Original air date: 7 August 2015 | During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, scientists and physicians the world over began to think of sex as something that could be studied and understood through rational methods. In places like Germany, these sexologists were associated with progressive political movements that combated stigmatization of homosexuality and contraception and broke taboos regarding issues such as impotence and masturbation. In this episode, Liat Kozma examines how sexology traveled and transformed in Middle Eastern contexts through the writings of Egyptian doctors and Jewish exiles.

More at: http://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/p/women-gender-and-sex-in-history.html

Liat Kozma is a senior lecturer at the Department of Islamic and Middle East Studies, the Hebrew University. She is currently working on a book manuscript on regulated prostitution in the interwar Middle East and North Africa.

Episode No. 196
Release date: 19 August 2015
Location: Okmeydanı, Istanbul
Editing and production by Chris Gratien
Bibliography and images courtesy of Liat Kozma
Additional thanks to Seçil Yılmaz