[Problem of sexuality in Polish medical aids. The first half of XX century - to 1939]

The article presents an analysis of sexuality-related problems as they are covered in the health guidebooks so well known to her. There are a few topics addressed in Urbanek's text. She describes the evolution of the health guidebooks which was taking place at the end of the 19th and in early 20th centuries and of their users. Women increasingly often were authors and readers of these books. Some of the female authors were medical doctors with an additional passion for writing on public matters. Foreign authors and their works are also mentioned in Urbanek's article. She points to the links between sexology and personal hygiene and even cosmetology. Sexology is present in the guidebooks discussed also as an important ingredient of successful marriage. In this context, Urbanek stresses the changing role of a woman and her strife for acquiring equal rights. Another valuable element in the article is reference to other spheres of culture, such as custom and religion. The 20th century filled these spheres with medical knowledge on childbirth pathologies and their complications. Medical and hygiene-related topics motivate Urbanek to set the question of sexuality in a context of eugenic ideas often debated in the pre-war years. She also points to the multicultural character of the Polish-language health books, identifies various angles of view presented in them, and supports her reflection with well-selected examples. This applies eg. to Soviet books. Although this is not her main subject, Urbanek also writes about health books dealing with sexual matters and destined for men. The author of the article gives a fine description of the variability of sexuality-related contents carried by these books which offered adequate coverage of changes occurring in medical, hygienic, cultural, and even economic fields. The paper is, therefore, not only an analysis of sexuality-related issues but it also presents a broad social context in which these books were conceived and written.