Lecture by Prof. Dr Dr Manfred Hanisch

It is a long, eventful and often quite incredible story: the story of women, their oppression and their emancipation. Naturally, the entire long history cannot be covered in 45 minutes, so the lecture focuses only on selected aspects, particularly from contemporary history:

Oppression in the early Federal Republic and emancipation after 1968

“Women were the best thing about the GDR”

Oppression of women and fascination in the “Third Reich”

This is followed by brief insights into the lives of mistresses (e.g. Pompadour) and female rulers (e.g. Catherine II of Russia)…

The lecture seeks to show how differently women’s attitudes towards sexuality can be shaped, depending on the era and cultural context— from Adam and Eve (the beginning of the devaluation of women) to the present day.