Perverse Passion

Until 1971 Austrian criminal law penalized sexual acts between persons of the same sex as unnatural fornication. At the beginning of the 20th century, same-sex sexuality became a major topic of interest for sexual science. The knowledge produced by sexual scientist gained influence on jurisprudence: On one hand, it brought about a clear tendency to broaden the legal interpretation of unnatural fornication. On the other hand, commissions on the reform of criminal law discussed whether the criminal norm should be abolished or maintained. But it was not only criminal law that influenced hat was negotiated during a certain criminal procedure: Criminal law proceedings regulated who could talk about the obscene, under which terms these negotiations took place and which impact they had. During the Interwar Years, Austrian criminal law proceedings experienced major changes which did not remain without effect on the criminal prosecution of unnatural fornication. Against this background the study analysis how legal developments and knowledge produced by sexual scientists influenced criminal proceedings on unnatural fornication. It scrutinizes which impact these developments had on the speech situation of those involved in the criminal proceedings. In doing so the study focuses especially on the different frame conditions for female and male parties to the proceedings.