VIRUS Band 15, pp. 073-086, 2020/07/22
Schwerpunkt: Medizin und Religion
Sources from a late 18th century orphanage provide insight into the debate of sexuality education. Boys aged 11 to 14 confessed to have had sexual intercourse with cats and girls. The minutes of the examinations show the fears of the responsible adults, but also the children’s responses and revelations. Despite problems with the source, the analysis of the documents indicates the parallel and interweaved existence of medical and religious argumentation in the context of sexual discourses.
Keywords: Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany, 18th century, enlightenment, orphanage records, history of medicine, history of sexuality, children, social disciplinary, lower classes