Sex Ed in Yiddish: Jews, Syphilis, and the Quest for Respectability in 1930s Argentina

In this article I examine the Yiddish-language periodicals Folksgezunt and Mayn doctor in 1930s Argentina, arguing that highly educated Jewish community members used these publications to assert their pursuit of respectability both within Jewish communal spaces and in broader Argentine society. By focusing on how these periodicals framed syphilis, I contend that initiatives to combat the disease aimed not only to address a public health crisis but also to integrate Jewish communities into Argentine society by fostering a shared sense of urgency, responsibility, and belonging. This campaign aligned with broader Argentine public health strategies, incorporating elements of eugenic thought to promote preventive care. Simultaneously, by producing health promotion texts in Yiddish and fostering ties with Jewish medical networks abroad, these publications reflected an effort to counter the self-perceived marginalization and peripherality of Argentine Jews within global Yiddish culture.