On Postmodern Sexual Morality and Allure: Review of a Scholarly Monograph

Dagmar Marková: On sexuality, sexual morality and contemporary partner relationships, Nitra, Garmond, 2012, 262 pp.

O sexuálnej morálke postmoderne a pútavo – aj tak by bolo možné charakterizovať novú vedeckú monografiu Dagmar Markovej. Autorke sa podarilo pútavým a otvoreným spôsobom poukázať na mnohé nereflektované otázky súčasnej sexuálnej morálky a otvoriť u nás netematizované oblasti sexuality. Ak by ste sa chceli dozvedieť viac o tom, prečo sa v našej kultúre tak morálne znepokojujeme zo sexuálneho správania ľudí, prečo máme kategórie pre tých alebo hlavne tie, ktoré sú sexuálne aktívne, ako napr. „fľandra“, „prostitútka“ a vôbec aké sú súvislosti sexuality, rodu a moci, tak túto publikáciu by ste nemali vynechať. Nájdete v nej analýzy sexuality a sexuálnej morálky zo sociálnej perspektívny nazerania, predovšetkým v rámci sociálno-konštruktivistickej paradigmy. On postmodern sexual morality and allure—this is one way to characterize Dagmar Marková's new scholarly monograph. The author has managed, in an engaging and open manner, to highlight many unreflected questions of contemporary sexual morality and to open areas of sexuality in Slovakia that had not yet been treated as topics. If you want to learn more about why, in our culture, we become so morally unsettled by people's sexual behavior, why we have categories for some—especially for those who are sexually active—such as "fľandra" and "prostitútka," and more broadly, what the connections are between sexuality, gender, and power, then you should not skip this publication. You will find in it analyses of sexuality and sexual morality from a social perspective, especially within the social constructivist paradigm.

Dagmar Marková has long worked with a social constructivist approach to human sexualities, and this is reflected in the depth of the analyses of the topic. In addition, the author describes aspects of sexual morality that, here in Slovakia, have not until now been explored scientifically at all in such a framework. In this way, she brings analyses of a topic that in the Central European region lies at the margins of scientific interest.

On the other hand, conservatively oriented readers will undoubtedly miss the traditional essentialist approaches to sexual morality that the author rejects and subjects to critical analysis. You will not find even the superficial moralizing that often characterizes texts about sexual morality. Quite the opposite. The author relies solely on scientific knowledge, mainly from sociology and social psychology. The social constructivist approach enables the author to critically analyze ideological approaches to sexuality, including religious (in our country mainly Catholic) ones, and to reveal the constructions within which sexual morality has been shaped in our culture.

The book is divided overall into two parts. In the first part, scientific theories in the field of sexuality and sexual morality from a social perspective are described. The main differences between essentialist and constructivist ways of looking at sexuality are identified, and sexual morality is described within existing discourses on sexuality. The author also does not sidestep the conceptualization of sexuality within queer theory.

The second part of the monograph focuses on analyses of current changes in sexual morality and in the social organization of heterosexual partner relationships. Here, the author uses her long-term research experience, demonstrating and discussing scientific theories with her own empirical findings that she has conducted in Slovakia (also in the Czech Republic) from 2004 to the present in the area of sexual lifestyle patterns and their socio-cultural contexts, as well as in the construction of sexual biographies and attitude micro-discourses about sexuality among heterosexual men and women.

In conclusion, I would recommend reading the book to everyone who is not satisfied with traditional answers about what is and is not moral in sexuality, but who are looking for deeper connections to understand why, how, and in what contexts a "good" and "proper" sexuality is constructed, and who have the courage to explore norms in the area of sexuality openly, critically, non-conventionally, yet scientifically.

Recenzentka: PaedDr. Stanislava Lištiak Mandzáková, PhD. Pôsobí na Katedre špeciálnej pedagogiky Pedagogickej fakulty Prešovskej univerzity v Prešove. V rámci svojej vedecko-výskumnej, publikačnej a prednášateľskej činnosti sa venuje problematike komunikácie učiteľa so žiakmi s mentálnym postihnutím, otázkam sexuálnych a partnerských vzťahov osôb s mentálnym postihnutím a integrovanej edukácii osôb s postihnutím. Je autorkou zahraničných a domácich vedeckých monografií, vysokoškolských učebníc, vysokoškolského učebného textu a mnohých vedeckých a odborných štúdií vydaných v domácich i zahraničných vydavateľstvách. Je editorkou zborníkov z medzinárodných vedeckých konferencií a riešiteľkou vedeckých projektov. She works at the Department of Special Pedagogy of the Faculty of Education at Prešov University in Prešov. In her scientific research, publishing, and lecturing work, she deals with teacher communication with students with intellectual disabilities, issues of sexual and partner relationships of persons with intellectual disabilities, and inclusive education for people with disabilities. She is the author of foreign and domestic scientific monographs, university textbooks, university course texts, and many scientific and professional studies published by both domestic and international publishers. She is an editor of proceedings from international scientific conferences and a coordinator of scientific projects.

Autorka monografie: Doc. PhDr. Dagmar Marková, PhD. Pôsobí na Filozofickej fakulte Univerzity Konštantína Filozofa v Nitre, kde prednáša sexuálnu výchovu, sociálnu psychológiu a je lektorkou sociálno-psychologických výcvikov. Má ukončený dlhodobý experienciálny výcvik v psychodynamickej psychoterapii. Zúčastňuje sa prípravy a realizácie workshopov pre učiteľov a učiteľky sexuálnej výchovy. Je vedeckou a organizačnou garantkou medzinárodnej vedeckej konferencie „Sexualities“. Publikovala vedeckú monografiu Predmanželská sexualita v kontextoch sexuálnej diverzity a variability a je autorkou mnohých ďalších zahraničných a domácich vedeckých publikácií. Výskumne sa dlhodobo zaoberá sociálnymi aspektmi sexuality, sexuálnej výchovy a rodovosti. Je riešiteľkou medzinárodných aj domácich vedeckých projektov a zameriava sa na výskum sexuálnych biografií, sexuálnych životných štýlov, diskurzov v oblasti sexuality a sexuálnej výchovy. She works at the Faculty of Arts at Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, where she teaches sex education, social psychology, and is a lecturer in socio-psychological trainings. She has completed long-term experiential training in psychodynamic psychotherapy. She takes part in the preparation and delivery of workshops for sex education teachers. She is the scientific and organizational guarantor of the international scientific conference "Sexualities." She has published the scholarly monograph Premarital Sexuality in Contexts of Sexual Diversity and Variability and is the author of many other foreign and domestic scientific publications. She has long been engaged in research on the social aspects of sexuality, sex education, and gender. She is a coordinator of international and domestic scientific projects and focuses on research into sexual biographies, sexual lifestyles, and discourses on sexuality and sex education.