Agnieszka Ko¿ciäska, translated by Marta Rozmys¿owicz

AcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I: Sexology and Society1. The Development of Sexology and Sexual Rights Activism in Europe and North America2. The Polish School of SexologyPart II. Pleasure: Towards Good Sex3. Sexuality and Scientific Knowledge4. "Civilized" Sex and Gender Relations under Socialism5. Gender and Pleasure in Expert Discourse TodayPart III. Violence: Expert Discourse of Rape6. Rape: Definitions, Legal Understanding and Statistics7. The Provocative Victim and the Male Limits of Self-Restraint: Stereotypes in Expert Literature8. In the Court Room9. Feminism: Changes in Expert Discourse and in the Court RoomConclusionsWorks CitedIndex

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. In Gender, Pleasure, and Violence, Agnieszka Koscianska 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. Yet strict gender roles within the home meant that true equality was never fully within reach. Drawing on interviews, participant observation, and archival work, Koscianska shares how professions like sexologists defined the notions of sexual pleasure and sexual violence under these sweeping cultural changes.By tracing the study of sexual human behavior as it was developed and professionalized in Poland since the 1960s, Gender, Pleasure, and Violence explores how the collapse of socialism brought both restrictions in gender rights and new opportunities.