Figures 6 Acknowledgements 7 Chapter 1 - Introduction: A journey from where I stand, to the theory, and back again… 8 1.1 Research questions 13 1.2 Thesis outline 15 Chapter 2 - Theoretical and methodological framework 18 2.1 Theorising discourse 24 2.2 Identities and identifications 29 2.3 Power and knowledge 35 Chapter 3 - Theorising nationhood 41 3.1 Nation, globalization, and post-colonial theories 49 3.2 Nation, narration, and time 53 Chapter 4 - Nationhood and (homo)sexuality 59 4.1 Un-common times of modernity 65 4.2 Timely geographies 67 4.3 Nationalising sexuality 70 4.4 Homoeroticism, homosociality and nationhood 82 4.5 Summary 85 4 Chapter 5 - Poland: national context 86 5.1 Poland in the 19th century 87 5.2 National and individual 90 5.3 Polish cultural constructions of gender and sexuality 95 5.4 Mapping the Other: Poland between the “West” and the “East” 110 5.5 Conclusions 118 Chapter 6 - State discourses 120 6.1 Polish Parliament's resolutions from 2003 and 2006 121 6.2 Constitutive Other - Nation as an empty signifier in Lech Kaczynski’s National Address 127 6.3 Conclusions 140 Chapter 7 - Attachment and belonging 143 7.1. Polish melancholic nationalism 149 7.2. Homo-grief after the enemy: When gays and lesbians mourn President Kaczynski… 153 7.3. Conclusions: Mutual desire 167 Chapter 8 - The quest for “ordinary” 170 8.1. “Let Them See Us” (2003) 172 8.2 “Want Tolerance? So Choose One!” (2006) 189 8.3 States of belonging: The question of “sexual citizenship” 200 Chapter 9 - Conclusions 204 Bibliography 214 Endnotes 239 5 List of Figures Figure 1: Vlastimil Hofman, "Madonna with a Child and St. John" (1909) 97 Figure 2: Jacek Malczewski, "Polonia" (1914) 102 Figure 3: Jacek Malczewski, "Polonia" (1914) 102 Figure 4: Vlastimil Hofman, "Polonia and Polish Soldier", ca. 1915 104 Figure 5: Cartoon by Andrzej Mleczko 111 Figure 6: Map of Poland after WW II 115 Figure 7: "Let Them See Us" Poster 1 173 Figure 8: "Let Them See Us" Poster 2 173 Figure 9: “Want Tolerance? So Choose One” Poster 1 190 6 Acknowledgement As with any project, also this Ph.D. thesis was (in a way) a collaborative endeavour. It is so because of the on-going and priceless help and support given to me during the work on it. And this sustenance cannot be underestimated. If not a circle of people who were with me at the various stages of wring this thesis, it would be very hard to finish it. First of all, the deepest gratitude and joyful thought goes to Prof. Lynne Segal and Prof. Sasha Roseneil - my fantastic supervisors, without whose guidance, encouragement, remarks, and willingness to engage in dialog, I would probably not go through (till quite mysterious) meanders of the British academic system and this research journey. (And even after all y a s Secondly, it is to my absolutely fabulous fellow PhDs, in our pursuit of writing and the mutual support, which I cherish so much: Tuesday Bhambry, Calo Giametta, Simon Hutta, Joanne Kalogeras, Katherine Ludwin, Caroline Walters. Then, it is to my chosen family of friends, for walking this path with me: Cuneyt Cakirlar, Beata Dziedzic, Adriana Gastaldi, Jonathan Kemp, Karolina Kosinska, Joanna Mizielinska, Alicja Rogalska, Agata Stasinska, Luis Torres, and Sylvia ‘Joseph.Ine’ Wozniak, and to so many other people close to my heart. C’e anche il posto speciale per il mio compagno, Riccardo Polveroni, su questa lista. Bru, tu sai che il mio dottorato e tu siete gli gemelli? TVB I na koniec specjalne podziękowanie ojej Za wychowanie, za sił za nadziejęo prostu: za wszystko. Thank you. 7 [Chapter 1 - Introduction] Chapter 1 Introduction: A journey from where I stand, to the theory, and back again… The rapid changes in political and economic systems in Central and Eastern Europe after 1989 also brought social and cultural turmoil, resulting in significant shifts in national cultures. In Poland, one of the most important problems is the re- configuration of the (new) notion of Polish nationhoodi. This is so because Polish national identity was tightly related to the idea of struggle for "Freedom" and "Liberty" (against/from Prussian and German, Russian and Soviet empires). So with the collapse of state communism in 1989, when "Freedom" was finally "won" (or so at least it was thought) the notion of Polishness has necessarily had to change (I explore these issues in greater depth in the Chapter 5). This “Freedom”, however, brought about consequences that for many could not be foreseen before the collapse of one regime and the arrival of another. Two such “bastard children of the revolution” emerging in the wake of the 1989 collapse were the feminist (non state-sponsored, as during the communism), and homosexual (soon after re- labelling itself as LGBT) movements (Flam 2001). So we see that the post-1989 creation of the “new state” of Poland was indeed not only about the political and economic systems of its organisation, but also opened the space for struggles and tussles in the creation of the “new nation” of Poland, where new social movements began to play a role. The extent of social movements’ participation in these processes is also a matter of other studies already under way (Jawłowska 2007; Kubik 2007; Kubik and Wenzel 2007). For my purpose, what is symbolically important here is this co-emergence of the “new Poland” with the springing up of “new communities” of homosexual people, who were self-organising (LGBT) and beginning to voice their group interests (as gays and lesbians)ii. In this thesis I trace how in these times of so- called "post-communist transformation" nationhood relates to the "new reality", 8 [Chapter 1 - Introduction] and in this context, I am especially interested in how the figure of the homosexual becomes an important "player" in the Polish national imagination. Equally, I am captivated by the role that Polish nationhood plays in emerging LGBT politics, and in gay and lesbian communities. These interests stem partially from experiences of growing up as a person who systematically came to understand himself to be non-heterosexual; and who happened to live exactly at the moment of that “great change” that came in 1989, bonding my adolescence with the adolescent years of the “new Poland”, and those of the LGBT movement. But my inquisitiveness is also inspired by much later education, and the development of my academic interests in cultural and queer studies.