海角大神

When it came time to send their twin boys to school, Szil谩rd Szab贸 and his husband opted for a private American educational institution rather than a public Hungarian one.

The choice was as much about giving their sons a strong, cosmopolitan education as it was about their family鈥檚 鈥渢wo dad鈥� dynamics.

鈥淲e wanted to have an environment where people are more open, where teachers are more open, and being gay is not a big issue,鈥� shares Mr. Szab贸, sipping espresso in a modern sunlit office near the Danube River. 鈥淲e chose the bubble, the friendly and positive environment.鈥�

Such an environment is becoming harder to find these days. Since 2020, the Hungarian Constitution stipulates that the 鈥渇oundation of the family鈥� is heterosexual marriage and bans the adoption of children by same-sex couples. And the government has been waging a relentless campaign against what it calls 鈥淟GBT鈥� ideology in the run-up to parliamentary elections this weekend.

The April 3 vote coincides with a referendum nominally around school education on LGBTQ issues. Critics see the plebiscite as an effort to lock in bigoted legislation.

At the heart of the controversy is Hungary鈥檚 Child Protection Act. Passed in June 2021, the legislation stiffened penalties for pedophilia but also sneaked in last-minute amendments banning the promotion or portrayal of LGBTQ themes in education and media to minors.

The spirit of the law alarmed not only Hungary鈥檚 LGBTQ community but also the European Commission, which has launched legal challenges against both Hungary and Poland (which sparked controversy earlier with its 鈥淟GBT-free zones鈥�). The two nations are at the center of a culture war pitting the more socially liberal West against an increasingly conservative East.

鈥淚t鈥檚 all part of a larger anti-gender and LGBT politics,鈥� says Dorottya Redai. The author of the children鈥檚 book 鈥淔airyland is for Everyone鈥� previously ran a 鈥済etting to know LGBTQ people鈥� program in schools.

鈥満＝谴笊� fundamentalist groups are involved in it in the U.S.,鈥� she says. 鈥淩ussia is involved in it. Countries in Central Europe are involved in it. It is strongest in Hungary and Poland. But there is a broad picture that is important to see.

鈥淚n Poland and Hungary, it is not far-right groups on the fringe. It is the government,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hat is why it has such a severe impact, because it becomes policy and legislation.鈥�

鈥淚t is forbidden to answer鈥�

Hungary鈥檚 right-wing government argues that sex education, including discussions on sexual orientation, is a parental responsibility. Those views paved the way for the problematic law, which activists say conflates pedophilia with membership in the LGBTQ community. Echoing the conservative rhetoric around Florida鈥檚 own聽Parental Rights in Education law, which critics have dubbed the 鈥淒on鈥檛 Say Gay鈥� law, TV ads in Hungary suggest that young children are being taught about sex reassignment surgery over math at school.

鈥淭he Hungarian government proposes that citizens should have a chance to express their stance on the issues of gender propaganda,鈥� Deputy Minister Bal谩zs Orb谩n told parliament in November. 鈥漌e believe that we ... have to say no to LGBT propaganda in schools carried out with the help of NGOs and media, without parental consent.鈥�

The law is so vaguely worded that the safest bet for teachers is silence, even if a student is clearly struggling. 鈥淚f a a child asks a teacher about anything related to homosexuality or his or her gender issues, it is forbidden to answer,鈥� says Anna Komj谩thy, president of the Democratic Union of Teachers. 鈥淭his is the big problem. Teachers have to decide whether they listen to their conscience and answer and help ... but they risk that a parent will report them.鈥�

鈥淚t is very dangerous because children are left alone to confront their problems,鈥� she adds. 鈥淭here are only a few schools that have psychologists who can help them navigate such issues.鈥�

High school head teacher Orsolya Er枚ss says more open and frank discussions are needed in the classroom. Even though the law has fueled an oppressive atmosphere, Ms. Er枚ss says she does not hold her back from delivering straightforward advice on matters of the heart to her teenage students.

Dominique Soguel

Head teacher Orsolya Er枚ss stands outside the high school where she teaches French and Portuguese in Budapest. She regrets that LGBTQ issues have been turned into a taboo topic, as many students struggle with questions of sexual identity and orientation in their teen years.

鈥淲ho you love is your private affair and it is your right to love whomever you want,鈥� says Ms. Er枚ss, who teaches French and Portuguese in Budapest. 鈥淟ife for [LGBTQ] people is difficult enough already. It is not good to make their lives even harder, to exclude them or make them feel that this is not a normal state.鈥�

A political strategy

Activists find the echoes with Russia鈥檚 2013 鈥済ay propaganda鈥� law chilling. Luca Dudits of the H谩tt茅r Society, an聽LGBTQ rights organization, says the law is one of many steps taken by the government to dismantle progress won over decades. (Homosexuality was decriminalized in Hungary in 1961, a few years before Germany and the United Kingdom.) And it has emboldened people to carry out vigilante verbal and physical attacks, including one against a small girl and her grandfather because she wore a rainbow backpack.

鈥淪ince Fidesz came to power in 2010, they have been systematically eroding the rights and freedoms of LGBTQI people,鈥� she says of the right-wing populist party led by Prime Minister Viktor Orb谩n. In 2012, Hungary came ninth in advocacy group ILGA Europe鈥檚 ranking of the LGBTQ human rights situation across Europe. Now it has fallen to 28th among 49 European nations. 鈥淭hey have been quite outspoken about their distaste for LGBT people,鈥� she says.

Mr. Orb谩n takes inspiration from hard-liners abroad, she says, but ultimately he cherry-picks issues he thinks will resonate with the Hungarian public and not trigger too much pushback.

鈥淗e didn鈥檛 just try to take, for example, the Polish model,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here is no police brutality against LGBTQI people because he knows that that is something that Hungarian people are really sensitive about. [And] he did not try to import the religious angle, because he knows that Hungarian people are not as religious as they are in Poland.鈥�

The referendum would not cause any legal changes itself. But should it pass, Ms. Dudits worries Fidesz lawmakers will further tighten the screws on the LGBTQ community. A clear victory would allow the government to argue to the European Commission that its laws enjoy public support. And, because referendums are legally binding for three years, it would stop the opposition from changing course should they win the elections.

鈥淓nemies that don鈥檛 exist鈥�

Many argue the negative focus on the LGBTQ community is pure political strategy聽鈥� like the rhetoric about migrants in past elections 鈥� rather than a sincere effort to protect 海角大神 family values. Literary historian Kriszti谩n Ny谩ry notes that even works in the government鈥檚 mandatory reading list, such as the poems of Sappho and passages of 鈥淭he Iliad,鈥� would require a basic conversation about homosexuality to be taught correctly. He made an anthology, 鈥淣ot Compulsory 鈥� Forbidden Literature,鈥� to illustrate the point.

Dominique Soguel

Hungarian literary historian Kriszti谩n Ny谩ry poses for a photograph in his apartment in Budapest. Mr. Ny谩ry notes that same-sex love is a feature of many great literary works, some of which are even part of the government school curriculum.

鈥淭he referendum is a campaign tool, but at the same time it is discriminatory against 5 to 6% of Hungary society for no good reason,鈥� says Mr. Ny谩ry, who is also the director of a major book publishing house in Budapest. 鈥淔or the last 12 years, the government has been looking for enemies that don鈥檛 exist. When they don鈥檛 exist it is easier to fight against them. They create a topic so you don鈥檛 talk about anything else.鈥�

Back in the 1990s, he recalls, the autobiographical novel of Hungarian Jewish writer Gy枚rgy Faludy, 鈥淢y Happy Days in Hell,鈥� which addresses homosexual love, was a bestseller.

The mood has changed. In 2020, a far-right politician made a show of shredding Ms. Redai鈥檚 鈥淔airyland is for Everyone鈥� because it depicted a lesbian Cinderella and a transgender dragon slayer 鈥� ironically boosting sales. And last year Mr. Ny谩ry鈥檚 bookshop chain was fined for selling a storybook featuring gay and lesbian parents, though a court revoked the fine this month.

鈥淚f you say to a parent, 鈥榊ou have to protect your children because they are in danger,鈥� [then] all parents will say 鈥業 have to protect my child,鈥欌�� says Ms. Redai. 鈥淚t is a smart way to attract voters.鈥�