Living La Vida Internet. Some Notes on the Cyberization of Polish LGBT Community

Abstract

In this paper, I am going to explore various forms and meanings of the process of cyberization of Polish LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community. I will also analyze how cyberspace functions interchangeably as private and as public space, depending on the context. Throughout the paper, I will be commenting on the process of being and becoming lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, that is increasingly and intrinsically linked with cyberspace; looking at the Internet as a space for negotiating issues of (sexual) citizenship. In the first section, I will provide background historical information on the Polish LGBT movement, as I believe this is crucial for the understanding of the meanings of the Internet for the community at the moment. In the second section, I will concentrate on the intersections of cyberspace and the coming-out process, passing on later to the analysis of blogs. In the section that follows I will analyze briefly the presence of LGBT issues on on-line discussion boards, situating the analysis around a salient event for Polish gay and lesbian movement, that is, the Poznan March of Equality. Finally, I will talk about the meaning of the Internet for Polish LGBT organizations.

Keywords: cyberspace, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community, Poland,