THE NEW -YORE(- - TIMES, TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 1990 Glasnost and Sex One fresh concern is AIDS. The By Dmitri N. Shalin problem is not nearly as severe as in the West (only a few dozen officially CAMBRIDGE, Mass. The new reported AIDS-related deaths so far), Venereal urely, sex in the Soviet but this simply reflects the country's Union predates pere- openness late start on the sexual revolution. disease stroika. But the erotici- Carriers of any sexually-transmit- zation of popular cul- has started ted diseases are considered criminal abounds, and ture now afoot has glas- offenders under Soviet law and face nost writen ail over it. a belated forced hospitalization. Thus, since birth control sNew portents are everywhere: a many victims understandably shy pictorial in Playboy magazine on away from help, the official numbers "The Women of Russia," an erotic art revolution. understate the problem. is rare. exhibit in Moscow, a nude-photograph Prostitution attracts particular at- show in Leningrad, a special on sex in - tention in today's press. The problem the U.S. cinema at the 16th Interna- is an old one, but with a new twist. So- tional Moscow Movie Festival. aia Gazeta said recently, there will be vetskaia Kultura, a weekly newspa- tion; donate anesthetics - now in ex. The latter event created quite a stir no audience for any show without "an per, reports that girls as young as 13 tremely short supply - expressly for among Muscovites. A flashy guide obligatory copulation scene." and 14 now find their way into the pro- abortions, which are often done with- printed for the occasion featured on The popular press is also scram- fession. By last year the situation had out even local anesthesia; deliver dis- its cover nude photos of Marilyn Mon- bling to keep up with the times. Pre- gotten so much out of hand that the posable syringes to allay fears of roe and Natalia Negoda, a rising marital sex, contraceptives, abortion, Education Ministry felt compelled to AIDS infection; bring in family plan- Soviet star. Many moviegoers left dis- venereal disease, prostitution and issue a special decree on prostitution appointed, however. American clas- like subjects once considered taboo among high school students. ning and sex education experts. sics of the 60's and 70's looked tame are now open for public scrutiny. A movie about the life of a prosti- These measures may or may not compared with what Soviet cinema With premarital sex increasingly tute, released last fall and clearly help Mikhail Gorbachev stay in has to offer these days. common among Soviet youth (two- meant as a cautionary tale, has power, but they would earn the heart- There is "Little Vera," a path- thirds lose their virginity by the age proved counterproductive. The felt thanks of millions in the Soviet breaking picture about changing of 21), unwanted pregnancies and magazine Semia cites a poll in which Union. mores in a provincial Soviet town. An- sexually transmitted diseases are girls 16 to 18 consider prostitution a other crowd-pleaser is a movie ver- turning into a serious problem. prestigious occupation, rivaling in sion of "Lady Macbeth from According to the Communist Youth popularity modeling, movie acting Mzensk," which features explicit sex League newspaper, Komson~olskaia and being a professor's wife. "At scenes that would earn solid "R" rat- Pravda, 6.5 million abortions were least I sell what is mine and don't ings anywhere in the West. My favor- performed in the Soviet Union in 1988. steal from the state," was the widely ite is "Local Emergency," a bitter If this figure is right, one out of 10 publicized reply that a young prosti- satire about the Communist Youth Soviet women of child bearing age tute gave to her parents. League, featuring a sauna scene with terminated a pregnancy that year. With the country in the throes of youth organizers mulling over busi- Roughly one-fifth of all abortions in- this sexual revolution, sexual moral- ness amid a sex orgy. volved teen-agers. ity is becoming a political issue. For Soviet theater doesn't lag far be- The main reason for these grue- conservative forces, laxity in sexual hind. Nude actors and actresses now some statistics is unreliable or nonex- matters is an epitome of everything routinely strut their stuff before istent contraceptives. Diaphragms that is wrong with perestroika: lack gasping audiences. Even stodgy Rus- come in only three sizes. There is no of direction, self-indulgence, ron- sian ciassics are no longer immune to spermicidal cream. Condoms are in tempt for traditional values. For lib- novel treatment. Last summer, for short supply. Last year, according to erals, the main issue is the state's in- example, a 19th century play known Komsomolskaia Pravda, "one item" ability to meet people's basic needs: to every Soviet high school student, cost 4 rubles, or $6, on the black mar- the very conditions that spurred re- "Enough Simplicity for Every Wise ket. Now, the price is closer to $10. No form. Man," shocked the viewers with nude wonder abortion remains the chief Is there anything the West can do to scenes. Soon, a critic for Literaturn- birth-control option. help this hidden front in the battle for Venereal disease is a growing nui- perestroika? I think so. Forget about Dmitri N. Shalin is a visiting scholar sance. Cases of sexually transmitted exports of advanced technology. Send at the Russian Research Center at disease in Moscow tripled between condoms, not computers, so that Harvard University. 1982 and 1986 and continue to rise. Soviet women can rely less on abor-