Page 79 - Darko Štrajn, From Walter Benjamin to the End of Cinema: Identities, Illusion and Signification. Ljubljana: Educational Research Institute, 2017. Digital Library, Dissertationes, 29.
P. 79
the pleasure to forbid pleasure
Pleasure Against Nation, Nation Against Pleasure
The Slovenian front against abortion1 that emerged soon after the appar-
ent political changes cannot be in all respects compared to the American
one. However, it is a fact that it borrowed most of its terminology from its
American counterpart. To a great extent it made use of anti-communist
rhetoric from the darkest times of the cold war. Ultimately, the motive re-
mained the same: the disapproval of sexual pleasure. Undoubtedly, the reli-
gious resistance against abortion on demand had a triggering role, since the
campaign against free abortion had been instigated by the Party of Chris-
tian Democrats almost simultaneously as it has been established in a new
pluralist political setting. On the other hand, in Slovenia a peculiar feature
of an element, which we may label as the Slovenian ethnic paranoia is dis-
tinctly noticeable. By a pointed interpretation of the statistical indicators of
the falling birth rate, a range of right wing ideologies delineate abortion on
demand as a threat to the very existence of the nation in a foreseeable fu-
ture. The argumentation supporting restrictions of the freedom of choice
or even a total ban on it, as a rule conveys a message that women’s right to
have abortions gives rise to a certain way of life, which damages the sur-
vival of the nation. According to this line of argumentation, a free abortion
represents a licence for an irresponsible attitude towards sexuality, which
harms the stability of family and so diminishes morality in general. In such
a perspective, this brings about a tolerant attitude towards homosexuali-
ty and pornography, which especially cripples the spiritual growth of the
youth. As one may observe, the Slovenian anti-abortionist rhetoric does
not differ very much from others of the same kind. The difference is maybe
1 It should be remarked that Slovenia – especially compared, for example, to Poland –
does not represent the worst case among the former socialist countries. Tendencies
to ban or limit the freedom of choice for women were actually quite quickly repudi-
ated in the political arena after the “fall of the wall”. Due to an activity of women’s
pressure groups, which gained a wide support by general public, the traditionalists
lost a political battle in the Parliament in 1991, when the freedom of choice was writ-
ten into the new Slovenian Constitution. It can be speculated upon how much the
already considerable level of women’s emancipation attained in the socialist period,
hampered attempts to introduce regressive legislation. Nevertheless, the ideology
that incorporated anti-abortionism, persists and finds its articulation in the initia-
tives concerning a “renewal of moral values”, in some pressures to introduce “catho-
lic ethos” into the school curriculum, in a fight “against pornography”, but above all
in hindering the full equality for homosexuals even through referendums on liberal
family and gender legislation. The Slovenian version of a fundamentalist movement
managed to win until now three referendums mainly due to the legislation, which
makes low electoral participation valid.
77
Pleasure Against Nation, Nation Against Pleasure
The Slovenian front against abortion1 that emerged soon after the appar-
ent political changes cannot be in all respects compared to the American
one. However, it is a fact that it borrowed most of its terminology from its
American counterpart. To a great extent it made use of anti-communist
rhetoric from the darkest times of the cold war. Ultimately, the motive re-
mained the same: the disapproval of sexual pleasure. Undoubtedly, the reli-
gious resistance against abortion on demand had a triggering role, since the
campaign against free abortion had been instigated by the Party of Chris-
tian Democrats almost simultaneously as it has been established in a new
pluralist political setting. On the other hand, in Slovenia a peculiar feature
of an element, which we may label as the Slovenian ethnic paranoia is dis-
tinctly noticeable. By a pointed interpretation of the statistical indicators of
the falling birth rate, a range of right wing ideologies delineate abortion on
demand as a threat to the very existence of the nation in a foreseeable fu-
ture. The argumentation supporting restrictions of the freedom of choice
or even a total ban on it, as a rule conveys a message that women’s right to
have abortions gives rise to a certain way of life, which damages the sur-
vival of the nation. According to this line of argumentation, a free abortion
represents a licence for an irresponsible attitude towards sexuality, which
harms the stability of family and so diminishes morality in general. In such
a perspective, this brings about a tolerant attitude towards homosexuali-
ty and pornography, which especially cripples the spiritual growth of the
youth. As one may observe, the Slovenian anti-abortionist rhetoric does
not differ very much from others of the same kind. The difference is maybe
1 It should be remarked that Slovenia – especially compared, for example, to Poland –
does not represent the worst case among the former socialist countries. Tendencies
to ban or limit the freedom of choice for women were actually quite quickly repudi-
ated in the political arena after the “fall of the wall”. Due to an activity of women’s
pressure groups, which gained a wide support by general public, the traditionalists
lost a political battle in the Parliament in 1991, when the freedom of choice was writ-
ten into the new Slovenian Constitution. It can be speculated upon how much the
already considerable level of women’s emancipation attained in the socialist period,
hampered attempts to introduce regressive legislation. Nevertheless, the ideology
that incorporated anti-abortionism, persists and finds its articulation in the initia-
tives concerning a “renewal of moral values”, in some pressures to introduce “catho-
lic ethos” into the school curriculum, in a fight “against pornography”, but above all
in hindering the full equality for homosexuals even through referendums on liberal
family and gender legislation. The Slovenian version of a fundamentalist movement
managed to win until now three referendums mainly due to the legislation, which
makes low electoral participation valid.
77
