intimate sphere. Sexual area. Unpleasant smell of discharge after childbirth: causes and solutions to a delicate problem
Elena Perelygina, a clinical psychologist and sexologist, spoke about the revolutionary change in the family model and the new requirements for intimate relationships in a couple.
All last years We are seeing very big changes in almost all spheres of life. Rapid technological progress, the economic crisis, the redistribution of political spheres of influence in the world, new directions and concepts in culture, clashes of views - all this indicates the formation of a different reality in the social structure. We can already observe the features of this "new" one, and first of all they are reflected in the relations between people. The family and intimate spheres of life, as the basis of the foundations of human society, were the first to undergo changes.
Recently, more and more people come to the reception with complaints about the impossibility of existing in the traditional framework of the family. Respect for the old foundations family relations leads couples to frequent conflicts, misunderstandings and, as a result, to divorces. How else, if, often, people, in order to return from work to the same place every day, that very family nest, need to spend an hour or two in a traffic jam? Sometimes couples live in different countries, due to circumstances, and one (more progressive) is calm about such a model, and the second is pressured by traditional ideas, he is constantly under stress. The result - a break in relationships, extramarital affairs, attacks of jealousy, up to obsessive, nervous breakdowns. And most importantly - unhappy, exhausted children. What's the way out? What to do?
There is such a thing as "principle of systems". If at least one element in the system changes, the whole system changes and this is inevitable. So the family system will never be the same, as there have been changes in society as a whole and in the minds of people. Many can no longer follow traditional customs. And soon we will see and will have to accept new stereotypes and norms in family relations. It will be a revolution in consciousness. And everything is ready for this.
It is from the fact that families continue to try to exist within the framework of the old model that conflicts occur. The new model will mean more freedom for spouses. These are both guest marriages and marriages at a distance, without fidelity obligations (although this is difficult to accept). Most already live like this, but at the same time they deceive each other, which becomes a source of additional problems. Sexual fidelity will not be given much attention, and not because of the depravity of society, but because a person has begun to relate differently to his time, to his desires and health. Even within the family, he wants to remain a separate person with the full range of possibilities of a free person.
Marriages will mainly be created around children and this is not necessarily a stamp in the passport. There is a child or children, there are parents and there are obligations. This is upbringing on agreed terms, a financial and moral contribution, or participation in this upbringing. If people remain close in an intimate way, then between them there are obligations of a hygienic nature. For example, one spouse goes to the side, while the other adheres to traditional values, stays at home and brings up children (usually a woman). In such situations, the reward for virtue can be very exquisite illnesses. A huge role is also played by financial obligations between spouses, who is responsible for what area of life, what item of expenses pays, etc.
The new model will solve all these issues. The spouses will negotiate "on the shore", as they say. It is possible that they will decide and follow the traditional or outdated way, but this will be a mature decision against the backdrop of all possible choices. And this will immediately remove the problem of conflicts and inconsistencies between real life and the depicted one. The topic of marriage contracts will get a second wind. They will display the maximum number of details and nuances of family life and the possibility of resolving problems. Here is such a perspective. The most painful thing is the realization of a new reality, the acceptance of new norms. But this is inevitable!
The changes will also affect the intimate sphere. Partners in a pair will be more active. Such a sad phenomenon as a long coexistence of people, of which one wants carnal pleasures, has serious sexual needs, and the other, not needing this area, will also reproach the first for his activity, will go into the past. An active person either suffers for years, or is deceived. As a result of the changes that we are talking about, people will become more conscious of couples, will be more oriented towards matching sexual preferences, and will improve themselves and relationships by developing their sexuality, knowledge and skills in this area. There is already a lot of literature practical courses and specialists for women, for men and for the couple as a whole, who are able to both strengthen and develop depth and maintain intrigue in the lives of sexual partners. This does not mean that the classic "missionary" pose has become obsolete, no! It’s just that we have become more mobile, we no longer lie like a log, we don’t hide under a blanket or behind a curtain. We have had sex in our country for a long time. Sex before marriage is the norm. And everything new once becomes the norm of life.
In recent years, we have seen very big changes in almost all spheres of life. Rapid technological progress, the economic crisis, the redistribution of political spheres of influence in the world, new directions and concepts in culture, clashes of views - all this indicates the formation of a different reality in the social structure. We can already observe the features of this “new” and, first of all, they are reflected in the relations between people. The family and intimate spheres of life, as the basis of the foundations of human society, were the first to undergo changes.
Recently, more and more people come to the reception with complaints about the impossibility of existing in the traditional framework of the family. Observance of the old foundations, the way of family relations leads couples to frequent conflicts, misunderstanding and, as a result, to divorces. How else, if, often, people, in order to return from work to the same place every day, that very family nest, need to spend an hour or two in a traffic jam? Sometimes couples live in different countries at all, due to circumstances, and one (more progressive) is calm about such a model, and the second is pressured by traditional ideas, he is constantly under stress. The result - a break in relationships, extramarital affairs, attacks of jealousy, up to obsessive, nervous breakdowns. And most importantly - unhappy, exhausted children. What's the way out? What to do?
There is such a thing as "principle of systems". If at least one element in the system changes, the whole system changes and this is inevitable. So the family system will never be the same, as there have been changes in society as a whole and in the minds of people. Many can no longer follow traditional customs. And soon we will see and will have to accept new stereotypes and norms in family relations. It will be a revolution in consciousness. And everything is ready for this.
It is from the fact that families continue to try to exist within the framework of the old model that conflicts occur. The new model will mean more freedom for spouses. These are both guest marriages and marriages at a distance, without fidelity obligations (although this is difficult to accept). Most already live like this, but at the same time they deceive each other, which becomes a source of additional problems. Sexual fidelity will not be given much attention, and not because of the depravity of society, but because a person has begun to relate differently to his time, to his desires and health. Even within the family, he wants to remain a separate person with the full range of possibilities of a free person.
Marriages will mainly be created around children and this is not necessarily a stamp in the passport. There is a child or children, there are parents and there are obligations. This is upbringing on agreed terms, a financial and moral contribution, or participation in this upbringing. If people remain close in an intimate way, then between them there are obligations of a hygienic nature. For example, one spouse goes to the side, while the other adheres to traditional values, stays at home and brings up children (usually a woman). In such situations, the reward for virtue can be very exquisite illnesses. A huge role is also played by financial obligations between spouses, who is responsible for what area of life, what item of expenses pays, etc.
The new model will solve all these issues. The spouses will negotiate "on the shore", as they say. It is possible that they will decide and follow the traditional or outdated way, but this will be a mature decision against the backdrop of all possible choices. And this will immediately remove the problem of conflicts and inconsistencies between real life and the depicted one. The topic of marriage contracts will get a second wind. They will display the maximum number of details and nuances of family life and the possibility of resolving problems. Here is such a perspective. The most painful thing is the realization of a new reality, the acceptance of new norms. But this is inevitable!
The changes will also affect the intimate sphere. Partners in a pair will be more active. Such a sad phenomenon as a long coexistence of people, of which one wants carnal pleasures, has serious sexual needs, and the other, not needing this area, will also reproach the first for his activity, will go into the past. An active person either suffers for years, or is deceived. As a result of the changes that we are talking about, people will become more conscious of couples, will be more oriented towards matching sexual preferences, and will improve themselves and relationships by developing their sexuality, knowledge and skills in this area. There is already a lot of literature, practical courses and specialists for women, for men and for the couple as a whole, which can both strengthen and develop depth and maintain intrigue in the life of sexual partners. This does not mean that the classic "missionary" pose has become obsolete, no! It’s just that we have become more mobile, we no longer lie like a log, we don’t hide under a blanket or behind a curtain. We have had sex in our country for a long time. Sex before marriage is the norm. And everything new once becomes the norm of life.
Sexual sphere
INCREASED IMPORTANCE OF SEXUAL SPHERE
Some of the signs that indicate increased importance of the sexual sphere, have already been considered in connection with the analysis of human drawings. It's typical for teenagers emphasizing the signs of gender, indicators of emotional load when depicting them extravagant clothes(see fig. 12, 13, 34, 40, 44). ABOUT the high significance of the sexual sphere is also indicated by the image naked or semi-nude figure(Fig. 54).
Eleven-year-old Inga drew "a ballerina in a bathing suit who is about to dance." As mentioned, the image of not just a person, but a certain character is a sign of demonstrativeness, especially if this character (like a ballerina), due to its individual or professional qualities, is the object of general attention. The high demonstrativeness of the girl is also evidenced by a large number of jewelry: a rose on the bodice, lace, elegant gloves, patterned stockings.
Inga's drawing, along with signs of demonstrativeness and increased interest in the sexual sphere, also shows a specific pose with hands covering the genital area. This position of the hands is interpreted as an indicator of the desire to control one's sexual impulses. Perhaps, in this case, the need for increased self-control is associated with the girl's feeling of her lack of orientation in life. In the drawing, this sensation is reflected in the unstable posture of the ballerina (cf. Fig. 43).
For eleven and a half years, Inga's drawing looks very mature. It can be assumed that interest in the sexual sphere is associated with an advance in general psychosexual and emotional development, the early development of adolescence crisis. Inga's mother's complaints about her daughter's uncontrollability, constant departures from home to her friends without permission, late return home are also typical of the period of adolescence crisis. On the basis of the examination, recommendations were given on communication with the girl and her upbringing, corresponding not to the passport, but to the psychological age of Inga.
The sexual symbolism in the drawings of boys differs little from that in the drawings of girls (Fig. 55).
Just like Inga, Sasha has an interest in the sexual sphere, which is ahead of the age norm. It manifests itself in the image of an almost completely naked character, in emphasizing the chest and genital area. The presence of male nipples in the drawing is interpreted as a reflection of sexual symbolism, regardless of the way they are depicted, but in this case it should be analyzed separately. Sasha depicted the male chest in the way that a female is usually depicted. In his drawing there are signs of the opposite sex (female breasts in a man), which indicates an unformed gender identity. Consequently, Sasha's interest in the sexual sphere appears in its purest form, and not as a manifestation of a general advance in psychosexual development. Such an advance should have manifested itself in a fairly mature gender identification.
On fig. 56 shows a carefully rendered effect transparent clothes. This is the same sign of the high significance of the sexual sphere, as well as the image of a naked (half-naked) character. In a relatively adult person, such a special significance of the sexual sphere usually signals some kind of trouble in relations with the opposite sex.
Along with this, in the image of a man, the hand covers the genital area. As indicated in the analysis of Fig. 54, this position of the hand is interpreted as a sign of a tendency to control one's sexual impulses. This suggests that Anatoly has specific norms governing the relationship between the sexes, since the standard norms of modern society do not imply high sexual control in a man. Perhaps this is what explains Anatoly's difficulties in building his sexual relations, causing the increased importance of the corresponding sphere.
AVOIDING SEXUAL SUBJECTS
The departure from topics related to the sexual sphere is manifested in the absence of an image of the lower half of the human body or in the image of only the face. This usually refers to a drawing of a person of the opposite sex (Fig. 57, 58).
Sixteen-year-old Sophia drew the girl to her full height, but positioned the young man so that the lower part of his body was hidden by the table. There are signs of emotional stress in the image of the young man (increased pressure on the pencil, corrections). This suggests that Sophia's departure from sexual issues is associated with a tense attitude towards this area. It can have various reasons: unfavorable previous experience, general ideas about the undesirability or prohibition of sexual relations, distrust of the opposite sex.
A similar combination of avoidance of sexual issues with a tense attitude towards this area is also observed in Fig. 58.
Previously, a drawing of a young man made by Dima was analyzed (Fig. 47). There were signs in it that the ideal of masculinity was highly significant for the author. The drawing fully complied with the instructions: the person on it was depicted in its entirety, in full growth. In the drawing of the girl there is only a face. Lips are especially carefully drawn, representing a socially acceptable sexual symbol (association with a kiss). Thus, lips of an underlined shape are interpreted, first of all: in the form of a bow (as in this figure) or a heart. A less pronounced sexual symbol is underlined full lips, the shape of which is not traced.
SERIOUS SEXUAL DISORDERS
One of the most common signs of serious trouble in the sexual sphere is the manifestation of a particularly significant emotional load when depicting the chest, hips, and genital area. On fig. 59 the chest is depicted with multiple lines with increased pressure. The genital area is also drawn in detail, which in the first (subsequently erased) version of the drawing was hidden by a skirt.
The picture as a whole contains pronounced signs of anxiety (corrections, multiple lines), high emotional tension (increased pressure), fears (dark glasses). A carefully drawn hairstyle, beads and earrings speak of high demonstrativeness. Such a pronounced, mature and crude sexual symbolism, as in Sonya's drawing, is completely not typical for her age.
We can talk about a significant acceleration of psychosexual development, accompanied by serious problems in the sexual sphere. This may be a consequence of either physiological disorders that led to super-early sexual development (hormonal disorders, organic damage to the hypothalamic region of the brain), or indecent acts committed with the child. It was not possible to establish the cause of deviations in psychosexual development. Consultation with an endocrinologist is recommended.
Another manifestation of trouble in the sexual sphere can be observed in Fig. 60. The image of a man and a woman reflects a high level of anxiety (erasures, corrections, multiple lines), communication problems (sharply reduced hands, empty eyes - signs of possible autism), asthenia combined with increased emotional lability (highly variable, but mostly weakened pressure on the pencil). All indicators of psychological stress in the image of a woman are much more pronounced than in the image of a man. To the already noted signs are added an extremely gross violation of proportions, a distortion of the shape of the face. In general, the image resembles a witch with a twisted mouth and bared teeth.
In the perception of Ilya, a woman is a source of threat; she is aggressive (at least verbally) and potentially dangerous. It is depicted as an adult woman rather than a girl. This suggests that the image of his mother is behind the boy's ideas about a woman. However, the pronounced sexual symbolism (underlined breasts) indicates that the drawing should be interpreted more generally - as an image of "a woman in general."
The connection of the generalized image of a woman with the mother figure was emphasized by Z. Freud. It is especially strong in cases of the persistent Oedipus complex. It can be assumed that violations in the relationship with the mother (hyperprotection, excessive pressure) led to a pronounced fear of women in general. At the same time, in adolescence, the problem of relationships with the opposite sex is always highly significant. It is very likely that it was the significance of these relationships, combined with extremely negative expectations, that was one of the reasons that caused Ilya's unfavorable psychological state (anxiety and autism noted above).
The mother characterizes Ilya as a nervous child experiencing serious difficulties in contacts with people. According to her, adverse manifestations were present before, but have sharply increased in the last six months. This information is consistent with the hypothesis put forward as a result of psychological examination. Family therapy is recommended to overcome existing difficulties.
UNFORMED GENDER IDENTIFICATION
For early adolescence drawings are typical, in which there are no signs that determine gender of the character. They testify to unformed gender identity, normal at this age.
As a rule, this is combined with the absence of a pronounced interest in the sexual sphere, which is characteristic of older adolescence and youth. More specific are cases when there is both an unformed gender identity and an interest in the sexual sphere.
An example of such a combination is shown in Fig. 61 (see also fig. 55). The drawing was made by 11-year-old Any M. according to standard instructions. When asked about the gender of the depicted character, the girl replied that it was a man. Meanwhile, it is extremely difficult to determine the gender from the image. In particular, the genital area is depicted in a feminine rather than a masculine way. This indicates the lack of formation of Lyuba's gender identity, which is quite consistent with her age.
A sign of the importance of the sexual sphere is the sharply emphasized framing of the genital area (pockets drawn with strong pressure and belt buckle) and the chest area (tie). Of the general psychological features, Lyuba's drawing shows high emotional lability (pronounced fluctuations in the force of pressing a pencil), a desire for orderliness (high accuracy and thoroughness in drawing, strict symmetry) and demonstrativeness (an abundance of various details).
The high significance of the sexual sphere in the case of unformed gender identification is also shown in Fig. 62.
According to the standard instructions, Ulyana portrayed a man whose nipples on his chest are drawn in a male pattern (there is no female breast), while at the same time the hips and genitals are rather female. In response to the question of what gender this person is, Ulyana replied: "Indefinite." In response to a request to draw a person of the opposite sex, she portrayed a man; therefore, the first drawing still depicted a woman. Such indeterminacy of the character's gender is a typical sign of an unformed gender identity. For the age of twenty, this is evidence of a strong delay in psychosexual development. The high importance of sexual issues is evidenced by the image of a naked figure with traced nipples.
The underlined contour of the figures (especially the female one) speaks of increased self-control, the desire to hide their problems and experiences from those around them (see analysis of Fig. 24). The man has one hand shaded, the other has a shaded briefcase. This can be interpreted as an indicator of tension in contacts with the opposite sex.
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The intimate sphere in Russia in the 1920s
At one time, the German sociologist F. Engels noticed an important empirical pattern: “<...>in every major revolutionary movement the question of "free love" comes to the fore. For some, this is revolutionary progress, liberation from old traditional ties that have ceased to be necessary; for others, it is a willingly accepted doctrine, conveniently covering up all sorts of free and easy relations between a man and a woman.
The observed trend was confirmed after the October Revolution in our country. In fact, the processes that took place during these years in the moral history of Russia, on the one hand, were quite expected, and on the other hand, the intensity of their course turned out to be extraordinary in terms of social intensity and drama. The revolution contributed to a radical break in the petty-bourgeois way of life and the foundations of Christian ethics, and there was an active search for non-standard moral principles. The working class, insisted one of the radical authors of the magazine Kommunistka, destroyed all the old concepts of "honor", "fidelity", "legitimate birth", family ties. He "liberated love from the economy and builds life not on the principles of nepotism, but on the principles of the public."
Empirical research can serve as an important additional channel for obtaining information about the prevailing forms of feelings and orientation, mores and practices. The attempts made by our compatriots to penetrate into the multi-layered and contradictory sphere of a person's private existence, deeply innovative, humane in their goals and large-scale in scope, now, we have to admit, are undeservedly unclaimed.
Let us make some preliminary remarks about the historiographic background of the data analysis carried out here. As in any historical sociological study, the scope of our discussion is much wider than the range of sources involved. At the very least, the author seeks to realize a certain "super task": to demonstrate not only the final figures, but also the style of sociological thinking of the figures of that time. Let me remind you that up to that time, although small, experience had been accumulated in surveying student youth. Therefore, when choosing literature, some “informal” criteria could not but affect. Among them are the thorough methodological study of surveys, their representativeness, the homogeneity of the sample population, which ensures the correctness of historical and sociological comparisons, and, finally, the depth and problematic nature of the author's thinking. Let us not forget that, as at the beginning of the century, all researchers were not sociologists in the truest sense of the word, but were doctors, lawyers, statisticians, and so on. This, obviously, explains the sometimes incorrect formulation of questions. For example, I. Gelman tried to understand the influence of the social revolution on the level of physiological responsiveness of men and women with the help of a “frontal” question. In our book, as a rule, we use data from surveys by I. Gelman, D. Lass, Z. Gurevich and F. Grosser, M. Barash, S. Golosovker. Of course, they do not exhaust the whole picture of the sociological development of the problem of sexual morality in the twenties. This requires more extensive research. Nevertheless, these sources significantly complement the picture of the state of morals.
The results of Gelman's research, who interviewed 1145 students and 338 female students, show that 85% of the former and 53% of the latter were in illegitimate sexual relations. According to Lass (1590 students and 222 female students), 88% of men and 48% of women had such connections. The indicators given by Gurevich: 95% and 62%, respectively (1104 students and 205 female students). Barash, who interviewed 1280 young workers in Moscow, found that "premarital" sexual experience had 97%. The statistics of various surveys, as we can see, are stable and testify to the wide spread of illegitimate sexual practices among student and working youth. One important circumstance cannot be overlooked. Although there were no mass surveys before the beginning of the 19th century, it was generally not a secret to anyone that young men were involved in sexual practices outside of marriage. Another thing is girls. Their sexual contacts before the legal registration of marriage were sharply condemned by religious and secular institutions, severe sanctions were applied to violators of this prohibition. And “suddenly” the sample data shows that almost every second woman had the aforementioned experience.
The diagrams in fig. 1 and 2.
Figure 1. Age of students' first sexual contact
Figure 2. Age of female students' first sexual contact
To begin with, we note that the quantitative indicators obtained by the researchers in the interval of four years turned out to be stable. Among the men who had sexual relations, one in four entered into them before the age of sixteen, and most often these practices fell on the age range of 16-18 years. Women were involved in sexual activity, as a rule, later, although the level of its prevalence before adulthood is quite high: from 20% to 44%, which indicates a radical change in the construction of oneself as ethical subjects. By the way, one of the confirmations of this hypothesis can be the coincidence of the prevalence of "promiscuity" erotic contacts in men (58%) and women (55%).
Quantitative indices are supplemented in the analyzed samples with important qualitative socio-psychological characteristics - the motives for entering into a debut sexual relationship. Despite a wide range of motives, dominant ones stand out among them. For women, these are “love” (49%), “hobby” (30%) and “curiosity” (20%); in men - "sexual need" (54%), "hobby" (28%) and "curiosity" (19%). No significant differences were found in the polls of 1922 and 1927.
Interesting information about with whom the boys and girls had their first sexual contact (see Table 1).
Table 1. Type of partner by debut sexual intimacy compared to gender (in %)
|
Partner type |
Men |
Women |
||||
|
Gelman, 1922, 1145 people |
Barash, 1924, 1280 people |
Lass, 1925, 1590 people |
Gurevich, 1927, 1104 people |
Lass, 1925, 222 people |
Gurevich, 1927, 205 people |
|
|
Wife husband |
||||||
|
Bride Groom |
||||||
|
Cohabitant / cohabitant |
||||||
|
random friend/acquaintance |
||||||
|
A prostitute |
||||||
* Data refer to the first two types of partners
** Data refer to the first three types of partners
The above figures allow us to trace some trends: there is a stable tradition of women entering into a debut relationship with their husband, and men - with a casual acquaintance; at the same time, a new phenomenon is observed: women expand their circle of partners at the expense of suitors and cohabitants, while men reduce contacts with prostitutes. Prostitution as a social phenomenon gradually declined. Indeed, a comparison of studies different years showed: if before the First World War and the February Revolution, almost 48% of young citizens started sex life with prostitutes, then in 1914-1917 - 32.0%, in 1918-1920 - slightly more than 16.0%, and in 1921-1923 - less than 4%. Moreover, in the future, 51% of the men surveyed used their services before the revolution, and after the revolution - 8%. It is clear that the decrease specific gravity"Users" of prostitutes' services did not occur without the influence of social structures and institutions. Was created legal framework- the first Criminal Code of the RSFSR, in which a number of regulations regarding the protection of sexual health, prostitution, coercion and pandering appear. This document, with greater clarity than before, defined the legislative approach to prostitution, recognizing it as a social disease. The emphasis in the "fight" with her was not on prostitutes, but on those who involve women in the craft - intermediaries, pimps, pimps, brothels. Indirectly, the search for acceptable, "replacing institutions" by consumers testifies to the crisis of the "eternal" institution. I will confine myself to one, no matter how clever, so contradictory entry made by a 22-year-old worker in Gelman's questionnaire: “<...>sexual rapprochement is a natural need; but its manifestation is in a very difficult position due to the presence of moral obstacles, or, more simply, the immaturity of our concept in relation to the sexual question. On this basis (I hope you will understand) in most cases various venereal diseases occur. And if we regard sexual intercourse as a natural need, and above all it is a law of nature,<...>if for the consequences of sexual intercourse we have arranged so-called maternity hospitals, then why not arrange, on the contrary, houses of copulation (this should not be understood as a “house of tolerance”), the situation of which is as follows: in short, who wants to satisfy his need comes, registers, looks around carefully by a doctor, etc.” . Most likely, the young man stands up for the legitimization of "promiscuity", controlled exclusively by medical supervision.
The revealed empirical patterns were to some extent determined by economic, social and moral transformations in the country: the restoration of industrial production, the involvement of women in professional activities, the proclamation of equal social rights regardless of gender, and the transformation of family models. Moreover, the researchers did not actually raise the question of the degree of adequacy of the reflection of these transformations in sexual behavior, since this required a higher sociological level of analysis.
Of particular interest are the answers regarding adultery (adultery) and its moral assessments. According to Golosovker, the possibility of this practice was justified by about half of the students, but in reality, every third woman was in parallel illegitimate relationships. Barash testifies: 50% of the surveyed metalworkers and machine builders had this kind of relationship. Gurevich made an attempt to construct a typology of motives for involvement in adultery. For men, the most significant were "separation from his wife" (38%), "hobby" (25%) and "dissatisfaction with family life" (14%); for women - "separation from her husband" (38%), "dissatisfaction with family life" (21%) and "dissatisfaction with sexual relations with a spouse" (17%). The last motive occupied a significant place in the answers of Lass respondents, namely: 66% of women pointed to it. IN former years this level of revelation is hard to imagine.
The researchers did not ignore two more types of practices. I mean masturbation and homosexuality. Just a few touches. According to Gelman, about 53% of men and 15% of women masturbated, while among students of Moscow University - 74%, and among students of higher women's courses - 52% (1914). Young people named the following factors that contributed to the manifestation of this sexual practice: firstly, “internal urges”, in particular, students of Moscow University - 58%, students of the Communist University - 44%, students of the same university - 42%; secondly, "the influence of comrades (girlfriends)" respectively 33%, 37%, 35% and, thirdly, "the influence of literature": 8%, 11%, 15%. Throughout the first quarter of the 20th century, the ratio of male and female "confessions" remained unchanged. How reliable this kind of information, I will show in the future.
As for homosexuality, according to M.M. Rubinshtein, in youth (13-15 years old), homogeneous identification is recorded in 1.6% of boys and 4.5% of girls. Due to the scarcity of the initial data, I will cite a unique entry for the first decades, made in the Gelman questionnaire. When compared with the observations of I.P. Tarnovsky, this material shows the small "advancement" of contemporaries in understanding the etiology and psychology of tribadism.
So, a university student from a peasant family, 23 years old. The first sexual sensations appeared in her 18th year - spontaneously. I didn't do masturbation. Menstruation began at the age of 17 and caused fear and shame. At the age of 20, she entered into her debut sexual contact with her husband. She was married for six months, divorced because sexual intercourse was disgusting to her. After a divorce, she treats men as comrades, but does not see them as sexual partners. At the age of 22, she vaguely felt a spiritual, psychological and sexual need for a woman. Since then, her sex life has entered a new rut. Now sexuality is perceived by her as a need, began to deliver hitherto unknown erotic pleasure. The interviewee contacts women, while being aware of herself as a butch. Accordingly, her friends are carried away by her, love and are jealous, feeling themselves in relation to the woman confessing. Homosexual relations, according to her, play a major role in life, after social work. The confession ends like this: I want to be a man. I look forward to the time when the discoveries of science will lead to the possibility of castration and inoculation of male organs. The frank presentation by the respondent of the history of her sexual identity outside the clinic indicates the readiness of at least a part of homosexuals to dialogue with society.
The presented empirical material testifies rather to a radical crisis of traditional norms and values, rather than to a pronounced formation of new ones. Illegitimate sexual relations, no doubt, have ceased to be a masculine "privilege". It is noteworthy that the centuries-old partner of a man - a "prostitute" - began to be intensively forced out by an "acquaintance". Relations with the latter, firstly, fundamentally excluded the sale and purchase of the body and, secondly, turned out to be not so spiritually and emotionally alienated, although they were still based on psychophysiological attraction (desire for relaxation) more often on both sides. At the same time, a small but noticeably increasing number of respondents, intensifying emotional empathy, began sexual practice, if not with their wife, then with a bride or cohabitant. The sexual life of female students was constructed by them mainly in such a way that it could be identified to a large extent with marriage or a valuable expressive experience in itself. Along with this, about a fifth of the connections arose among female students rather for the sake of relieving emotional and psychological stress. Both sexes began to admit the possibility of adultery. There is a trend of autonomization of sexuality and marriage. There is a very variegated picture of morals, in which one can see the search for deep human happiness, and throwing, and manifest facelessness. There was a lot of superficial, alien, but the main thing was breaking the way - the transition from double to single sexual morality was carried out. Its formation went the hard way. On the one hand, the freedom of sexual choice spread to both sexes, which in itself is deeply symbolic; on the other hand, women adopted traditional "male" standards. The caricature of the desire of the representatives of the beautiful part of humanity to achieve expressive emancipation by copying the worst patriarchal examples was undeniable. Such an “emancipated style” of behavior could be a step towards the loss of gender specificity, emotional “transvestism”, and the triumph of same-sexism.
Although it is difficult, if not impossible, to systematically compare the results obtained in the twenties of the 20th century with the survey data of the beginning of the century, it would still be wrong to completely ignore this procedure. We note the following. The level of involvement of men in illegitimate sexual relations remained generally unchanged, while among women it increased by 4-5 times. A decrease in the age limit of debut sexual contacts is fixed, the scale of motives is modified accordingly, in particular, in these years, “curiosity” (voyeurism) occupies a significant place in both sexes. The predominance of “promiscuity” ties among young people (regardless of gender) remains stable. The body of empirical evidence received points to clear signs of a move away from the centering of sexuality on matrimonial behavior.
The theoretical interpretation of the empirical material collected by the researchers of the twenties turned out to be an overwhelming task for them. They failed to correctly establish the main empirical dependencies, and even more so to “fit” the observed behavioral innovations into a specific historical and general cultural context. And yet, mass polls convincingly refuted the prevailing opinions about the "unimaginable bacchanalia"; at the same time, they did not contribute to the substantiation of guidelines for "new, beautiful, healthy relationships." Moreover, even European-educated public figures (N. Bukharin, N. Krupskaya, E. Preobrazhensky, S. Smidovich, A. Solts and others) could not bear a full understanding of the ongoing transformations of eros, who can hardly be suspected of conservatism and narrow-mindedness. The stumbling block is the development of a non-trivial criterion for the morality of the sexual interaction of the sexes. To confirm this idea, perhaps, it is enough to cite a few excerpts from the texts of A. Lunacharsky. “I think,” he wrote, “that in the field of sex we should not talk about morality, but about freedom, and in response to gentlemen’s statements that this is smerdyakovism, we should say that we oppose communist enlightenment to the freedom of an unbridled person.” A beautiful passage, isn't it, but, unfortunately, difficult to interpret. However, the matter is not entirely hopeless. Freedom based on "communist education" is, apparently, not a rejection of morality, but only a special understanding of it: openness, diversity of sexual practices and equal internal responsibility of men and women. Lunacharsky later repeatedly opposed the vulgarization of love feelings by some young people, reducing it to the level of physiological relaxation, associating emotional experiences with "calf tenderness." Equating love with “trifles” leads, according to the people’s commissar of education, on the one hand, to asceticism, unlawful neglect of it, “and on the other hand, this attitude turns out: “why not fool around?” The attitude to love is lost as a solemn act, as a thing of extraordinary importance and extraordinary joy.
We believe that the polyvalence and fauvism of the search for a moral criterion of erotica in a socially "seething" society is best drawn when polar points of view collide. The positions defended by A. Kollontai and A. Zalkind are most indicative in this respect.
Outlining her views in the article "The Way to the Winged Eros", A. Kollontai argued that sexual intercourse, fueled solely by physical attraction, not colored by love or at least temporary passion, should be condemned. Further, she continued, future generations will not pay much attention to the form of love relationships - a long-term (including legitimate) union or a quickly passing passion. The ideology of the working class, according to this social activist, does not set any external boundaries of love, but is demanding on its content, "to the shades of feelings and experiences that connect both sexes." In a word, the essence of the proletarian ethos lies in the conjugation of corporality, expression and spirit. It is difficult to pass by this thesis. For many decades, the ideas of one of the brightest representatives of the women's liberation movement were hushed up. Apparently, more intuitively than consciously, something was seen in them that competed with traditional Orthodox asceticism, which, in turn, was identified with high spirituality. Let's ask ourselves: why "winged Eros"?
Kollontai considered it her duty to introduce proletarian youth to world culture, in particular, to ancient Greek. Hence the appeal to the ideas of the dialogue "Feast". Plato, as you know, in admiration for beauty saw the beginning of the growth of the soul. He depicts the action of beauty by developing the myth of the winged nature of the soul. The philosophical meaning of this myth is that love for beauty is seen as an ascent, as a movement of the knower from ignorance to knowledge, from the non-essential to the existent, from non-existence to being. The philosopher understands love for the beautiful as the growth of the soul, as the approach of a person to the truly existing, as the ascent of the soul along the steps of an ever-elevating reality, an ever-increasing being, as an increase in creative productive power. Love for the beautiful is a path, an ascent, because not all beautiful objects are equally beautiful and not all deserve equal love. At the initial stage of the "erotic" ascent, some single beautiful body appears. But he who has chosen such a body as the object of his aspiration must subsequently understand that the beauty of an individual person is akin to the beauty of every other. Whoever notices this should become a fan of all beautiful bodies in general. At the next stage of the "erotic" ascent, preference is no longer given to bodily, but to spiritual beauty. He who prefers spiritual beauty no longer contemplates the beauty of the body, but "the beauty of daily affairs and customs." From this contemplation, he is convinced that "everything beautiful is related" and "will consider the beauty of the body to be something insignificant." An even higher stage of the “erotic” ascent to the beautiful is formed by the comprehension of the beauty of knowledge. Finally, having become firmly established in this kind of cognition, a person ascending the steps of an “erotic” ascent reaches the contemplation of the beautiful in himself, or the form, the idea of the beautiful. At this limit of "erotic knowledge", unconditional and irrelevant beauty opens up to the eyes of the beholder.
At the same time, A. Kollontai, being an earthly person, separated uplifting ideals from life values and specifically emphasized that harmony in communication between men and women would come in a distant communist society, and until then, “at the turning point of two cultures”, the emerging proletarian morality should rest on three main principles: (a) equality in relationships, (b) mutual recognition of the rights of another without claims to own his heart undividedly, and (c) comradely sensitivity, the ability to listen and understand the work of the soul of a close and beloved person.
A well-known psychiatrist and public figure of that time A. Zalkind approached the problem of “proletarian” love from different positions, no less shocking to the layman. “If,” he wrote, “this or that sexual manifestation promotes isolation of a person from the class, reduces the sharpness of his scientific<...>inquisitiveness deprives its part of its production and creative capacity for work, necessary for the class, - lowers his fighting qualities, down with him. Sexual life is permissible only in that content that promotes the growth of collectivist feelings, class organization, productive, creative, combat activity, and sharpness of knowledge. Today, such judgments are perceived as a parody, on the contrary, in the late 1920s - as one of the possible lines of discussion.
According to the psychiatrist, the sexual relations of the "revolutionary working class" are subject to regulation in accordance with the twelve commandments:
Moral practice that meets these commandments, Zalkind considered the most conducive to effective participation in socialist construction, joyful work and learning. If, the psychiatrist believed, young man all the same, there will appear not based on deep sympathy and revolutionary expediency sexual desires which “a true citizen of the proletarian revolution should not have”, then “all elements of the environment (the requirements of production, cultural irritants, social class opinion, partetics, proethics, class discipline) must nip them in the bud, slow down, switch, transfer to other , class-creative paths".
The appearance of this code cannot be considered completely accidental. The "commandments" were intended to affirm the principles of collectivism in a natural way, to consolidate the priority of society over the individual. Despite all their straightforwardness, inflexibility, they were perceived by many with enthusiasm.
Concluding the comparison of the positions of Kollontai and Zalkind, I note the following: the same recognition that in the conditions of a radical transformation of society, the content and form of morally expressive relations between a man and a woman must be transformed, led to completely different conclusions.
A. Kollontai, considering love as a measure of sexual relations, with equality of the sexes and the elimination of possessiveness, emphasized the internal control of a person, on the system of his individual aesthetic and moral values. A. Zalkind insisted on external regulation. Each of these points of view was one-sided. Meanwhile, the nature of sexual ethics should be determined, and actually determined, both by internal stimuli, moral values and emotions, and by external real conditions.
The clash of views on sexual morality stimulated the work of thought, contributed to the formation of the ethical and sociological theory necessary for the analysis and evaluation of moral relations in an unknown society. However, these disputes were not just theoretical exercises. They were conducted passionately and in conflict, because they reflected the realities of life. They were affected by the features of timelessness. "<...>V<...>an era when powerful states are collapsing, - Vladimir Lenin, one of the leaders of the October Revolution, told Clara Zetkin, - when the old relations of domination are broken, when the whole social world begins to perish, in this era the feelings of an individual person are rapidly changing. The spurring thirst for variety in pleasures easily acquires unbridled strength.<...>. In the field of marriage and sexual relations, a revolution is approaching, consonant with the proletarian revolution.
Let's think about the thoughts of F. Engels and V. Lenin, people of different historical eras and practices. They, in principle, came to an identical opinion about the impact of fundamental social transformations on the private world of a person. This hypothesis was largely confirmed in the analysis of sexual interaction between men and women in the 1920s. At the same time, it should be noted that the researchers of the post-revolutionary years recorded only a part of the spectrum of changes, namely, that which, due to the “explosive” (Dionysian) character, easily manifested itself, lay on the surface. The other - determined by fundamental social shifts - was not so transparent. At this level, the structure and functions of erotic-sexual relations are implicitly changing, but at the same time the process proceeds non-linearly: it either fades (sometimes “retreats”), then again makes its way. Hence, the periodic decline in open interest in sexuality was perceived by the mass consciousness as an achievement of harmony. In reality, such a “grace” throughout the 20th century - looking ahead, I say - could not be achieved.
Engels F. book of revelation //
K. Marx, F. Engels. Cit.: In 30 volumes. 2nd ed. M.: Politizdat, 1961. T. 21. p. 8.
Majorova V. About life //
Communist. 1923. No. 3-4. With. 13.
Ibid, p. 59
Lass D. Modern students: Life, sexual life. M.; L .: Young Guard, 1928. p. 98
cm. Gurevich Z.A., Grosser F.I. Problems of sexual life. Kharkov, 1930. p. 237
Barash M. Sex life of workers in Moscow //
Venereology and dermatology. 1925. No. 6. S. 137-147
Recall that although the survey of women was conducted by D. Zhbankov in 1908, its results were published only in 1922.
In this case, the concept of "promiscuity" is used conditionally, for lack of a better one. This term was first introduced into scientific use by the famous American anthropologist of the 19th century L. Morgan. He meant socially disordered sexual relations, which were allegedly common among the indigenous population of America - the Iroquois. We use it in the case when sexual practices are based primarily on physiological attraction.
Gelman I. Sex life of modern youth: Experience of socio-biological research. M.; Pg.: Mrs. publishing house, 1923, p. 67.
Gernet M.N. To the statistics of prostitution //
Statistical review. 1927. No. 7. p. 88.
Golodenko I.A., Golod S.I. Sociological studies of prostitution in Russia: History and current state of the issue. St. Petersburg: Petropolis, 1998, p. 62.
By the way, a downward trend in the level of prostitution was noticed and in Western Europe. Experts tend to explain the narrowing of the area of prostitution, firstly, by improving the economic situation of the population, and secondly, by the moral emancipation of women. According to B. Russell, the elimination of Victorian morality leads, in particular, to the fact that prostitution is losing its significance. The reasoning of this philosopher is as follows. Previously, a young man was forced to seek paid casual relationships, but now he has the opportunity to enter into sexual intercourse with a girl of his circle. These relations on both sides are devoid of dependence, and therefore are valuable in themselves: here expressive consonance is as important as bodily [see. Russelle B. Plato. Feast //
Op.: In 3 volumes: Per. from ancient Greek / Under the total. ed. A.F. Losev and V.R. Asmus; enter, Art. A.F. Losev. M.: Thought, 1970. Vol. 2, p. 142-143.
Zalkind A.B. Revolution and youth. M.: Edition Kom. university, 1924. p. 55.
In the same way, mass consciousness attributed fashionable, beautiful clothes to bourgeois attributes. Indicative in this sense is the letter of a young girl published in Komsomolskaya Pravda. She agreed with the opinion that boots and rough clothes most of all suit the “Leninka”. Obviously, therefore, the Komsomol member did not sew up holes and holes in the dress. But, despite the high ideology, the girl could not abandon the subcultural specificity - she asked the editors for advice on how to protect herself from reproaches from the guys in the absence of femininity [see: Kuzmin V. O"young old age", asceticism and bureaucracy //
Life and youth. M.: True; Bednota, 1926, p. 32].
Zalkind A.B. Revolution and youth. M.: Edition Kom. university, 1924, With. 77-90.
Zalkind A.B. Sex education. M .: Worker of education, 1930, p. 282.
A. Salkind was not the only author who sought to regulate sexuality at all costs. Such attempts have been made repeatedly. Here are some stories from the code of "correct" sexual behavior proposed by the American psychiatrist A. Ellis. The set of rules should:
- to be "earthly", that is, created by people and for people;
- have a minimum number of rules governing sexual life;
- no kind of sexuality can be prohibited unless it harms another individual;
- to assume that people have biological needs that must be met as quickly and completely as possible, as long as and insofar as it does not harm others, etc. [cm.: Ellis A. The American Sexual Tragedy. N.Y.: Twayne Publishers, 1962, p. 257)]
externality; internality (from lat."externus" - external, "internus" - internal) - the individual's predisposition to a certain form of control. If a person assumes responsibility for the events taking place in his life to a greater extent, explaining them by his behavior, character, abilities, then this indicates that he has internal (internal) control. If the tendency to attribute the causes of what is happening dominates external factors, then this indicates that he has external (external) control.
Zetkin K. From a notebook //
Memories of V.I. Lenin: In 5 t. M., Political literature. 1979. Vol. 5. p. 4
