First, we argue that sexuality was central to socialist modernization: Sex and gender were reform... more First, we argue that sexuality was central to socialist modernization: Sex and gender were reformulated whenever the socialist project was being revised. Expertise was crucial in these reformulations, which harnessed people's support for the changing regimes. Moreover, the role of the expert in society grew over time, leading to ever expanding and diversified fields of expertise. Second, gender and sexuality stood disjointed in these changes. Whereas in the early 1950s sex was a taboo subject in Hungary, in the last three decades of socialism it was gradually acknowledged and emancipated, along with a discursive push to alter gender roles within marriage. Conversely, Czechoslovak experts paid close attention to sexuality and particularly to female pleasure from the outset of the regime, highlighting the benefits of gender equality for conjugal satisfaction; yet, they changed course with Normalization (1969-1989) when they embraced gender hierarchy as the structure for a good marriage and a fulfilling sex life. It follows that gender and sexuality can develop independently: Change in one is not necessarily bound to similar progress in the other. Thus, third, whereas there was a shared initial push for gender equality, there was no unified socialist drive for the liberalization of sexuality.
In this article, I discuss the emancipation of masturbation in twentieth-century Hungary, focusin... more In this article, I discuss the emancipation of masturbation in twentieth-century Hungary, focusing on the socialist, Kádár era (late s to late s), which I claim was the time when the discourses concerning masturbation underwent profound transformation. I use Thomas Laqueur's periodization of discourses on masturbation in the West and make the case that in Hungary, due to its twentieth-century political and intellectual history, which affected both the institutionalization of sexology and discourses on sexuality, there is a markedly different chronology. In Hungary, interwar socialists were the first to suggest a new approach toward masturbation but these ideas remained marginal during the Horthy regime and in the 'Stalinist' s. In the early years of the Kádár regime, debates about sexual morality reformulated what should be understood under socialist sexual morality. The concept of socialist humanism, especially Imre Hirschler's work, linked early s sex education with the interwar socialist discourse on sex and paved the way to the emancipation of masturbation and the establishment of a post-Stalinist, socialist sexual ethics. In the s and s, iconic sexologists like Vilmos Szilágyi and Béla Buda moved away from socialist humanism and continued Hirschler's work, but mirroring the perspectives of contemporary Western science.
Was there a state-socialist model of school sex education and if so, what characterized its form ... more Was there a state-socialist model of school sex education and if so, what characterized its form and content? What shaped the specifi-cities and divergent characteristics of each country? The paper explores and compares programs of 'education for family life' as these became part of state-driven reproductive politics in late stages of state socialism in three countries (Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary), with a particular focus on sexuality and gender. We analyze how sexuality was framed in these otherwise broadly understood programs, which aimed not just at discussing sex but also interper-sonal relations within the family, forming the ways in which gender was to be understood, and sexuality was to be practiced. We show that school curricula for education for family life, which included sexual education, were introduced in the early 1970s in all three countries, and these programs displayed many similarities. We identify transnational influences in triggering the interest in such type of education and cross-border exchanges that shaped it further. Nevertheless, when analyzing the content of these curri-cula, national factors and peculiarities become visible, like the heightened focus on 'normal' family life in Czechoslovakia, the importance of ethnicity (Roma minority) in Hungary or religion (Catholicism) in Poland. As a result, we cannot speak of a universal model of state-socialist sex education. Methodologically, we follow the sociology of expertise that focuses on the ways in which expertise forms, links or disjoins, creating new areas of social life in need of expert intervention (Eyal, Rose, Hacking). Changes in expertise thus map onto broader social changes and analyzing the shifts in expertise can help understand societal processes of social reproduction and change. In our paper, we focus on sexological and pedagogical expertise, as these intersected on the issue of school-based sex education.
Thomas Laqueur (pl. Solitary Sex) és Michel Foucault (pl. A szexualitás története; Rendellenesek)... more Thomas Laqueur (pl. Solitary Sex) és Michel Foucault (pl. A szexualitás története; Rendellenesek), illetve más szerzők munkáiból kiderül, hogy Európában a modern kor fegyelmező-szabályozó intézményei, illetve a „scientia sexualis” diskurzusai kiemelkedő figyelmet tulajdonítottak a maszturbáció megfigyelésének. A középkorban viszonylag kevés figyelmet szenteltek az önkielégítésnek, de a 18. század elejétől kezdve több száz éven át morális, illetve egészségügyi pánik forrásává vált. Az „önkielégítő” a „homoszexuálishoz” hasonlóan önálló kategóriává, embertípussá vált, azonban identitás, csoporttudat és életforma nélkül. Az onanista beteges, gyenge, romlott, és végső soron halálra ítélt figurájára a a 19. század végétől kezdődően a szexuálpatológiából kinövő szexológia azért is szentelt különös figyelmet, mert összefüggést véltek a maszturbáció és egyéb „devianciák” között. Az onanista már a viktoriánus korban is a társadalmi élet normális rendjét veszélyeztette azzal, hogy lehetővé tette a másokkal nem megosztott, úgymond önző élvezetet. A homoszexualitással, nemi betegségekkel, prostitúcióval, fetisizmussal, pedofíliával mélyrehatóan foglalkozó szexológiai diskurzus, illetve az abból építkező szexuális felvilágosító irodalom azonban az onanista figurájából további következtetéseket vont le, a „néma bűnt” afféle kapudrognak tartotta amely első lépés a lejtőn lefelé, és szükségszerűen további perverziókhoz vezet. Ebben a tanulmányban arra keresek választ, hogy a rövid huszadik század (1914-1990) folyamán, a század első felében részben Freud, majd a második felében részben a felszabadítási elméletek (Herbert Marcuse, Betty Dodson, stb.) hatására hogyan változott az Onanista megítélése a szexuális felvilágosító irodalomban. Hogyan beszéltek a maszturbációról a keresztény-nemzeti szexuális nevelők, a két háború közti baloldali reformerek és Freudomarxisták, miben változott a helyzet az 1950-es évek sztálinista puritanizmusa és deszexualizációja során, valamint mit üzent az onániáról a kádár-rendszer „felvilágosult” szexológiai és szexuálpszichológia irodalma? A szexuális különbözőségnek mennyiben és milyen módon volt üldözendő típusa az onanista, illetve milyen módon próbáltak meg egyéb „abnormalitásokat” az önkielégítésre visszavezetni?
This paper reconstructs the types of “honour” that come to light from the analysis of the papers ... more This paper reconstructs the types of “honour” that come to light from the analysis of the papers of the race defilement court cases and their importance for sexual politics in Horthy Era Hungary. The author uses Gil Anidjar’s Blood: a Critique of Christianity as a theoretical standpoint for seeking out the biological roots of expulsion from the community of honour, the body of the nation. The twin processes of sexual and racial normalization, just as in Germany’s “Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour,” had a dual aim as well: sorting out unwanted blood and maintaining a gendered and racialized code of honour.
This paper introduces the everyday realities of 'race defilement' practices in early 1940s Hun-ga... more This paper introduces the everyday realities of 'race defilement' practices in early 1940s Hun-gary through a case study. I argue that race defilement was an integral part of the Hungarian őrségváltás, 'the changing of the guards', in which the so-called 'Christian' middle class tried to push their 'Jewish' 1 male rivals away from economic and political opportunities and this included access to 'honourable, Christian women'. The case of a well-to-do and influential lawyer exemplifies that the judicial system was especially keen on enforcing őrségváltás by handing out punitive measures for Jews who were in a position of power and therefore seemed more of a threat to the non-Jewish elite. The case study also shows that playing with the gendered notion of 'honour' and with the resources still available to Jews in Horthy-era Hungary in the early 1940s, the outcome of cases could be swung. I here employ an emotional history approach and Michel Foucault's concept of the psychological-ethical 'double' to indicate how emotions and readily available stereotypes were used by the actors of this particular case for various, often game-changing purposes.
The practice of race defilement in Hungary began following the passage of the 1941
Marriage Law, ... more The practice of race defilement in Hungary began following the passage of the 1941 Marriage Law, a comprehensive law on marriage that introduced mandatory premarital health checks, marriage loans and the prohibition of marriage between Jews and non- Jews. In contrast with Nazi Germany, in Hungary non-Jewish men were exempted from the provisions of the law, so only Jewish men could be convicted and only if they had a liaison with “honorable” women. The vague non-legal term “honorable” provided the authorities with the opportunity to limit sexual and other contact between “Jews” and “non-Jews” and also to exert control over female bodies through policing and surveillance, as female “honor” was in most cases crucial in order to determine the course of the proceedings. This paper uses the theoretical framework of the history of emotions to reconstruct the types of “honor” that come to light from an analysis of the papers of these court cases and their importance for sexual politics in Horthy-era Hungary.
Sexuologie: Zeitschrift für Sexualmedizin, Sexualtherapie und Sexualwissenschaft, Dec 2013
The right-wing authoritarian regime that was in power in Hungary between 1920 and 1944 called its... more The right-wing authoritarian regime that was in power in Hungary between 1920 and 1944 called itself Christian-Nationalistic. Its restrictive sexual policy was oriented toward the morality of Victorian England. This paper endeavors to establish a connection between the abundant literature on Christian sex education for young boys (and, to a lesser extent, girls) and the Christian-Conservative laws that sought to roll back ”indecency” and both overtly and covertly targeted Jews and the ”Jewish spirit”. These sex education materials defined two main ”external” enemies that were to be kept away from Hungarian youths: prostitutes and Jewish men. The text goes on to discuss the 1941 Hungarian ”race defilement” clause, which in essence was based on logic similar to the Nazi race laws, but which in practice proved to be problematic.
First, we argue that sexuality was central to socialist modernization: Sex and gender were reform... more First, we argue that sexuality was central to socialist modernization: Sex and gender were reformulated whenever the socialist project was being revised. Expertise was crucial in these reformulations, which harnessed people's support for the changing regimes. Moreover, the role of the expert in society grew over time, leading to ever expanding and diversified fields of expertise. Second, gender and sexuality stood disjointed in these changes. Whereas in the early 1950s sex was a taboo subject in Hungary, in the last three decades of socialism it was gradually acknowledged and emancipated, along with a discursive push to alter gender roles within marriage. Conversely, Czechoslovak experts paid close attention to sexuality and particularly to female pleasure from the outset of the regime, highlighting the benefits of gender equality for conjugal satisfaction; yet, they changed course with Normalization (1969-1989) when they embraced gender hierarchy as the structure for a good marriage and a fulfilling sex life. It follows that gender and sexuality can develop independently: Change in one is not necessarily bound to similar progress in the other. Thus, third, whereas there was a shared initial push for gender equality, there was no unified socialist drive for the liberalization of sexuality.
In this article, I discuss the emancipation of masturbation in twentieth-century Hungary, focusin... more In this article, I discuss the emancipation of masturbation in twentieth-century Hungary, focusing on the socialist, Kádár era (late s to late s), which I claim was the time when the discourses concerning masturbation underwent profound transformation. I use Thomas Laqueur's periodization of discourses on masturbation in the West and make the case that in Hungary, due to its twentieth-century political and intellectual history, which affected both the institutionalization of sexology and discourses on sexuality, there is a markedly different chronology. In Hungary, interwar socialists were the first to suggest a new approach toward masturbation but these ideas remained marginal during the Horthy regime and in the 'Stalinist' s. In the early years of the Kádár regime, debates about sexual morality reformulated what should be understood under socialist sexual morality. The concept of socialist humanism, especially Imre Hirschler's work, linked early s sex education with the interwar socialist discourse on sex and paved the way to the emancipation of masturbation and the establishment of a post-Stalinist, socialist sexual ethics. In the s and s, iconic sexologists like Vilmos Szilágyi and Béla Buda moved away from socialist humanism and continued Hirschler's work, but mirroring the perspectives of contemporary Western science.
Was there a state-socialist model of school sex education and if so, what characterized its form ... more Was there a state-socialist model of school sex education and if so, what characterized its form and content? What shaped the specifi-cities and divergent characteristics of each country? The paper explores and compares programs of 'education for family life' as these became part of state-driven reproductive politics in late stages of state socialism in three countries (Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary), with a particular focus on sexuality and gender. We analyze how sexuality was framed in these otherwise broadly understood programs, which aimed not just at discussing sex but also interper-sonal relations within the family, forming the ways in which gender was to be understood, and sexuality was to be practiced. We show that school curricula for education for family life, which included sexual education, were introduced in the early 1970s in all three countries, and these programs displayed many similarities. We identify transnational influences in triggering the interest in such type of education and cross-border exchanges that shaped it further. Nevertheless, when analyzing the content of these curri-cula, national factors and peculiarities become visible, like the heightened focus on 'normal' family life in Czechoslovakia, the importance of ethnicity (Roma minority) in Hungary or religion (Catholicism) in Poland. As a result, we cannot speak of a universal model of state-socialist sex education. Methodologically, we follow the sociology of expertise that focuses on the ways in which expertise forms, links or disjoins, creating new areas of social life in need of expert intervention (Eyal, Rose, Hacking). Changes in expertise thus map onto broader social changes and analyzing the shifts in expertise can help understand societal processes of social reproduction and change. In our paper, we focus on sexological and pedagogical expertise, as these intersected on the issue of school-based sex education.
Thomas Laqueur (pl. Solitary Sex) és Michel Foucault (pl. A szexualitás története; Rendellenesek)... more Thomas Laqueur (pl. Solitary Sex) és Michel Foucault (pl. A szexualitás története; Rendellenesek), illetve más szerzők munkáiból kiderül, hogy Európában a modern kor fegyelmező-szabályozó intézményei, illetve a „scientia sexualis” diskurzusai kiemelkedő figyelmet tulajdonítottak a maszturbáció megfigyelésének. A középkorban viszonylag kevés figyelmet szenteltek az önkielégítésnek, de a 18. század elejétől kezdve több száz éven át morális, illetve egészségügyi pánik forrásává vált. Az „önkielégítő” a „homoszexuálishoz” hasonlóan önálló kategóriává, embertípussá vált, azonban identitás, csoporttudat és életforma nélkül. Az onanista beteges, gyenge, romlott, és végső soron halálra ítélt figurájára a a 19. század végétől kezdődően a szexuálpatológiából kinövő szexológia azért is szentelt különös figyelmet, mert összefüggést véltek a maszturbáció és egyéb „devianciák” között. Az onanista már a viktoriánus korban is a társadalmi élet normális rendjét veszélyeztette azzal, hogy lehetővé tette a másokkal nem megosztott, úgymond önző élvezetet. A homoszexualitással, nemi betegségekkel, prostitúcióval, fetisizmussal, pedofíliával mélyrehatóan foglalkozó szexológiai diskurzus, illetve az abból építkező szexuális felvilágosító irodalom azonban az onanista figurájából további következtetéseket vont le, a „néma bűnt” afféle kapudrognak tartotta amely első lépés a lejtőn lefelé, és szükségszerűen további perverziókhoz vezet. Ebben a tanulmányban arra keresek választ, hogy a rövid huszadik század (1914-1990) folyamán, a század első felében részben Freud, majd a második felében részben a felszabadítási elméletek (Herbert Marcuse, Betty Dodson, stb.) hatására hogyan változott az Onanista megítélése a szexuális felvilágosító irodalomban. Hogyan beszéltek a maszturbációról a keresztény-nemzeti szexuális nevelők, a két háború közti baloldali reformerek és Freudomarxisták, miben változott a helyzet az 1950-es évek sztálinista puritanizmusa és deszexualizációja során, valamint mit üzent az onániáról a kádár-rendszer „felvilágosult” szexológiai és szexuálpszichológia irodalma? A szexuális különbözőségnek mennyiben és milyen módon volt üldözendő típusa az onanista, illetve milyen módon próbáltak meg egyéb „abnormalitásokat” az önkielégítésre visszavezetni?
This paper reconstructs the types of “honour” that come to light from the analysis of the papers ... more This paper reconstructs the types of “honour” that come to light from the analysis of the papers of the race defilement court cases and their importance for sexual politics in Horthy Era Hungary. The author uses Gil Anidjar’s Blood: a Critique of Christianity as a theoretical standpoint for seeking out the biological roots of expulsion from the community of honour, the body of the nation. The twin processes of sexual and racial normalization, just as in Germany’s “Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour,” had a dual aim as well: sorting out unwanted blood and maintaining a gendered and racialized code of honour.
This paper introduces the everyday realities of 'race defilement' practices in early 1940s Hun-ga... more This paper introduces the everyday realities of 'race defilement' practices in early 1940s Hun-gary through a case study. I argue that race defilement was an integral part of the Hungarian őrségváltás, 'the changing of the guards', in which the so-called 'Christian' middle class tried to push their 'Jewish' 1 male rivals away from economic and political opportunities and this included access to 'honourable, Christian women'. The case of a well-to-do and influential lawyer exemplifies that the judicial system was especially keen on enforcing őrségváltás by handing out punitive measures for Jews who were in a position of power and therefore seemed more of a threat to the non-Jewish elite. The case study also shows that playing with the gendered notion of 'honour' and with the resources still available to Jews in Horthy-era Hungary in the early 1940s, the outcome of cases could be swung. I here employ an emotional history approach and Michel Foucault's concept of the psychological-ethical 'double' to indicate how emotions and readily available stereotypes were used by the actors of this particular case for various, often game-changing purposes.
The practice of race defilement in Hungary began following the passage of the 1941
Marriage Law, ... more The practice of race defilement in Hungary began following the passage of the 1941 Marriage Law, a comprehensive law on marriage that introduced mandatory premarital health checks, marriage loans and the prohibition of marriage between Jews and non- Jews. In contrast with Nazi Germany, in Hungary non-Jewish men were exempted from the provisions of the law, so only Jewish men could be convicted and only if they had a liaison with “honorable” women. The vague non-legal term “honorable” provided the authorities with the opportunity to limit sexual and other contact between “Jews” and “non-Jews” and also to exert control over female bodies through policing and surveillance, as female “honor” was in most cases crucial in order to determine the course of the proceedings. This paper uses the theoretical framework of the history of emotions to reconstruct the types of “honor” that come to light from an analysis of the papers of these court cases and their importance for sexual politics in Horthy-era Hungary.
Sexuologie: Zeitschrift für Sexualmedizin, Sexualtherapie und Sexualwissenschaft, Dec 2013
The right-wing authoritarian regime that was in power in Hungary between 1920 and 1944 called its... more The right-wing authoritarian regime that was in power in Hungary between 1920 and 1944 called itself Christian-Nationalistic. Its restrictive sexual policy was oriented toward the morality of Victorian England. This paper endeavors to establish a connection between the abundant literature on Christian sex education for young boys (and, to a lesser extent, girls) and the Christian-Conservative laws that sought to roll back ”indecency” and both overtly and covertly targeted Jews and the ”Jewish spirit”. These sex education materials defined two main ”external” enemies that were to be kept away from Hungarian youths: prostitutes and Jewish men. The text goes on to discuss the 1941 Hungarian ”race defilement” clause, which in essence was based on logic similar to the Nazi race laws, but which in practice proved to be problematic.
Under the leadership of Karolina Mroziewicz and Aleksander Sroczyński the team of fourteen PhD st... more Under the leadership of Karolina Mroziewicz and Aleksander Sroczyński the team of fourteen PhD students and recent PhD holders from different academic environments, representing such different fields of humanities as anthropology, philology, history, philosophy and art history, was brought to life in order to analyze different manifestations of political theologies in the pre-modern and contemporary world. The scope of our research extends from the formation and contestation of the political bodies in the early medieval Astur-Leonese monarchy to the wide-ranging picture of political theology in contemporary popular culture... More about the project: http://rexnunquammoritur.al.uw.edu.pl/
The project is carried out within the framework of the National Programme for the Development of Humanities (module 2.1).
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Ebben a tanulmányban arra keresek választ, hogy a rövid huszadik század (1914-1990) folyamán, a század első felében részben Freud, majd a második felében részben a felszabadítási elméletek (Herbert Marcuse, Betty Dodson, stb.) hatására hogyan változott az Onanista megítélése a szexuális felvilágosító irodalomban. Hogyan beszéltek a maszturbációról a keresztény-nemzeti szexuális nevelők, a két háború közti baloldali reformerek és Freudomarxisták, miben változott a helyzet az 1950-es évek sztálinista puritanizmusa és deszexualizációja során, valamint mit üzent az onániáról a kádár-rendszer „felvilágosult” szexológiai és szexuálpszichológia irodalma? A szexuális különbözőségnek mennyiben és milyen módon volt üldözendő típusa az onanista, illetve milyen módon próbáltak meg egyéb „abnormalitásokat” az önkielégítésre visszavezetni?
Marriage Law, a comprehensive law on marriage that introduced mandatory premarital
health checks, marriage loans and the prohibition of marriage between Jews and non-
Jews. In contrast with Nazi Germany, in Hungary non-Jewish men were exempted from
the provisions of the law, so only Jewish men could be convicted and only if they had
a liaison with “honorable” women. The vague non-legal term “honorable” provided
the authorities with the opportunity to limit sexual and other contact between “Jews”
and “non-Jews” and also to exert control over female bodies through policing and
surveillance, as female “honor” was in most cases crucial in order to determine the
course of the proceedings. This paper uses the theoretical framework of the history of
emotions to reconstruct the types of “honor” that come to light from an analysis of
the papers of these court cases and their importance for sexual politics in Horthy-era
Hungary.
Ebben a tanulmányban arra keresek választ, hogy a rövid huszadik század (1914-1990) folyamán, a század első felében részben Freud, majd a második felében részben a felszabadítási elméletek (Herbert Marcuse, Betty Dodson, stb.) hatására hogyan változott az Onanista megítélése a szexuális felvilágosító irodalomban. Hogyan beszéltek a maszturbációról a keresztény-nemzeti szexuális nevelők, a két háború közti baloldali reformerek és Freudomarxisták, miben változott a helyzet az 1950-es évek sztálinista puritanizmusa és deszexualizációja során, valamint mit üzent az onániáról a kádár-rendszer „felvilágosult” szexológiai és szexuálpszichológia irodalma? A szexuális különbözőségnek mennyiben és milyen módon volt üldözendő típusa az onanista, illetve milyen módon próbáltak meg egyéb „abnormalitásokat” az önkielégítésre visszavezetni?
Marriage Law, a comprehensive law on marriage that introduced mandatory premarital
health checks, marriage loans and the prohibition of marriage between Jews and non-
Jews. In contrast with Nazi Germany, in Hungary non-Jewish men were exempted from
the provisions of the law, so only Jewish men could be convicted and only if they had
a liaison with “honorable” women. The vague non-legal term “honorable” provided
the authorities with the opportunity to limit sexual and other contact between “Jews”
and “non-Jews” and also to exert control over female bodies through policing and
surveillance, as female “honor” was in most cases crucial in order to determine the
course of the proceedings. This paper uses the theoretical framework of the history of
emotions to reconstruct the types of “honor” that come to light from an analysis of
the papers of these court cases and their importance for sexual politics in Horthy-era
Hungary.
The project is carried out within the framework of the National Programme for the Development of Humanities (module 2.1).