ABSTRACT
The history of non-normative sexuality in twentieth-century Poland is both little-explored and different from that of other European countries, especially in the non-penalization of same-sex acts. After 1945, queer life in Poland continued because the mostly underground informal institutions which enabled it, such as cruising grounds and unofficial gathering places, survived the war and the geopolitical transition which followed. Homosexual men in particular were deemed both likely victims and likely perpetrators of criminal acts. The lack of a movement prior to the 1980s was partly due to the absence of penalization, which took away a major motive for political struggle. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the concepts of gender and sexuality used by sexologists, lawyers, and the police. It addresses the paradoxes of (in)visibility and (un)intelligibility of sexually nonconforming women and queer artists.
