In this presentation I would like to focus on the drag queen`s presences in the Polish LGBTQ culture analyzed in the prysmatic intersection of (pop-)Cultural Studies, post-communist heritage, and language/incl. Translation Studies. First part of the presentation will be dedicated to the analysis of the presence (both in the genealogical and modern dimensions) of Gay&Lesbian and Queer theories and policies in Poland, which differ significantly from the Western ones (Kulpa, Mizielińska 2013). This context will help me to sketch the complexity of drag existence in Poland. I would like to show the interesting hybridity of Polish drag performers with the highlight on their appropriations of Western models mixed with post-communist and pre-emancipatory homosexual culture. Apart of the “traditional” perspectives of Cultural Studies, I would like to shortly describe the way in which those drag queens use the language (especially in the aspect of the translation of Western concepts, words and polices) and the benefits of the celebrity in order to create and highlight their own queer, non-normative existence. In the last part of my paper, I would like to discuss the outcomes of such a hybridity and its impact both on LGBTQ policy and activism in Poland, and the (still hidden) potential of impact outside of the Polish frame.
About the presenterMateusz Wojciech Krol
PhD Student at the University of Silesia in the field of Queer Translation. I am interested in queer and transgender presences in the postmodern literatures (especially in the intersection of Polish, French and American cultures). I am a feminist, LGBTQ activist and translator. During the academic year 2019-2020 I will be the Visiting Assistant in Research at Yale University.