Authors

Elisa-Maria Hiemer ¹ Herder Institute , Germany

Discussion

Sex education in Poland is, as I argue, a particularly influential field where female issues are discussed through a male lens in the public space. Since 1999 Polish pupils have been attending the so-called “Education for Family Life” classes in elementary and middle schools. The curriculum was subject to more conservative changes under the rule of the PiS party. Among others, extreme rightwing and clerical organizations such as the Ordo Iuris movement succeeded in implementing their view on marriage, values and expectations towards Polish men and women. Besides, the current minister of Education and Sciences, Przemysław Czarnek reminds girls to not forget about “female virtues” and the subject’s homepage emphasizes the importance of an authority-based approach in questions of sexuality. This is especially problematic for young girls since they perpetuate an image of a modest, caring and god-fearing life and deny self-determined actions. I will analyse official teaching material for middle schools and compare it to private and NGO initiatives under female leadership.