„Beteg szerelem” – a queer szubkultúra a rendőri és a sajtódiskurzusban a 20. század első felében
“Sick Love”: Queer Subculture in Budapest in Early Twentieth-Century Press and Police Discourses

Summary/Abstract: The paper examines the main features of the image of queer subculture in the first half of the twentieth century based on police and press discourses. Queer subculture in the modern metropolis was a very diverse and complex phenomenon at the time, with a number of various sub-types. This complexity is not only observed by historians of queer culture but was also evident for contemporary analysts like police officers and journalists. As indicated in the title, the discourse about male homosexuality in this period is characterized by a gradual medicalisation. After the 1900s homosexuality began to be interpreted as a disease and a perversion that can be cured and healed.The primary sources of the study are police documents, books published by police officers and articles in Budapest newspapers. In addition to the daily press Perényi examines books of urban reportage first appearing in Budapest in the 1900s, which are closely linked to the discourse in the press. The joint works of reporter Kornél Tábori and head of the police press office Vladimir Székely give an especially sharp insight into urban queer culture of Budapest.The analysis of police and press discourses of same-sex sexuality supports the thesis that from the 1900s until the end of the Horthy era, regardless of the political system, attitudes toward queer culture were generally tolerant, which can be largely attributed to the fact that non-normative forms of sexual behavior were interpreted in a medicalised way.

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