"The Matrix Behind Womanhood" - Master's Thesis - LNU
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Master’s Thesis
“The Matrix Behind Womanhood”
Political Ideology and Substantive Representation of Women
in Poland
Author: Dominique Keizer
Supervisor: Susanne Alldén
Examiner: Heiko Fritz
Term: VT21
Subject: Peace and Development work
Level: Master
Course code: 4FU42E
Abstract In 2015 the Polish political environment saw a sudden change with the election of PiS (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość/Law and Justice), a conservative right-wing wing party that became the ruling voice in society. Due to the interconnectedness of politics and religion, the role of the Catholic church gained prevalence leading to a shift in the preferred discursive practices. This paper shall primarily focus on the gender perspective, specifically the envisioned role enforced on Polish women by PiS given the shift from liberalism towards conservatism. Substantive representation linked to descriptive representation shall allow to researching policies that concern the needs of women. As an objective, the study aims to explore gender roles and womanhood through social discourse as well as political actions. The study contributes to the identified research gap between social conservatism and the substantive representation of women in Central and Eastern Europe. Three theories are employed (the Queer theory, the Performativity theory and the Dramaturgical model) that complement each other with the purpose of creating a multi- layered analysis. In terms of methodology, qualitative research is conducted that includes a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) in relation to online data, drawing on principles from nethnography and feminist ethnography. Moreover, in order to grasp the lived experience, a small number of interviews have been conducted. Results have shown the challenging social positioning of women after the implementation of policies concerning women’s rights, such as reproductive rights. This created national debates as to what it means to provide women with a ‘voice’ and how this might threaten the freedom of expression and consequently human rights. Counter- narratives show the resistance to the conditioning of behavioural expectations. Key words Substantive representation, womanhood, Poland, political ideology, Critical Discourse Analysis
Acknowledgments I would like to thank my supervisor Susanne Allden for the insightful conversations and the much-needed support throughout the thesis process. The constructive feedback helped me to improve as a researcher of this paper. This exciting journey would not be possible without the unforgettable Core 9. I thank you all for the time we could spend together here in Växjö and the new perspectives I gained from our discussions. The roundtable study crew, the 12pm lunch and the get-togethers allowed me to successfully finish this paper. I also want to show my gratitude to my friend Saar. As my mental support and thesis buddy you patiently made sure I will not get lost in my mind map. Last but not least, I would like to thank my parents, friends, and the women who took part in the study. Without the support of everyone this research would not be possible. I highly appreciate every insight and I am glad I could also share my personal story.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Political shift in Poland 1
1.2 Research objective 3
1.3 Justification of the study 4
2 Literature Review ............................................................................................. 6
2.1 Countering identity politics - National Body versus Female Body 6
2.2 Universal gender rights oppression 7
2.3 Oppression and domination – women’s common concerns 10
3 Theoretical Framework ................................................................................. 11
3.1 Sex and gender in the realm of political representation 11
3.2 Theory as the basis to assess discursive interlinkages 12
3.3 Post-structuralism 13
4 Methodology.................................................................................................... 15
4.1 Guiding methodological approaches 15
4.2 Interviews 16
4.3 Online discourse analysis 17
4.4 Ethical considerations 19
4.5 Limitations and Delimitations 19
5 Background ..................................................................................................... 21
5.1 Neoliberalism as a source of societal change 21
6 Findings ........................................................................................................... 25
6.1 Counter to identity politics in post-communist countries 25
6.2 An undisputable value system 27
6.3 Gender in the realm of conservative politics 31
6.4 Media and representation 34
7 Analysis ........................................................................................................... 37
7.1 The democratic backdrop in post-communist countries and beyond 37
7.2 Male-dominated institutions 39
7.3 Substantive representation and the embodiment of gender construction 43
8 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 47
References ............................................................................................................... 49
List of figures .......................................................................................................... 53
Appendix I: Interview guide .................................................................................. 54List of Acronyms and Abbreviations PiS - Pawo i Sprawiedliwość / Law and Justice EU - European Union LGBTQ+ - Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning CDA - Critical Discourse Analysis NGO - Non-government organisation CHE - Connectivity, Humanness and empathy IMF - International Monetary Fund HRW - Human Rights Watch List of Figures Fig. 1. Graphic illustration Theoretical Framework Fig. 2. Graphic representation thesis theme List of Appendices Appendix I: Interview guide
1 Introduction
1.1 Political shift in Poland
Since 2015 the right-wing conservative political party PiS (Prawo i
Sprawiedliwość/Law and Justice), is the ruling discourse in the politics of Poland. The sudden
shift from a rapidly growing Central European democracy towards illiberal democracy, based
on traditional Catholic values, has caused sudden unrest aside from societal division within the
country. The discontent increased in prevalence especially after the government continuously
kept implementing religious censorship in the public sphere, including the sexual education for
young people, and strengthened the role of the Catholic Church in national and foreign politics.
This resulted in putting into practice a distinct discursive practice. Also, during the democratic
disputes with the EU, the church has been a political tool to create cultural distinctiveness and
symbolic-political resistance against the policies imposed by the EU headquarters, colloquially
known as ‘Brussels’. With that in mind, the party intends to showcase the independence of the
Polish culture as being distinct from the ‘West’ and regain historical prestige (Nyyssönen,
2018). The deeper understanding of prestige shall be put into context in further sections through
Fukuyama’s approach of recognition and dignity in view of rising nationalism. As justification
for the recently implemented policies that result in the undermining of freedom of gender
expression, the party frequently refers to defending the national identity against threatening
external forces such as ‘immoral gays’, ‘liberals’ or ‘post-communists’ (that are believed by
the church to be a satanic tool to undermine the role of God). This ideological shift allowed the
party to rationalise welfare cuts and direct the traditional gender role division (Żuk, 2017: 73-
75; Żuk and Żuk, 2020: 580).
When taking the gender lens, and specifically the position of women in the Polish society it has
been noted that even before the PiS administration, the neoliberal transformation (further
elaborated in chapter 5) already harmed their status quo. Yet, because of the cultural taboo, the
topic of feminist movements was not even introduced in the school curricula. That is why this
thesis intends to depict how the recent Black Protests1 in Poland showcase how nationwide
1
For the sake of this thesis, the chosen protests include the Women’s Strike both in October 2016 and October
2020, also called Black Protests. The anger had been caused due to a new policy that would further ban the already
restrictive abortion law. The constitutional Tribunal decided to illegalize one of the exceptions to the ban being a
case of severe foetal impairment arguing it violates the constitutional right to life. The first attempt to tighten the
abortion legislation occurred in 2016. Yet, due to mass protests in major Polish cities, the parliament did not
implement the new policy. In 2020 the government returned to the discussion on abortion in Poland. This time,
1(57)
Master thesis Dominique Keizercounter-responses became a starting point for re-evaluating the status of women but also what
it means to perform a gender role in a patriarchal society.
The issue of representation has been broadly studied by feminists and a linkage has been created
between descriptive and substantive representation. The question is whether an increase of
female representatives (descriptive representation) may lead to an interest in policies
concerning the needs of women (substantive representation) (Celis et al., 2008: 99). Yet, by
concentrating solely on female representatives, differences between women are overlooked and
substantive representation is limited to one specific group of actors. At the same time, an
approach grounded on substantive representation covers the question of who acts for women
and how does this representation take place regarding women’s concerns (ibid: 99-100). The
rise of new international actors with distinct political goals also changed how women are
represented and expected to act. Recent policies on issues such as reproductive rights have
aimed to direct a preferred gender role, substantially decreasing the opportunity to act upon a
substantive representation that would represent a more diversified group. That is why, this paper
aims to rediscover the grounds on which substantive representation of women is created in the
context of rising conservative parties, also known as populists.
Two policies shall be specifically addressed. Namely, the restrictive abortion law implemented
in 2021 and the bill called “Stop Paedophilia” employed in 2020. The former one as new
regulation allows abortion in two cases: a) when pregnancy is the result of a prohibited act such
as rape; b) when the doctor determines that the pregnancy may endanger the mother’s life or
health. The decision on a restrictive abortion policy had been based on art. 38 from the National
Constitution that states that the Republic of Poland provides every human being with the legal
protection of life (Konstytucja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, 1997). The latter is meant to limit
access to education on sexuality. Both are critical and may result in human rights violations.
According to the United National Human Rights denying women access to abortion might result
in violating the basic right to health, privacy, and the right to be free from degrading treatment.
In the 1994 Cairo Conference on Population and Development States have recognised unsafe
abortion as a public health concern (OHCR, 2020). Thus, human rights bodies treat the
restriction to abortion as discrimination against women. The aspect of discrimination is based
mass protests increased in numbers in comparison to 2016 and lasted for nine days. Nevertheless, from the 27 th
January 2021 Polish abortion law became the most restrictive in the European Union (Theguardian.com, 2020;
Europarl.europa.eu, 2020; CNN.com, 2020; styl.fm, 2021). The Black Protests are further analysed in more detail
in the Methodology section.
2(57)
Master thesis Dominique Keizeron the statement of the Working Group on discrimination against women that has indicated that
“[…] right of a woman or girl to make autonomous decisions about her own body and
reproductive functions is at the very core of her fundamental right to equality and privacy,
involving intimate matters of physical and psychological integrity, and is a precondition for the
enjoyment of other rights.” (ibid). Moreover, criminalising access to abortion deprives women
of self-determination but also results in underground abortion, putting at risk their life and
health. Especially women who belong to a social group with less financial resources tend to
contact unsafe abortion providers (ibid).
1.2 Research objective
The thesis is meant to explore how gender role, in this case, womanhood, is
anticipated to be performed through an enforced discourse and how political actions such as
policy implementation may portray how those gender expectations are being created. The
political transition in Poland towards populism shall be used as a case study to analyse the
linkage between women representation and identity politics2 with the discussion of Butler on
how “[…] identity politics fixes the identity of ‘women’ in a new location.” (Velasco and
Vintages, 2004: 197). In addition, counteracts to identity politics such as protests will facilitate
a deeper analysis as to how discontent towards political decisions is part of broader discussions
about identity construction beyond the legal and political sphere. Here the focus lies primarily
on patriarchy and privileging one group of women who are expected to uncritically subordinate
to the discursive regime (Taylor and Vintages, 2004: 197-198). As scholar Andres Velasco
mentioned: “[…] populism is a style of politics that manipulates and exacerbates identity
cleavages for political gain.” (Velasco, 2020: 5).
Altogether, as already mentioned, the study aims to contribute to the recently identified research
gap between social conservatism and the substantive representation of women in Poland and
therefore an extension of women in Central and Eastern Europe. Also, how women’s issues
embedded in the recently implemented policies affect women’s lives and direct the political
agenda towards anti-gender responses. Until now, research in this field has mainly occurred in
relation to Western Europe (Gwiazda, 2021: 2). The following research questions will guide
the research objective described above:
2
Political beliefs and systems place a lot of importance on the group to which people see themselves
as belonging to, especially according to their race, gender or sexual orientation (dictionary.cambridge.org).
3(57)
Master thesis Dominique Keizer1) To what extent is the current changing political paradigm in Poland towards right-wing
conservatism interrelated with conditioning gender roles that are meant to become
women’s issues in the political agenda?
2) To what extent can the Polish example be used to showcase the connection between
political ideology and the representation of women in the broader context of Central and
Eastern Europe?
3) How does women's portrayal in media settings intersect with the way womanhood is
being enacted and experienced as a preconditioned gender role?
1.3 Justification of the study
By using the concept of resistance towards the dominant power relations, the
study aims to shed light on the study of Foucault on identity formation through power. In his
understanding the making of who we are is constructed by authority and, thus, when opposing
an authoritative form of power, one starts to seek answers as to what identity means. Moreover,
power is involved in the way we refer to ourselves but also represent, mainly through imposing
a law of truth that must be recognised by oneself and by others (Taylor and Vintges, 2004: 189).
For the sake of analysis, this approach shall be linked with the post-structuralist understanding
of ‘knowledge construction’. Although this thesis is not based on the Foucauldian theoretical
approach, his understanding of resistance puts into context the national counter to identity
politics. That is why, Poland, as a recent case of protest outbreaks (such as the nationwide Black
Protest) towards politics enforcing a conservative gender role, constitutes an interesting
example to research the relationship between political ideology and substantive representation
of women in Central and Eastern Europe. Also, how, through resistance women can put issues
on the political agenda in times when the government is not supportive (Gwiazda, 2021: 2).
Nevertheless, although mainly concentrated on Poland as a Central European country, the topic
sheds light on broader international tendencies towards undermining the political space for
discussions on gender and eventually human rights. This happens in the realm of broadly
understood identity politics that refers to women’s issues as a discursive practice that is
expected to follow specific social rules. The literature review shall specifically refer to the
reproductive rights under the Trump administration in the United States and the Pussy riots
movement in Russia. By looking into the broader international context, it should become visible
4(57)
Master thesis Dominique Keizerhow the reached conclusions within this study may be applied in other political contexts as
well.
Perception of womanhood and gender performativity has been specifically chosen to reflect on
social conservatism as an enactor of gender roles and thus also representation. This is mainly
visible in media and political debates where discussions surround the topic of national values
and Western ideologies infiltrating the local discourse, such as the issue of LGBTQ+ rights or
reproductive rights. With that in mind, this research tries to understand whether women, when
influenced by policies, may recognise their preconditioned role enforced by those in power. As
a result, if that is the case, they could be approached as creators of a new understanding of
women’s issues. In this case, given the link between the political and the private, the enforced
role through policies becomes part of the political agenda, redirecting the analysis back to
substantive representation and political ideology.
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Master thesis Dominique Keizer2 Literature Review
This literature review puts into context what has been already studied in the
respective field of gender rights. First, the chapter discusses the approach of Judith Butler
towards performing gender concerning Polish religiosity. As a result, it becomes feasible how
religion may become a target of counter-narratives. Given the prominent role of the church in
Polish politics, the analysis resumes understanding how that impacts the distinction between
the national body and the female body.3 Second, to showcase the universality of the tendencies
observed in Poland, the recent gender oppression in the United States and Russia is briefly
described. Third, in linkage to the universal tendencies, research has shown women’s common
concerns.
2.1 Countering identity politics - National Body versus Female Body
Feminist and philosopher Judith Butler explains gender as a repeated stylisation of the
body that is ‘done’ or ‘produced’ within a discourse (Butler, 2004). In this case, the right-wing
politicians aim to spread the heterosexual normativity with undisputable gender role divisions,
as discussed by the church to be a norm of the natural law as opposed to norms outside the
Judeo-Christian roots. Hence, the conservative part of society creates a fight against gender
ideology and dislike for people propagating for equal rights independently of gender identity
(Żuk and Żuk, 2020: 573). To put it into context, the term Polak-katolik [Pole-Catholic] shows
how national identity is intertwined with Catholicism and how it might be effectively used to
exclude groups related to foreign influence such as the LGBTI+ community. It can be both used
as a concept of pride and to show “backward” views. The term has long historical roots from
the 19th century onwards (Porter-Szűcs, 2017). However, in the current understanding, the term
is mainly used to reflect on religion as constituting an important role within the realm of group
belonging.
For women, associated with motherhood, the discussion on religion in connection to
nationalism is linked to the discussion between the national body versus the female body. The
academic community argues that this linkage of gender role and Catholicism, created by the
narrative of the ruling party PiS, is meant to justify the institutionalised patriarchy and to
3
The study is based on the current interpretation of Catholicism in Poland. It is essential to note that religions
evolve due to shifting cultural frames, but also global trends.
6(57)
Master thesis Dominique Keizerstrengthen a conservative national discourse shared among citizens. The debate between
feminism and religion finds itself in history with the use of modern contraception. Since the fall
of communism and the transition to a market economy, the financial means of women
substantially deteriorated due to lack of employment protection and subsided childcare, both
available during communism. As a result, competition in the market economy has led to
gendered discrimination and poverty due to lack of job provision. That is why, contraception,
for many women, is a gateway to gain empowerment and seek opportunities in the labour
market (Mishtal and Dannefer, 2010: 240). Yet, the church highly opposes this perspective and
considers both contraception and abortion as a sin and a ‘murder of the unborn’ respectively
(Żuk and Żuk, 2020). That has led to the deterritorialisation of giving women self-
determination about their own decisions in the name of the national discourse. As a
consequence, counter-narratives are increasingly being formed by those who oppose the
resulting gender role enforcement. Through diverse means, society seeks channels to spread
discontent towards those who control the dominant discourse. Intrigued by the current rise of
mass protest, scholar Bogumiła Hall conducted a study on the new wave of activism in Poland
with interviews displaying how a new political generation is being formed based on collective
experience against the conservatism of PiS. This new wave of activism also appeared as a way
to search for a Polish gender identity since emancipation and women’s rights had been
previously treated as a taboo topic and only discussed among academics (Hall, 2019: 1500-
1504).
2.2 Universal gender rights oppression
“Since 2010, more than half of all U.S. states have: passed Targeted Regulation of Abortion
Providers (TRAP) laws; mandated proabortion wait times, fetal ultrasound viewings, or
reading of scripts about fetal development, and/or reduced gestational ages for legal
abortion.” (Andaya, 2019: 11).
As also observed in Poland, the populist administration of Trump between 2017 and
2021 has decreased funding for organisations appointed to issues such as women’s health or
family planning for low-income women. Moreover, as a president, Trump declared prolife
commitments, at the same challenging abortion rights and providing space for antiabortion
activists. However, interestingly enough, the values followed by Trump do not align with the
conservative ideology. When looking at the example of the United States, scholars Lynn
7(57)
Master thesis Dominique KeizerMorgan and Elizabeth Roberts observe the rise of the so-called reproductive governance.
Meaning, governments centralise the issue of reproduction within the political agenda. This
strategy is partially meant to gain support from religious conservatives and partially to regain
the state’s authority within the framework of ideological foundations (Morgan and Roberts,
2012: 12-13). Yet, in her article, Elise Andaya sets up the question of how to connect the
populist-nationalist movement in the United States with regressive reproductive politics.
Findings have shown that when state power is under threat, the criminalisation of sexuality is
meant to regain control over bodies given conservative migration and reproductive policy. In
2017 an undocumented seventeen-year-old Central American immigrant was denied an
abortion. The state as being the guardian of an unaccompanied minor had the right to intervene
in her reproductive decision-making. This case shows several vulnerabilities by highlighting
how the Trump administration is seeking power over bodies with both border and reproductive
control (Andaya, 2019: 13-14). One year earlier, Texan legislators increased the budget for
border security while substantially decreasing funds for family planning initiatives (ibid). This
caused unrest and preoccupation among society given the unjust approach to human rights. The
outbreak of protests resulted in protecting personal choice and the freedom to act upon own
body. The title of the article “I’m Building a Wall Around my Uterus”: Abortion Politics and
the Politics of Othering in Trump’s America” written by Elise Andaya symbolises the
interlinkage between the wall initiative of Trump and abortion politics.
© Loeb, S. 2020. Abortion rights activists protest outside the Supreme Court on March 4
8(57)
Master thesis Dominique KeizerWith the same thinking based on returning to traditional and nationalist values, the Russian
president Vladimir Putin after the 2012 election started to put focus specifically on saving the
moral foundations of the West. Similarly, as in Poland, as a president, he intends to defend
Christian values. The homophobic and xenophobic feelings in Russia, believed to be based on
moral Orthodox values, are being supported by the current Kremlin politics that legalises
citizenship through heteronormativity and political discourse (Kondakov, 2013;
Sharafutdinova, 2014: 619). The deployed “morality politics”, although already prevalent
during earlier terms is currently being changed in its intensity and scope to control societal
perceptions. Sergei Kurginyan, a Pro-Kremlin public figure, promotes the conservative political
agenda through establishing movements such as “All-Russian Parents resistance” or “Let’s
defend our children and Russia”. These slogans are meant to promote traditional Pro-Orthodox
and anti-West values (ibid). As a response to the heteronormative discourse and preferred
gender roles, the Pussy Riot feminist movement has been created as a counter to contradict the
“morality politics”. Through protesting in Orthodox churches and politically sensitive public
spaces, the group stands for supporting gay rights and for that matter uses Western performance
art but also relies on new social media. Given the ‘illegal’ actions of the feminist group, the
women were sentenced and the decision was justified with their identity being against the
Russian social relations order. Also, by ignoring the political message of the Riot group, the
ruling party successfully reframed the problematic events to a discourse of morality with
religious hatred. This has been the case especially after the protest performance in the Cathedral
of Christ the Saviour (ibid: 616-617).
© TheCalvertJournal.com. 2020. Arrested but not defeated: Pussy Riot climb jail cell walls after latest arrest
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Master thesis Dominique Keizer2.3 Oppression and domination – women’s common concerns
Even though power relations of race and class should not be undermined in the
study on female experience, certain commonalities among women can be found that derive
from life activities of sustaining human beings (Diamond and Hartstock, 1981: 194). Yet, it is
important to differentiate between women’s interests and women’s issues. Scholar Anna
Gwiazda has put a specific focus on understanding the difference between those two concepts.
According to her research, the former one connotes an ideological stance, whereas the latter
one refers to policies, specifically women’s policies (Gwiazda, 2019: 266). Based on the
findings of Celis and Childs, this differentiation also allows observing what concerns might be
regarded as universal. Women’s issues, in other words, the broad policy category, can be
universal. These policies include women’s traditional role but also gender equality, combatting
violence against women, or reproduction. However, interests are explained as the meaning that
is given to the issue and is in most cases personal instead of shared (Celis and Childs, 2014: 4).
Based on the radical-feminist hypothesis most forms of oppression are connected with the
male/female division. Women’s work involves mental and manual labour with life necessities.
Thus, their interdependence with others transcends instrumental cooperation and points to
socialisation as a female and as living in a female body (Diamond and Hartstock, 1981: 194).
Moreover, from the perspective of early childhood, it is typically women that are responsible
for taking care of the children. Differentiating from the mother depends on the sex and evidence
has suggested that women experience personal boundary confusion, whereas male boundary-
strengthening. As a result, gender division is based on relational experience for the former and
a sense of separate self for the latter (ibid: 195). This understanding is being reinforced in the
sexual division of labour and consequently different social understandings. ‘Masculinity’ can
only be achieved if implemented in opposition to ‘female’ household responsibilities. Hence,
through female experience, one can uncover traditional conceptions constructed by men's
political community and the hierarchical relation of power. Here, when it comes to
representation, scholars Diamond and Hartstock, remind us that what women want and need is
different from their gender counterpart’s wants and needs. This can be portrayed with the
example of reproductive rights that is guiding the discussion of this thesis. Whether women are
represented should be determined through assessing if the advocacy solely extends women’s
rights to the ones formed for men or if it also shifts the attention to new gender-related issues
(ibid: 197-198).
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Master thesis Dominique Keizer3 Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework will set up the frame to analyse the shifting
perspectives on women's representation within the political sphere of Poland. The focus shall
primarily lie on how protests and particularly discontent towards policies restricting women’s
rights showcase how preconditioned gender roles are being re-discovered and acted upon. In
this case, the concept of preconditioning underlies a top-down power dynamic that dictates what
gender behaviours are expected in the social order. Public feminism is a rather recent
phenomenon in Poland that currently has shifted from traditional gender roles, where a woman
is supposed to take care of the household towards a more critical and philosophical
understanding of performing gender. In the following theoretical framework, three aspects are
introduced. First, the guiding theories that contextualise the topic. Second, the reasoning behind
the choice of these specific theories and how they relate to each other. Third, the role of post-
structuralism in the depiction of discursive practices.
3.1 Sex and gender in the realm of political representation
To conceptualise the roots of the current understanding of womanhood as propagated
through political representation, the gender performativity theory of Judith Butler acts as to
address the meaning behind self-identifying with a sex. As a philosopher and feminist, she
defines the identity (self-identification) of a person as always being performative and existing
through repetition and thus being prone to variations and instability. Meaning, what constitutes
the act of identifying as female is socially constructed in a specific period. Context cannot be
considered as being ‘fixed’, instead, it changes over time showing its internal discontinuities,
in other words, a social construct is constantly evolving and shifting (Butler, 1990). By using
the theory of Butler, this thesis aims to put into context Polish womanhood as a discursive
practice in recent times associated specifically with identity politics. In practical terms,
Foucault’s analysis of surveillance and self-discipline shall allow exploring whether and to what
extent political but also social media create behavioural obedience to phenomena such as
patriarchy. Also, how media visuals may regulate the relationship of women to their own body
and gender, observed as socially constructed (Gill, 2007: 63). Hence, the question remains
whether womanhood as observed reflects the awareness of being under social surveillance and
how this disciplinary power can be used by conservative right-wing parties to achieve political
goals. This practical understanding of the theory of Butler will result in an explorative analysis
11(57)
Master thesis Dominique Keizerof how political representation is intertwined with the public as well as the private sphere. In
the case of Poland, this linkage is especially visible while discussing women’s rights, which are
recently being undermined for the sake to validate patriarchy, believed to be the natural
biological order (Żuk and Żuk, 2020: 573). Instead, representation should be based on acting in
the interest of the represented, in a manner responsive to them (Pitkin, 1972: 209). This paper
will showcase the diversity of representation and how political actions in the interest of the
represented can be effectively manipulated.
For the sake of understanding the complexities behind women’s issues in the political agenda
and to avoid the assumption that women compose a uniform nature, the gender performativity
theory shall set up the guiding theory aside from two other stances of thinking. First, the queer
theory shall be used to provide a critical viewpoint on the social understanding of sex and
gender. Second, the dramaturgical model will constitute an overarching thought of analysis.
The former theory used as a frame is relevant due to LGBTQ+ concepts being used as political
tools to privilege heterosexuality. Thus, the belief that attraction to the opposite sex is the only
socially accepted paradigm. By confronting heteronormativity, the queer theory challenges the
belief in the stable identity that the dominant discourse aims to align with (Gill, 2007: 70). This
idea shall be examined given the social enforcement of a gender role and how these roles are
reinforced through policies. The latter one, the dramaturgical model by Erving Goffman, has
been chosen to critically assess the before mentioned strands of discursive thinking. In his
theory, Goffman compares social interactions to a theatrical performance in which impressions
are a reflection of one’s ideological ‘mask’ encrypted by society (Goffman, 1959). In relation
to the gender performativity theory and the queer theory, the dramaturgical aspect deconstructs
the discursive script by looking at the social space between women’s substantive representation
and lived experience. Hence, how do women define themselves within the current political
ideology? Also, is the way how media portrays women also the way womanhood is being
enacted and experienced by locals? To what extent can one define the gender role division as
being a ‘theatrical performance’?
3.2 Theory as the basis to assess discursive interlinkages
The approach described above will permeate to analyse what feminism entails in Poland
and how strict gender roles are being socially constructed through dogmas such as patriarchy.
This is especially visible in debates on political policies that exclude women’s issues. As a
12(57)
Master thesis Dominique Keizerresult, female powerlessness to act upon their interests increases. Butler provides a perspective
to counteract the propagated normative view on gender and to understand why the act of
performing gender is subconsciously reinvented. Dominant discourses and role expectations
are deeply rooted in societies and continuously reinforced through channels such as media and
political conversations. Thus, with this interpretation Polish womanhood receives another layer
of analysis and allows to open the discussion on the opposing viewpoints towards public
policies.
By applying the theoretical frame of Goffman together with national identity, this thesis
explores the ‘performance’ behind women's portrayal in the dominant discourse, reinforced
through identity politics. To depict this correlation media representation will be used as the
basis to understand the given ‘script’ and how women, through social conservatism, are
expected to adjust their understanding of gender. The queer theory related to gender
performativity theory will allow the paper to decipher the performativity and analyse how
traditional behavioural patterns are being naturalised through the dominant discourse. As a
result, it will become visible how identity politics enforces an identity on women and how that
influences substantive representation.
3.3 Post-structuralism
The future direction of the polish national discourse depends on how the government
shall react to ideologies that are against the ones that are being propagated but also what actions
will be taken by society. For the sake of discovering this aspect, the concept of poststructuralism
propagated by Michel Foucault provides another layer to Butler’s understanding of discourse
manipulation. Poststructuralists view ‘knowledge’ as being constructed due to the power of
those who are considered elites. Neoliberalism and the economic transition in Eastern and
Central Europe have shown how a few actors may influence the course of action and create a
belief that following a certain path will lead to acknowledgement (further discussed in the
background section). In the same token, media through repeatedly portraying the ‘preferred’
social discourse, imposes a realm in which thinking differently is considered irrational
(Morrow, 2017: 56-61). With that in mind, the constructive nature of the gender role division
in Poland shall be underlined with Foucault’s analysis of a label known as ‘regime of truth’.
Meaning, elites and the power of language create an unquestioned discourse for the sake of a
dominant ideology (ibid: 58).
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Master thesis Dominique KeizerConservative political ideology enforcing a gender role (media and political debates)
Women's issues in policies
Queer Theory
Challenging the heteronormative order and the fixed identity
Performativity Theory of Butler
Acting womanhood Preconditioned gender role
Dramaturgical model
Deciphering the gender role script enacted by substantive representation
Fig. 1. Graphic illustration Theoretical Framework
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Master thesis Dominique Keizer4 Methodology
This section shall provide an overview of the methods used. First, the main
methodological approaches will be presented. Second, the reasoning behind media data
gathering and the advantages of online discourse analysis. Third, the ethical considerations that
are of relevance to obtain unbiased data and protect the personal information of the involved
subjects.
4.1 Guiding methodological approaches
As a qualitative research with Poland as a case study, this paper employs a
Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) that in relation to online data shall draw on principles from
nethnography and feminist ethnography (Holman, 2016; Reinharz, 1992). Moreover, a small
number of interviews have been conducted to grasp the lived personal experience.
CDA as an approach relates the power of language to ideology and socio-cultural change by
drawing on the perspective of Foucault who observes the subject as a construction through rules
and procedures (Bryman, 2015: 540; Dijk, 1997). At the same time, this method of analysis
regards social reality as created by discourse since: “[…] social interactions cannot be fully
understood without reference to the discourses that give them meaning.” (Philips and Hardy,
2002: 3). This also explains why some values in society are uncritically privileged while others
are marginalised. In any social construction, power acts as a background and dictates how
meaning is created (ibid: 1-5). The above approach as a definition conveys how the data has
been interpreted and used for the sake of analysis. The social discourse in Polish society is taken
as the underlying aspect of cultural belonging and gender affiliation redirecting the study to the
reasoning behind the political policies presented in the introduction. With that in mind, the CDA
permeates a multi-layered reflection towards the complexity behind social norms and why
counter-narratives are being challenged.
In practical terms, before diving into the interpretative side of this research, the chosen
methodology will, first of all, allow looking at material content itself, without referring to a
reality behind the discourse. This is relevant to seek what is being publicly said in media and
how that reflects substantive representation. The critical paradigm additionally allows
enhancing the study with its interpretation with the main focus put on the spoken language as
15(57)
Master thesis Dominique Keizerconstructive and thus impacting how viewpoints are received. Furthermore, the gathered data
will be evaluated based on research provided by scholars Potter and Wetherell (Potter and
Wetherell, 1987; Gill, 2007: 58). First, discursive practices will be examined through linguistic
resources, in this case, political debates and interviews. Secondly, following the debates and
interviews, the analysis shall interpret how subjects choose to describe social phenomena such
as activism or gender. Third, the post-structuralist approach, as presented in the theoretical
framework, is meant to reveal how the world is constructed through various texts and visuals,
resulting in social practices (ibid: 59-59).
In addition to CDA, the conducted interviews will be approached through feminist ethnography
that as a research method allows: a) the opportunity to document personal experiences of
women; b) understand the subjective experience from own point of view; c) analyse gender
behaviour as an expression of social contexts (Reinharz and Davidman, 1992: 51). In addition
to the method of ethnography, the nethnographic principles will be used to gather relevant
online discussions concerning the perspective of the Polish Catholic church and the
government.
To put the methodologies into practice the three-dimensional framework will be used:
1. Examining the content, structure and meaning of the text
2. Examining how meaning and beliefs are communicated through discursive interactions
3. Examining the social context of the discursive event
4.2 Interviews
The semi-structured interviews have been conducted in both Polish and English with
four women who took part in the study. Three of them are students on a bachelor or master
level, and one is a representative of a local NGO called Dziewuchy Dziewuchom [girls for
girls]4. The age span is between twenty and forty years old with no previous preference for a
specific age given the research interest in the current lived experience of women in general. The
selection process was based on three criteria: a.) Polish roots with at least near-native ability to
also speak Polish; b.) association with the female gender; c.) lived in Poland with a minimum
4
Grassroots feminist activist group
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Master thesis Dominique Keizerperiod of 8 years.5 These requirements allowed to choose respondents who obtained sufficient
experience and insights that are relevant for this thesis. To search for subjects, Facebook groups,
Instagram, the LinkedIn community and personal friends have been approached through posts
and private messages. In the case of NGOs, emails have been sent based on the contact
information provided on the websites.6
Due to the local sensitivity of the topic and to ensure respondent’s safety (further explained in
the limitations section) names, age, and field of study are anonymised. Yet, the date of the
interviews and the transcriptions can be provided upon request. The findings from the
interviews are analysed in both the findings and analysis chapters. Aside from anonymous
names, the coding system includes the numbering of the quoted statements. This system allows
the reader to understand to which statement the analysis refers to in the different parts of the
thesis. Moreover, the transcriptions permitted the division of the conversations into specific
themes with the most relevant being the role of the Church, women’s representation, and
cultural gender role expectations. Together with the relevant literature review the quotes from
the conversations have been selected for each section accordingly.
Two interview guides have been created to allow a broader range of women to take part in the
research (Appendix I). The first one is more elaborate with concepts deriving from gender
studies and the second one is universal, adjusted to a common understanding of womanhood.
4.3 Online discourse analysis
To consider the governmental topic of reproductive rights, the CDA involves first
of all the parliamentary debate on 22 September 2016. Based on the obtained data, further study
can specify the ideologies behind the debate through articles by right-wing columnists and
official documents presenting the position of the church. Prawy.pl and the weekly news
magazine Do Rzeczy [To the Point] are both supportive of the right-wing perspective and have
been analysed within the timeframe of 2018-2021 to obtain a present-day perspective. The
former is an online Catholic information outlet that has been already critically assessed in the
5
The criteria have been chosen based on personal preference and act as an universal baseline to reach specific
conclusions
6
In total, approximately 10 NGOs have been contacted with only one positive response
17(57)
Master thesis Dominique Keizerstudy of scholars Żuk and Żuk on the topic of the ‘anti-gender’ rhetoric. For their study, based
on CDA, they used frequently posted videos (Żuk and Żuk, 2020: 568). In the case of this thesis,
the study shall assess the websites’ articles regarding gender within the mentioned timeframe
to understand the reasoning behind the thinking patterns. The latter is a weekly news magazine
supportive of right-wing politics, published by Orle Pióro Sp. Z.o.o. (Limited Liability
Company).7
In terms of counter-discourses, the study includes resources from the quality newspaper
called Rzeczpospolita.pl, published by Gremi Media SA (the leading Polish media group).8
Moreover, YouTube videos depicting protest speeches of women and online protests on
Instagram allowed this research to analyse reactionary activities. Before using the obtained data
for the study, the validity of the publisher has been checked on the ground of legal recognition
by state statute. The material correlates with the timeframe of 2016-2021 given the Black
Protests both in 2016 and 2020.9
Given the Covid-19 outbreak, the latest 2020 women’s strike showed how social media can be
used as a digital connectivity tool with a bottom-up approach. This also allowed to extend the
scope of participation nationally as well as internationally leading eventually to an offline
women’s activism that cannot easily be separated from the online space (Hall, 2019: 1505). The
counternarrative action partaken by Natalia Przybysz, a national singer and songwriter, who
protested against restricting the abortion policy in 2016 with a song called “Przez
Sen” [‘through a dream’] shall be also analysed in connection to the new wave of activism and
how it is increasingly being shared among Polish women.
7
The study recognises a large number of available resources. Yet, due to the limited scope of research and
additional linguistic analysis from the public broadcast, Do Rzeczy and Prawy.pl have been chosen among the
most visible right-wing outlets online. The selection of material was based on the connection with the counter-
narratives and the interview discussions.
8
The official website of the media group, in both Polish and English, can be found on:
https://gremimedia.pl/
9
As in the case of right-wing outlets, the counter-narrative material has also been critically selected. Both YouTube
and Instagram are online sources that contain a large amount of data. That is why research has only focused on
videos posted by officials or recognised entities. With this selected material, only relevant speeches, connected to
the interviewed data, could be used for further analysis. Rzeczpospolita.pl is regarded as a quality newspaper by
the Polish society. Thus, statements taken from this outlet are meant to support the data selected from social media.
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Master thesis Dominique Keizer4.4 Ethical considerations
As a feminine investigator of sociocultural reality, my gender orientation must
also be acknowledged. Although it might be considered biased towards the research results, the
study shall aim to explore the women’s perspective through the eyes of women, providing a
linkage between personal story and theory. Given the vulnerability of the topic, the interviews
have been conducted according to the CHE Principles to create a personal dialogue instead of
knowledge sharing through unequal power dynamics. The CHE refers to Connectivity,
Humanness and Empathy (Brown and Danaher, 2019). Connectivity is established by showing
appreciation for participant’s stories and perspectives. Here, eye contact, smiling and gestures
reflecting openness allowed both the researcher and the participant to reflect upon shared
experiences. Humanness, meaning the expression of humanity, eased the formal atmosphere by
valuing dual information sharing. The last aspect, Empathy, aligns with the appreciation of the
perspective of the other person. Listening without judgment and showing genuine interest is
necessary to capture a wide variety of meanings behind the said words. Moreover, through
empathy, the dialogue facilitates space for self-reflecting thoughts (Brown and Danaher, 2019:
80-84).
4.5 Limitations and Delimitations
Although feminism is increasingly being treated as relevant in Polish society, the
topic is still relatively sensitive (both socially and politically) and not broadly discussed in
public schools. Thus, many women do not feel sufficiently knowledgeable to share their
experiences or thoughts. This created a challenge to find enough interviewees in the limited
timeframe. Moreover, most of the contacted NGOs did not respond, with one response being a
contact reference and only one positive answer regarding interest in participation. Meaning, the
subjects interested in taking part in the research are highly dedicated to the critical counter-
narratives. The small number of interviews still permitted the paper to find common features
and provided a valuable asset for the study, aside from the media analysis that the research is
based on. Also, given the current Covid-19 pandemic, research on-site was not possible,
limiting the opportunities to have in-person conversations and access a more diverse range of
women.
When it comes to delimitations, interviews focused only on Polish citizens, although the study
is placed in the broader field of Central and Eastern Europe. The reasoning behind this decision
19(57)
Master thesis Dominique Keizerhas been the researchers’ shared discourse, which allowed not only to ease the interview process
but also to provide a more in-depth media analysis. However, the literature review has shown
that because of rising identity politics similar discursive patterns are visible in other countries
as well. Due to the limited research scope, the study could not provide an in-depth analysis of
each case. In addition, the perspective taken on Catholicism in Poland contains the researchers’
own bias and does not include the diversity of religious understanding in the country. The
reason being the need for a point of departure to create a general study baseline. This allowed
exploring general tendencies and mainstream opinions, without excluding the possibility for a
personal interpretation. In this case, the interviews acted as a gateway for approaching the
individual discourse on religion, although it should be taken into account that the interviewed
women identified as being in opposition to the teachings of the church in Poland. Women in
support of the PiS administration and the propagated values of the church did not participate in
the research.
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Master thesis Dominique Keizer5 Background
Before diving into findings that contextualise the gathered data, this chapter
briefly describes the socio-political environment relevant for understanding the reasoning
behind the debate discussed in this research paper. The background is focused on the reasoning
behind the political shift that occurred in 2015, the interrelationship between the local Catholic
Church and politics, and how this is interrelated with the Black Protests.
5.1 Neoliberalism as a source of societal change
” Though abortion, gay rights and the limits of artistic freedom are the topics of controversy,
all this must be viewed as a struggle over the shape of Poland’s democracy.” (Graff, 2014:
434)
In Central and Eastern Europe, the fall of the Soviet Union and establishing a
post-communist economy after 1989 meant finding a solution as to how to reform the socialist
regime. Due to already existing institutions, some local economists proposed to create a “third
way” of social and economic development, meaning an approach designed specifically for the
post-communist countries, different from the ‘Western capitalism’ and ‘Eastern socialism’. Yet,
because of insufficient practical terms, the idea did not reach a consensus, and instead,
policymakers advocated for neoliberalism (Köves, 1992). The implementation of neoliberalism
depicted the domination of the West and how local elites adopted this particular economic
approach for the sake of legitimacy and recognition from international financial institutions
(Bockman and Eyal, 2002: 311-312). Nevertheless, it would be inapt in 1989 to consider
Central and Eastern European countries as a novice in the market economics given the already
existing conversations on neoliberalism during the cold war (between American and East
European economists). Still, by entering the transition period, Western governments and
international economic agencies took the lead and guided the post-communist countries without
a possibility for another alternative (ibid: 311). As a result, through shock therapy, the countries
within the sphere of development were expected to involve: “[…] immediate price
liberalisation, immediate privatisation, the immediate establishment of an independent central
bank, immediate achievement of a balanced budget, immediate introduction of free trade and
the immediate establishment of a fully convertible flexible currency.” (Marangos, 2005: 70).
Yet, this rapid transformation instead of providing high living standards led to economic
collapse, stagnation, inflation, and unemployment (ibid: 71). The current discussion behind this
21(57)
Master thesis Dominique Keizerunsuccessful incorporation being, among many other aspects, the ignorance towards developing
institutions and inadequate resources for social protection. Moreover, scholars have argued that
“[…] shock therapy and the immediate establishment of capitalism was motivated by the self-
interest of the capitalist classes in mature market economies, using the IMF and World Bank as
enforcement agents, which required the transformation of the elite of the Stalinist system into
a capitalist class.” (ibid: 71).
With that in mind, the argument goes further into how this challenging transition continues to
be visible in the current political environment in Central and Eastern Europe and how that has
influenced the political patterns towards returning to the pre-neoliberal system. In Poland after
2015 the PiS (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość/Law and Justice) administration, a right-wing
conservative party, surprisingly won the majority votes in parliament, becoming the ruling
political party. Given their conservative viewpoint, women’s representation and their respective
gender roles also changed in the eyes of those holding power, showing how elites still dominate
what is considered important in national discourse and may act upon enforcement through
policies. The right-wing perspective maintains a patriarchal approach with Catholicism that is
mainly governed by men. Hence, how does the lack of non-conservative female representation
impact women under right-wing political ideologies?
© Aljazeera.com. 2020. ‘This is war’: Inside Poland’s abortion protests
Before entering neoliberalism, the concept of Matka Polka [Polish Mother], established in post-
socialist Poland, measured the value of women against their reproductive powers and self-
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