Gay YouTube Couple Release Song In Protest Of Poland’s LGBT-Free Zones
In Poland, over a quarter of the country is considered to be an “LGBT-free zone” where strong homophobic attitudes, encouraged by the government and media, make the LGBTQIA+ community unwelcome. Popular Polish YouTubers Jakub And Dawid are a married duo who have been creating content together on their channel since 2016, and they have recently released their song INNI which translates as “others” in English.
This song is about how the LGBTQIA+ community in Poland are treated and was inspired by the words and labels commonly used by authorities in Poland when referring to the community. The music video shows two young men falling in love and consequently receiving hateful messages plastered on their bodies by passers-by. The messages start piling up until the two boys are covered head to toe with comments such as “Inni” or “Peda” which translates to “other” and “fag”.
Politicians in Poland openly express anti-LGBTQIA+ sentiments, often labelling homosexuality as an “ideology”. These attitudes have increased since the rise of the Law And Justice party with Andrzej Duda as the President.
In solidarity with the queer community, Jakub and Dawid have pushed back with this video and have said, “We have an impression that in our country we need to explain the obvious things to everyone all the time – that even though we are all colourful, vibrant and diverse, we like and feel the same as everyone else. Because we are no different. We are all the same people”.
In an Instagram post announcing the release of INNI, the married duo say, “Every day, over 300 people from the LGBT community experience verbal or physical violence in Poland. This happens in schools, at work, on the street, on marches and even at home.”
“We hope that this protest song will become a kind of anthem [for] our community, because it’s time to be proud of yourself. And not for a month, but all year round,” write Jakub and Dawid.
