A club for all Poles.I'm a 27-year-old Polish black man. This is an explosive combination in itself--Poland has a very small black population, so I stand out. Of course, being gay in a Catholic country isn't a bed of roses either. Many straight people in Warsaw Warsaw (wôr`sô), Pol. Warszawa, city (1993 est. pop. 1,655,700), capital of Poland and of Mazowieckie prov., central Poland, on both banks of the Vistula River. have misconceptions Misconceptions is an American sitcom television series for The WB Network for the 2005-2006 season that never aired. It features Jane Leeves, formerly of Frasier, and French Stewart, formerly of 3rd Rock From the Sun. about gay people. That's because the city's gay population cocoons within a gay ghetto where there are more than a dozen gay clubs. I felt like it was time to mix things up, so I opened a club for anyone and everyone who was open-minded. Debuting two years ago, Le Madame quickly became a vital hot spot on the map of Warsaw, providing office space to ecological ecological emanating from or pertaining to ecology. ecological biome see biome. ecological climax the state of balance in an ecosystem when its inhabitants have established their permanent relationships with each and human rights organizations by day and by night hosting alternative bands, theater companies, and patrons wanting to drink, dance, or engage in rigorous late-night political discourse. Le Madame became a major hub of intellectual life in Warsaw. One of the public-TV channels even chose it as a setting for its book review program. We proved that gay and straight people could flourish in the same space and participate in the same cultural, artistic, and political events--without intolerance intolerance /in·tol·er·ance/ (in-tol´er-ans) inability to withstand or consume; inability to absorb or metabolize nutrients. congenital lysine intolerance or homophobia homophobia Psychology An irrationally negative attitude toward those with homosexual orientation, or toward becoming homosexual. See Closet, Gay-bashing, Heterosexism. Cf Gay, Homosexual, Phobia. . But people in radical right-wing organizations loathed me and my club. And when the Conservatives won the presidential election last October, the city council had the political backing it needed to close it down. Le Madame was so popular that people stayed until the last possible moment. We waited until the police came with a warrant, and they had to drag us out. The club contradicted the Conservative view that gay people are deviant deviant /de·vi·ant/ (de´ve-int) 1. varying from a determinable standard. 2. a person with characteristics varying from what is considered standard or normal. de·vi·ant adj. and a source of evil. They couldn't close all the gay clubs, so they closed the one that openly admitted it was gay-friendly. Public and gay, what a disgrace DISGRACE. Ignominy, shame, dishonor. No witness is required to disgrace himself. 13 How. St. Tr. 17, 334; 16 How. St. Tr. 161. Vide Crimination; To Degrade. ! Now we are back to the gay ghetto, exiled from the public space. But Polish tolerance toward gay and lesbian people is on the rise, and things are getting better. A decade and a half ago there was only one gay club in Warsaw. Now new gay clubs open every year. Five years ago Warsaw gay pride was a small group of people who read a declaration and went home. Last year it was a crowd of thousands--both gay and straight. There is hope. --As told to Michal Rolecki |
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