ABSTRACT
This chapter, "Polishing Queer Relational Trajectory", is devoted to the relational trajectory of queer people in Poland. Using a life-course perspective (Gabb 2008) and drawing on biographical interviews with queer couples, it aims to show how the reconstruction of the main life stages is deeply embedded in the geopolitical context that defines and regulates the right life trajectory, excluding non-normative ways of doing families and relationships. It presents queer ways of either adapting or transforming heteronormative life milestones and searching for such rites of passage that might facilitate recognition of their relational status in the eyes of significant others, particularly families of origin (that is, diverse family contracts, financial decisions, planning a child, etc.). In countries such as Poland, where there is no recognition of same-sex relationships of any kind, moving in with one’s partner signifies for many queer couples the key turning point in the trajectory of family life – a shift from being just a couple to being a family. Therefore, different meanings given to home/household are also investigated more closely. Even though for LGBTIQ people, the home retains normative implications and remains a site of familial/parental homophobia (Schulman 2009; Stella 2015), it is also a significant space to resist heteronormativity and affirm their sexual difference (Elwood 2000). It is important particularly in Poland, where the public sphere is perceived as hostile, resulting in daily practices of (non)displaying affection (Stasinska 2018, 2021). In this context, home-making practices and the notion of a shared household become particularly important as a way to create a safe haven and escape public and familial homophobia. Consequently, home manifests itself as a crucial site for practising intimacy and an essential element of kin work concerning families of origin.
