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Margot Szutowicz

Revision as of 12:05, 13 May 2022 by 176.114.187.101 (talk) (Matt Walsh is a great watch :)

Margot Szutowicz is a Polish LGBTQ activist, one of the founders of the "Stop Bzdurom" ("Bzdurom" meaning "nonsense" or "bullshit"), a radical, queer, feminist direct action group. As of late 2020, Margot has become a figurehead of Poland's LGBTQ rights movement.[4]

Margot Szutowicz
Date of birth 1995
Nationality Polish
Pronouns she/her[1], ona/jej[2]
Gender identity nonbinary[1][3]
Occupation activist

According to Wprost investigation, in July 2018 Margot was involved in spray-painting the Sejm (lower chamber of the Polish parliament) and in November 2019 protested against giving an award to Roman Polański at a film festival which was taking place at the National Film School in Łódź.[5]

Stop Bzdurom,[6][7][8] which she runs, is "a radical, queer collective". It was named in reaction to a proposed "Stop Paedophilia" bill that they viewed as being in large part against the LGBT community.[4][3]

On 27 June 2020,[9] a truck belonging to an anti-abortion foundation, Fundacja Pro, emblazoned with homophobic and anti-abortion slogans, equipped with loudspeakers, was confronted by a group of activists who slashed the tyres, damaged a mirror, stole the number plate and physically assaulted the driver.[10][11] Margot was arrested for battery on 7 August 2020 and placed in police custody for a period of two months.[12][13] Following the arrest, various groups of people protested her incarceration, claiming it was politically motivated. As a result, 48 more people were arrested in an event referred to as Polish Stonewall.[14] She had been held in a detention facility in Płock, central Poland[3] and was released on 28 August.[15] Margot told the BBC that she only attempted to stop the truck driver from filming her with his mobile phone and did not assault him: "I wish I could have beat him up - but he was three or four times larger than me."[16]

In August 2020, dozens of writers, filmmakers and actors from various countries around the world signed an open letter decrying the oppression Margot and other activists had suffered.[17] Margot's activism has met with criticism from the vice-president of The Left's parliamentary club, Monika Pawłowska,[18] as well as commentators generally viewed as liberals or leftists, including philosopher Jan Hartman and editor-in-chief of Newsweek Polska, Tomasz Lis.[19][20] Margot was misgendered by Polish police, right-wing journalists, and right-wing politicians.[21][22]

On 4 September 2020, Margot was released from imprisonment after a successful legal appeal. Following her release, she posted a photograph holding up her middle finger and holding a scrabble sign saying "Poland, you preek [sic], stop arresting my Margot".[23] Margot, whose hunger strike in prison was suppressed by the authorities, stated she was willing to resume her hunger strike and die if it could counter Polish homophobia.[24] On 7 September 2020, a protest in support of Margot was held in front of the martyrdom monument at Old Market square, Bydgoszcz.[25]

In a BBC interview in September 2020, Margot explained: "I want to show my community that we no longer have to live in fear [...] For years we've been asking for minimal provisions and legislation that would protect us - if not from discrimination, then at least from physical violence." Regarding whether violence was a valid method of resistance, she answered: "People who have not lived the lives of the LGBT community in this country shouldn't judge us [...] And nobody should be surprised if we are eventually forced to take things into our own hands."[16]

Personal life

In an interview with the Polish edition of Vogue, Margot revealed that she is currently writing her Bachelor of Arts thesis on Christian anarchism.[26]

Margot lives with Łania Madej and is in a polyamorous relationship with Łania and a trans man named Lu.[27][28] While detained, Margot went on a hunger strike and requested a New Testament, later stating that Christianity is too serious a matter to be left in Polish Catholics' hands. Margot also stated that she is a Christian.[26][29]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Roeder, Kaela (14 August 2020). "Poland's LGBTQ activists confront growing crackdown". Los Angeles Blade: America's LGBT News Source. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  2. ↑ "Mówiła o niej cała Polska. Siedzi w męskim areszcie. Wiemy, jak wygląda jej sytuacja" (in Polish). 20 August 2020. osoby niebinarnej używających żeńskich zaimków
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Roache, Madeline (11 August 2020). "What's Next for Poland's LGBTQ Activists After Violent Protests". Time. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Preiss, Danielle (19 August 2020). "Polish activists fight against anti-LGBT movement". The World from PRX. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  5. ↑ Dobski, Marcin (13 August 2020). "Czego nie mówi się o Margot? Udział w akcji pomazania ściany Sejmu, protest przeciwko Polańskiemu". Wprost Premium (in Polish). Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  6. ↑ "Poland: Stop Bzdurom, Queer struggle and the events of yesterday in Warsaw". Freedom News. 8 August 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  7. ↑ "We get messages saying: "What are you doing, they're going to hate us because of you"". oko.press. 9 August 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  8. ↑ Bukłaha, Zuzanna (5 August 2020). "LGBTQ activists arrested over hanging rainbow flags on statues in Warsaw. They might be facing charges for offending religious feelings". wyborcza.pl. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  9. ↑ Knight, Kyle; Dam, Philippe (12 August 2020). "Poland Punishes LGBT Rights Activist with Pretrial Detention". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  10. ↑ "Aktywiści LGBT utrudniają policji działania ws. zatrzymania "Margot"" (in Polish). TVP Info. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  11. ↑ Metcalfe, Percy (12 August 2020). ""No apologies, no shame": the rise of Poland's guerrilla LGBT activists". Notes From Poland. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  12. ↑ https://time.com/5878424/poland-lgbt-protests-police-brutality/
  13. ↑ https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/08/12/poland-punishes-lgbt-rights-activist-pretrial-detention
  14. ↑ Nowak, Marta K. (7 August 2020). "Zatrzymanie Margo. Trwa łapanka obrońców aktywistki LGBT". oko.press (in Polish). Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  15. ↑ "Sąd zwolnił Margot z aresztu". Onet.pl (in Polish). 28 August 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Ash, Lucy (20 September 2020). "Inside Poland's 'LGBT-free zones'". BBC News. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  17. ↑ "Stars sign open letter supporting Polish LGBT rights". BBC News. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  18. ↑ "Monika Jaruzelska ostro o Margot: to ideologiczny Kalibabka". msn.com (in Polish). 31 August 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  19. ↑ "Margot, nie spieprz tego!". Loose Blues (hartman.blog.polityka.pl) (in Polish). 29 August 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  20. ↑ Czajka-Kominiarczuk, Katarzyna (31 August 2020). "Spór o środkowy palec Margot. Sypią się gromy i dobre rady". www.polityka.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  21. ↑ https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/spoleczenstwo/1966786,1,margot-w-areszcie-komisarz-praw-czlowieka-re-mrozacy-sygnal.read Margot w areszcie. Komisarz praw człowieka RE: Mrożący sygnał
  22. ↑ "Psycholog o Margot: Nazywanie jej mężczyzną to przemoc. Stąd się biorą zachowania samobójcze osób LGBT". wyborcza.pl (in Polish). 15 August 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  23. ↑ Claudia Ciobanu; Edit Inotai; Miroslava German Sirotnikova; Tim Gosling (4 September 2020). "Democracy Digest: A JFK Moment in Taiwan and an Acquittal in Slovakia". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  24. ↑ Savage, Rachel (3 September 2020). "LGBT+ activist behind 'Polish Stonewall' not afraid to die". Reuters. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  25. ↑ "Kolorowym tańcem poparli Margot. Happening LGBT na Starym Rynku". wyborcza.pl (in Polish). 8 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Polska, Vogue (1 September 2020). "Tylko u nas: Margot w pierwszym wywiadzie po wyjściu z aresztu". Vogue Polska (in Polish). Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  27. ↑ Krawczyk, David (12 August 2020). "Przed aresztowaniem poprosiła o Biblię. Kim jest słynna Margot?". wyborcza.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  28. ↑ "Margot: Nie będę grzeczna, nie chcę być symbolem". polityka.pl (in Polish). 2 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020. A teraz mam dwie takie osoby – Łanię i Lu, mojego partnera.
  29. ↑ "Margot: To także mój Chrystus". magazynkontakt.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 18 September 2020.
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