Florenz Gilly

Bio:

Born, raised, and having come of age in Berlin, Florenz studied literature and philosophy at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Cornell University. He worked as a (radio) journalist for various media outlets in Germany and abroad. In 2021, during the height of the Covid pandemic, he decided to switch fields and moved to Vienna for medical school. Driven by a strong urge to alleviate some of the burdens that come with modern-day sexuality, Florenz joined the program "Klinische Sexologie" at ISP Österreich, learning about Jean-Yves Desjardins’ concept of sexocorporel. As a member of the Österreichische Gesellschaft für Sexual Transmitted Diseases (ÖGSTD) and a volunteer at AIDS Hilfe Wien, he works towards promoting sexual well-being for all. Florenz considers the opportunity to deepen his knowledge of sexuality within an academic framework a rare privilege, one that will equip him for his future career as a medical doctor specializing in sexual health.

Research interests: Sexuality, history of science, medical humanities, sexual medicine, psychoanalysis, gender studies

Research project: „Die bundesdeutsche Sexualwissenschaft um Volkmar Sigusch. Geschichte einer Strömung zwischen Psychoanalyse und kritischer Theorie“

In post-Nazi Germany, partly as a result of the 1968 student movement, a group of activists, scholars, doctors, and psychoanalysts emerged who were deeply concerned with human sexuality. Right among them: German psychiatrist Volkmar Sigusch. From 1972 until its closure in 2006, Sigusch ran a clinic at Frankfurt’s university hospital, named after Magnus Hirschfeld’s legendary Institut für Sexualwissenschaft in Berlin. Furthermore Sigusch established the theoretical framework for what he called Critical Sexology, or "Kritische Sexualwissenschaft."

Critical Sexuology, as Sigusch conceived it, is rooted in the Frankfurt School’s tradition of thought and in Freudian psychoanalysis, dwelling on the existence of a sex drive (“Sexualtrieb”) rather than explaining desire, arousal, intercourse, and orgasm in purely rational terms. Remarkably, this approach emerged during a time when psychology, evolutionary biology, and neuroscience had already taken command over the exploration of human sexual behavior. Sigusch’s style of writing, thinking, debating, and self-presentation is much different from today’s sexual science literature, although some of his concepts, like "cis sexuality," persist.

Over the next few years, I will explore the history of German Critical Sexology, examining the phenomenon along six axes: personae and networks, media (Der Spiegel, Zeitschrift für Sexualforschung, PSYCHE), institutions, scientific methods, practices, and theories. Through thorough analysis of writings by Sigusch but also Günter Amendt, Sophinette Becker, Martin Dannecker, the iconic Nina Hagen, Ilka Quindeau, Reimut Reiche, Gunther Schmidt, and others. Complemented by interviews with contemporary witnesses, I intend to create a vivid image of a time when sexuality could ignite scientific curiosity and ideological debates.

Ultimately, I aim to preserve Critical Sexology’s unique perspective on sexuality, gender, and society—a view critically needed today amidst yet another sexual revolution.

Publications:

Blüten der Identitätspolitik? Körperbilder und Bilderbuchkörper in Aufklärungsbüchern der Gegenwart, erscheint in: Jahrbuch der Gesellschaft für Kinder- und Jugendliteraturforschung, hrsg. von Gabriele von Glasenapp [u.a.], Open Access, Wien 2024. (forthcoming)
Als die Gartenlaube ihre Leserinnen entdeckte und in West-Berlin eine Kontaktanzeige zur Keimzelle lesbischer Gruppierungen wurde, in: microform. Podcast des DFG-Graduiertenkollegs 2190 „Literatur- und Wissensgeschichte kleiner Formen“, Berlin 2024. (zusammen mit Dr. Marie Czarnikow)
DINGSDABUMSDA. Ein Podcast über... na, ihr wisst schon... was uns zwischen den Beinen wächst (oder auch nicht), wie wir es anrufen und was das mit uns macht, Berlin Wien Leipzig Frankfurt/Main 2022. (zusammen mit Camilla Vetters)