title: "You must not rely upon the words that very kind and beautiful girls utter, because in that regard, no offence, they all - lie":venereal diseases as a motive of Fran Gundrum's (1856-1919) work on sexual hygiene.
abstract: Until the works of Fran Gundrum, there was no comprehensive analysis of sexuality in Croatia. In this article, we investigate the background of Gundrum's book Sexual Health Care, the first book on sexual hygiene in Croatia. We analyzed the motivational effect venereal diseases had on writing the book, as well as the metaphoric language he used to conceptualize them. Venereal diseases are presented in his work as a consequence of irresponsible sexual behavior, and are interpreted using the analogy of natural state of English political philosopher Thomas Hobbes. All aspects of his suggestions for suppression of venereal diseases were colored by giving priority to social over individual well-being. Tradition and modernity intermix in his work, shaping him as the pioneer of sexual hygiene on our territory in the times when questions about heredity and survival of the nation started to forcefully shape public health policies.
authors.affiliation: Division for the History of Medical Sciences, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Gundulićeva 24/III., HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia. martin_kuhar@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuhar
authors.forename: Stella
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fatović-Ferenčić
mesh_terms: D017523:Croatia; D005190:Family / Q000266:history; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene / Q000266:history; D016495:Police / Q000266:history; D011634:Public Health / Q000266:history; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000266:history*; D014686:Venereology / Q000266:history*