Abstract
This 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that has been seen in Poland in recent years is quite remarkable because the book appears traditional and largely outdated from today’s perspective.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.
Highlights
More than 40 years have passed since the most popular Polish guide to sexual life, Michalina Wisłocka’s Sztuka kochania [The Art of Loving], was published in 1978
The 2016 reedition of the once popular The Art of Loving was discussed in the press, often in the historical context of the development of the socalled “Polish school of sexology.”1 The newly emerged media interest resulted in several interviews with well-known sexologists
The idea of love and marital life endorsed by Wisłocka in her book appeared rather ordinary compared to the extremely out of ordinary particulars of the author’s private life and marriage revealed in Maria Sadowska’s film
Summary
More than 40 years have passed since the most popular Polish guide to sexual life, Michalina Wisłocka’s Sztuka kochania [The Art of Loving], was published in 1978. Wisłocka’s life and work have been brought to light again in recent years. Since the publication of the first biography of Michalina Wisłocka in 2014—Sztuka kochania gorszycielki [The Art of Loving of a Scandalous Woman] by Violetta Ozminkowski—a reedited version of Wisłocka’s ars amandi appeared in 2016, followed by the publication of Wisłocka’s autobiography in 2017. Ozminkowski’s biography inspired a movie adaptation, The Art of Loving: The Story of Michalina Wisłocka, directed by Maria Sadowska (2017). Wisłocka’s work was promoted as still valid and up-to-date. Some of the rereadings of the book proved otherwise, claiming that the book was considerably outdated, promoted conventional gender roles, and should be treated as a document of the era in which it was written. the idea of love and marital life endorsed by Wisłocka in her book appeared rather ordinary compared to the extremely out of ordinary particulars of the author’s private life and marriage revealed in Maria Sadowska’s film
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