Sexual Life of the Half-savage. Polish Peasants’ Sexuality in the Eyes of Outside Observers

Abstract

The distinctiveness of peasant sexuality in the Polish lands has been described at least since the beginning of modern times. Initially, it aroused the interest of the clergy, who were responsible for inculcating Christian principles, including sexual ethics, in the faithful. Other insightful observers, such as noble poets (the best example being Wacław Potocki), also recorded their observations. From the time of the Enlightenment, peasant sexuality became the object of concern for reformers and state agents, and soon afterwards the subject of reflection for folklorists and ethnographers, until the decline of ‘traditional’ rural culture in mid-20th century. These few centuries of observation, description and analysis developed a number of typical explanatory models, in which the concept of nature usually played a central role. Virtually all outside observers attributed the peculiarities of peasant sexuality to their closer relationship with nature, but evaluated this closeness differently. Moreover, both their assessment and what they were willing or able to observe depended mainly on their views, their perceptions of the rural population, and their own sexuality and beliefs about this sphere of human life in general.