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[IGOR KON] Mal’chik – otets muzhchiny [i.e. The boy as the father of the man]

Kon, I.S.

Item #2691

Moscow: Vremia, 2009. 704 p. 20,5 × 13 cm. Illustrated hardcover binding . In very good condition.

First edition. Rare. The book by Igor Kon (1928—2011) is an important milestone of Russian gender studies. Kon was one of the first Soviet scholars to write textbooks on sociology. He is most famous as an expert on sexology and sexual health. He started studying these matters in the middle of the 1960s. His Vvedeniye v seksologiyu (Introduction to Sexology; 1988, 2005) was written as a textbook for universities. This work by Kon builds on the ideas presented in his bestselling book “The Boy in a Changing World.” At the end of the 20th century, it became evident that boys are the weakest link in modern education, facing more health issues, poorer academic performance, and higher rates of crime and risky behavior. The book explores the sociocultural nature of boyhood, the characteristics attributed to boys, and their consistency across different contexts. It examines boys’ real positions in families, schools, and society, as well as their self perceptions and notions of masculinity. It also addresses the challenges faced by boys who struggle to conform to normative expectations.
In the early 1980s, Igor Kon was one of the first to try to raise the issue of abolishing criminal prosecution of homosexuality. However, his initiative encountered misunderstanding and opposition from both scientists, including doctors, and the authorities. This first monograph on the topic “broke through” the forbidden subject in Russia. The book summarizes modern data on same-sex love not only from the standpoint of biology and medicine, but also from the point of view of social and humanitarian sciences. The author examines various theories of homosexuality, the history and ethnography of same-sex relationships among the peoples of the world, the psychological characteristics of same-sex love, the problems of same-sex marriages, the stages of its decriminalization and depathologization, and so on. The history and situation of gays in Russia is also covered in detail. Kon also devoted a number of scientific and journalistic articles to same-sex love and homophobia, including in professional medical journals, where gays are accustomed to being perceived exclusively as patients. This work includes the chapters on homophobia, homo-eroticism, ‘sexual debut’ etc.

Status: On Hold