In Sexual Revolution in Early America, Richard Godbeer explores the shifting meaning of sex and sexual relations in Early America from 1600 to 1800. He finds that during the seventeenth-century there was an ongoing conflict between traditional concepts of “informal” marriage and a new ideological effort of colonial officials to regulate sexual behavior. He is careful to point out that the relationship between official and settler are not fixed, but rather fluid in nature. This nuance moves the narrative beyond a simple binary oppositional pattern, and provides for a detailed understanding of sex as an aspect of the shifting social order among early Anglo-Americans. Godbeer begins his text with a discussion on traditional “informal” marriage …show more content…
Godbeer argues, that southern leaders found a relationship between living on edge of “wilderness,” savagery, and sexual relations. Quite interestingly, Godbeer found that the cultural difference between Europeans and natives led settlers to conclude a difference in morals. Accordingly, colonists feared that sexual relations between European settlers and natives would lead to moral and social degradation. This situation was further complicated by the forced importation of enslaved Africans. African women were seen as naturally promiscuous, and thus at fault for any interracial sexual relations that occurred. This, Godbeer argues, allowed the focus to shift from the actions of white slave owners to enslaved …show more content…
Community members saw these as actions and not a behavior indicative of a certain type of person. Homosexual acts, for example, were treated as actions that were deemed sinful due to their non-reproductive nature. The work would not be complete without a consideration for other types of sex. All too easily Godbeer could have neglected non-traditional, meaning non-male and female, sexual relations. Luckily Godbeer’s work does not suffer from this potentially fatal flaw. Additionally, Godbeer does an excellent job telling the reader to check modern concepts of sex and sexual identity. By thinking of sex and sexuality in terms other than as actions would be to apply modern conceptions backwards, and totally miss the essence of sex and sexuality in early America. The word homosexual does not enter the lexicon until 1886 when it was used in the pioneering work of Richard von Krafft-Ebing, Psychopathia
In Anne Orthwood’s Bastard: Sex and Law in Early Virginia, John Pagan sets out to examine the complexities of the legal system on the Eastern Shore in the seventeenth- century. He brings to light the growing differences between the English and Virginia legal systems. Pagan, an early American legal historian at the University of Richmond School of Law, spins a tragic story on the legalities surrounding an instance of out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Indentured servant Anne Orthwood’s brief encounter with a man of higher social standing produced a series of four court cases. Pagan examines each case and persons involved, vividly connecting each case to larger themes of social class, gender, labor, and economic power.
At the beginning of the 1900s, there was a “sexual revolution” in New York City. During this time, sexual acts and desires were not hidden, but instead they were openl...
By following this idea, it is clear that the constant creation of new meaning- and new words- blurs the lines so that nothing is really black or white. With this in mind, reading a piece from even as early as 1923 and finding the word “heterosexual” in it would lead to the wrong interpretation if changing definitions and cultural contexts are not taken into account. Furthermore, in 1892, “heterosexual” had a published definition that also was used to describe “inclinations to both sexes” (44). A term that did not exist at that time is bisexual, which is a term that would most accurately be used to describe this kind of sexuality, while heterosexual has taken on a completely new meaning. Without taking this into account, a person who reads a piece from that time period would mistakenly understand the word heterosexual in the way it is used
Jonathan Katz talks about the initial creation of the term “heterosexuality” and how it was used to classify certain groups of people’s way of practicing sex. Along with the negative ideology the term reflected upon society. The author talks about the early definition of the term “heterosexuality”. Katz closely examines the different cultures and what sex meant to them prior to the term and over all labeling of “heterosexual” and what become of them after the fact. Katz illustrates the many faces of the term “heterosexual” starting with the early definition of the word, which was at the
Before the 1700s, English colonies in America struggled heavily with gender inequality, religious tolerance, and general liberties. Throughout the readings of Chapter 2, there are several direct and indirect indications of how the colonies handled the matters of religion, gender, and liberty within the English colonies.
Ulrich shows a progression of change in the way that women’s sexuality was viewed in New England. First, she starts with a society that depended on “external rather internal controls” and where many New Englanders responded more to shame than guilt (Ulrich 96). The courts were used to punish sexual misconducts such as adultery with fines, whippings, or sometimes even death. There were certain behaviors that “respectable” women were expected to follow and “sexual misbehavior” resulted in a serious decline of a woman’s reputation from even just one neighbor calling her names such as whore or bawd (Ulrich 97-98). Because the love between a man and his wife was compared to the bond between Christ and the Church, female modesty was an important ideal. “Within marriage, sexual attraction promoted consort; outside marriage, it led to heinous sins” (Ulrich 108). This modesty was expected to be upheld even as death approached and is seen with the example of Mary Mansfield in 1681. Ulrich describes Mary to have five neck cloths tucked into her bosom and eleven caps covering her hair. “A good wife was to be physically attractive…but she was not to expose her beauty to every eye”. Hence, even as she died, Mary was required to conceal her sexuality and beauty. However, at the end of the seventeenth century and throughout the
Over the past couple centuries that the United States has existed, society has always had a judgement to make on one’s sexuality. At the head of society has consistently been white, Christian, hetereosexual males; therefore, they had the power to define sexual and societal norms. As a result, judgements on one’s sexuality have always intersected with one’s race, class or gender, groups of people that are not dominating society.
Throughout American history women have been considered the inferior sex, and have endured the discrimination brought upon them by men. In the time period of 1780 to 1835 the United States underwent extensive societal and economical changes that resulted in a shift in the role of women, leading to the “cult of true womanhood.” Although the new “cult” restricted women to the virtues of piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity it also led to a rise in the influence of women on the developments of society. In “Bonds of Womanhood,” Nancy Cott focuses on the time period of 1780 to 1835 to effectively illustrates how the changes leading up to the “cult of true womanhood” restrained women together through the creation of a separate “women’s sphere,” while also restricting women to the ideologies that became prominent with “true womanhood.” Although I agree with Nancy Cott’s argument, it would have been more effective if she had included politics as one of the main aspects of her argument.
Sexuality, in particular, was one subject that was considered by all to be taboo. Until the emergence of a new kind of thinking, which can be found within texts like Golden Thoughts on Chastity and Procreation, which attempted to combine the taboo with what was agreed upon and accepted by society as a whole. The Gibson’s text in particular was the most explicit book on sexuality published at that time, combining science and medicine with religion to provide an understanding of sexuality. The Gibson authors tied morality, which was to be practiced by all, with sexuality, which was theretofore only spoken in hushed tones, behind closed door. Chapter XVI of the book is one of the more explicit chapters in which the authors accomplish this connection between the unspoken and the practiced. The chapter of “Social Purity,” which speaks of medical illness and transmission of diseases through intercourse, in particular conveys this new approach to sexuality that progressives began to adopt through open discussion of sexual acts;It was, up until this
Homosexuality was not seen then as two men who were romantically involved with other but just performed sexual acts for the simple pleasure of it. It has been often that men would have ope...
Halperin, David. "Is There a History of Sexuality?." The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader. Ed. Henry
Somerville, Siobhan. "Scientific Racism and the Invention of the Homosexual Body." Gender, Sex, and Sexuality. New York: Oxford University, 2009. 284-99. Print.
The sexual orientation of a person has been a critical debate over the past several centuries. For several...
... decades ago. This book is one that will allow the reader to view many aspects of sexuality from a social standpoint, and apply it to certain social attitudes in our society today, these attitudes can range from the acceptance of lesbian and gays, and the common sight of sex before marriage and women equality. The new era of sexuality has taken a definite "transformation" as Giddens puts it, and as a society we are living in the world of change in which we must adapt, by accepting our society as a changing society, and not be naive and think all the rules of sexuality from our parents time our still in existence now.
Homosexuality was illegal, heavily frowned upon and regarded as loathsome in the Victorian Era. However, there were many famous men who were concealed homosexu...