Same-sex Parenting Practices in Hungary as an Assertion of Intimate Citizenship

Abstract

My paper examines the practices of Hungarian same-sex parents through which they claim inclusion in a society whose laws and public discourses define the concept of family in a heteronormative way, and where legal and practical constraints make it difficult for same-sex couples to become parents. I suggest that LGBTQ people and communities exhibit considerable agency in breaking through the barriers to their plans and acceptance. This agency does not only manifest itself in political activism (including its personalized versions, such as coming out), but also in private, sometimes even illegal and semi-legal practices like language use, finding loopholes in the system, promoting alternative values or leaving the country. The examination of these practices from an intimate citizenship perspective may broaden the concept itself and helps examine and acknowledge the power of individuals to fight against heteronormative views of family and relationships.