Polish Men Question Role as Government Reasserts Patriarchal Notions

The group of 13 men of the Chlopaki group have been getting together regularly since late 2019 in what they call "men's circles", to hang out and talk about what it's like to be a man in contemporary Poland. Along the way, they have created a safe space where they feel accepted and loved, while sharing their deepest emotions and openly manifesting affection with one another.

The form of male-to-male interaction depicted in the play is rarely - if ever - witnessed in Central and Eastern Europe, and therein lies its radical potential. What would happen, the audience of the theatre play is led to ponder, were men to behave like this on a daily basis?

Political context

That this group emerged at this particular moment, and in Poland, compounds its importance.

Women live in patriarchal systems across the globe, but in Poland the governing Law and Justice (PiS) has doubled down on its assaults on the rights of women and LGBT people since coming to power in 2015. Last year, a new red line was crossed when the Constitutional Tribunal handed down a ruling that is leading to a de facto ban on abortion.

A huge number of women - especially the young - have taken to the streets across the country since, in what has been the most powerful civic movement seen in this country since the fall of communism. Many Polish men have come out in support - but more might be needed from them.

"This is a move away from power," Wojtek Mejor, one of the members of the Chlopaki group told BIRN in an interview in March, referring to the activities of the group, including their relationship with the women's protests in Poland. "The second wave of feminism was women fighting for power, showing that women can be in leadership positions -...