Gender, Pleasure, and Violence
Gender, Pleasure, and Violence Behind the Iron Curtain, the politics of sexuality and gender were, in many ways, more progressive than the West.While Polish citizens undoubtedly suffered under the…
Specifikacia Gender, Pleasure, and Violence
Gender, Pleasure, and Violence
Behind the Iron Curtain, the politics of sexuality and gender were, in many ways, more progressive than the West.While Polish citizens undoubtedly suffered under the oppressive totalitarianism of socialism, abortion was legal, clear laws protected victims of rape, and it was relatively easy to legally change one's gender. Yet strict gender roles within the home meant that true equality was never fully within reach. In Gender, Pleasure, and Violence, Agnieszka Kościańska reveals that sexologists--experts such as physicians, therapists, and educators--not only treated patients but also held sex education classes at school, published regular columns in the press, and authored highly popular sex manuals that sold millions of copies.
Drawing on interviews, participant observation, and archival work, Kościańska shares how professions like sexologists