Do students in Poland need feminism today? Preliminary studies

The inspiration to conduct this research and to ask this question were and are events and mood trends in Poland related to the situation of women. From 2016, when a nationwide women's strike took place, the so-called Black Tuesday (about 250,000 people participated in strikes in over 100 Polish cities) women’s issues, particularly the issue of abortion and political attempts to ban abortion totally have become an important topic of political and social discussion. Suddenly, the topic of abortion, which was previously a taboo, has now become a topic of public and political discussions. Nationwide women’s strikes created a space in which various women’s experiences could be expressed. These strikes also emphasized the limitations associated with the full involvement of women in social and public life. Women’s strikes were received in public opinion as the real beginning of the feminist movement in Poland, the effect of cultural changes in Poland and the source of further changes initiating debates on the situation of women: legal, professional, economic etc.. My attention is drawn to the issue of social reception of these events among young people – students of MA studies at the University of Warsaw. Hence my research question: How do students, observers and participants of social life, who live their lives in the atmosphere of these events, perceive feminism today? Do the events of recent years and the current public debate in Poland reflect in the opinions of these young adults? In my presentation I would like to refer to the collected data and present the opinions of students in Poland about feminism. The research consisted of a short students’ statement on the question of what feminism is (as they understand the slogan "feminism"), and if they need or do not need feminism and why. This way of conducting the research was inspired by the campaign Who Needs Feminism? of students from Duke University in Durham (2012).