Gender Liberalisation and Polarisation: Comparing Sexuality in St. Petersburg, Finland and Sweden

In this article we compare recent developments in sexual attitudes and reported behaviour in St Petersburg, Finland and Sweden. In what respects did changes in sexual life in these countries seem to be converging in the 1990s, and what were the main differences? Which differences in post-socialist St Petersburg can be attributed to the cultural inertia of sexual practices and gender roles, and which to contemporary social change? The article discusses the processes of liberalisation of sexuality and the increasing equality in sexual behaviour with regards to pluralist sexuality, homosexuality, infidelity and prostitution. We argue that while Finland and Sweden are in a process of both gender equalisation and sexual liberalisation, Russia is characterised by a shift from traditional gender equality to liberal gender polarisation.