Who you agree with more? Kollontai’s Glass of Water theory or Zalkind’s Twelve Sexual Commandments of the Revolutionary Proletariat? Were they good for 1920s-1930s Soviet Union? What about current implementations, which one would you lean closer to and why?
Interesting. Did Zalkind write anything about the reasons for these specific commandments, or did she only posit them without giving a reason?
This is what I got from some light googling:
“A. B. Zalkind attached great importance to the sexual question in issues of the hygiene of party work. He believed that modern man in everyday life suffers from sexual fetishism, which should be overcome with the help of science and that sex should be returned to the right track: “It is necessary that the collective is more attracted to itself than to a love partner.” It was in this way that The Twelve Sexual Commandments of the Revolutionary Proletariat were born. The general meaning of these sexual commandments was to ensure that the energy of the proletariat, as an integral class, was not wasted on sexual relations that are useless for its historical mission.”
The full version explains it more in-depth. I posted a DeepL translation here: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/574021
Here is also a article about the writer, also translated with DeepL: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/574022
And a English article on Soviet Union’s 1920s sexual revolution and eventual pull back, turning more to Zalkind’s position: https://www.rbth.com/history/328265-russian-sexual-revolution
Very interesting, thank you for the additional information. Turns out he is a different Zalkind than the one I found when I tried to search the name.
Judging from that last article, I can see how the commandments made sense in the context of the time period they were written in. But I don’t believe it would be of advantage to strictly enforce these in the current society I live in, as the issues we are dealing with are different, and it would alienate many people without a significant improvement in productivity. Though, it is true that excessive sexual relations can be a distraction and damage the cohesion of the collective… But also, I think having a sexuality before 20-25 years is natural, and it’s better if they can live it in a healthy way, considering the evidence that making young people abstain before marriage either doesn’t work or results in marriages with unhealthy dynamics…
(Once again, just my opinion. I haven’t extensively researched this topic.)
I see, that’s a reasonable take, thanks.