Sentence:  In the midst of these discussions over foreign realisms, a group of novels appeared that pointed up the contradictions that beset the regime's projects for a national literature and a fascist style of modernity. Written by intellectuals in their twenties, these novels sparked much debate for their frank depictions of bourgeois moral corruption. ... In fact, the young protagonists of these works hardly fit the description of the regime's "new men," and the cosmopolitan <WSD>demimondes</WSD> they frequent had been targeted by fascist zealots for rehabilitation. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A group having little respect or reputation.