Michalina Wisłocka’s The Art of Loving and the Legacy of Polish Sexology

Abstract

AbstractThis article discusses the development of Polish sexology as well as the challenges of sex education in Poland in general and the implications of Michalina Wisłocka’s work within the field of adult sex education in particular, both from a historical perspective and against the background of sociopolitical circumstances and the backlash in the sexual politics of today’s Poland. Michalina Wisłocka (1921–2005) is the author of Sztuka kochania [The Art of Loving] from 1978—the most widely read Polish handbook on sex, sexuality and eroticism. Although there has not been a sexual revolution in Poland, the success of the book may be considered revolutionary as it had an enormous impact on sexual awareness among the Poles at least for two decades after its publication. Nowadays, the book is considered groundbreaking as regards its normalizing effect on the language of sex, despite the omnipresence of gender role stereotypes. Even so, the revival of Wisłocka that has been seen in Poland in recent years is quite remarkable because the book appears traditional and largely outdated from today’s perspective. In the context of the postsocialist retraditionalization of sexual politics in Poland, however, the revived interest in Wisłocka seems less ambiguous since it can be perceived both as a sign of backlash and a sign of renewed demand for sexual knowledge and education.