DO STUDENTS IN POLAND NEED FEMINISM TODAY? PRELIMINARY STUDIES

Celem artykułu jest refleksja nad postawami studentów w Polsce wobec feminizmu. Bezpośrednim motywem do tego były ostatnie wydarzenia w Polsce związane z sytuacją kobiet.

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the attitudes of students in Poland towards feminism. The recent events in Poland related to the situation of women have been the direct motive to conduct this research. During 2016-2018 mass women's protests (black protests) took place all over the country. Women protested against political attempts to ban abortion completely. Since then women's rights, in particular abortion rights, have become an important topic of social discussions, both online and offline. Women's protests can be considered as the real beginning of the feminist movement in Poland. However, feminism evokes ambivalent reactions among Polish women. In my research I am interested in Polish students' attitudes towards feminism. Hence my research questions: How do masters students at the University of Warsaw perceive feminism today? Do students' views reflect the events of recent years and the current public debate in Poland? To answer these questions, I analyse students' statements on how they define feminism and whether they need it or not and why. The collected data show that students have different and ambiguous attitudes towards feminism. At the same time, their statements confirm their awareness of gender inequalities in Poland.