Sex, Youth, and Moral Panic in the Interwar Polish City: The Case of Tarnów
摘要
This chapter explores how youth sexuality was constructed and contested in interwar Tarnów, a medium-sized and ethnically diverse Polish city, by focusing on religion, modernization, and public discourse. Drawing on Catholic, Jewish, and secular press as well as memoirs, it examines how sexuality was framed as both taboo and a source of moral panic. Catholic publications in particular reinforced traditional gender roles, stressing chastity and procreation while warning against cinema, fashion, and urban modernity. The Jewish press, by contrast, prioritized political mobilization over explicit discussion of sexuality. Despite institutional efforts to control intimate behavior, young people accessed sexual knowledge through secular media, popular culture, and peer interactions, often negotiating more liberal practices than official norms allowed. Memoirs further highlight female agency in shaping intimate life, complicating contemporary stereotypes. Tarnów thus provides a case study of the tension between conservative religious discourses and evolving practices of intimacy in interwar Poland.