Pride and prejudice. The significance of election of a transsexual person as a “representative of Nation” Cover Image

Duma i uprzedzenie. Znaczenie wyboru osoby transseksualnej na „przedstawiciela Narodu”
Pride and prejudice. The significance of election of a transsexual person as a “representative of Nation”

Author(s): Anna Jawor
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Sociology
Published by: Instytut Slawistyki Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: nation; transsexuality; press; culture war; moral panic

Summary/Abstract: Ms. Anna Grodzka’s election to the Polish Parliament in 2011 was a crucial event because for the first time in Europe a transsexual person became a Member of Parliament, and thus was to represent all Poles at the national level. This event resulted in mixed reactions and comments: from euphoria to trauma, from great pride to deep prejudice. It is instrumental in self identification of Poles, nevertheless two different Polish “nations” make use of it, presenting two different languages and two absolutely separate pictures of Polish identity. The first approach is associated with such notions as freedom, equity, minority rights, multiculturalism. The other is connected with such phrases as original values, genuine Poles, God, and the regular family. Therefore contemporary war of cultures, that is a general conflict over values and collective identity, came to focus on the fact that Anna Grodzka became an MP. The author of the article, relying on Allan McKee’s interpretative analysis of cultural texts, in this case press articles, aims at an analysis of the role of Ms. Grodzka’s election for identity shaping processes among Poles.

  • Issue Year: 2014
  • Issue No: 45
  • Page Range: 66-87
  • Page Count: 22
  • Language: Polish