Czech LGBT+ Movement (Post-1989): Between Massification and Invisibility, Success and Disregard

The aim of this paper is to review the development of the LGBT+ movement in Czechia from the fall of the socialist regime to the present day, discussing the The first part of the paper will discuss the general conditions of social change in the country—mainly the slow and specific development of the civil society. The following analytical section introduces three distinctive phases: (1) the movement’s establishment and development during the 1990s, (2) the period culminating (and declining) with the adoption of the Registered Partnership Act in 2006, and (3) the period characterized as a rebirth and restructuring of the movement towards the goal of equal parental and marriage rights. Analysing the development within the framework of social movements theory, and specifically the macro-analytical model of strategic orientation by Downey & Rohlinger (2008), each phase has a short transitory, sometimes conflictual moment which is interrupted constantly by a (re)forming conformist and transactional approach. A pattern whereby the massified organization of the movement becomes insular is uncovered.