Nordic sexual morality debate

The Nordic sexual morality debate (Danish: sædelighedsfejden, Swedish: sedlighetsdebatten, Norwegian: sedelighetsdebatten) was the name for a cultural movement and public debate in Scandinavia taking place in the 1880s, in which sexuality and sexual morals, particularly the contemporary sexual double standard, were discussed in newspapers, magazines, books and theatrical plays.

Mathilda Malling in 1902

Background topic of the debate

The topic was criticism of the contemporary sexual double standards prevalent in the 19th century, in which it was socially acceptable for men to have premarital sexual experience, while women were expected to be virgins. Connected to this was the contemporary view on prostitution, which was sanctioned as a "necessary evil" because of this double standard, since men were expected to have sexual experience prior to marriage, in parallel to the fact that extramarital sex was socially banned for unmarried women. This was an issue that was raised by anti-prostitution organizations, such as the Svenska Federationen in Sweden, Finska Federationen in Finland, and Foreningen imod Lovbeskyttelse for Usædelighed in Denmark.

Views

The debate was divided into two sides:

Moderate view

The moderate side, of which Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson was the most known representative, wished to solve this double standard by demanding that men also be virgins on their wedding night, just as women were. He believed that free love did not allow for the development of positive traits such as self-restraint and a focus on virtue. This was the more accepted view.

Radical view

The more radical side, of which Edvard Brandes and Georg Brandes were the most known representatives, demanded that women be free to enjoy a sexual life prior to marriage, as men were. This was a very controversial view in the 19th century.

Cultural works associated with the 1880s debate

Getting Married by August Strindberg and the legal court case that surrounded it was one of the perhaps most known incidents during the debate.

It also caused a debate within the literary world as to whether literature should address these questions at all. Other well-known works in the debate are Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House (Et Dukkehjem), the novel Money (Pengar) by Viktoria Benedictsson, and the novel Pyrhussegrar by Stella Kleve.

See also

• Modern Breakthrough
• Sexual liberation

Sources

• Franka Gebert, Den stora nordiska sedlighetsdebatten, Riksteatern, 2008. PDF.
• Nationalencyklopedin: "Sedlighetsdebatten" (subscription required)