The importance of being orgasmic: Sexuality, gender, and marital sex manuals in the United States, 1920-1963

Journal of the History of Sexuality

Volumn 9, Issue 4, 2000, Pages 447-473

  Neuhaus, Jessamyn ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; BOOK; EDUCATION; ETHNOLOGY; FEMALE; GENDER IDENTITY; HISTORY; HUMAN; MALE; MARRIAGE; METHODOLOGY; ORGASM; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; SEXUAL BEHAVIOR; SEXUAL EDUCATION; STANDARD; UNITED STATES;

FEMALE; GENDER IDENTITY; HISTORY, 20TH CENTURY; HUMANS; MALE; MANUALS; MARRIAGE; MEN; ORGASM; SEX EDUCATION; SEXUAL BEHAVIOR; UNITED STATES; WOMEN;

EID: 0034287208     PISSN: 10434070     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (159)

1. Oliver M. Butterfield, Sex Life in Marriage (New York, 1937), 103. believe that "marital sex manual" is the most precise term for the kinds of texts cited in this article. For a discussion of the terms "marriage manual" and "sex manual" see Michael Gordon and Penelope J. Shankweiler, "Different Equals Less: Female Sexuality in Recent Marriage Manuals," Journal of Marriage and the Family 3 (1971): 459-66. They note that the former refers to more general marriage advice, which may include but is not limited to sexual technique and sexual problems, and that the latter focuses exclusively on sexual issues. However, in my research, I found this distinction often blurred. Manuals that focused on sexual technique often included, at the end or the beginning, more general kinds of marriage advice. And general marital advice sometimes made sexual technique the central factor in the happiness of the marriage.
2. Oliver M. Butterfield, Sex Life in Marriage (New York, 1937), 103. believe that "marital sex manual" is the most precise term for the kinds of texts cited in this article. For a discussion of the terms "marriage manual" and "sex manual" see Michael Gordon and Penelope J. Shankweiler, "Different Equals Less: Female Sexuality in Recent Marriage Manuals," Journal of Marriage and the Family 3 (1971): 459-66. They note that the former refers to more general marriage advice, which may include but is not limited to sexual technique and sexual problems, and that the latter focuses exclusively on sexual issues. However, in my research, I found this distinction often blurred. Manuals that focused on sexual technique often included, at the end or the beginning, more general kinds of marriage advice. And general marital advice sometimes made sexual technique the central factor in the happiness of the marriage.
3. See, for example, Ann D. Gordon, Mari Jo Buhle, and Nancy Schrom Dye, "The Problem of Women's History," in Liberating Women's History, edited by Berenice A. Carroll (Urbana, Ill., 1976), 75-92. Sec also Connie Miller with Corinna Treitel, Feminist Research Methods: An Annotated Bibliography (New York, 1991), 112 and 121; Susan Strasser, Never Done: A History of American Housework (New York, 1982), xii. On the history of sexuality, see, for example, Carl N. Degler, "What Ought to Be and What Was: Women's Sexuality in the Nineteenth Century," American Historical Review 5 (1974): 1476-90. See also Karen Lystra, Searching the Heart: Women, Men and Romantic Love in Nineteenth-Century America (New York, 1989). In a notable exception, a recent book on marriage manuals asserts that such sex advice "undoubtedly did influence behavior." See M. E. Melody and Linda M. Peterson, Teaching America about Sex: Marriage Guides and Sex Manuals from the Late Victorians to Dr. Ruth (New York, 1999), 5. For an example of an article which speculates on the impact of marriage manuals, see "Viewpoint," Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality 10 (1970): 50-63.
4. See, for example, Ann D. Gordon, Mari Jo Buhle, and Nancy Schrom Dye, "The Problem of Women's History," in Liberating Women's History, edited by Berenice A. Carroll (Urbana, Ill., 1976), 75-92. Sec also Connie Miller with Corinna Treitel, Feminist Research Methods: An Annotated Bibliography (New York, 1991), 112 and 121; Susan Strasser, Never Done: A History of American Housework (New York, 1982), xii. On the history of sexuality, see, for example, Carl N. Degler, "What Ought to Be and What Was: Women's Sexuality in the Nineteenth Century," American Historical Review 5 (1974): 1476-90. See also Karen Lystra, Searching the Heart: Women, Men and Romantic Love in Nineteenth-Century America (New York, 1989). In a notable exception, a recent book on marriage manuals asserts that such sex advice "undoubtedly did influence behavior." See M. E. Melody and Linda M. Peterson, Teaching America about Sex: Marriage Guides and Sex Manuals from the Late Victorians to Dr. Ruth (New York, 1999), 5. For an example of an article which speculates on the impact of marriage manuals, see "Viewpoint," Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality 10 (1970): 50-63.
5. See, for example, Ann D. Gordon, Mari Jo Buhle, and Nancy Schrom Dye, "The Problem of Women's History," in Liberating Women's History, edited by Berenice A. Carroll (Urbana, Ill., 1976), 75-92. Sec also Connie Miller with Corinna Treitel, Feminist Research Methods: An Annotated Bibliography (New York, 1991), 112 and 121; Susan Strasser, Never Done: A History of American Housework (New York, 1982), xii. On the history of sexuality, see, for example, Carl N. Degler, "What Ought to Be and What Was: Women's Sexuality in the Nineteenth Century," American Historical Review 5 (1974): 1476-90. See also Karen Lystra, Searching the Heart: Women, Men and Romantic Love in Nineteenth-Century America (New York, 1989). In a notable exception, a recent book on marriage manuals asserts that such sex advice "undoubtedly did influence behavior." See M. E. Melody and Linda M. Peterson, Teaching America about Sex: Marriage Guides and Sex Manuals from the Late Victorians to Dr. Ruth (New York, 1999), 5. For an example of an article which speculates on the impact of marriage manuals, see "Viewpoint," Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality 10 (1970): 50-63.
6. See, for example, Ann D. Gordon, Mari Jo Buhle, and Nancy Schrom Dye, "The Problem of Women's History," in Liberating Women's History, edited by Berenice A. Carroll (Urbana, Ill., 1976), 75-92. Sec also Connie Miller with Corinna Treitel, Feminist Research Methods: An Annotated Bibliography (New York, 1991), 112 and 121; Susan Strasser, Never Done: A History of American Housework (New York, 1982), xii. On the history of sexuality, see, for example, Carl N. Degler, "What Ought to Be and What Was: Women's Sexuality in the Nineteenth Century," American Historical Review 5 (1974): 1476-90. See also Karen Lystra, Searching the Heart: Women, Men and Romantic Love in Nineteenth-Century America (New York, 1989). In a notable exception, a recent book on marriage manuals asserts that such sex advice "undoubtedly did influence behavior." See M. E. Melody and Linda M. Peterson, Teaching America about Sex: Marriage Guides and Sex Manuals from the Late Victorians to Dr. Ruth (New York, 1999), 5. For an example of an article which speculates on the impact of marriage manuals, see "Viewpoint," Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality 10 (1970): 50-63.
7. See, for example, Ann D. Gordon, Mari Jo Buhle, and Nancy Schrom Dye, "The Problem of Women's History," in Liberating Women's History, edited by Berenice A. Carroll (Urbana, Ill., 1976), 75-92. Sec also Connie Miller with Corinna Treitel, Feminist Research Methods: An Annotated Bibliography (New York, 1991), 112 and 121; Susan Strasser, Never Done: A History of American Housework (New York, 1982), xii. On the history of sexuality, see, for example, Carl N. Degler, "What Ought to Be and What Was: Women's Sexuality in the Nineteenth Century," American Historical Review 5 (1974): 1476-90. See also Karen Lystra, Searching the Heart: Women, Men and Romantic Love in Nineteenth-Century America (New York, 1989). In a notable exception, a recent book on marriage manuals asserts that such sex advice "undoubtedly did influence behavior." See M. E. Melody and Linda M. Peterson, Teaching America about Sex: Marriage Guides and Sex Manuals from the Late Victorians to Dr. Ruth (New York, 1999), 5. For an example of an article which speculates on the impact of marriage manuals, see "Viewpoint," Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality 10 (1970): 50-63.
8. See, for example, Ann D. Gordon, Mari Jo Buhle, and Nancy Schrom Dye, "The Problem of Women's History," in Liberating Women's History, edited by Berenice A. Carroll (Urbana, Ill., 1976), 75-92. Sec also Connie Miller with Corinna Treitel, Feminist Research Methods: An Annotated Bibliography (New York, 1991), 112 and 121; Susan Strasser, Never Done: A History of American Housework (New York, 1982), xii. On the history of sexuality, see, for example, Carl N. Degler, "What Ought to Be and What Was: Women's Sexuality in the Nineteenth Century," American Historical Review 5 (1974): 1476-90. See also Karen Lystra, Searching the Heart: Women, Men and Romantic Love in Nineteenth-Century America (New York, 1989). In a notable exception, a recent book on marriage manuals asserts that such sex advice "undoubtedly did influence behavior." See M. E. Melody and Linda M. Peterson, Teaching America about Sex: Marriage Guides and Sex Manuals from the Late Victorians to Dr. Ruth (New York, 1999), 5. For an example of an article which speculates on the impact of marriage manuals, see "Viewpoint," Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality 10 (1970): 50-63.
9. See, for example, Ann D. Gordon, Mari Jo Buhle, and Nancy Schrom Dye, "The Problem of Women's History," in Liberating Women's History, edited by Berenice A. Carroll (Urbana, Ill., 1976), 75-92. Sec also Connie Miller with Corinna Treitel, Feminist Research Methods: An Annotated Bibliography (New York, 1991), 112 and 121; Susan Strasser, Never Done: A History of American Housework (New York, 1982), xii. On the history of sexuality, see, for example, Carl N. Degler, "What Ought to Be and What Was: Women's Sexuality in the Nineteenth Century," American Historical Review 5 (1974): 1476-90. See also Karen Lystra, Searching the Heart: Women, Men and Romantic Love in Nineteenth-Century America (New York, 1989). In a notable exception, a recent book on marriage manuals asserts that such sex advice "undoubtedly did influence behavior." See M. E. Melody and Linda M. Peterson, Teaching America about Sex: Marriage Guides and Sex Manuals from the Late Victorians to Dr. Ruth (New York, 1999), 5. For an example of an article which speculates on the impact of marriage manuals, see "Viewpoint," Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality 10 (1970): 50-63.
10. Michael Gordon and M. Charles Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life in the Nineteenth-Century Marriage Manual," Journal of Marriage and the Family 4 (1970), 672. In my sample, the gender of the manual author seemed to make little difference in the manual's representation of male and female sexuality. I should note, though, that most manuals published before World War II were authored by men. After World War II, the percentage of manuals by women (most often physicians) increased.
11. On class and the deployment of sexuality, see Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality: An Introduction. Volume I, trans. Robert Hurley (New York, 1978), 122-27.
12. Ronald Walters, Primers for Prudery (New York, 1974), 11.
13. Joan Wallach Scott, "Experience," in Feminists Theorize the Political, edited by Judith Butler and Joan W. Scott (New York, 1992), 33. See also Joan Wallach Scott, Gender and the Politics of History (New York, 1988). In the latter, she writes: "The story is no longer about the things that have happened to women and men and how they reacted to them; instead it is about how categories of identity have been constructed" (6).
14. Joan Wallach Scott, "Experience," in Feminists Theorize the Political, edited by Judith Butler and Joan W. Scott (New York, 1992), 33. See also Joan Wallach Scott, Gender and the Politics of History (New York, 1988). In the latter, she writes: "The story is no longer about the things that have happened to women and men and how they reacted to them; instead it is about how categories of identity have been constructed" (6).
15. Peter Laipson, "'Kiss Without Shame, For She Desires It': Sexual Foreplay in American Marital Advice Literature, 1900-1925," Journal of Social History 3 (1996), 512-13. See also Martin S. Weinberg, Rochelle Ganz Swensson, and Sue Keifer Hammersmith, "Sexual Autonomy and the Status of Women: Models of Female Sexuality in U.S. Sex Manuals from 1950 to 1980," Social Problems 3 (1983): 312-24. For more general studies of how sexual manuals represent sex and gender, see Regina Wolkoff, "The Ethics of Sex: Individuality and the Social Order in Early Twentieth Century American Sexual Advice Literature"(Ph.D. diss., University of Michigan, 1974). See also Dennis Brisset and Lionel S. Lewis, "Guidelines for Marital Sex: An Analysis of Fifteen Popular Marriage Manuals," The Family Coordinator 1 (1970): 41-48. For a discussion of sex manuals, gender, and Christian ideology, see Patricia M. Lennon, "Bible-Believers Have Better Sex: Popular Sexology and Gender Ideology in Biblical Marriage Manuals" (Master's thesis, Indiana University 1993).
16. Peter Laipson, "'Kiss Without Shame, For She Desires It': Sexual Foreplay in American Marital Advice Literature, 1900-1925," Journal of Social History 3 (1996), 512-13. See also Martin S. Weinberg, Rochelle Ganz Swensson, and Sue Keifer Hammersmith, "Sexual Autonomy and the Status of Women: Models of Female Sexuality in U.S. Sex Manuals from 1950 to 1980," Social Problems 3 (1983): 312-24. For more general studies of how sexual manuals represent sex and gender, see Regina Wolkoff, "The Ethics of Sex: Individuality and the Social Order in Early Twentieth Century American Sexual Advice Literature"(Ph.D. diss., University of Michigan, 1974). See also Dennis Brisset and Lionel S. Lewis, "Guidelines for Marital Sex: An Analysis of Fifteen Popular Marriage Manuals," The Family Coordinator 1 (1970): 41-48. For a discussion of sex manuals, gender, and Christian ideology, see Patricia M. Lennon, "Bible-Believers Have Better Sex: Popular Sexology and Gender Ideology in Biblical Marriage Manuals" (Master's thesis, Indiana University 1993).
17. Peter Laipson, "'Kiss Without Shame, For She Desires It': Sexual Foreplay in American Marital Advice Literature, 1900-1925," Journal of Social History 3 (1996), 512-13. See also Martin S. Weinberg, Rochelle Ganz Swensson, and Sue Keifer Hammersmith, "Sexual Autonomy and the Status of Women: Models of Female Sexuality in U.S. Sex Manuals from 1950 to 1980," Social Problems 3 (1983): 312-24. For more general studies of how sexual manuals represent sex and gender, see Regina Wolkoff, "The Ethics of Sex: Individuality and the Social Order in Early Twentieth Century American Sexual Advice Literature"(Ph.D. diss., University of Michigan, 1974). See also Dennis Brisset and Lionel S. Lewis, "Guidelines for Marital Sex: An Analysis of Fifteen Popular Marriage Manuals," The Family Coordinator 1 (1970): 41-48. For a discussion of sex manuals, gender, and Christian ideology, see Patricia M. Lennon, "Bible-Believers Have Better Sex: Popular Sexology and Gender Ideology in Biblical Marriage Manuals" (Master's thesis, Indiana University 1993).
18. Peter Laipson, "'Kiss Without Shame, For She Desires It': Sexual Foreplay in American Marital Advice Literature, 1900-1925," Journal of Social History 3 (1996), 512-13. See also Martin S. Weinberg, Rochelle Ganz Swensson, and Sue Keifer Hammersmith, "Sexual Autonomy and the Status of Women: Models of Female Sexuality in U.S. Sex Manuals from 1950 to 1980," Social Problems 3 (1983): 312-24. For more general studies of how sexual manuals represent sex and gender, see Regina Wolkoff, "The Ethics of Sex: Individuality and the Social Order in Early Twentieth Century American Sexual Advice Literature"(Ph.D. diss., University of Michigan, 1974). See also Dennis Brisset and Lionel S. Lewis, "Guidelines for Marital Sex: An Analysis of Fifteen Popular Marriage Manuals," The Family Coordinator 1 (1970): 41-48. For a discussion of sex manuals, gender, and Christian ideology, see Patricia M. Lennon, "Bible-Believers Have Better Sex: Popular Sexology and Gender Ideology in Biblical Marriage Manuals" (Master's thesis, Indiana University 1993).
19. Peter Laipson, "'Kiss Without Shame, For She Desires It': Sexual Foreplay in American Marital Advice Literature, 1900-1925," Journal of Social History 3 (1996), 512-13. See also Martin S. Weinberg, Rochelle Ganz Swensson, and Sue Keifer Hammersmith, "Sexual Autonomy and the Status of Women: Models of Female Sexuality in U.S. Sex Manuals from 1950 to 1980," Social Problems 3 (1983): 312-24. For more general studies of how sexual manuals represent sex and gender, see Regina Wolkoff, "The Ethics of Sex: Individuality and the Social Order in Early Twentieth Century American Sexual Advice Literature"(Ph.D. diss., University of Michigan, 1974). See also Dennis Brisset and Lionel S. Lewis, "Guidelines for Marital Sex: An Analysis of Fifteen Popular Marriage Manuals," The Family Coordinator 1 (1970): 41-48. For a discussion of sex manuals, gender, and Christian ideology, see Patricia M. Lennon, "Bible-Believers Have Better Sex: Popular Sexology and Gender Ideology in Biblical Marriage Manuals" (Master's thesis, Indiana University 1993).
20. My sample - drawn from the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. and the Kinsey Institute for Research on Sex, Gender and Reproduction at the University of Indiana, Bloomington - consisted of forty-six marital sex manuals published from 1920 to 1940 and forty-four published from 1945 to 1963. I categorized these texts by author's profession or qualifications and gathered information with a set of questions about how the author(s) defined male and female sexuality and the role of sex in marriage. In my sample of books published from 1920 to 1940, fourteen of the authors were physicians, three were psychologists, nine were general "marriage guide" authors, either laymen or physicians, three were religious leaders, and the remaining seventeen a variety of professionals and laymen, ranging from the publisher of Physical Culture magazine to YMCA leaders, judges, and reformers. In my sample of books published between 1941 and 1963, ten of the authors were psychologists, nine were physicians, four were religious leaders, one was a sexologist, eight were general "marriage guide" authors, either laymen or physicians, and the remaining twelve were authored by a variety of professionals and laymen, ranging from judges, sexual education instructors, and married women offering single women premarital advice. Each of these categories could be the subject of study in and of itself, and I freely acknowledge the limitations of my sample. But I believe I examined a reasonably representative selection of books, based on the Kinsey collection, which has deliberately set out to obtain a representative collection of this kind of material. I did not examine in depth the few "big names" in the field, i.e. Havelock Ellis, nor did I examine books that were not originally written in English. The ten questions I "asked" each text were: Is sexual activity within a marriage described as a duty, a pleasure, or both? Is sexual activity emphasized as critical to the health and happiness of a marriage? What are the sexual responsibilities of a wife, as described by this book? What are the sexual responsibilities of a husband? How does this book define/describe female sexuality? How does it define/describe male sexuality? How does it describe the impact of the "modern world" on sexuality? According to this book, how do children impact or account for marital sexuality? Is sexual activity described in terms of psychoanalysis or biological sciences? Is there discussion of "aberrant" sexual activity, such as masturbation or homosexuality? The publication dates I chose were based on studies that mark 1920 as a turning point in the history of sex advice literature. And I agree with those historians who argue that the "post-World War II era" may be understood to extend from 1945 to 1963, when the Kennedy assassination marked the end of both a political and cultural period in American history.
21. John D'Emilio and Estelle B. Freedman, Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in the United States (New York, 1988), 59-61. See also Janet Farrell Brodie, Contraception and Abortion in 19th-century America (Ithaca, 1994).
22. John D'Emilio and Estelle B. Freedman, Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in the United States (New York, 1988), 59-61. See also Janet Farrell Brodie, Contraception and Abortion in 19th-century America (Ithaca, 1994).
23. On religious advice literature during the 1700s, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 666. For a good overview of the emergence of sexology, see Lucy Bland and Laura Doan, eds. Sexology in Culture: Labeling Bodies and Desires (Chicago, 1998) and Regina Barreca, ed., Desire and Imagination: Classic Essays in Sexuality (New York, 1995). For an example of the scope of the historical debate about Victorian female sexuality, see G. J. Barker-Benfield, The Horrors of the Half-Known Life: Male Attitudes Toward Women and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century America (New York, 1976), and Peter Gay, The Bourgeois Experience: Victoria to Freud, Volume I: Education of the Senses (New York, 1984). Barker-Benfield emphasizes domestic ideology and misogynistic cultural forces which, in his view, repressed and oppressed women's sexual expression. But scholars like Gay take a very different view of Victorian sexuality, arguing that despite such a powerful ideology, Victorian women (and men) did enjoy satisfying sex lives. I want to be clear that this is an enormous field of historical investigation, and these are simply two of the literally thousands of monographs on this subject. Also, recent work on the history of vibrators indicates that female orgasm, under the guise of a cure for hysteria, played an important role in nineteenth-century medical understanding of female patients, suggesting that the emphasis in 1920s and '30s manuals on the importance of orgasm in women was not brand new. See Rachel P. Maines, The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction (Baltimore, 1999). On the subject of sexual restraint in the Victorian period, see Barker-Benfield, "The Spermatic Economy: A Nineteenth-Century View of Sexuality," in Procreation or Pleasure? Sexual Attitudes in American History, edited by Thomas Altherr (Florida, 1978). Barker-Benfield argues that the fear of overindulgence constituted another aspect of the urban, male obsession about sex and gender roles, in which men believed women to be "sperm absorbers." On marital advisors' insistence upon moderation, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 671. On how the twentieth century shift in the definition of sexuality played out in the production of marriage and sex manuals, see Barbara Epstein, "Family, Sexual Morality, and Popular Movements in Turn-of-the-Century America," in Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality, edited by Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell, and Sharon Thompson (New York, 1983); Michael Gordon, "From an Unfortunate Necessity to a Cult of Mutual Orgasm: Sex in American Marital Education Literature, 1830-1940," in Studies in the Sociology of Sex, edited by James H. Henslin (New York, 1971). For more general discussions of how this change emerged see Steven Seidman, Romantic Longings: Love in America, 1930-1980 (New York, 1991); Kathy Peiss, "'Charity Girls' and City Pleasures: Historical Notes on Working-Class Sexuality, 1880-1920," in Passion and Power: Sexuality in History, edited by Kathy Peiss and Christina Simmons (Philadelphia, 1989); Bryan Strong, "Ideas of the Early Sex Education Movement in America, 1890-1920," in Altherr, Procreation or Pleasure; and D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters.
24. On religious advice literature during the 1700s, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 666. For a good overview of the emergence of sexology, see Lucy Bland and Laura Doan, eds. Sexology in Culture: Labeling Bodies and Desires (Chicago, 1998) and Regina Barreca, ed., Desire and Imagination: Classic Essays in Sexuality (New York, 1995). For an example of the scope of the historical debate about Victorian female sexuality, see G. J. Barker-Benfield, The Horrors of the Half-Known Life: Male Attitudes Toward Women and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century America (New York, 1976), and Peter Gay, The Bourgeois Experience: Victoria to Freud, Volume I: Education of the Senses (New York, 1984). Barker-Benfield emphasizes domestic ideology and misogynistic cultural forces which, in his view, repressed and oppressed women's sexual expression. But scholars like Gay take a very different view of Victorian sexuality, arguing that despite such a powerful ideology, Victorian women (and men) did enjoy satisfying sex lives. I want to be clear that this is an enormous field of historical investigation, and these are simply two of the literally thousands of monographs on this subject. Also, recent work on the history of vibrators indicates that female orgasm, under the guise of a cure for hysteria, played an important role in nineteenth-century medical understanding of female patients, suggesting that the emphasis in 1920s and '30s manuals on the importance of orgasm in women was not brand new. See Rachel P. Maines, The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction (Baltimore, 1999). On the subject of sexual restraint in the Victorian period, see Barker-Benfield, "The Spermatic Economy: A Nineteenth-Century View of Sexuality," in Procreation or Pleasure? Sexual Attitudes in American History, edited by Thomas Altherr (Florida, 1978). Barker-Benfield argues that the fear of overindulgence constituted another aspect of the urban, male obsession about sex and gender roles, in which men believed women to be "sperm absorbers." On marital advisors' insistence upon moderation, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 671. On how the twentieth century shift in the definition of sexuality played out in the production of marriage and sex manuals, see Barbara Epstein, "Family, Sexual Morality, and Popular Movements in Turn-of-the-Century America," in Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality, edited by Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell, and Sharon Thompson (New York, 1983); Michael Gordon, "From an Unfortunate Necessity to a Cult of Mutual Orgasm: Sex in American Marital Education Literature, 1830-1940," in Studies in the Sociology of Sex, edited by James H. Henslin (New York, 1971). For more general discussions of how this change emerged see Steven Seidman, Romantic Longings: Love in America, 1930-1980 (New York, 1991); Kathy Peiss, "'Charity Girls' and City Pleasures: Historical Notes on Working-Class Sexuality, 1880-1920," in Passion and Power: Sexuality in History, edited by Kathy Peiss and Christina Simmons (Philadelphia, 1989); Bryan Strong, "Ideas of the Early Sex Education Movement in America, 1890-1920," in Altherr, Procreation or Pleasure; and D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters.
25. On religious advice literature during the 1700s, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 666. For a good overview of the emergence of sexology, see Lucy Bland and Laura Doan, eds. Sexology in Culture: Labeling Bodies and Desires (Chicago, 1998) and Regina Barreca, ed., Desire and Imagination: Classic Essays in Sexuality (New York, 1995). For an example of the scope of the historical debate about Victorian female sexuality, see G. J. Barker-Benfield, The Horrors of the Half-Known Life: Male Attitudes Toward Women and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century America (New York, 1976), and Peter Gay, The Bourgeois Experience: Victoria to Freud, Volume I: Education of the Senses (New York, 1984). Barker-Benfield emphasizes domestic ideology and misogynistic cultural forces which, in his view, repressed and oppressed women's sexual expression. But scholars like Gay take a very different view of Victorian sexuality, arguing that despite such a powerful ideology, Victorian women (and men) did enjoy satisfying sex lives. I want to be clear that this is an enormous field of historical investigation, and these are simply two of the literally thousands of monographs on this subject. Also, recent work on the history of vibrators indicates that female orgasm, under the guise of a cure for hysteria, played an important role in nineteenth-century medical understanding of female patients, suggesting that the emphasis in 1920s and '30s manuals on the importance of orgasm in women was not brand new. See Rachel P. Maines, The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction (Baltimore, 1999). On the subject of sexual restraint in the Victorian period, see Barker-Benfield, "The Spermatic Economy: A Nineteenth-Century View of Sexuality," in Procreation or Pleasure? Sexual Attitudes in American History, edited by Thomas Altherr (Florida, 1978). Barker-Benfield argues that the fear of overindulgence constituted another aspect of the urban, male obsession about sex and gender roles, in which men believed women to be "sperm absorbers." On marital advisors' insistence upon moderation, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 671. On how the twentieth century shift in the definition of sexuality played out in the production of marriage and sex manuals, see Barbara Epstein, "Family, Sexual Morality, and Popular Movements in Turn-of-the-Century America," in Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality, edited by Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell, and Sharon Thompson (New York, 1983); Michael Gordon, "From an Unfortunate Necessity to a Cult of Mutual Orgasm: Sex in American Marital Education Literature, 1830-1940," in Studies in the Sociology of Sex, edited by James H. Henslin (New York, 1971). For more general discussions of how this change emerged see Steven Seidman, Romantic Longings: Love in America, 1930-1980 (New York, 1991); Kathy Peiss, "'Charity Girls' and City Pleasures: Historical Notes on Working-Class Sexuality, 1880-1920," in Passion and Power: Sexuality in History, edited by Kathy Peiss and Christina Simmons (Philadelphia, 1989); Bryan Strong, "Ideas of the Early Sex Education Movement in America, 1890-1920," in Altherr, Procreation or Pleasure; and D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters.
26. On religious advice literature during the 1700s, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 666. For a good overview of the emergence of sexology, see Lucy Bland and Laura Doan, eds. Sexology in Culture: Labeling Bodies and Desires (Chicago, 1998) and Regina Barreca, ed., Desire and Imagination: Classic Essays in Sexuality (New York, 1995). For an example of the scope of the historical debate about Victorian female sexuality, see G. J. Barker-Benfield, The Horrors of the Half-Known Life: Male Attitudes Toward Women and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century America (New York, 1976), and Peter Gay, The Bourgeois Experience: Victoria to Freud, Volume I: Education of the Senses (New York, 1984). Barker-Benfield emphasizes domestic ideology and misogynistic cultural forces which, in his view, repressed and oppressed women's sexual expression. But scholars like Gay take a very different view of Victorian sexuality, arguing that despite such a powerful ideology, Victorian women (and men) did enjoy satisfying sex lives. I want to be clear that this is an enormous field of historical investigation, and these are simply two of the literally thousands of monographs on this subject. Also, recent work on the history of vibrators indicates that female orgasm, under the guise of a cure for hysteria, played an important role in nineteenth-century medical understanding of female patients, suggesting that the emphasis in 1920s and '30s manuals on the importance of orgasm in women was not brand new. See Rachel P. Maines, The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction (Baltimore, 1999). On the subject of sexual restraint in the Victorian period, see Barker-Benfield, "The Spermatic Economy: A Nineteenth-Century View of Sexuality," in Procreation or Pleasure? Sexual Attitudes in American History, edited by Thomas Altherr (Florida, 1978). Barker-Benfield argues that the fear of overindulgence constituted another aspect of the urban, male obsession about sex and gender roles, in which men believed women to be "sperm absorbers." On marital advisors' insistence upon moderation, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 671. On how the twentieth century shift in the definition of sexuality played out in the production of marriage and sex manuals, see Barbara Epstein, "Family, Sexual Morality, and Popular Movements in Turn-of-the-Century America," in Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality, edited by Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell, and Sharon Thompson (New York, 1983); Michael Gordon, "From an Unfortunate Necessity to a Cult of Mutual Orgasm: Sex in American Marital Education Literature, 1830-1940," in Studies in the Sociology of Sex, edited by James H. Henslin (New York, 1971). For more general discussions of how this change emerged see Steven Seidman, Romantic Longings: Love in America, 1930-1980 (New York, 1991); Kathy Peiss, "'Charity Girls' and City Pleasures: Historical Notes on Working-Class Sexuality, 1880-1920," in Passion and Power: Sexuality in History, edited by Kathy Peiss and Christina Simmons (Philadelphia, 1989); Bryan Strong, "Ideas of the Early Sex Education Movement in America, 1890-1920," in Altherr, Procreation or Pleasure; and D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters.
27. On religious advice literature during the 1700s, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 666. For a good overview of the emergence of sexology, see Lucy Bland and Laura Doan, eds. Sexology in Culture: Labeling Bodies and Desires (Chicago, 1998) and Regina Barreca, ed., Desire and Imagination: Classic Essays in Sexuality (New York, 1995). For an example of the scope of the historical debate about Victorian female sexuality, see G. J. Barker-Benfield, The Horrors of the Half-Known Life: Male Attitudes Toward Women and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century America (New York, 1976), and Peter Gay, The Bourgeois Experience: Victoria to Freud, Volume I: Education of the Senses (New York, 1984). Barker-Benfield emphasizes domestic ideology and misogynistic cultural forces which, in his view, repressed and oppressed women's sexual expression. But scholars like Gay take a very different view of Victorian sexuality, arguing that despite such a powerful ideology, Victorian women (and men) did enjoy satisfying sex lives. I want to be clear that this is an enormous field of historical investigation, and these are simply two of the literally thousands of monographs on this subject. Also, recent work on the history of vibrators indicates that female orgasm, under the guise of a cure for hysteria, played an important role in nineteenth-century medical understanding of female patients, suggesting that the emphasis in 1920s and '30s manuals on the importance of orgasm in women was not brand new. See Rachel P. Maines, The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction (Baltimore, 1999). On the subject of sexual restraint in the Victorian period, see Barker-Benfield, "The Spermatic Economy: A Nineteenth-Century View of Sexuality," in Procreation or Pleasure? Sexual Attitudes in American History, edited by Thomas Altherr (Florida, 1978). Barker-Benfield argues that the fear of overindulgence constituted another aspect of the urban, male obsession about sex and gender roles, in which men believed women to be "sperm absorbers." On marital advisors' insistence upon moderation, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 671. On how the twentieth century shift in the definition of sexuality played out in the production of marriage and sex manuals, see Barbara Epstein, "Family, Sexual Morality, and Popular Movements in Turn-of-the-Century America," in Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality, edited by Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell, and Sharon Thompson (New York, 1983); Michael Gordon, "From an Unfortunate Necessity to a Cult of Mutual Orgasm: Sex in American Marital Education Literature, 1830-1940," in Studies in the Sociology of Sex, edited by James H. Henslin (New York, 1971). For more general discussions of how this change emerged see Steven Seidman, Romantic Longings: Love in America, 1930-1980 (New York, 1991); Kathy Peiss, "'Charity Girls' and City Pleasures: Historical Notes on Working-Class Sexuality, 1880-1920," in Passion and Power: Sexuality in History, edited by Kathy Peiss and Christina Simmons (Philadelphia, 1989); Bryan Strong, "Ideas of the Early Sex Education Movement in America, 1890-1920," in Altherr, Procreation or Pleasure; and D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters.
28. On religious advice literature during the 1700s, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 666. For a good overview of the emergence of sexology, see Lucy Bland and Laura Doan, eds. Sexology in Culture: Labeling Bodies and Desires (Chicago, 1998) and Regina Barreca, ed., Desire and Imagination: Classic Essays in Sexuality (New York, 1995). For an example of the scope of the historical debate about Victorian female sexuality, see G. J. Barker-Benfield, The Horrors of the Half-Known Life: Male Attitudes Toward Women and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century America (New York, 1976), and Peter Gay, The Bourgeois Experience: Victoria to Freud, Volume I: Education of the Senses (New York, 1984). Barker-Benfield emphasizes domestic ideology and misogynistic cultural forces which, in his view, repressed and oppressed women's sexual expression. But scholars like Gay take a very different view of Victorian sexuality, arguing that despite such a powerful ideology, Victorian women (and men) did enjoy satisfying sex lives. I want to be clear that this is an enormous field of historical investigation, and these are simply two of the literally thousands of monographs on this subject. Also, recent work on the history of vibrators indicates that female orgasm, under the guise of a cure for hysteria, played an important role in nineteenth-century medical understanding of female patients, suggesting that the emphasis in 1920s and '30s manuals on the importance of orgasm in women was not brand new. See Rachel P. Maines, The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction (Baltimore, 1999). On the subject of sexual restraint in the Victorian period, see Barker-Benfield, "The Spermatic Economy: A Nineteenth-Century View of Sexuality," in Procreation or Pleasure? Sexual Attitudes in American History, edited by Thomas Altherr (Florida, 1978). Barker-Benfield argues that the fear of overindulgence constituted another aspect of the urban, male obsession about sex and gender roles, in which men believed women to be "sperm absorbers." On marital advisors' insistence upon moderation, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 671. On how the twentieth century shift in the definition of sexuality played out in the production of marriage and sex manuals, see Barbara Epstein, "Family, Sexual Morality, and Popular Movements in Turn-of-the-Century America," in Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality, edited by Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell, and Sharon Thompson (New York, 1983); Michael Gordon, "From an Unfortunate Necessity to a Cult of Mutual Orgasm: Sex in American Marital Education Literature, 1830-1940," in Studies in the Sociology of Sex, edited by James H. Henslin (New York, 1971). For more general discussions of how this change emerged see Steven Seidman, Romantic Longings: Love in America, 1930-1980 (New York, 1991); Kathy Peiss, "'Charity Girls' and City Pleasures: Historical Notes on Working-Class Sexuality, 1880-1920," in Passion and Power: Sexuality in History, edited by Kathy Peiss and Christina Simmons (Philadelphia, 1989); Bryan Strong, "Ideas of the Early Sex Education Movement in America, 1890-1920," in Altherr, Procreation or Pleasure; and D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters.
29. On religious advice literature during the 1700s, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 666. For a good overview of the emergence of sexology, see Lucy Bland and Laura Doan, eds. Sexology in Culture: Labeling Bodies and Desires (Chicago, 1998) and Regina Barreca, ed., Desire and Imagination: Classic Essays in Sexuality (New York, 1995). For an example of the scope of the historical debate about Victorian female sexuality, see G. J. Barker-Benfield, The Horrors of the Half-Known Life: Male Attitudes Toward Women and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century America (New York, 1976), and Peter Gay, The Bourgeois Experience: Victoria to Freud, Volume I: Education of the Senses (New York, 1984). Barker-Benfield emphasizes domestic ideology and misogynistic cultural forces which, in his view, repressed and oppressed women's sexual expression. But scholars like Gay take a very different view of Victorian sexuality, arguing that despite such a powerful ideology, Victorian women (and men) did enjoy satisfying sex lives. I want to be clear that this is an enormous field of historical investigation, and these are simply two of the literally thousands of monographs on this subject. Also, recent work on the history of vibrators indicates that female orgasm, under the guise of a cure for hysteria, played an important role in nineteenth-century medical understanding of female patients, suggesting that the emphasis in 1920s and '30s manuals on the importance of orgasm in women was not brand new. See Rachel P. Maines, The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction (Baltimore, 1999). On the subject of sexual restraint in the Victorian period, see Barker-Benfield, "The Spermatic Economy: A Nineteenth-Century View of Sexuality," in Procreation or Pleasure? Sexual Attitudes in American History, edited by Thomas Altherr (Florida, 1978). Barker-Benfield argues that the fear of overindulgence constituted another aspect of the urban, male obsession about sex and gender roles, in which men believed women to be "sperm absorbers." On marital advisors' insistence upon moderation, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 671. On how the twentieth century shift in the definition of sexuality played out in the production of marriage and sex manuals, see Barbara Epstein, "Family, Sexual Morality, and Popular Movements in Turn-of-the-Century America," in Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality, edited by Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell, and Sharon Thompson (New York, 1983); Michael Gordon, "From an Unfortunate Necessity to a Cult of Mutual Orgasm: Sex in American Marital Education Literature, 1830-1940," in Studies in the Sociology of Sex, edited by James H. Henslin (New York, 1971). For more general discussions of how this change emerged see Steven Seidman, Romantic Longings: Love in America, 1930-1980 (New York, 1991); Kathy Peiss, "'Charity Girls' and City Pleasures: Historical Notes on Working-Class Sexuality, 1880-1920," in Passion and Power: Sexuality in History, edited by Kathy Peiss and Christina Simmons (Philadelphia, 1989); Bryan Strong, "Ideas of the Early Sex Education Movement in America, 1890-1920," in Altherr, Procreation or Pleasure; and D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters.
30. On religious advice literature during the 1700s, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 666. For a good overview of the emergence of sexology, see Lucy Bland and Laura Doan, eds. Sexology in Culture: Labeling Bodies and Desires (Chicago, 1998) and Regina Barreca, ed., Desire and Imagination: Classic Essays in Sexuality (New York, 1995). For an example of the scope of the historical debate about Victorian female sexuality, see G. J. Barker-Benfield, The Horrors of the Half-Known Life: Male Attitudes Toward Women and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century America (New York, 1976), and Peter Gay, The Bourgeois Experience: Victoria to Freud, Volume I: Education of the Senses (New York, 1984). Barker-Benfield emphasizes domestic ideology and misogynistic cultural forces which, in his view, repressed and oppressed women's sexual expression. But scholars like Gay take a very different view of Victorian sexuality, arguing that despite such a powerful ideology, Victorian women (and men) did enjoy satisfying sex lives. I want to be clear that this is an enormous field of historical investigation, and these are simply two of the literally thousands of monographs on this subject. Also, recent work on the history of vibrators indicates that female orgasm, under the guise of a cure for hysteria, played an important role in nineteenth-century medical understanding of female patients, suggesting that the emphasis in 1920s and '30s manuals on the importance of orgasm in women was not brand new. See Rachel P. Maines, The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction (Baltimore, 1999). On the subject of sexual restraint in the Victorian period, see Barker-Benfield, "The Spermatic Economy: A Nineteenth-Century View of Sexuality," in Procreation or Pleasure? Sexual Attitudes in American History, edited by Thomas Altherr (Florida, 1978). Barker-Benfield argues that the fear of overindulgence constituted another aspect of the urban, male obsession about sex and gender roles, in which men believed women to be "sperm absorbers." On marital advisors' insistence upon moderation, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 671. On how the twentieth century shift in the definition of sexuality played out in the production of marriage and sex manuals, see Barbara Epstein, "Family, Sexual Morality, and Popular Movements in Turn-of-the-Century America," in Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality, edited by Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell, and Sharon Thompson (New York, 1983); Michael Gordon, "From an Unfortunate Necessity to a Cult of Mutual Orgasm: Sex in American Marital Education Literature, 1830-1940," in Studies in the Sociology of Sex, edited by James H. Henslin (New York, 1971). For more general discussions of how this change emerged see Steven Seidman, Romantic Longings: Love in America, 1930-1980 (New York, 1991); Kathy Peiss, "'Charity Girls' and City Pleasures: Historical Notes on Working-Class Sexuality, 1880-1920," in Passion and Power: Sexuality in History, edited by Kathy Peiss and Christina Simmons (Philadelphia, 1989); Bryan Strong, "Ideas of the Early Sex Education Movement in America, 1890-1920," in Altherr, Procreation or Pleasure; and D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters.
31. On religious advice literature during the 1700s, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 666. For a good overview of the emergence of sexology, see Lucy Bland and Laura Doan, eds. Sexology in Culture: Labeling Bodies and Desires (Chicago, 1998) and Regina Barreca, ed., Desire and Imagination: Classic Essays in Sexuality (New York, 1995). For an example of the scope of the historical debate about Victorian female sexuality, see G. J. Barker-Benfield, The Horrors of the Half-Known Life: Male Attitudes Toward Women and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century America (New York, 1976), and Peter Gay, The Bourgeois Experience: Victoria to Freud, Volume I: Education of the Senses (New York, 1984). Barker-Benfield emphasizes domestic ideology and misogynistic cultural forces which, in his view, repressed and oppressed women's sexual expression. But scholars like Gay take a very different view of Victorian sexuality, arguing that despite such a powerful ideology, Victorian women (and men) did enjoy satisfying sex lives. I want to be clear that this is an enormous field of historical investigation, and these are simply two of the literally thousands of monographs on this subject. Also, recent work on the history of vibrators indicates that female orgasm, under the guise of a cure for hysteria, played an important role in nineteenth-century medical understanding of female patients, suggesting that the emphasis in 1920s and '30s manuals on the importance of orgasm in women was not brand new. See Rachel P. Maines, The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction (Baltimore, 1999). On the subject of sexual restraint in the Victorian period, see Barker-Benfield, "The Spermatic Economy: A Nineteenth-Century View of Sexuality," in Procreation or Pleasure? Sexual Attitudes in American History, edited by Thomas Altherr (Florida, 1978). Barker-Benfield argues that the fear of overindulgence constituted another aspect of the urban, male obsession about sex and gender roles, in which men believed women to be "sperm absorbers." On marital advisors' insistence upon moderation, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 671. On how the twentieth century shift in the definition of sexuality played out in the production of marriage and sex manuals, see Barbara Epstein, "Family, Sexual Morality, and Popular Movements in Turn-of-the-Century America," in Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality, edited by Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell, and Sharon Thompson (New York, 1983); Michael Gordon, "From an Unfortunate Necessity to a Cult of Mutual Orgasm: Sex in American Marital Education Literature, 1830-1940," in Studies in the Sociology of Sex, edited by James H. Henslin (New York, 1971). For more general discussions of how this change emerged see Steven Seidman, Romantic Longings: Love in America, 1930-1980 (New York, 1991); Kathy Peiss, "'Charity Girls' and City Pleasures: Historical Notes on Working-Class Sexuality, 1880-1920," in Passion and Power: Sexuality in History, edited by Kathy Peiss and Christina Simmons (Philadelphia, 1989); Bryan Strong, "Ideas of the Early Sex Education Movement in America, 1890-1920," in Altherr, Procreation or Pleasure; and D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters.
32. On religious advice literature during the 1700s, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 666. For a good overview of the emergence of sexology, see Lucy Bland and Laura Doan, eds. Sexology in Culture: Labeling Bodies and Desires (Chicago, 1998) and Regina Barreca, ed., Desire and Imagination: Classic Essays in Sexuality (New York, 1995). For an example of the scope of the historical debate about Victorian female sexuality, see G. J. Barker-Benfield, The Horrors of the Half-Known Life: Male Attitudes Toward Women and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century America (New York, 1976), and Peter Gay, The Bourgeois Experience: Victoria to Freud, Volume I: Education of the Senses (New York, 1984). Barker-Benfield emphasizes domestic ideology and misogynistic cultural forces which, in his view, repressed and oppressed women's sexual expression. But scholars like Gay take a very different view of Victorian sexuality, arguing that despite such a powerful ideology, Victorian women (and men) did enjoy satisfying sex lives. I want to be clear that this is an enormous field of historical investigation, and these are simply two of the literally thousands of monographs on this subject. Also, recent work on the history of vibrators indicates that female orgasm, under the guise of a cure for hysteria, played an important role in nineteenth-century medical understanding of female patients, suggesting that the emphasis in 1920s and '30s manuals on the importance of orgasm in women was not brand new. See Rachel P. Maines, The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction (Baltimore, 1999). On the subject of sexual restraint in the Victorian period, see Barker-Benfield, "The Spermatic Economy: A Nineteenth-Century View of Sexuality," in Procreation or Pleasure? Sexual Attitudes in American History, edited by Thomas Altherr (Florida, 1978). Barker-Benfield argues that the fear of overindulgence constituted another aspect of the urban, male obsession about sex and gender roles, in which men believed women to be "sperm absorbers." On marital advisors' insistence upon moderation, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 671. On how the twentieth century shift in the definition of sexuality played out in the production of marriage and sex manuals, see Barbara Epstein, "Family, Sexual Morality, and Popular Movements in Turn-of-the-Century America," in Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality, edited by Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell, and Sharon Thompson (New York, 1983); Michael Gordon, "From an Unfortunate Necessity to a Cult of Mutual Orgasm: Sex in American Marital Education Literature, 1830-1940," in Studies in the Sociology of Sex, edited by James H. Henslin (New York, 1971). For more general discussions of how this change emerged see Steven Seidman, Romantic Longings: Love in America, 1930-1980 (New York, 1991); Kathy Peiss, "'Charity Girls' and City Pleasures: Historical Notes on Working-Class Sexuality, 1880-1920," in Passion and Power: Sexuality in History, edited by Kathy Peiss and Christina Simmons (Philadelphia, 1989); Bryan Strong, "Ideas of the Early Sex Education Movement in America, 1890-1920," in Altherr, Procreation or Pleasure; and D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters.
33. On religious advice literature during the 1700s, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 666. For a good overview of the emergence of sexology, see Lucy Bland and Laura Doan, eds. Sexology in Culture: Labeling Bodies and Desires (Chicago, 1998) and Regina Barreca, ed., Desire and Imagination: Classic Essays in Sexuality (New York, 1995). For an example of the scope of the historical debate about Victorian female sexuality, see G. J. Barker-Benfield, The Horrors of the Half-Known Life: Male Attitudes Toward Women and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century America (New York, 1976), and Peter Gay, The Bourgeois Experience: Victoria to Freud, Volume I: Education of the Senses (New York, 1984). Barker-Benfield emphasizes domestic ideology and misogynistic cultural forces which, in his view, repressed and oppressed women's sexual expression. But scholars like Gay take a very different view of Victorian sexuality, arguing that despite such a powerful ideology, Victorian women (and men) did enjoy satisfying sex lives. I want to be clear that this is an enormous field of historical investigation, and these are simply two of the literally thousands of monographs on this subject. Also, recent work on the history of vibrators indicates that female orgasm, under the guise of a cure for hysteria, played an important role in nineteenth-century medical understanding of female patients, suggesting that the emphasis in 1920s and '30s manuals on the importance of orgasm in women was not brand new. See Rachel P. Maines, The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction (Baltimore, 1999). On the subject of sexual restraint in the Victorian period, see Barker-Benfield, "The Spermatic Economy: A Nineteenth-Century View of Sexuality," in Procreation or Pleasure? Sexual Attitudes in American History, edited by Thomas Altherr (Florida, 1978). Barker-Benfield argues that the fear of overindulgence constituted another aspect of the urban, male obsession about sex and gender roles, in which men believed women to be "sperm absorbers." On marital advisors' insistence upon moderation, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 671. On how the twentieth century shift in the definition of sexuality played out in the production of marriage and sex manuals, see Barbara Epstein, "Family, Sexual Morality, and Popular Movements in Turn-of-the-Century America," in Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality, edited by Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell, and Sharon Thompson (New York, 1983); Michael Gordon, "From an Unfortunate Necessity to a Cult of Mutual Orgasm: Sex in American Marital Education Literature, 1830-1940," in Studies in the Sociology of Sex, edited by James H. Henslin (New York, 1971). For more general discussions of how this change emerged see Steven Seidman, Romantic Longings: Love in America, 1930-1980 (New York, 1991); Kathy Peiss, "'Charity Girls' and City Pleasures: Historical Notes on Working-Class Sexuality, 1880-1920," in Passion and Power: Sexuality in History, edited by Kathy Peiss and Christina Simmons (Philadelphia, 1989); Bryan Strong, "Ideas of the Early Sex Education Movement in America, 1890-1920," in Altherr, Procreation or Pleasure; and D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters.
34. On religious advice literature during the 1700s, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 666. For a good overview of the emergence of sexology, see Lucy Bland and Laura Doan, eds. Sexology in Culture: Labeling Bodies and Desires (Chicago, 1998) and Regina Barreca, ed., Desire and Imagination: Classic Essays in Sexuality (New York, 1995). For an example of the scope of the historical debate about Victorian female sexuality, see G. J. Barker-Benfield, The Horrors of the Half-Known Life: Male Attitudes Toward Women and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century America (New York, 1976), and Peter Gay, The Bourgeois Experience: Victoria to Freud, Volume I: Education of the Senses (New York, 1984). Barker-Benfield emphasizes domestic ideology and misogynistic cultural forces which, in his view, repressed and oppressed women's sexual expression. But scholars like Gay take a very different view of Victorian sexuality, arguing that despite such a powerful ideology, Victorian women (and men) did enjoy satisfying sex lives. I want to be clear that this is an enormous field of historical investigation, and these are simply two of the literally thousands of monographs on this subject. Also, recent work on the history of vibrators indicates that female orgasm, under the guise of a cure for hysteria, played an important role in nineteenth-century medical understanding of female patients, suggesting that the emphasis in 1920s and '30s manuals on the importance of orgasm in women was not brand new. See Rachel P. Maines, The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction (Baltimore, 1999). On the subject of sexual restraint in the Victorian period, see Barker-Benfield, "The Spermatic Economy: A Nineteenth-Century View of Sexuality," in Procreation or Pleasure? Sexual Attitudes in American History, edited by Thomas Altherr (Florida, 1978). Barker-Benfield argues that the fear of overindulgence constituted another aspect of the urban, male obsession about sex and gender roles, in which men believed women to be "sperm absorbers." On marital advisors' insistence upon moderation, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 671. On how the twentieth century shift in the definition of sexuality played out in the production of marriage and sex manuals, see Barbara Epstein, "Family, Sexual Morality, and Popular Movements in Turn-of-the-Century America," in Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality, edited by Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell, and Sharon Thompson (New York, 1983); Michael Gordon, "From an Unfortunate Necessity to a Cult of Mutual Orgasm: Sex in American Marital Education Literature, 1830-1940," in Studies in the Sociology of Sex, edited by James H. Henslin (New York, 1971). For more general discussions of how this change emerged see Steven Seidman, Romantic Longings: Love in America, 1930-1980 (New York, 1991); Kathy Peiss, "'Charity Girls' and City Pleasures: Historical Notes on Working-Class Sexuality, 1880-1920," in Passion and Power: Sexuality in History, edited by Kathy Peiss and Christina Simmons (Philadelphia, 1989); Bryan Strong, "Ideas of the Early Sex Education Movement in America, 1890-1920," in Altherr, Procreation or Pleasure; and D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters.
35. On religious advice literature during the 1700s, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 666. For a good overview of the emergence of sexology, see Lucy Bland and Laura Doan, eds. Sexology in Culture: Labeling Bodies and Desires (Chicago, 1998) and Regina Barreca, ed., Desire and Imagination: Classic Essays in Sexuality (New York, 1995). For an example of the scope of the historical debate about Victorian female sexuality, see G. J. Barker-Benfield, The Horrors of the Half-Known Life: Male Attitudes Toward Women and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century America (New York, 1976), and Peter Gay, The Bourgeois Experience: Victoria to Freud, Volume I: Education of the Senses (New York, 1984). Barker-Benfield emphasizes domestic ideology and misogynistic cultural forces which, in his view, repressed and oppressed women's sexual expression. But scholars like Gay take a very different view of Victorian sexuality, arguing that despite such a powerful ideology, Victorian women (and men) did enjoy satisfying sex lives. I want to be clear that this is an enormous field of historical investigation, and these are simply two of the literally thousands of monographs on this subject. Also, recent work on the history of vibrators indicates that female orgasm, under the guise of a cure for hysteria, played an important role in nineteenth-century medical understanding of female patients, suggesting that the emphasis in 1920s and '30s manuals on the importance of orgasm in women was not brand new. See Rachel P. Maines, The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction (Baltimore, 1999). On the subject of sexual restraint in the Victorian period, see Barker-Benfield, "The Spermatic Economy: A Nineteenth-Century View of Sexuality," in Procreation or Pleasure? Sexual Attitudes in American History, edited by Thomas Altherr (Florida, 1978). Barker-Benfield argues that the fear of overindulgence constituted another aspect of the urban, male obsession about sex and gender roles, in which men believed women to be "sperm absorbers." On marital advisors' insistence upon moderation, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 671. On how the twentieth century shift in the definition of sexuality played out in the production of marriage and sex manuals, see Barbara Epstein, "Family, Sexual Morality, and Popular Movements in Turn-of-the-Century America," in Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality, edited by Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell, and Sharon Thompson (New York, 1983); Michael Gordon, "From an Unfortunate Necessity to a Cult of Mutual Orgasm: Sex in American Marital Education Literature, 1830-1940," in Studies in the Sociology of Sex, edited by James H. Henslin (New York, 1971). For more general discussions of how this change emerged see Steven Seidman, Romantic Longings: Love in America, 1930-1980 (New York, 1991); Kathy Peiss, "'Charity Girls' and City Pleasures: Historical Notes on Working-Class Sexuality, 1880-1920," in Passion and Power: Sexuality in History, edited by Kathy Peiss and Christina Simmons (Philadelphia, 1989); Bryan Strong, "Ideas of the Early Sex Education Movement in America, 1890-1920," in Altherr, Procreation or Pleasure; and D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters.
36. On religious advice literature during the 1700s, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 666. For a good overview of the emergence of sexology, see Lucy Bland and Laura Doan, eds. Sexology in Culture: Labeling Bodies and Desires (Chicago, 1998) and Regina Barreca, ed., Desire and Imagination: Classic Essays in Sexuality (New York, 1995). For an example of the scope of the historical debate about Victorian female sexuality, see G. J. Barker-Benfield, The Horrors of the Half-Known Life: Male Attitudes Toward Women and Sexuality in Nineteenth-Century America (New York, 1976), and Peter Gay, The Bourgeois Experience: Victoria to Freud, Volume I: Education of the Senses (New York, 1984). Barker-Benfield emphasizes domestic ideology and misogynistic cultural forces which, in his view, repressed and oppressed women's sexual expression. But scholars like Gay take a very different view of Victorian sexuality, arguing that despite such a powerful ideology, Victorian women (and men) did enjoy satisfying sex lives. I want to be clear that this is an enormous field of historical investigation, and these are simply two of the literally thousands of monographs on this subject. Also, recent work on the history of vibrators indicates that female orgasm, under the guise of a cure for hysteria, played an important role in nineteenth-century medical understanding of female patients, suggesting that the emphasis in 1920s and '30s manuals on the importance of orgasm in women was not brand new. See Rachel P. Maines, The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction (Baltimore, 1999). On the subject of sexual restraint in the Victorian period, see Barker-Benfield, "The Spermatic Economy: A Nineteenth-Century View of Sexuality," in Procreation or Pleasure? Sexual Attitudes in American History, edited by Thomas Altherr (Florida, 1978). Barker-Benfield argues that the fear of overindulgence constituted another aspect of the urban, male obsession about sex and gender roles, in which men believed women to be "sperm absorbers." On marital advisors' insistence upon moderation, see Gordon and Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life," 671. On how the twentieth century shift in the definition of sexuality played out in the production of marriage and sex manuals, see Barbara Epstein, "Family, Sexual Morality, and Popular Movements in Turn-of-the-Century America," in Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality, edited by Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell, and Sharon Thompson (New York, 1983); Michael Gordon, "From an Unfortunate Necessity to a Cult of Mutual Orgasm: Sex in American Marital Education Literature, 1830-1940," in Studies in the Sociology of Sex, edited by James H. Henslin (New York, 1971). For more general discussions of how this change emerged see Steven Seidman, Romantic Longings: Love in America, 1930-1980 (New York, 1991); Kathy Peiss, "'Charity Girls' and City Pleasures: Historical Notes on Working-Class Sexuality, 1880-1920," in Passion and Power: Sexuality in History, edited by Kathy Peiss and Christina Simmons (Philadelphia, 1989); Bryan Strong, "Ideas of the Early Sex Education Movement in America, 1890-1920," in Altherr, Procreation or Pleasure; and D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters.
37. Laipson, "Kiss Without Shame," 508. See also D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters, 266-67.
38. Laipson, "Kiss Without Shame," 508. See also D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters, 266-67.
39. Ellen K. Trimberger and Ellen Kay, "Feminism, Men and Modern Love: Greenwich Village, 1900-1925," in Snitow, Stansell, and Thompson, 132. For an argument that historians have overstated the role of World War I, see James R. McGovern, "The American Woman's Pre-World I Freedom in Manners and Morals," Journal of American History 2 (1968): 315-33.
40. Ellen K. Trimberger and Ellen Kay, "Feminism, Men and Modern Love: Greenwich Village, 1900-1925," in Snitow, Stansell, and Thompson, 132. For an argument that historians have overstated the role of World War I, see James R. McGovern, "The American Woman's Pre-World I Freedom in Manners and Morals," Journal of American History 2 (1968): 315-33.
41. On consumerism, see James T. Patterson, America in the Twentieth Century: A History (New York, 1994), 51. For a study of how the rise of the cosmetics industry at this time shaped gender roles, see Kathy Peiss, Hope in a Jar: The Making of America's Beauty Culture (New York, 1998). On youth culture, see Beth Bailey, From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship on Twentieth-Century America (Baltimore, 1988); D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters, 256-58. On World War I and sex manuals, see Laipson, "Kiss Without Shame," 517. On Margaret Sanger's contraceptive campaign, see Nancy Woloch, Women and the American Experience (New York, 1984), 380. On Freud, see Dorothy M. Brown, Setting a Course: American Women in the 1920s (New York, 1987), 18, 39.
42. On consumerism, see James T. Patterson, America in the Twentieth Century: A History (New York, 1994), 51. For a study of how the rise of the cosmetics industry at this time shaped gender roles, see Kathy Peiss, Hope in a Jar: The Making of America's Beauty Culture (New York, 1998). On youth culture, see Beth Bailey, From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship on Twentieth-Century America (Baltimore, 1988); D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters, 256-58. On World War I and sex manuals, see Laipson, "Kiss Without Shame," 517. On Margaret Sanger's contraceptive campaign, see Nancy Woloch, Women and the American Experience (New York, 1984), 380. On Freud, see Dorothy M. Brown, Setting a Course: American Women in the 1920s (New York, 1987), 18, 39.
43. On consumerism, see James T. Patterson, America in the Twentieth Century: A History (New York, 1994), 51. For a study of how the rise of the cosmetics industry at this time shaped gender roles, see Kathy Peiss, Hope in a Jar: The Making of America's Beauty Culture (New York, 1998). On youth culture, see Beth Bailey, From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship on Twentieth-Century America (Baltimore, 1988); D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters, 256-58. On World War I and sex manuals, see Laipson, "Kiss Without Shame," 517. On Margaret Sanger's contraceptive campaign, see Nancy Woloch, Women and the American Experience (New York, 1984), 380. On Freud, see Dorothy M. Brown, Setting a Course: American Women in the 1920s (New York, 1987), 18, 39.
44. On consumerism, see James T. Patterson, America in the Twentieth Century: A History (New York, 1994), 51. For a study of how the rise of the cosmetics industry at this time shaped gender roles, see Kathy Peiss, Hope in a Jar: The Making of America's Beauty Culture (New York, 1998). On youth culture, see Beth Bailey, From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship on Twentieth-Century America (Baltimore, 1988); D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters, 256-58. On World War I and sex manuals, see Laipson, "Kiss Without Shame," 517. On Margaret Sanger's contraceptive campaign, see Nancy Woloch, Women and the American Experience (New York, 1984), 380. On Freud, see Dorothy M. Brown, Setting a Course: American Women in the 1920s (New York, 1987), 18, 39.
45. On consumerism, see James T. Patterson, America in the Twentieth Century: A History (New York, 1994), 51. For a study of how the rise of the cosmetics industry at this time shaped gender roles, see Kathy Peiss, Hope in a Jar: The Making of America's Beauty Culture (New York, 1998). On youth culture, see Beth Bailey, From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship on Twentieth-Century America (Baltimore, 1988); D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters, 256-58. On World War I and sex manuals, see Laipson, "Kiss Without Shame," 517. On Margaret Sanger's contraceptive campaign, see Nancy Woloch, Women and the American Experience (New York, 1984), 380. On Freud, see Dorothy M. Brown, Setting a Course: American Women in the 1920s (New York, 1987), 18, 39.
46. On consumerism, see James T. Patterson, America in the Twentieth Century: A History (New York, 1994), 51. For a study of how the rise of the cosmetics industry at this time shaped gender roles, see Kathy Peiss, Hope in a Jar: The Making of America's Beauty Culture (New York, 1998). On youth culture, see Beth Bailey, From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship on Twentieth-Century America (Baltimore, 1988); D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters, 256-58. On World War I and sex manuals, see Laipson, "Kiss Without Shame," 517. On Margaret Sanger's contraceptive campaign, see Nancy Woloch, Women and the American Experience (New York, 1984), 380. On Freud, see Dorothy M. Brown, Setting a Course: American Women in the 1920s (New York, 1987), 18, 39.
47. On consumerism, see James T. Patterson, America in the Twentieth Century: A History (New York, 1994), 51. For a study of how the rise of the cosmetics industry at this time shaped gender roles, see Kathy Peiss, Hope in a Jar: The Making of America's Beauty Culture (New York, 1998). On youth culture, see Beth Bailey, From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship on Twentieth-Century America (Baltimore, 1988); D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters, 256-58. On World War I and sex manuals, see Laipson, "Kiss Without Shame," 517. On Margaret Sanger's contraceptive campaign, see Nancy Woloch, Women and the American Experience (New York, 1984), 380. On Freud, see Dorothy M. Brown, Setting a Course: American Women in the 1920s (New York, 1987), 18, 39.
48. This remained the case at least through the 1960s, according to a study cited by Michael Gordon, "Sex Manuals Past and Present," Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality 9 (1971), 30.
49. See Beth Bailey, "Scientific Truth. . . And Love," Journal of Social History 3 (1987) and Mary C. McComb, "Rate Your Date: Young Women and the Commodification of Depression Era Courtship," in Delinquents and Debutantes: Twentieth-Century American Girls' Cultures, edited by Sherrie A. Inness (New York, 1998).
50. See Beth Bailey, "Scientific Truth. . . And Love," Journal of Social History 3 (1987) and Mary C. McComb, "Rate Your Date: Young Women and the Commodification of Depression Era Courtship," in Delinquents and Debutantes: Twentieth-Century American Girls' Cultures, edited by Sherrie A. Inness (New York, 1998).
51. Theodore H. Van de Velde, Ideal Marriage: Its Physiology and Technique, trans. Stella Browne (New York, 1930). On the book's popularity, see Melody and Peterson, Teaching America About Sex, 93-97.
52. Theodore H. Van de Velde, Ideal Marriage: Its Physiology and Technique, trans. Stella Browne (New York, 1930). On the book's popularity, see Melody and Peterson, Teaching America About Sex, 93-97.
53. Gordon, "From Unfortunate Necessity to the Cult of the Mutual Orgasm," 66. See also Christina Simmons' convincing argument in "Modern Sexuality and the Myth of Victorian Repression," in Peiss and Simmons's, Passion and Power. For a contemporary feminist argument that marriage and sex manuals simply reinforce restrictive, patriarchal ideas about female sexuality and subjectivity, see Melody and Peterson, Teaching America about Sex; Meryl Altman, "Everything They Always Wanted You to Know: The Ideology of Popular Sex Literature," in Pleasure and Danger: Exploring Female Sexuality, edited by Carole S. Vance (Boston, 1984).
54. Gordon, "From Unfortunate Necessity to the Cult of the Mutual Orgasm," 66. See also Christina Simmons' convincing argument in "Modern Sexuality and the Myth of Victorian Repression," in Peiss and Simmons's, Passion and Power. For a contemporary feminist argument that marriage and sex manuals simply reinforce restrictive, patriarchal ideas about female sexuality and subjectivity, see Melody and Peterson, Teaching America about Sex; Meryl Altman, "Everything They Always Wanted You to Know: The Ideology of Popular Sex Literature," in Pleasure and Danger: Exploring Female Sexuality, edited by Carole S. Vance (Boston, 1984).
55. Gordon, "From Unfortunate Necessity to the Cult of the Mutual Orgasm," 66. See also Christina Simmons' convincing argument in "Modern Sexuality and the Myth of Victorian Repression," in Peiss and Simmons's, Passion and Power. For a contemporary feminist argument that marriage and sex manuals simply reinforce restrictive, patriarchal ideas about female sexuality and subjectivity, see Melody and Peterson, Teaching America about Sex; Meryl Altman, "Everything They Always Wanted You to Know: The Ideology of Popular Sex Literature," in Pleasure and Danger: Exploring Female Sexuality, edited by Carole S. Vance (Boston, 1984).
56. Gordon, "From Unfortunate Necessity to the Cult of the Mutual Orgasm," 66. See also Christina Simmons' convincing argument in "Modern Sexuality and the Myth of Victorian Repression," in Peiss and Simmons's, Passion and Power. For a contemporary feminist argument that marriage and sex manuals simply reinforce restrictive, patriarchal ideas about female sexuality and subjectivity, see Melody and Peterson, Teaching America about Sex; Meryl Altman, "Everything They Always Wanted You to Know: The Ideology of Popular Sex Literature," in Pleasure and Danger: Exploring Female Sexuality, edited by Carole S. Vance (Boston, 1984).
57. William S. Sandler, M.D., and Lena K. Sandler, M.D., The Sex Life Before and After Marriage (Chicago, 1938), 222. See also Charles Clinton, Married Sweethearts: The Role of Sex Behavior in Marriage (New York, 1933), iii. The term "adjustment" may offer historians a study in itself. Although Gordon and Bernstein used it as late as 1970, the concept of sexual or marital "adjustment" is unheard of today. Authors of marital sex manuals from 1920 through the early 1940s and well into the 1950s, however, used it extensively. Authors used the term both as a reference to establishing perfect or completely satisfactory sexual relations (sometimes that meant the attainment of simultaneous orgasm, other times not) and to the marriage relationship in general, that is, the adjustment in daily living (regarding finances, personalities, and household changes) necessary as a married couple. I have been unable to find any scholarly comment on this issue, but I would speculate that the term "adjustment" fell so completely out of use in the 1960s because of the increasing rate of couples living together before marriage, as well as the growing implausibility of both husband and wife coming to marriage as virgins: more and more couples did their "adjusting" long before the marriage ceremony. Moreover, the term implies a kind of self-sacrifice and significant personality change for the sake of marriage that is no longer expected of married couples.
58. William S. Sandler, M.D., and Lena K. Sandler, M.D., The Sex Life Before and After Marriage (Chicago, 1938), 222. See also Charles Clinton, Married Sweethearts: The Role of Sex Behavior in Marriage (New York, 1933), iii. The term "adjustment" may offer historians a study in itself. Although Gordon and Bernstein used it as late as 1970, the concept of sexual or marital "adjustment" is unheard of today. Authors of marital sex manuals from 1920 through the early 1940s and well into the 1950s, however, used it extensively. Authors used the term both as a reference to establishing perfect or completely satisfactory sexual relations (sometimes that meant the attainment of simultaneous orgasm, other times not) and to the marriage relationship in general, that is, the adjustment in daily living (regarding finances, personalities, and household changes) necessary as a married couple. I have been unable to find any scholarly comment on this issue, but I would speculate that the term "adjustment" fell so completely out of use in the 1960s because of the increasing rate of couples living together before marriage, as well as the growing implausibility of both husband and wife coming to marriage as virgins: more and more couples did their "adjusting" long before the marriage ceremony. Moreover, the term implies a kind of self-sacrifice and significant personality change for the sake of marriage that is no longer expected of married couples.
59. Butterfield, Sex Life in Marriage, 139.
60. Leland Foster Wood, Foundations of Happiness in Marriage (Providence, Rhode Island, 1934), 74.
61. Stopes even warned physicians whose female patients complained of sleeplessness that lack of orgasm could be the cause of this malady. See Marie Stopes, Married Love: A New Contribution to the Solution of Sex Difficulties (New York, 1931), 82.
62. J. F. Hayed, The Art of Marriage: A Scientific Treatise (High Point, North Carolina, 1920, 1940), 144, 59.
63. C. B. S. Evans, Man and Woman in Marriage (Chicago, 1931), 65-66.
64. I should note that in this sample I found one manual that cautioned that some women are unable to have orgasms. See Henry Thorton and Freda Thorton, How to Achieve Sex Happiness in Marriage (New York, 1939), 66-67.
65. Helena Wright, M.D. The Sex Factor in Marriage (New York, 1931), 46.
66. Butterfield, Sex Life in Marriage, 101.
67. Charles Clinton, Married Sweethearts: The Role of Sex Behavior in Marriage (New York, 1933), 197.
68. Paul Popenoe, Preparing for Marriage (Los Angeles, 1935), 18.
69. Butterfield, Sex Life in Marriage, 98.
70. C. B. S. Evans, Sex Practice in Marriage (New York, 1935), 87.
71. See, for example, Clark Le Mon, Emotional Adjustment in Marriage (St. Louis, 1937), 101.
72. Joseph Collins, The Doctor Looks at Love and Life (New York, 1926), 36.
73. Wright, The Sex Factor in Marriage, 25.
74. Bernard Bernard, Sex Conduct in Marriage: The Art of Maintaining Love and Happiness in Marriage (Chicago, 1926), 63.
75. Evans, Sex Practice in Marriage, 77-78.
76. Alfred Henry Tyrer, Sex Satisfaction and Happy Marriage (New York, 1941), 92.
77. M. J. Exner, M.D., The Sexual Side of Marriage (New York, 1932), 161.
78. Paul Popenoe, Modern Marriage: A Handbook (New York, 1925), 151.
79. On the feminist movement in the 1920s, see Woloch, Women and the American Experience, 382. On the rising divorce rate, see Wolkoff, "The Ethics of Sex," 7. On college education and the public debate about modern women, see Brown, Setting a Course, 81, 29-31.
80. On the feminist movement in the 1920s, see Woloch, Women and the American Experience, 382. On the rising divorce rate, see Wolkoff, "The Ethics of Sex," 7. On college education and the public debate about modern women, see Brown, Setting a Course, 81, 29-31.
81. On the feminist movement in the 1920s, see Woloch, Women and the American Experience, 382. On the rising divorce rate, see Wolkoff, "The Ethics of Sex," 7. On college education and the public debate about modern women, see Brown, Setting a Course, 81, 29-31.
82. Vern L. Bullough, Science in the Bedroom: A History of Sex Research (New York, 1994), 137. See also Bailey, "Scientific Truth. . . and Love," for a discussion of this anxiety.
83. Vern L. Bullough, Science in the Bedroom: A History of Sex Research (New York, 1994), 137. See also Bailey, "Scientific Truth. . . and Love," for a discussion of this anxiety.
84. On lesbians and gay men during World War II, see Allan Bérubé, Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War Two (New York, 1990). Alfred Kinsey, et al., Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (Philadelphia, 1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (Philadelphia, 1953). For one example out of the literally thousands of books and articles published in response to Kinsey, see Donald Porter Geddes, ed., An Analysis of the Kinsey Reports on Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Female ( New York, 1954). On the impact of Hugh Hefner and Grace Metalious on American society in the 1950s, see David Halberstam, The Fifties (New York, 1993). On "going steady," see Beth Bailey, "Rebels Without a Cause? Teenagers in the 50s," History Today 4 (1990), 25-31.
85. On lesbians and gay men during World War II, see Allan Bérubé, Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War Two (New York, 1990). Alfred Kinsey, et al., Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (Philadelphia, 1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (Philadelphia, 1953). For one example out of the literally thousands of books and articles published in response to Kinsey, see Donald Porter Geddes, ed., An Analysis of the Kinsey Reports on Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Female ( New York, 1954). On the impact of Hugh Hefner and Grace Metalious on American society in the 1950s, see David Halberstam, The Fifties (New York, 1993). On "going steady," see Beth Bailey, "Rebels Without a Cause? Teenagers in the 50s," History Today 4 (1990), 25-31.
86. On lesbians and gay men during World War II, see Allan Bérubé, Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War Two (New York, 1990). Alfred Kinsey, et al., Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (Philadelphia, 1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (Philadelphia, 1953). For one example out of the literally thousands of books and articles published in response to Kinsey, see Donald Porter Geddes, ed., An Analysis of the Kinsey Reports on Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Female ( New York, 1954). On the impact of Hugh Hefner and Grace Metalious on American society in the 1950s, see David Halberstam, The Fifties (New York, 1993). On "going steady," see Beth Bailey, "Rebels Without a Cause? Teenagers in the 50s," History Today 4 (1990), 25-31.
87. On lesbians and gay men during World War II, see Allan Bérubé, Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War Two (New York, 1990). Alfred Kinsey, et al., Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (Philadelphia, 1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (Philadelphia, 1953). For one example out of the literally thousands of books and articles published in response to Kinsey, see Donald Porter Geddes, ed., An Analysis of the Kinsey Reports on Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Female ( New York, 1954). On the impact of Hugh Hefner and Grace Metalious on American society in the 1950s, see David Halberstam, The Fifties (New York, 1993). On "going steady," see Beth Bailey, "Rebels Without a Cause? Teenagers in the 50s," History Today 4 (1990), 25-31.
88. On lesbians and gay men during World War II, see Allan Bérubé, Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War Two (New York, 1990). Alfred Kinsey, et al., Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (Philadelphia, 1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (Philadelphia, 1953). For one example out of the literally thousands of books and articles published in response to Kinsey, see Donald Porter Geddes, ed., An Analysis of the Kinsey Reports on Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Female ( New York, 1954). On the impact of Hugh Hefner and Grace Metalious on American society in the 1950s, see David Halberstam, The Fifties (New York, 1993). On "going steady," see Beth Bailey, "Rebels Without a Cause? Teenagers in the 50s," History Today 4 (1990), 25-31.
89. On lesbians and gay men during World War II, see Allan Bérubé, Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War Two (New York, 1990). Alfred Kinsey, et al., Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (Philadelphia, 1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (Philadelphia, 1953). For one example out of the literally thousands of books and articles published in response to Kinsey, see Donald Porter Geddes, ed., An Analysis of the Kinsey Reports on Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Female ( New York, 1954). On the impact of Hugh Hefner and Grace Metalious on American society in the 1950s, see David Halberstam, The Fifties (New York, 1993). On "going steady," see Beth Bailey, "Rebels Without a Cause? Teenagers in the 50s," History Today 4 (1990), 25-31.
90. Ferdinand Lundberg and Marynia F. Farnham, Modern Woman: The Lost Sex (New York, 1947). See also Helen Deutsch, The Psychology of Women (New York, 1944). For a discussion of Lundberg and Farnham's work, see William H. Chafe, The Paradox of Change: American Women in the 20th Century (New York, 1991), 177-80. For a somewhat different interpretation of how popular culture, psychiatry, and gender norms intersected in the 1950s, see Janet Walker, Couching Resistance: Women, Film, and Psychoanalytic Psychiatry (Minneapolis, 1993).
91. Ferdinand Lundberg and Marynia F. Farnham, Modern Woman: The Lost Sex (New York, 1947). See also Helen Deutsch, The Psychology of Women (New York, 1944). For a discussion of Lundberg and Farnham's work, see William H. Chafe, The Paradox of Change: American Women in the 20th Century (New York, 1991), 177-80. For a somewhat different interpretation of how popular culture, psychiatry, and gender norms intersected in the 1950s, see Janet Walker, Couching Resistance: Women, Film, and Psychoanalytic Psychiatry (Minneapolis, 1993).
92. Ferdinand Lundberg and Marynia F. Farnham, Modern Woman: The Lost Sex (New York, 1947). See also Helen Deutsch, The Psychology of Women (New York, 1944). For a discussion of Lundberg and Farnham's work, see William H. Chafe, The Paradox of Change: American Women in the 20th Century (New York, 1991), 177-80. For a somewhat different interpretation of how popular culture, psychiatry, and gender norms intersected in the 1950s, see Janet Walker, Couching Resistance: Women, Film, and Psychoanalytic Psychiatry (Minneapolis, 1993).
93. Ferdinand Lundberg and Marynia F. Farnham, Modern Woman: The Lost Sex (New York, 1947). See also Helen Deutsch, The Psychology of Women (New York, 1944). For a discussion of Lundberg and Farnham's work, see William H. Chafe, The Paradox of Change: American Women in the 20th Century (New York, 1991), 177-80. For a somewhat different interpretation of how popular culture, psychiatry, and gender norms intersected in the 1950s, see Janet Walker, Couching Resistance: Women, Film, and Psychoanalytic Psychiatry (Minneapolis, 1993).
94. D'Emilio and Freedman, Intimate Matters, 268.
95. On how marital sex manuals emphasized the role of intercourse in successful marriage, see Elaine Tyler May, Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era (New York, 1988): "Nearly all postwar experts agreed with the advice writer who claimed that 'wholesome sex relations are the cornerstone of marriage'" (117). For an example of a manual which worried about the state of marriage in the United States, see Judith Unger Scott, The Bride Looks Ahead (Philadelphia, 1959), 181.
96. On how marital sex manuals emphasized the role of intercourse in successful marriage, see Elaine Tyler May, Homeward Bound: American Families in the Cold War Era (New York, 1988): "Nearly all postwar experts agreed with the advice writer who claimed that 'wholesome sex relations are the cornerstone of marriage'" (117). For an example of a manual which worried about the state of marriage in the United States, see Judith Unger Scott, The Bride Looks Ahead (Philadelphia, 1959), 181.
97. See, for example, Clifford R. Adams, Looking Ahead to Marriage (Chicago, 1949). See also Thurman Brooks Rice, Sex, Marriage and Family (New York, 1946).
98. See, for example, Clifford R. Adams, Looking Ahead to Marriage (Chicago, 1949). See also Thurman Brooks Rice, Sex, Marriage and Family (New York, 1946).
99. Richard M. Steiner, A Guide to a Good Marriage (Boston, 1955), 121.
100. Robert O. Blood, Jr., Anticipating Your Marriage (Glencoe, Ill., 1955), 294.
101. Cited in Melody and Peterson, Teaching America about Sex, 131.
102. Maxine Davis, Sexual Responsibility in Marriage (New York, 1963), 184.
103. Clifford R. Adams, Preparing for Marriage: A Guide to Marital and Sexual Adjustment (New York, 1951), 85.
104. John Thomas Gill, How to Hold Your Husband: A Frank Psychoanalysis for Happy Marriage (Philadelphia, 1951), 43-46.
105. Rebecca Liswood, A Marriage Doctor Speaks Her Mind About Sex (New York, 1961), 47.
106. Samuel G. Kling and Esther B. Kling, The Marriage Guide (New York, 1950), 266.
107. Paul Popenoe, Marriage Before and After (New York, 1946), 200.
108. Herman H. Rubin, Glands, Sex and Personality (New York, 1952), 110. I would like to thank Douglas Butdorf for bringing this text to my attention.
109. Edwin W. Hirsch, Sex Power in Marriage with Case Histories: A Realistic Analysis Concerning the Sexual and Emotional Problems of Marriage (Chicago, 1947), 108-09. Hirsch, of course, exaggerated in writing "age-old" to describe statements made only a generation earlier.
110. Rice, Sex, Marriage and Family, 22.
111. David Loth, The Marriage Counselor: An Intimate Guide for Women (New York, 1952), 45-46.
112. Rice, Sex, Marriage and Family, 26, 32.
113. Hirsch, Sex Power in Marriage, 110-11.
114. Scott, The Bride Looks Ahead, 98.
115. Liswood, A Marriage Doctor Speaks Her Mind About Sex, 60.
116. Kling, The Marriage Guide, 134.
117. Steiner, A Guide to a Good Marriage, 126.
118. Herbert A. Streeter, Common Sense in Marriage: A Minister Counsels About Marriage (Anderson, Ind., 1958), 87.
119. Kate Constance, How to Get and Keep a Husband: A Christian Businesswoman's Answer to One of the Most Perplexing Problems of Our Time (Philadelphia, 1957), 171-72.
120. Harold Shyrock, Happiness for Husbands and Wives (Washington, D.C., 1949), 178-79.
121. As cited in Melody and Peterson, Teaching America about Sex, 123. For the original manual, see Hannah M. and Abraham Stone, A Marriage Manual: A Practical Guide to Sex and Marriage (New York, 1935).
122. As cited in Melody and Peterson, Teaching America about Sex, 123. For the original manual, see Hannah M. and Abraham Stone, A Marriage Manual: A Practical Guide to Sex and Marriage (New York, 1935).
123. Rice, Sex, Marriage and Family, 87.
124. Hirsch, Sex Power in Marriage, xiii, 26-27.
125. Davis, Sexual Responsibility in Marriage, 164.
126. May, Homeward Bound, 92-103.
127. On do-it-yourself guides, see Steven M. Gelber, "Do-It-Yourself: Constructing, Repairing and Maintaining Domestic Masculinity," American Quarterly 1 (1997), 66-111. On dieting, see Jesse Barrett, "Feeding the Organization Man: Diet and Masculinity in Postwar America," Journal of Social History 4 (1998), 805-25.
128. On do-it-yourself guides, see Steven M. Gelber, "Do-It-Yourself: Constructing, Repairing and Maintaining Domestic Masculinity," American Quarterly 1 (1997), 66-111. On dieting, see Jesse Barrett, "Feeding the Organization Man: Diet and Masculinity in Postwar America," Journal of Social History 4 (1998), 805-25.
129. John D'Emilio, "The Homosexual Menace: The Politics of Sexuality in Cold War America," in Passion and Power, 227-28. See also Donna Penn, "The Sexualized Woman: The Lesbian, the Prostitute, and the Containment of Female Sexuality in Postwar America," in Joanne Meyerowitz, ed., Not June Cleaver: Women and Gender in Postwar America, 1945-1960 ( Philadelphia, 1994). For a detailed discussion of the lesbian bar subculture that flourished in the post-World War II era, see Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy and Madeline D. Davis, Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian Community (New York, 1993).
130. John D'Emilio, "The Homosexual Menace: The Politics of Sexuality in Cold War America," in Passion and Power, 227-28. See also Donna Penn, "The Sexualized Woman: The Lesbian, the Prostitute, and the Containment of Female Sexuality in Postwar America," in Joanne Meyerowitz, ed., Not June Cleaver: Women and Gender in Postwar America, 1945-1960 ( Philadelphia, 1994). For a detailed discussion of the lesbian bar subculture that flourished in the post-World War II era, see Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy and Madeline D. Davis, Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian Community (New York, 1993).
131. John D'Emilio, "The Homosexual Menace: The Politics of Sexuality in Cold War America," in Passion and Power, 227-28. See also Donna Penn, "The Sexualized Woman: The Lesbian, the Prostitute, and the Containment of Female Sexuality in Postwar America," in Joanne Meyerowitz, ed., Not June Cleaver: Women and Gender in Postwar America, 1945-1960 ( Philadelphia, 1994). For a detailed discussion of the lesbian bar subculture that flourished in the post-World War II era, see Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy and Madeline D. Davis, Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold: The History of a Lesbian Community (New York, 1993).
132. Susan Hartmann, "Prescriptions for Penelope: Literature on Women's Obligations to Returning World War II Veterans," Women's Studies 5 (1997), 223-39.
133. Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique (New York, 1963). Friedan's text is not the work of a historian, but is a psychological/cultural analysis of then-present social conditions. She argues that the combined effects of media, Freudian thought, functionalism, and advertising created a feminine mystique which trapped women into being identified solely as wives and mothers, at great cost to their intellectual and emotional health. For examples of this kind of historical analysis see Barbara Ehrenreich and Deidre English, For Her Own Good: 150 Years of the Experts' Advice to Women (Garden City, New York, 1978); Mary Beth Haralovich, "Sit-Coms and Suburbs: Positioning the 1950s Homemaker," in Private Screenings: Television and the Female Consumer, edited by Lynn Spigel (Minneapolis, 1992); Glenna Matthews, "Just a Housewife": The Rise and Fall of Domesticity in America (New York, 1987); Douglas Miller and Marion Nowak, The Fifties: The Way We Really Were (New York, 1977); Marion Nowak, "'How to Be a Woman': Theories of Female Education in the 1950s," Journal of Popular Culture 1 (1975), 77-83; Glenda Riley, Inventing the American Woman: A Perspective on Women's History, 1865 to the Present (Illinois, 1986); Marjorie Rosen, Popcorn Venus: Women, Movies and the American Dream (New York, 1973); Lynn Spigel, Make Room for TV: Television and the Family Ideal in Postwar America (Chicago, 1992).
134. Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique (New York, 1963). Friedan's text is not the work of a historian, but is a psychological/cultural analysis of then-present social conditions. She argues that the combined effects of media, Freudian thought, functionalism, and advertising created a feminine mystique which trapped women into being identified solely as wives and mothers, at great cost to their intellectual and emotional health. For examples of this kind of historical analysis see Barbara Ehrenreich and Deidre English, For Her Own Good: 150 Years of the Experts' Advice to Women (Garden City, New York, 1978); Mary Beth Haralovich, "Sit-Coms and Suburbs: Positioning the 1950s Homemaker," in Private Screenings: Television and the Female Consumer, edited by Lynn Spigel (Minneapolis, 1992); Glenna Matthews, "Just a Housewife": The Rise and Fall of Domesticity in America (New York, 1987); Douglas Miller and Marion Nowak, The Fifties: The Way We Really Were (New York, 1977); Marion Nowak, "'How to Be a Woman': Theories of Female Education in the 1950s," Journal of Popular Culture 1 (1975), 77-83; Glenda Riley, Inventing the American Woman: A Perspective on Women's History, 1865 to the Present (Illinois, 1986); Marjorie Rosen, Popcorn Venus: Women, Movies and the American Dream (New York, 1973); Lynn Spigel, Make Room for TV: Television and the Family Ideal in Postwar America (Chicago, 1992).
135. Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique (New York, 1963). Friedan's text is not the work of a historian, but is a psychological/cultural analysis of then-present social conditions. She argues that the combined effects of media, Freudian thought, functionalism, and advertising created a feminine mystique which trapped women into being identified solely as wives and mothers, at great cost to their intellectual and emotional health. For examples of this kind of historical analysis see Barbara Ehrenreich and Deidre English, For Her Own Good: 150 Years of the Experts' Advice to Women (Garden City, New York, 1978); Mary Beth Haralovich, "Sit-Coms and Suburbs: Positioning the 1950s Homemaker," in Private Screenings: Television and the Female Consumer, edited by Lynn Spigel (Minneapolis, 1992); Glenna Matthews, "Just a Housewife": The Rise and Fall of Domesticity in America (New York, 1987); Douglas Miller and Marion Nowak, The Fifties: The Way We Really Were (New York, 1977); Marion Nowak, "'How to Be a Woman': Theories of Female Education in the 1950s," Journal of Popular Culture 1 (1975), 77-83; Glenda Riley, Inventing the American Woman: A Perspective on Women's History, 1865 to the Present (Illinois, 1986); Marjorie Rosen, Popcorn Venus: Women, Movies and the American Dream (New York, 1973); Lynn Spigel, Make Room for TV: Television and the Family Ideal in Postwar America (Chicago, 1992).
136. Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique (New York, 1963). Friedan's text is not the work of a historian, but is a psychological/cultural analysis of then-present social conditions. She argues that the combined effects of media, Freudian thought, functionalism, and advertising created a feminine mystique which trapped women into being identified solely as wives and mothers, at great cost to their intellectual and emotional health. For examples of this kind of historical analysis see Barbara Ehrenreich and Deidre English, For Her Own Good: 150 Years of the Experts' Advice to Women (Garden City, New York, 1978); Mary Beth Haralovich, "Sit-Coms and Suburbs: Positioning the 1950s Homemaker," in Private Screenings: Television and the Female Consumer, edited by Lynn Spigel (Minneapolis, 1992); Glenna Matthews, "Just a Housewife": The Rise and Fall of Domesticity in America (New York, 1987); Douglas Miller and Marion Nowak, The Fifties: The Way We Really Were (New York, 1977); Marion Nowak, "'How to Be a Woman': Theories of Female Education in the 1950s," Journal of Popular Culture 1 (1975), 77-83; Glenda Riley, Inventing the American Woman: A Perspective on Women's History, 1865 to the Present (Illinois, 1986); Marjorie Rosen, Popcorn Venus: Women, Movies and the American Dream (New York, 1973); Lynn Spigel, Make Room for TV: Television and the Family Ideal in Postwar America (Chicago, 1992).
137. Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique (New York, 1963). Friedan's text is not the work of a historian, but is a psychological/cultural analysis of then-present social conditions. She argues that the combined effects of media, Freudian thought, functionalism, and advertising created a feminine mystique which trapped women into being identified solely as wives and mothers, at great cost to their intellectual and emotional health. For examples of this kind of historical analysis see Barbara Ehrenreich and Deidre English, For Her Own Good: 150 Years of the Experts' Advice to Women (Garden City, New York, 1978); Mary Beth Haralovich, "Sit-Coms and Suburbs: Positioning the 1950s Homemaker," in Private Screenings: Television and the Female Consumer, edited by Lynn Spigel (Minneapolis, 1992); Glenna Matthews, "Just a Housewife": The Rise and Fall of Domesticity in America (New York, 1987); Douglas Miller and Marion Nowak, The Fifties: The Way We Really Were (New York, 1977); Marion Nowak, "'How to Be a Woman': Theories of Female Education in the 1950s," Journal of Popular Culture 1 (1975), 77-83; Glenda Riley, Inventing the American Woman: A Perspective on Women's History, 1865 to the Present (Illinois, 1986); Marjorie Rosen, Popcorn Venus: Women, Movies and the American Dream (New York, 1973); Lynn Spigel, Make Room for TV: Television and the Family Ideal in Postwar America (Chicago, 1992).
138. Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique (New York, 1963). Friedan's text is not the work of a historian, but is a psychological/cultural analysis of then-present social conditions. She argues that the combined effects of media, Freudian thought, functionalism, and advertising created a feminine mystique which trapped women into being identified solely as wives and mothers, at great cost to their intellectual and emotional health. For examples of this kind of historical analysis see Barbara Ehrenreich and Deidre English, For Her Own Good: 150 Years of the Experts' Advice to Women (Garden City, New York, 1978); Mary Beth Haralovich, "Sit-Coms and Suburbs: Positioning the 1950s Homemaker," in Private Screenings: Television and the Female Consumer, edited by Lynn Spigel (Minneapolis, 1992); Glenna Matthews, "Just a Housewife": The Rise and Fall of Domesticity in America (New York, 1987); Douglas Miller and Marion Nowak, The Fifties: The Way We Really Were (New York, 1977); Marion Nowak, "'How to Be a Woman': Theories of Female Education in the 1950s," Journal of Popular Culture 1 (1975), 77-83; Glenda Riley, Inventing the American Woman: A Perspective on Women's History, 1865 to the Present (Illinois, 1986); Marjorie Rosen, Popcorn Venus: Women, Movies and the American Dream (New York, 1973); Lynn Spigel, Make Room for TV: Television and the Family Ideal in Postwar America (Chicago, 1992).
139. Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique (New York, 1963). Friedan's text is not the work of a historian, but is a psychological/cultural analysis of then-present social conditions. She argues that the combined effects of media, Freudian thought, functionalism, and advertising created a feminine mystique which trapped women into being identified solely as wives and mothers, at great cost to their intellectual and emotional health. For examples of this kind of historical analysis see Barbara Ehrenreich and Deidre English, For Her Own Good: 150 Years of the Experts' Advice to Women (Garden City, New York, 1978); Mary Beth Haralovich, "Sit-Coms and Suburbs: Positioning the 1950s Homemaker," in Private Screenings: Television and the Female Consumer, edited by Lynn Spigel (Minneapolis, 1992); Glenna Matthews, "Just a Housewife": The Rise and Fall of Domesticity in America (New York, 1987); Douglas Miller and Marion Nowak, The Fifties: The Way We Really Were (New York, 1977); Marion Nowak, "'How to Be a Woman': Theories of Female Education in the 1950s," Journal of Popular Culture 1 (1975), 77-83; Glenda Riley, Inventing the American Woman: A Perspective on Women's History, 1865 to the Present (Illinois, 1986); Marjorie Rosen, Popcorn Venus: Women, Movies and the American Dream (New York, 1973); Lynn Spigel, Make Room for TV: Television and the Family Ideal in Postwar America (Chicago, 1992).
140. Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique (New York, 1963). Friedan's text is not the work of a historian, but is a psychological/cultural analysis of then-present social conditions. She argues that the combined effects of media, Freudian thought, functionalism, and advertising created a feminine mystique which trapped women into being identified solely as wives and mothers, at great cost to their intellectual and emotional health. For examples of this kind of historical analysis see Barbara Ehrenreich and Deidre English, For Her Own Good: 150 Years of the Experts' Advice to Women (Garden City, New York, 1978); Mary Beth Haralovich, "Sit-Coms and Suburbs: Positioning the 1950s Homemaker," in Private Screenings: Television and the Female Consumer, edited by Lynn Spigel (Minneapolis, 1992); Glenna Matthews, "Just a Housewife": The Rise and Fall of Domesticity in America (New York, 1987); Douglas Miller and Marion Nowak, The Fifties: The Way We Really Were (New York, 1977); Marion Nowak, "'How to Be a Woman': Theories of Female Education in the 1950s," Journal of Popular Culture 1 (1975), 77-83; Glenda Riley, Inventing the American Woman: A Perspective on Women's History, 1865 to the Present (Illinois, 1986); Marjorie Rosen, Popcorn Venus: Women, Movies and the American Dream (New York, 1973); Lynn Spigel, Make Room for TV: Television and the Family Ideal in Postwar America (Chicago, 1992).
141. Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique (New York, 1963). Friedan's text is not the work of a historian, but is a psychological/cultural analysis of then-present social conditions. She argues that the combined effects of media, Freudian thought, functionalism, and advertising created a feminine mystique which trapped women into being identified solely as wives and mothers, at great cost to their intellectual and emotional health. For examples of this kind of historical analysis see Barbara Ehrenreich and Deidre English, For Her Own Good: 150 Years of the Experts' Advice to Women (Garden City, New York, 1978); Mary Beth Haralovich, "Sit-Coms and Suburbs: Positioning the 1950s Homemaker," in Private Screenings: Television and the Female Consumer, edited by Lynn Spigel (Minneapolis, 1992); Glenna Matthews, "Just a Housewife": The Rise and Fall of Domesticity in America (New York, 1987); Douglas Miller and Marion Nowak, The Fifties: The Way We Really Were (New York, 1977); Marion Nowak, "'How to Be a Woman': Theories of Female Education in the 1950s," Journal of Popular Culture 1 (1975), 77-83; Glenda Riley, Inventing the American Woman: A Perspective on Women's History, 1865 to the Present (Illinois, 1986); Marjorie Rosen, Popcorn Venus: Women, Movies and the American Dream (New York, 1973); Lynn Spigel, Make Room for TV: Television and the Family Ideal in Postwar America (Chicago, 1992).
142. Harriet Hyman Alonso, "Mayhem and Moderation: Women Peace Activists During the McCarthy Era," in Not June Cleaver, Birmingham Feminist History Group, "Feminism as Femininity in the Nineteen Fifties?" Feminist Review 3 (1979), 48-65; Cynthia Harrison, On Account of Sex: The Politics of Women's Issues, 1945-1968 (Berkeley, 1988); Susan Lynn, Progressive Women in Conservative Times: Racial Justice, Peace, and Feminism, 1945 to the 1960s (New Brunswick, 1992); Leila J. Rupp and Vera Taylor, Survival in the Doldrums: The American Women's Rights Movement, 1945 to the 1960s (New York, 1987); Amy Swerdlow, "The Congress of American Women: Left-Feminist Peace Politics in the Cold War," in U.S. History as Women's History: New Feminist Essays, edited by Linda K. Kerber and Alice Kessler-Harris (Chapel Hill, 1995).
143. Harriet Hyman Alonso, "Mayhem and Moderation: Women Peace Activists During the McCarthy Era," in Not June Cleaver, Birmingham Feminist History Group, "Feminism as Femininity in the Nineteen Fifties?" Feminist Review 3 (1979), 48-65; Cynthia Harrison, On Account of Sex: The Politics of Women's Issues, 1945-1968 (Berkeley, 1988); Susan Lynn, Progressive Women in Conservative Times: Racial Justice, Peace, and Feminism, 1945 to the 1960s (New Brunswick, 1992); Leila J. Rupp and Vera Taylor, Survival in the Doldrums: The American Women's Rights Movement, 1945 to the 1960s (New York, 1987); Amy Swerdlow, "The Congress of American Women: Left-Feminist Peace Politics in the Cold War," in U.S. History as Women's History: New Feminist Essays, edited by Linda K. Kerber and Alice Kessler-Harris (Chapel Hill, 1995).
144. Harriet Hyman Alonso, "Mayhem and Moderation: Women Peace Activists During the McCarthy Era," in Not June Cleaver, Birmingham Feminist History Group, "Feminism as Femininity in the Nineteen Fifties?" Feminist Review 3 (1979), 48-65; Cynthia Harrison, On Account of Sex: The Politics of Women's Issues, 1945-1968 (Berkeley, 1988); Susan Lynn, Progressive Women in Conservative Times: Racial Justice, Peace, and Feminism, 1945 to the 1960s (New Brunswick, 1992); Leila J. Rupp and Vera Taylor, Survival in the Doldrums: The American Women's Rights Movement, 1945 to the 1960s (New York, 1987); Amy Swerdlow, "The Congress of American Women: Left-Feminist Peace Politics in the Cold War," in U.S. History as Women's History: New Feminist Essays, edited by Linda K. Kerber and Alice Kessler-Harris (Chapel Hill, 1995).
145. Harriet Hyman Alonso, "Mayhem and Moderation: Women Peace Activists During the McCarthy Era," in Not June Cleaver, Birmingham Feminist History Group, "Feminism as Femininity in the Nineteen Fifties?" Feminist Review 3 (1979), 48-65; Cynthia Harrison, On Account of Sex: The Politics of Women's Issues, 1945-1968 (Berkeley, 1988); Susan Lynn, Progressive Women in Conservative Times: Racial Justice, Peace, and Feminism, 1945 to the 1960s (New Brunswick, 1992); Leila J. Rupp and Vera Taylor, Survival in the Doldrums: The American Women's Rights Movement, 1945 to the 1960s (New York, 1987); Amy Swerdlow, "The Congress of American Women: Left-Feminist Peace Politics in the Cold War," in U.S. History as Women's History: New Feminist Essays, edited by Linda K. Kerber and Alice Kessler-Harris (Chapel Hill, 1995).
146. Harriet Hyman Alonso, "Mayhem and Moderation: Women Peace Activists During the McCarthy Era," in Not June Cleaver, Birmingham Feminist History Group, "Feminism as Femininity in the Nineteen Fifties?" Feminist Review 3 (1979), 48-65; Cynthia Harrison, On Account of Sex: The Politics of Women's Issues, 1945-1968 (Berkeley, 1988); Susan Lynn, Progressive Women in Conservative Times: Racial Justice, Peace, and Feminism, 1945 to the 1960s (New Brunswick, 1992); Leila J. Rupp and Vera Taylor, Survival in the Doldrums: The American Women's Rights Movement, 1945 to the 1960s (New York, 1987); Amy Swerdlow, "The Congress of American Women: Left-Feminist Peace Politics in the Cold War," in U.S. History as Women's History: New Feminist Essays, edited by Linda K. Kerber and Alice Kessler-Harris (Chapel Hill, 1995).
147. Harriet Hyman Alonso, "Mayhem and Moderation: Women Peace Activists During the McCarthy Era," in Not June Cleaver, Birmingham Feminist History Group, "Feminism as Femininity in the Nineteen Fifties?" Feminist Review 3 (1979), 48-65; Cynthia Harrison, On Account of Sex: The Politics of Women's Issues, 1945-1968 (Berkeley, 1988); Susan Lynn, Progressive Women in Conservative Times: Racial Justice, Peace, and Feminism, 1945 to the 1960s (New Brunswick, 1992); Leila J. Rupp and Vera Taylor, Survival in the Doldrums: The American Women's Rights Movement, 1945 to the 1960s (New York, 1987); Amy Swerdlow, "The Congress of American Women: Left-Feminist Peace Politics in the Cold War," in U.S. History as Women's History: New Feminist Essays, edited by Linda K. Kerber and Alice Kessler-Harris (Chapel Hill, 1995).
148. See Chafe, The Paradox of Change, 157, 188. See also Diane Crispell, "Myths of the 1950s," American Demographics (1992), 38-45, and Lois W. Banner, Women in Modern America: A Brief History, 2d ed. (New York, 1984), 243.
149. See Chafe, The Paradox of Change, 157, 188. See also Diane Crispell, "Myths of the 1950s," American Demographics (1992), 38-45, and Lois W. Banner, Women in Modern America: A Brief History, 2d ed. (New York, 1984), 243.
150. See Chafe, The Paradox of Change, 157, 188. See also Diane Crispell, "Myths of the 1950s," American Demographics (1992), 38-45, and Lois W. Banner, Women in Modern America: A Brief History, 2d ed. (New York, 1984), 243.
151. Wini Breines, Young, White, and Miserable: Growing Up Female in the Fifties (Boston, 1992); Susan J. Douglas, Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media (New York, 1994); Margaret Finnegan, "From Spurs to Silk Stockings: Women in Prime-Time Television, 1950-1965," The UCLA Historical Journal 11 (1991), 1-30; Brandon French, On the Verge of Revolt: Women in American Films of the Fifties (New York, 1978); Meyerowitz, ed., Not June Cleaver, Andrea Press, Women Watching Television: Gender, Class, and Generation in the American Television Experience (Philadelphia, 1991); Nancy Walker, "Humor and Gender Roles: The 'Funny' Feminism of the Post-World War II Suburbs," American Quarterly 1 (1985), 99-113.
152. Wini Breines, Young, White, and Miserable: Growing Up Female in the Fifties (Boston, 1992); Susan J. Douglas, Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media (New York, 1994); Margaret Finnegan, "From Spurs to Silk Stockings: Women in Prime-Time Television, 1950-1965," The UCLA Historical Journal 11 (1991), 1-30; Brandon French, On the Verge of Revolt: Women in American Films of the Fifties (New York, 1978); Meyerowitz, ed., Not
153. Wini Breines, Young, White, and Miserable: Growing Up Female in the Fifties (Boston, 1992); Susan J. Douglas, Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media (New York, 1994); Margaret Finnegan, "From Spurs to Silk Stockings: Women in Prime-Time Television, 1950-1965," The UCLA Historical Journal 11 (1991), 1-30; Brandon French, On the Verge of Revolt: Women in American Films of the Fifties (New York, 1978); Meyerowitz, ed., Not June Cleaver, Andrea Press, Women Watching Television: Gender, Class, and Generation in the American Television Experience (Philadelphia, 1991); Nancy Walker, "Humor and Gender Roles: The 'Funny' Feminism of the Post-World War II Suburbs," American Quarterly 1 (1985), 99-113.
154. Wini Breines, Young, White, and Miserable: Growing Up Female in the Fifties (Boston, 1992); Susan J. Douglas, Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media (New York, 1994); Margaret Finnegan, "From Spurs to Silk Stockings: Women in Prime-Time Television, 1950-1965," The UCLA Historical Journal 11 (1991), 1-30; Brandon French, On the Verge of Revolt: Women in American Films of the Fifties (New York, 1978); Meyerowitz, ed., Not June Cleaver, Andrea Press, Women Watching Television: Gender, Class, and Generation in the American Television Experience (Philadelphia, 1991); Nancy Walker, "Humor and Gender Roles: The 'Funny' Feminism of the Post-World War II Suburbs," American Quarterly 1 (1985), 99-113.
155. Wini Breines, Young, White, and Miserable: Growing Up Female in the Fifties (Boston, 1992); Susan J. Douglas, Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media (New York, 1994); Margaret Finnegan, "From Spurs to Silk Stockings: Women in Prime-Time Television, 1950-1965," The UCLA Historical Journal 11 (1991), 1-30; Brandon French, On the Verge of Revolt: Women in American Films of the Fifties (New York, 1978); Meyerowitz, ed., Not June Cleaver, Andrea Press, Women Watching Television: Gender, Class, and Generation in the American Television Experience (Philadelphia, 1991); Nancy Walker, "Humor and Gender Roles: The 'Funny' Feminism of the Post-World War II Suburbs," American Quarterly 1 (1985), 99-113.
156. Wini Breines, Young, White, and Miserable: Growing Up Female in the Fifties (Boston, 1992); Susan J. Douglas, Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media (New York, 1994); Margaret Finnegan, "From Spurs to Silk Stockings: Women in Prime-Time Television, 1950-1965," The UCLA Historical Journal 11 (1991), 1-30; Brandon French, On the Verge of Revolt: Women in American Films of the Fifties (New York, 1978); Meyerowitz, ed., Not June Cleaver, Andrea Press, Women Watching Television: Gender, Class, and Generation in the American Television Experience (Philadelphia, 1991); Nancy Walker, "Humor and Gender Roles: The 'Funny' Feminism of the Post-World War II Suburbs," American Quarterly 1 (1985), 99-113.
157. I do not, however, wish to discount the pressure individual women may have felt, upon reading these manuals, to conform and to focus their energies on finding their flaws and on "keeping" their husbands.
158. Alan Rusbridger, A Concise History of the Sex Manual, 1886-1986 (London, 1986), 113.
159. Anne Koedt, "The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm," in Voices from Women's Liberation, edited by Leslie B. Tanner (New York, 1970).