"Unnatural Vices" or Unnatural Rule? The Case of a Sex Questionnaire and the British Mandate

This article is a brief analysis of a sex questionnaire administered in 1923 by the Director of Health of the British Mandate government in Palestine to 6 medical officers, at least 4 of whom were Palestinian Arabs. The questionnaire covered issues of immorality, polygamy, & "unnatural" sexual practices, among others. It was found that the questions themselves provided more insight into the respondents' attitudes on social class, foreigners, morality, etc, than did the actual data sought. The results allude to a perceived distinction between cloudy terms, eg, "immorality" & "unnatural vices," along with a perceived susceptibility to temptation due to the influx of "foreigners," which illustrates the distinct colonizers/colonized relationship. It is surmised, yet unproved, that the British Mandate may have wanted this information to understand how to best deal with or control a group of people whose culture they didn't fully understand. M. D. Cowder