Autor identyfikuje teoretyczne i społeczne konteksty koncepcji wielokulturowości oraz współczesnej jej krytyki. Problemy z zastosowaniem wielokulturowości wiążą się aktualnie zarówno z potocznymi uproszczeniami jej rozumienia, jak i istotnymi zmianami współczesnych społeczeństw i sposobami interpretacji tych zmian. Niezależnie od tych przemian – wielokulturowość w Polsce pozostaje znaczącym elementem dyskursów publicznych. Celem artykułu jest wskazanie nowych koncepcji wielokulturowości, które uwzględniają wskazane zmiany paradygmatyczne i społeczne. Są to: koncepcja wielokulturowości – jako metaramy kultury różnicy ujawniającej się w spektaklach kulturowych oraz koncepcja wielokulturowości – jako faktu kulturowego negocjowanego w dyskursach potocznych.

The article highlights the relationship between transformation of the gender contract and the evolving social perceptions of motherhood in contemporary Poland. As it is assumed in line with my paper’s empirical analysis, motherhood is one of social nodal points as well as a constitutive point for women’s experience. However, the change to the ways in which motherhood is socially constructed in contemporary public and private spheres reflects the on-going transformations of the public and the private realm. Within the former and the latter, new conceptions of gender contract are being constantly proposed and are negotiated. By the same token, motherhood gradually moves from within its nature-driven and strictly private conceptualisation to becoming a social construct re/formulated in contemporary Polish public sphere. Within that process, both proponents and, especially, opponents of women empowerment voice their concerns.

The paper’s aim is to present key findings of the analysis of the discussion on the abortion issue on Polish Twitter. Social media are believed to be a tool serving the political periphery to participate in political discourse and with the COVID- 19 pandemic they have become crucial in our everyday communication. In this context, the Twitter discussion on abortion issue and Women’s Strike protests that took place in October 2020 in Poland was analyzed. The discussion on the abortion issue itself in many countries brings broader questions on the state of public discourse and democratic processes, and the protests brought even more inquiries about freedom of speech or the right to protest. In total, 68,716 tweets were collected from October 20 till November 15, 2020, and analyzed with MAXQDA software to answer two main research questions: RQ1: Who was shaping the discussion in the analyzed period? RQ2: Were the two sides of the conflict represented in the discussion? The analysis showed great potential that Twitter has for Polish public discourse, but also many obstacles, problems, and even social cleavages manifesting in the analyzed discussion.