Homoseksualność – społeczeństwo, język, tożsamość

The article concerns homosexuality as a social phenomenon, constructed and regulated by cultural definition and norms. Historical changes of these definitions go hand in hand with the evolution of social sciences’ approach to non-normative sexualities. These transformations are reflected in language, which in turn heavily influence the processes of constructing sexual identities. This article presents excerpts from research which illustrates the aforementioned phenomena. The research consisted of biographic-narrative interviews with gay men who built the core of their sexual identity in times of Polish People’s Republic, where available language resources were more of a barrier than aid in such processes.