Gay culture in Warsaw: Crazy as a Pole

Feb. 03 2014

by Jan Le Bris de Kerne

Homos, it is said, like to be on the cutting edge. Among them, as everywhere, there are those who "know" and those who do not know yet. The trend-setters and the others. Thus, the first ones, the seekers of the new "places to be", try to keep the destinations that will soon be the new gay meccas a little secret. Privilege of the explorers: it is necessary to take advantage of its finds before they are spoiled by a massive influx. Gay meccas, as Barcelona, Madrid, London and of course Berlin have been in recent years. Tel Aviv too. And a long time ago, in the Homo Jurassic (1990), Marrakech.

Who would have thought, until five years ago, to spend his vacations in Lisbon? Today, the most fashionable Parisian homos come to waddle happily in this radiant city, newly entered in the list of friendly resorts.

Let's take a look at another city that is not yet well known, and that is moving forward on the path of atypical cities that we love: Warsaw. Its alternative life and its gay emulation. Of course, it's not the palm trees or the beach. But the benefits of Berlin have ignited curiosity about the post-Soviet cities of the East.

Warsaw is a city segmented in its architecture and in its history. Segmented like the history of Poland, torn, torn apart, scarred. Warsaw was 80% destroyed by the Germans during the Second World War, its historical monuments and old districts reduced to ashes, but it managed to rebuild everything almost identically, including the famous Royal Castle in the middle of the Old Town. Nowy Swiat Street, beautiful, noble, flanked by old buildings, churches and universities, which still manages to keep its shops, restaurants and animation.

The Royal Castle © Diego Delso

Warsaw is therefore a unique model of successful historical rehabilitation. Buried under the smoldering rubble, the Polish soul had not ceased to quiver and in a short time, it resurrected this city to make it a brilliant and exciting city. It's a great place to get educated, to dine (try the Polish cuisine and its many chic restaurants) and to have fun.

The gay people in Poland are a vital part of this artistic, alternative and commercial renaissance. You only have to go to theOpera, the theater or the Philharmonic to realize the massive participation of gays in this cultural economy. As much in the audience as on stage, in the decision-making places or in the cultural policies and of course in the nightlife.

The Opera is for example able to produce a scandalous and tasty "Manon Lescaut" of Puccini, hyper sexed, bondage, with body-built dancers with Andy Warhol wigs, and young and beautiful singers (exit the oily pachyderms). The Philharmonic, which we see at the epilogue of Polanski's moving "Pianist", gives concerts that are rare in our latitudes, such as the recent brilliant Rachmaninov Gala. Without ignoring the strong homophobic undertones that regularly mar the Polish landscape, it seems that this important gay part of the city's life is developing in a joyful serenity.

strangely enough, the museums of contemporary, modern or classical art are a bit weak. You have to see them, of course, but only after you've seen the rest. Poland's complicated history, wars and Soviet communism have resulted in many masterpieces being looted or destroyed. Hence the relative poverty of the collections compared to other European capitals.

For contemporary art, there is the Ujazdowski Palace, located in a beautiful park, not far from the very posh embassy district. For classical art, you will still find beautiful pieces at the Muzeum Narodowy (National). Those who love science should also visit the Marie Sklodowska Curie Museum in the old town, but above all, the excellent and mutlimedia Polish Resistance Museum and the Chopin Museum are a must-see. Moreover, there are many romantic walks that will make you fall in love, alone, with two or more: the Nowy Swiat street, the Royal Baths and of course, the Royal Palace and the Old Town.

Nowy Swiat Street © Robert Parma

A sign that times are changing fast in Warsaw is that you can be gay, elected and respected here, as MP Robert Biedron says. He is a very well-known face in Poland, he sits in the Sejm (parliament) and is regularly invited on popular TV shows: "Being gay is no longer perceived as being weird, strange. People around me are really encouraging for me and for the cause and the fight against discrimination. Awareness is changing rapidly and naturally, I don't even have to be an activist."But the MP is more severe on the subject of LGBT rights: "Currently, the political sphere is dominated by right-wing parties and they block several crucial initiatives."

Krystian Legierski, 33, mixed race, ecologist, the first openly gay elected official in Poland, in the Warsaw City Council, confirms goes further. He first deplores the slow development of LGBT activism. He attributes this sluggishness to a desire on the part of gays not to pose as sacrificial victims of discrimination. When asked if the country and its policies are going in the right direction, his answer is clear: "Definitely not. The Polish political scene is unfortunately very immature compared to what is happening elsewhere in the world. I fear that if there is not a radical change in the people who sit in the Polish parliament, we will have to wait a long time for the improvement of LGBT rights."

At Heaven Sauna, which has been open for three years, Pawel the bartender, 23, who studied architecture, says that gay life in Warsaw is "nice" despite everything. The customers around the bar, all of them young, are a bit hesitant to say they are happy as gays, but they find it easy to meet people and make friendly or romantic contacts. The offer is abundant, they think, and this seems to satisfy them.

The LGBT association network exists even if it may seem fragile compared to the French one: the association Lambda, the Queer Café and several websites like gay.pl, homiki.pl or gejowo.pl. A free magazine: Replika. All these places of speech modestly strive to bring cohesion and support to the Polish gay community.

As far as HIV prevention is concerned, it is really weak or even invisible. Often in the capital's hot spots, condoms are not made available free of charge or only occasionally, when an association comes to deliver them here and there. There is a tendency to consider that it is everyone's responsibility. As if finally this young gay people of the night had integrated a fatalism and could be satisfied with the little that was conceded to them. Again, this segmentation of the Polish soul: capable of laughing to tears and singing, then allowing themselves moments of melancholy and resignation.

For the Poles practice a sharp, lively, slightly ironic sense of humor, accustomed as they are to deflecting suffering in order to better bear it. They have to put up with the difficulties of life, the bumps in history, the harsh climate, the lightning speed at which the country changes. And this cultural and alternative vivacity, the insolent Polish economic growth, are joyful antidotes to the recent heavy past.

The Warsaw skyline at night © Piotr-Wierzbowsk

Piotr Lucyan, the owner of the Candy Club, who has been "out" for a long time, is at the same time dithyrambic about the cultural possibilities and the new artistic wave that Warsaw offers, and very lucid about the tolerance that is shown towards LGBT people: "Still, I have the impression that tolerance applies primarily to successful gays, who earn money. Is this really tolerance? Compared to the rest of Poland, gays are happier in Warsaw. But we are not yet at the level of European standards. The right and the center-right do not tolerate gays. It is with the greatest difficulty that they grant some rights that could improve the daily life of gays in Poland."The elegant entrepreneur concludes that it is nevertheless easy for young gays to socialize both in inexpensive places with various sensibilities and through the Internet. Happiness in the digital alternative, then.

End of the first part
Second part: gay places in Warsaw

Read the blog of our contributor Jan Le Bris de Kerne, Varsoviegay