Responsibilization of Heteromasculinity in Poland in the Transition Era: Sexuality in Men’s Magazines (1987–1993

Due to the economic and political crisis of late communist Poland, discourses about the crisis of masculinity gained popularity in the 1980s. In this article, I ask how this “masculinity in crisis” intersected with neoliberalization. Using the methods of Foucauldian discourse analysis, I analyze two men’s magazines (1987–1993) to show that the heteromasculinity of late state socialism enjoyed the privilege of unaccountability, which stimulated discourses of masculinity in crisis. Capitalism, on the other hand, was presented as an opportunity to regain true masculinity, characterized by greater agency, including in sexual life. Using the contrast between declining state socialism and early neoliberalism, the article discusses the effects of neoliberal responsibilization on gender politics.