Queer and feminist geographies, geographies of sexualities, minority stress, heteronormativity, cisnormativity, mental and public health of LGBTQ+ people, sexual and gender diversity (SGD), LGBTQ+ identity, stigma, social/human geography, HIV/AIDS destigmatization, SGD public health, sociological and human rights issues in LGBTQ+ people and social status, discrimination, intersectionality, research methodology and ethics in SGD research.
(Ph.D.) Social Geography and Regional Development, 2011 - 2015. Dissertation:
Queer geographies of sexualities: sociocultural organization of sexualities in space and (de)construction of heteronormativity.
(RNDr.) Rigorous examination in Social Geography and Regional Development, 2013.
(Mgr.) Master's degree in teaching biology and geography for secondary schools, 2011.
(Bc.) Bachelor's degree in biology and geography with a focus on education, 2008.
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH (NIMH)
⇒ researcher, (since 2015)
⇒ head of the working group Mental and Public Health of Sexually and Gender Diverse People, (since 2023
QUEER GEOGRAPHY, Z. S. (QG)
⇒ founder and chair of a science-popularization association focused on interdisciplinary dialogue, dissemination of evidence-based information (since 2017).
CHARLES UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF EDUCATION
⇒ member of the research team of the research project LGBT+ identity as a developmental challenge in school settings: individual, social and institutional perspectives (since 2023)
CHARLES UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY
⇒ external lecturer and guarantor of the course Selected Topics in LGBTQ+ Psychology: communication and work with clients (2021-2023)
CHARLES UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF SCIENCE
⇒ external lecturer in the "American Term" study abroad programme (since 2016)
CHARLES UNIVERSITY, FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
⇒ external lecturer (2015-2018).
OTHER WORK EXPERIENCE
PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE (SZÚ)
⇒ member of the research team in the field of HIV epidemiology (2017, 2018).
ONGOING COLLABORATION WITH HUMAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATIONS:
PRAGUE PRIDE
CZECH AIDS AID SOCIETY
PEOPLE IN NEED
PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHER AT HLOUBĚTÍNSKÁ PRIMARY SCHOOL
⇒ teacher of geography and English language (2011-2012)
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF PSYCHOLOGY (ICP 2024)
⇒ keynote speaker, member of the scientific committee, head of the thematic section Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
VII. EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON GEOGRAPHIES OF SEXUALITIES (EGSC 2024)
⇒ Member of the Scientific Committee
VI. EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON GEOGRAPHIES OF SEXUALITIES (EGSC 2022)
⇒ keynote speaker, member of the scientific committee
V. EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON GEOGRAPHIES OF SEXUALITIES (EGSC 2019)
⇒ main organizer of the international conference, chair of the scientific and organizing committee
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF PSYCHOLOGY (ICP 2020)
⇒ member of the scientific committee, chair of the thematic section Sexual orientation and gender identity
Lead investigator of the community project Queer Geography: Stigma & HIV
⇒ organization of an interdisciplinary workshop with invited experts (2019).
PITOŇÁK, M., ČIHÁK, M., & HORNE, S. G. (2024). LGBT+ people’s vulnerability to suicide in Czechia: The role of minority stress-related factors in a high structural stigma context. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000785
PITOŇÁK, M., POTOČÁR, L., & FORMÁNEK, T. (2024). Mental health and help-seeking in Czech sexual minorities: a nationally representative cross-sectional study. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 33, e16. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2045796024000210
PITOŇÁK, M., ČIHÁK, M. (2024). Suicidální ideace LGBT+ osob: psychometrické vlastnosti Škály suicidální ideace (SIDAS) na českém LGBT+ vzorku. E-psychologie 18(1), 16-29. https://doi.org/10.29364/epsy.492
PITOŇÁK, M. (2023). Vývojové milníky neheterosexuální orientace a identit v Česku: revize tradičního modelu comingoutu. Psychiatr. praxi 24(3), 148-155. https://doi.org/10.36290/psy.2023.028
PITOŇÁK, M., CSAJBÓK, Z. (2022). Revisiting minority stress theory to understand psychological distress among Czech sexual minorities. Studia Psychologica: Theoria et Praxis, 22(1), 5–22.
https://doi.org/10.21697/sp.2022.22.1.01
PITOŇÁK, M., & ČIHÁK, M. (2023). Understanding broader LGB+ identity from a post-socialist perspective: Assessment of validity of the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identity Scale (LGBIS) on a Czech sample. Československá Psychologie, 67(2), 121-140. https://doi.org/10.51561/cspsych.67.2.121
PITOŇÁK, M., KOŽENÝ, J. & ČIHÁK, M. (2023) Disparities in Psychological Distress between Czech General Population and LGB + Community Sample, Journal of Bisexuality, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15299716.2023.2191590
PITOŇÁK, M. (2022). Menšinový stres v perspektivě zdravotních nerovností mezi heterosexuálními a neheterosexuálními lidmi. Psychiatrie pro praxi, 23(2), 100-104. DOI: 10.36290/psy.2022.022
UHOLYEVA X, PITOŇÁK M. (2022). Chemsex users in Czechia: EMIS survey. Cent Eur J Public Health, 30(2):86-92. https://cejph.szu.cz/artkey/cjp-202202-0004_chemsex-users-in-czechia-emis-survey.php
PACHANKIS, J. E., HATZENBUEHLER, M. L., BRÄNSTRÖM, R., SCHMIDT, A. J., BERG, R. C., JONAS, K., PITOŇÁK, M., BAROS, S., & WEATHERBURN, P. (2021). Structural stigma and sexual minority men’s depression and suicidality: A multilevel examination of mechanisms and mobility across 48
countries.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 130(7), 713–726. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000693
PITOŇÁK, M. (2021). Sexuální orientace jako přehlížená proměnná: terminologická, metodologická a kontextuální úskalí v otázce měření sexuality v rámci „reprezentativních“ šetření. Platí stále 4 %?. Československá Psychologie, 65(5), 440-458. https://doi.org/10.51561/cspsych.65.5.440
PITOŇÁK, M. (2020). Praha posiluje v boji proti HIV: přistoupila k tzv. síti Fast-track-cities. Psychiatrie 24(1), 44-45.
PITOŇÁK, M., PROCHÁZKA, I., MIČULKOVÁ, V., MALÝ, M. (2019). Venturing
beyond the Behavioural MSM: “Sex, Chems, & Satisfaction” in Their Syndemic
Contexts. Adiktologie, 19(2), 75–83; https://doi.org/10.35198/01-2019-002-0003
ŠERÝ, O., & PITOŇÁK, M. (2019). „Queer podniky“ v Brně. Sociální Studia, 16(1), 79–102. Retrieved from https://journals.muni.cz/socialni_studia/article/view/12277
PITOŇÁK, M. (2019). Lessons from the “Periphery”: Countering Anglo-Geographic Hegemony over geographies of sexuality and gender. Documents d’Anàlisi Geogràfica, 1573, 1. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/dag.573
PITOŇÁK, M. KLINGOROVÁ, K. (2019) Development of Czech feminist and queer geographies: identifying barriers, seeking progress, Gender, Place & Culture, DOI: 10.1080/0966369X.2018.1563528.
PITOŇÁK, M. (2018): Rozostření příčin a následků: Syndemie HIV mezi ne-heterosexuálními muži. Biograf, 67-68: . Retrieved from: http://www.biograf.org/clanek.html?id=1038
MRAVČÍK, V., PITOŇÁK, M., HEJZÁK, R., JANÍKOVÁ, B., & PROCHÁZKA, I. (2018). HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the Czech Republic and Related Factors: Comparison of Key Populations of People who Inject Drugs and Men who Have Sex with Men. (odkaz)
PITOŇÁK, M. (2017). Faktory ovlivňující šíření infekce HIV mezi ne-heterosexuálními muži: holistický přístup. Ročenka národního programu HIV/AIDS v České republice 2015–2016. Pp. 109-121.
PITOŇÁK, M. (2017). Rozdíly v duševním zdraví mezi ne-heterosexuály a heterosexuály: přehledová studie. Ceskoslovenska Psychologie, 61, 6, pp. 575-592. (odkaz)
PITOŇÁK, M. (2017). Mental health in non-heterosexuals: Minority stress theory and related explanation frameworks review. Mental Health & Prevention, 5, 63-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhp.2016.10.002
PITOŇÁK, M., SPILKOVÁ, J. (2016): Homophobic prejudice in Czech youth: a socio-demographic analysis of young people’s opinions on homosexuality. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 13, 3, pp. 215-229 ISSN 1868-9884. DOI: 10.1007/s13178-015-0215-8.
SPILKOVÁ, J., DZÚROVÁ, D., PITOŇÁK, M. (2014): Perception of neighborhood environment and health risk behaviors in Prague’s teenagers: a pilot study in a post-communist city. International Journal of Health Geographics 2014, 13, n.41.
GABIAM, K., PITOŇÁK, M. (2014): Economic, cultural and social factors influencing the development of gay businesses and places: Evidence from the European Union. Moravian Geographical Reports, 22, č. 3, s. 2–17. (odkaz)
PITOŇÁK, M. (2014): Urban spatiality in the context of (homo/hetero)sexuality: Introduction to a theoretical debate in geographies of sexualities. Geografie, 119, No. 2, pp. 179–198. (odkaz)
PITOŇÁK, M. (2013): Spatiality, institutionalization and contextuality of heteronormativity: Study of non-heterosexual identity negotiation in Czechia. Gender, Equal Opportunities, Research, 14, 2, pp. 27-40. (odkaz)
PITOŇÁK, M. (2023). „5: LGBT+ Activism and Morality Politics in Central and Eastern Europe: Understanding the Dynamic Equilibrium in Czechia from a Broader Transnational Perspective“. In Activist Feminist Geographies. Bristol, UK: Bristol University Press. Retrieved Sep 7, 2023, from https://doi.org/10.51952/9781529225129.ch005
PITOŇÁK, M. (2022). A Decade of Prague Pride: Mapping Origins, Seeking Meanings, Understanding Effects. In: Blidon, M., Brunn, S.D. (eds) Mapping LGBTQ Spaces and Places. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-03792-4_25
PITOŇÁK, M. (2020). Strukturální základ menšinového stresu v Česku: Vztah mezi diskriminací, stigmatizací a zdravím neheterosexuálních a genderově rozmanitých lidí. In M. Šmíd (Ed.), Právo na rovné zacházení: Deset let antidiskriminačního zákona (pp. 263–282). Praha: Wolters Kluwer.
PITOŇÁK, M. (2020). Menšinový stres a duševní zdraví ne-heterosexuálních lidí. In K. Pavlica (Ed.), Duhové rodiny v systému náhradní rodinné péče: Příručka pro pracovníky*pracovnice v oblasti sociálně-právní ochrany dětí (pp. 29–43). Praha: Prague Pride.
PITOŇÁK, M. (2019). V sexuálním closetu / Geografie „ne-heterosexuálních lidí“. In R. Osman & L. Pospíšilová (Eds.), Geografie „okrajem“: Každodenní časoprostorové zkušenosti (pp. 147–182). Praha: Univerzita Karlova.
SPILKOVÁ, J., DZÚROVÁ, D., PITOŇÁK, M. (2015): Fyzické prostředí domova a školy: případová studie – Praha. In: Dzúrová, D., Csémy, L., Spilková, J., Lustigová, M., ed. Zdravotně rizikové chování mládeže v Česku. Praha: Státní zdravotní ústav, 2015, s. 72-84. ISBN: 978-80-7071-343-3.
PITOŇÁK, M. (2014): Queer space(s). In: MATOUŠEK, R. and OSMAN, R. (eds.): Prostor(y) geografie. Karolinum 123-146. ISBN: 978-80-246-2733-5.
CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC GRANT AGENCY PROJECT
⇒ Project "LGBT+ identity as a developmental challenge in school settings: individual, social and institutional perspectives" (GAČR: 23-07934S; 2023 - 2025)
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR OF THE PROJECT EC JUSTICE JUST
⇒ Rise up against anti-LGBTI hate crimes (RISE UP) project (2021-2022).
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR OF A RESEARCH PROJECT OF THE GRANT AGENCY OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC
⇒ project "Minority stress of non-heterosexual people in the Czech Republic" (GAČR: 19-14801S; 2019 - 2022).
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT OF THE GRANT AGENCY OF THE CHARLES UNIVERSITY
⇒ project "Queer geography: commodification, segregation and globalization of sexual identities in cities?"(2014 - 2015).
7th EU FRAMEWORK PROJECT SOPHIE⇒ Research Associate and Associate Financial Project Administrator of the 7th Framework Project SOPHIE (Evaluating the Impact of Structural Policies on Health Inequalities and their Social Determinants, and Fostering Change) (2012 - 2015)
International Congress of Psychology (ICP 2024) - SOGIE Psychology in Central and Eastern Europe: From Marginalization to Resilience, Prague 2024.
International Congress of Psychology (ICP 2020) - LGBTQ+ Psychology in Central and Eastern Europe
· 32nd Congress on Sexuality Education - Mental Health of LGBTQ+ People in Czech and European Contexts
International Congress of Psychology (ICP 2024) - Navigating LGBTQ+ mental health research in post-socialist contexts in Central and Eastern Europe, Prague 2024.
Support Networks - Pride Business Forum Annual Conference, Prague 2024
University of Colorado at Boulder - Queer Geographies: International Scholarship & Activism, presentation Contours of Resistance: LGBT+ Activism Amid Populism and Moral Politics in Central and Eastern Europe, Boulder, USA, March 2024
Taste of Equality - The Right Taste of Equality - Pride Business Forum Annual Conference, lecture Is equality for LGBT+ in the Czech Republic a reality?, Prague 2023
G-VERSITY Summer School Prague - Keynote address "The Intersectionality of Minority Stress, Health, and Well-being in Sexual and Gender Diverse PEOPLE" Prague 2023
VI. European Geographies of Sexuality Conference - Dynamic Equlibrium of LGBT+ Activism in Central and Eastern Europe.
Central European Masculinities in Comparative Perspective: International Symposium - Contours of Resistance: LGBT+ Activism, Masculinities and Moral Politics in Central and Eastern Europe, CEFRES Prague.
Rethinking Sexuality in Nordic and Post-Soviet Contexts.
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER, DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY
Short-term visit, guest lecturer, March 2024
UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD, DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY
ERASMUS work placement, visiting researcher. Sheffield, UK, January - May, 2014.
DARTMOUTH COLLEGE, DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY
Short-term internship. Hanover, New Hampshire, USA, 2014.
STOCKHOLM UNIVERSITY, DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN GEOGRAPHY.
ERASMUS study placement at master's level. Stockholm, January-June 2010.
Member of the Government
Member of the inter-ministerial Coordination Working Group of the National HIV/AIDS Programme for the National Programme to Address HIV/AIDS in the Czech Republic (since 2016)
Member of the HIV/FTC expert group for HIV/AIDS prevention in the capital city of Prague
Member of the Czech-Moravian Psychological Society, Founder and Head of the Section of
Psychology of Gender, Sexual and Relationship Diversity (since 2018, 2023)
Member of the international network
The European MSM Internet Survey - EMIS network (since 2016)
Representative of the Czech Republic for the Czech MSMPS The International Psychology Network for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Issues (
IPsyNet) (from 2023)
Member of the Czech Geographical Society
Member of the
Global Pride Project - an international research network led from the University of Washington
Member and Chair of
Member of the
EUPHA section on sexual and gender minority health (since 2018)
The National Psychiatric Award of Professor Vladimír Vondráček in the category of science and research for a study on suicidal ideation among LGBT+ people in the Czech Republic (2024).
Prof. Václav Příhoda Award for the best graduates of Charles University (2012)
EUPHA (European Public Health Association) award for young scientists focused on sexual and gender minority health research.
Contributions to Seznam Medium
Posts on blog.respekt.cz
Some texts on the Queer Geography
Charles University
Faculty of Humanities
Pátkova 2137/5
182 00 Praha 8 - Libeň
Czech Republic
