I know that gay rights in the Eastern Bloc have almost always been lackluster, but now I am starting to wonder if the destruction of the people’s republics has only worsened life for queer folks. Examples:
https://library.fes.de/libalt/journals/swetsfulltext/12592951.pdf
During the decade of the HDZ (Croatian Democratic Party), women were condemned to the role of breeding for young soldiers and pleasing men, as dictated by the propaganda of strong populist movements. In the given context, lesbians were labelled as dangerous and destructive for the new Croatian state and its moral values, and self-declared feminists were publicly called witches.
https://sci-hub.se/10.1080/10894160.2010.530152
The newborn Polish democracy not only gave an opportunity for new social movements to develop, but also allowed for the far political right to re-emerge on the Polish political scene. In the absence of any visible ethnic minority groups, Polish nationalists chose gays and lesbians as their most salient enemy. Attacks on equality marches and numerous homophobic statements of conservative politicians suppressed the development of the lesbian and gay movement and community in Poland, leaving on the stage only the most enduring and committed activists.
https://dlib.bc.edu/islandora/object/bc-ir:107357/datastream/PDF/download/citation.pdf#page=166
Hungary has seen a rise in far right counter demonstrations at Pride events throughout the country (Kinnvall 2015). Right wing politicians throughout the country have come to label members of the LGBT community as “deviants” who “spread sickness throughout the Hungarian Nation” (Renkin 2009, p. 21). Prominent Hungarian politicians argue that Pride Marches need to met with equally public counterdemonstrations, “in order to protect our children, and in the interest of assuring the healthy development of our community”.
It’s easy to find anticommunists reminding everybody that the people’s republics had heterosexist policies and practices. So… now that most of those republics are gone, and anticommunists are in power, the situation should have improved significantly for queer folks… right…? Right…?
