“Shall We Stash Sex on the Last Page?”: Youth Printed Mass Media as a Space of Informal Education of Sexuality in Lithuania (1988–2004)

Abstract

Summary. Throughout the period following the restoration of Lithuanian independence, no coherent sexuality education programme was implemented in schools. In the absence of such institutional provision, the youth press became an important site of informal sexuality education. This article examines the period 1988–2004 and two prominent initiatives: the "Secrets of Love" column in Jaunimo gretos (1988–1992) and the "Red Page" column in Panelė (1994–2015). Drawing on these sources and archival documents, it reconstructs the institutional context and analyses the narratives and norms these publications constructed. The findings suggest that youth magazines provided more accessible information than schools, yet reproduced heteronormativity, moralised abortion, and advanced a narrow conception of sexual violence. Although public sexual discourse was expanding, norms relating to youth sexuality remained highly resistant to change.