The forbidden fruit: sexuality in communist Bulgaria

A complicated triple moral standard came into being: what was allowable for the part elite was not allowable for the class of the workers, and what was allowable for men of any social strata was less allowable for women. In "Reports on Bulgaria" Georgi Markov gives a detailed account of the debauchery that the ruling elite practiced despite the officially promoted puritan moral standards. He calls the communist party elite the "Sodom at the top". Promiscuous behavior of party leaders and use of elite prostitutes for entertainment were something common and tolerated in the ruling circles, while the low-wage mainstream of workers was subjected to public censure for any sign of flouting chastity norms. Upholding the procreative family as an ideal was seen as a civic duty for the workers, since the growing economy needed a constantly expanding work force. At the same time, the socialist ethics outlawed sexual pleasure as a dangerous distraction from work that might ruin the morale of the socialist citizen. The only allowable pleasures for the average citizens were happiness from work and enjoyment of parenthood. The ideals of the "new Man" and the "new Woman" were absolutely desexualized.

source: Article 'The Forbidden Fruit: Sexuality in Communist Bulgaria' by Monika Pisankaneva (Sofia); From the book 'Past and present of radical sexual politics (working papers)' by Gert Hekma (editor)- Fifth meeting of the seminar "Socialism and sexuality", Amsterdam, October 3-4, 2003 - Mosse Foundation - Amsterdam NL; 2004