Nineteenth-Century Sexuality and the “Sexual Revolution” of the Progressive Era

The Canadian Review of American Studies, Volume IX, Number I, Spring, 1978 Nineteenth-Century Sexuality and the "Sexual Revolution" of the Progressive Era Hmvard I. Kushner This essay is an attempt to investigate the present state of our historical understanding of sexuality in the United States in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In the pages that follow, I make no claim to present new evidence about sexuality during this period; rather, my essay does arguethat if some of our present assumptions are probed, many of our conclusions about the history of sexual attitudes and practice will be called into question. I propose to suggest that our view of nineteenth-century sexuality hasbeen at least partly distorted. One reason for this is that the vocal demands of physicians and moral reformers for a more rigid sexual ideology have often been used as descriptions of the actual sexual habits and practices of the general population. The assumption that most nineteenth-century Americans were puritanical about sex has led, in turn, to a second confusion: that the increased public discussion of sexual matters in the early twentieth century signalled a "sexual revolution." I propose that what often is referred to as the sexual revolution of the·Progressive era can be viewed instead as an attempt by some groups and individuals to institutionalize the values of earlier moral reformers. Thisessay will consequently concentrate upon two aspects of sexual reform: first,it will investigate the evidence which is frequently employed to portray nineteenthcentury Americans as sexually repressed; second, it will analyze those reforms of the first two decades of the twentieth century usually described by theterm "sexual revolution," among these being sex education, divorce reform, anti- The"Sexual Revolution" 35 prostitutionmovements and the birth control movement. The conclusion will suggest new directions for future work in this field. I Whilethere is some evidence available concerning the childhood experiencesand sexual attitudes of the elite and middle classes in the nineteenth century, there is little about anyone else. Nevertheless, many studies impute a singlesexual morality to all classes. Of course, such a view may neglect the notionthat there was much variation of sexual attitudes and habits within the middle class itself. 1 Thus the term "middle class morality" is employed here in PeterCaminos' sense of "respectable sexual ideology." 2 Theallegation that nineteenth-century Americans were sexually repressed reliesupon three circumstantial sources about attitudes: first, the great \olumeof sexual-advice books for parents and children; 3 second, the conclusionsof many physicians about sexuality; 4 and third, the writings of those who,in the first two decades of the twentieth century, allegedly assailed repression(though not always sexual)-especially the widely read works (amongupper-middle-class reformers) of William James, Havelock Ellis, MariaMontessori, John Dewey and Sigmund Freud. 5 Victorian advice manuals were quite explicit in their warnings. Readers were told that if the young were taught anything at all about sexual matters, sensualityshould be deemphasized and emphasis should be placed upon the moraland reproductive functions of sex. Masturbation was presented as a vile practice,and children were to be prevented from masturbating, even if physicalrestraints were required. 6 Premarital sex was presented not only as sinful, but also as the road to somatic and psychic disorders. Prostitution was evenworse: it was one of the greatest evils of civilization. The manuals advocatedits prohibition and the punishment of all prostitutes. Those who refusedto heed the warnings against premarital sex and prostitution ran the riskof contracting venereal disease. Even in marriage, some writers warned, sexualintercourse was to be limited solely to the purposes of procreation. 7 Diet,warned the manuals, was one of the prominent causes of sexual desire, andtherefore the moral person should avoid exotic and stimulating foods whichwere alleged to lead to sexual excesses. Instead, exercise and other formsof physical sublimation were suggested as the surest way to control one'smind and one's passions. 8 In short, promiscuity could lead only to physicaldecay and madness. The authors of advice books couched their argumentswith impressive medical and historical "evidence" which proved thatsensuality was among the greatest dangers to health in America. Suchan outpouring of warning of the dangers of sexuality in children and adults,however, does not necessarily...