A Cishet Man’s Poland : Compulsory Heterosexuality in Polish Legislation on Reproductive and Sexual Rights

Abstract: This thesis analyzes how compulsory heterosexuality is present in Polish legislation on women' and trans' people’s reproductive and sexual rights. The aim of this study is to increase an understanding of how compulsory heterosexuality’s presence in legislation regarding reproductive and sexual rights can consequently affect women' and trans' people in practice. By the means of qualitative content analysis and the operationalization of compulsory heterosexuality through the lens of queer feminism, this thesis analyzes three Polish legislations on reproductive and sexual rights, namely the Constitution of Poland, the Family Planning, Human Embryo Protection and Conditions of Permissibility of Abortion Act, and the Family and Guardianship Code. Adrienne Rich’s theory of compulsory heterosexuality suggests that heterosexuality is not natural, but a violent institution enforced in society through e.g. law. This thesis found that compulsory heterosexuality was present in all three legislations, and presented itself through: erasure of women' and trans' people, denial of their sexuality, idealization of heterosexuality, rape and violence, control of their bodies, robbing of their children, punishment for being LGBTQIA+, diminishing their aspirations, restricting their self-fulfillment to parenthood and marriage, keeping them from seeking reproductive care, erasure of their traditions, objectification, and dismissive language. Possible consequences identified were: invalidation and invisibilization of queer and trans' people, increased oppression, the social norm being a negative bias against LGBTQIA+ people, criminalization of LGBTQIA+ people, more deaths at the hands of the law, more parentless children, making women' and trans' people question their body or intuition, and an increase in illegal unsafe abortions or abortion tourism.