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GAZETA WYBORCZA

Poland's Abortion Battle, Why Free Women Are Done With Weak Men

Only when an abortion is legal, can we begin to speak of moral decisions and love. But men, we are told, are scared and frustrated by these protests. One Polish woman's frank words for men.

The so-called Black (Czarny) protesters on Oct. 24 get ready to march.
The so-called Black (Czarny) protesters on Oct. 24 get ready to march.
Katarzyna Wezyk

-OpEd-

WARSAW — A recent interview with Polish psychologist Pawel Drozdziak set off a renewed round of polemics following the massive nationwide protests this month against government proposals for strict bans on abortions in Poland.

Drozdziak was quoted at length in Saturday's edition of Gazeta Wyborcza, speaking about the "frustration" of Polish men, often facing economic hardship, as an explanation for incidents of lashing out at women protesters. But the psychologist apparently isn't so concerned with the frustrations of Polish mothers, who are told that their needs are secondary to the needs of their husbands, of their children, the Church and the nation.

"Uncontrolled aggression is the result of men's problems and the experience of failure," Drozdziak said. "Half a century of free competition has taken its toll. The "frustrated man" is taking his revenge on the inaccessible independent woman from a big city."

Well, this is a very poor estimation of Polish men. If I were one, I would be offended by such generalizations. But in Poland, we are told that this is normal, this is who we are, and nothing can be done about it. And you definitely can't do anything about it by wearing black clothes and taking to the streets to protest. To think, women wanting autonomy! The possibility to decide about your own life, health, fertility and sexuality! Moreover demanding it aggressively, like a man might do, instead of, you know, in a womanly way, delicately, careful not to hurt any man's pride — and that most delicate male organ: his ego.

Then Drozdziak moves on to "feminists," who he says, "completely ignore the love that can exist between a man and a woman. I have found nothing about that feeling in any feminist studies. They mention instead the rights, the limits ... the slogan "my belly, my business' is in reality a symbol of great loneliness. Afterwards, you can really wear black clothes, as a symbol of mourning this time. If a man said "your belly, your business," what else is left?"

Freedom maybe? The right to decide about one's own body? The right to be an adult, an autonomous entity, who is able to understand a moral issue? Perhaps, for those frustrated and frightened men, somebody at the protests should have written on a banner: "Dear men! We love you, we admire you, you are the best in the world, the most clever and handsome. But, just by the way, only if you have time, can you please consider that the new abortion bill threatens our lives and health, and maybe it's not such a good idea to pass it. But you know what — no rush. Thanks for your attention. Signed, Polish women. P.S. We apologize for going to work. It won't happen again"."

Even a loved child reminds about the rape

Drozdziak then turns his attention to the male partner of a raped women who seeks an abortion "Why is he not consulted, to see if they want to bring up the rapist's child? A man who sees a woman only as a mother, and not as a sexual being, can accept something like that. Another man in such situation would lose his mind." I am not so sure about that. Maybe because it's not a man who for nine months must carry the baby inside — a baby who is the result of the worst kind of trauma that can ever happen to a human being. And a child who, even if she will be able to love it, will constantly remind her of the rape.

An American student wrote to her rapist, "You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice ..." Dr. Drozdziak, can you really compare that to, as I understand your argument, the discomfort of a man, whose belonging was touched and is now going mad because he cannot look at her as a sexual object? Very brave indeed.

Abortion, as it turns out, is a legal issue. It means that either it is legal, or allowed with limitations, or completely banned. In my opinion, only when abortion is legal can we speak of the issue of love and its tragic implications, because only then can we speak of moral decision. When abortion is illegal, that decision is made for us.

Natalia's courage

Finally, it is worth mentioning another recent interview, with Polish singer and songwriter Natalia Przybysz in Gazeta Wyborcza"s supplement Wysokie Obcasy. It shows the issue of abortion not from the perspective of what men might think, but simply from the point of view of woman who decided she didn't want to be pregnant. And no, it was not because of some drama — rape, health issue or genetic disease — but because she liked her life as it was, and did not want to change it. She did not want that kind of sacrifice.

Przybysz, 33, already has two young children. She said that "they also need my attention and that they also deserve to have a life. Not only to be fed and be driven from one place to another." She decided to publicly reveal that she wanted to end her pregnancy. "We live in a reality where everyone pretends that this does not happen. Every women is left alone to deal with it. So I want to say it out loud: I'm a woman who decides for herself."

And for saying that, as one could have expected, she experienced a wave of hate.

Well done for your true courage, Natalia. For speaking of your abortion of convenience as the outraged moralists, who sit on the sofa doing nothing, wrote. Because somehow I don't believe that the estimated 100,000 Polish women who have abortions every year are all facing severe circumstances. I think instead that the majority of those abortions are carried out, because in that moment of life, for this or that reason, these women did not want to or could not have a baby.

A woman's selfishness, as it turns out, is still the most horrifying thing in the world.

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Society

Influencer Union? The Next Labor Rights Battle May Be For Social Media Creators

With the end of the Hollywood writers and actors strikes, the creator economy is the next frontier for organized labor.

​photograph of a smartphone on a selfie stick

Smartphone on a selfie stick

Steve Gale/Unsplash
David Craig and Stuart Cunningham

Hollywood writers and actors recently proved that they could go toe-to-toe with powerful media conglomerates. After going on strike in the summer of 2023, they secured better pay, more transparency from streaming services and safeguards from having their work exploited or replaced by artificial intelligence.

But the future of entertainment extends well beyond Hollywood. Social media creators – otherwise known as influencers, YouTubers, TikTokers, vloggers and live streamers – entertain and inform a vast portion of the planet.

✉️ You can receive our Bon Vivant selection of fresh reads on international culture, food & travel directly in your inbox. Subscribe here.

For the past decade, we’ve mapped the contours and dimensions of the global social media entertainment industry. Unlike their Hollywood counterparts, these creators struggle to be seen as entertainers worthy of basic labor protections.

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