Authors

Discussion

The rise to power of the Law and Justice party in 2015 brought LGBTQ issues to the forefront of public debate through an unprecedented display of hostility (Graff and Korolczuk, 2022); this development was followed by a significant spike in reported mental health issues among non-heteronormative individuals (Campaign Against Homophobia and Lambda Warsaw, 2021). Through interviews with LGBTQ participants and mental health professionals, this qualitative study set out to explore this potential correlation and its implications for the experience of citizenship. My research reveals that citizenship entitlements and mental health entitlements are intrinsically connected, highlighting the systemic roots of minority stress (Meyer, 2023) and the state’s failure to provide LGBTQ-inclusive mental health support. However, this study also reveals how the crisis generated new coping mechanisms among Polish citizens, compelling mental health professionals and LGBTQ individuals to develop alternative structures and mechanisms of care. These are not aimed at challenging the discriminatory state, which is the common focus in literature on dissent (Sparks, 1997; Bernhard, 2020), but at making the status quo liveable through more subtle forms of resistance. Engaging in dialogue with dissent and civic mobilisation theorists, this research argues that the extent of one’s dissent should be evaluated based on their resources and capacities, for in extremely hostile environments, the very act of valuing one’s life can be an act of resistance (Fassin, 2009; Butler, 2012). This study ultimately highlights the importance of situating knowledge within its local contexts and demonstrates the great value of interdisciplinary research in understanding social phenomena.