The first gay of Poland

 

Those of you who read world news probably heard the political situation in Poland is quite tense last years.  I’m not sure if this is the right place to discuss our government’s decisions but it goes without saying it’s getting worse and worse every day. But many say there’s a light at the end of the tunnel as there’s one politician giving us (or at least some of us) hope for the better future.

Robert Biedroń, called by the press the first gay of the Third Republic of Poland, was the first polish MP who openly talked about his sexuality. He admitted he struggled in the childhood with the fact of being gay. Having the feeling of being alone in the world, he even had suicidal thoughts. After a visit to a psychologist who convinced him that his concern about the orientation was just temporary and would soon be over, he was convinced that it was perverted and sick.

One of Poland’s most prominent gay-rights activist set up a Campaign Against Homophobia in 2001 - an NGO devoted to the promotion of tolerant attitudes towards LGBT. Holding a Ph.D. in political sciences and speaking 4 languages (English, French, Russian and Italian), he seems to be a perfect example of a modern politician. In 2011 he made history in Poland by becoming first gay MP. His nomination was clearly a symptom of the huge social changes that took place in Poland in recent years, however, the beginning of his political career definitely wasn’t perfect. During his first speech in the parliament, he used the term low blow provoking great laughter.  After 3 years in 2014, he won mayoral elections in the Baltic-coast town of Słupsk.

Lately, he's become one of the leading voices of opposition to the nationalist PiS igniting hope among liberals who have suggested he should run for the presidency in 2020. He’s a different kind of politician - trying to show how local administration and democracy should really work. Being a mayor of one of the most indebted towns in Poland, he cut down on expenses and lead the example volunteering for a salary cut and letting go of the limo bike to work instead.

According to the report released by ILGA-Europe, an equal rights organization, in 2016 Poland was (along with Latvia and Lithuania) the worst country to be gay in the EU.

I’m a bit ashamed to admit this is probably true. My generation doesn’t have a problem with gay people, but older ones are not so tolerant, unfortunately. I have a lot of gay friends and they admit that it’s difficult to be one in Poland so they often just avoid talking about it.

Every year the Equality Parade in Warsaw is attended by around 50,000 people that try to draw attention to the rights of LGBT, fighting discrimination and promote acceptance of same-sex marriages. Poland’s constitution is one of seven in the EU to ban gay marriage. It’s sure that as long as the conservative party Law and Justice (PiS) forms the government, nothing will change it that matter. Poland is still perceived as a Catholic country but few outsiders realize quite how fast our country is changing. 

 Source of photos: https://www.facebook.com/RobertBiedron/