By Brandi Tillison
Before the masturbation
scare, it seemed like sexuality was not much different. The major difference is
shame. It seemed to be a known fact that a woman’s husband could go see a
prostitute due to some disillusion of not wanting to taint his wife. [1]An
example of just how sexually free men were, a staggering number of over 100,000
soldiers was diagnosed with gonorrhea. From my biology class last semester,
there was a spike in the 1970’s and 80’s, but now in present day it’s only
between 100,000 and 200,000. A span of over a century and not much has changed.
So STD trends haven’t had any dramatic increase like certain people would have
other believe.
As men were free to express their
sexuality, women had some freedom. After the Second Great Awakening, the use of
birth control was more accepted. This is admitting that yes women have sex, and
they maybe enjoy it in a way. Back then some women could become prostitutes if
they wanted to, but that led to a whole new level of risk. Women seemed to have
had freedom then the 1900’s started and you had more conservative values coming
about, and people trying to have a war on sexuality. Notions such as women were
whores and other degrading words, aren’t from present time. Women were commonly
viewed as being virtuous, virgins, and moral compasses. [2]A
perfect example would be sentimental novels. These novels were big in the mid-19th
century and portrayed women as ‘clean’ beings and should act as such. Much of
this same sentiment last today. Women who have multiple sexual partners and
enjoy sex are seen as loose and too sexual, but men are just being men. At least
in the Victorian Era there couldn’t be a blog dedicated to how loose you are
and there was more privacy.
This leads to the topic of privacy
pertaining to sexuality. While there wasn’t an easy accessible webpage about
you, that doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be papers or court trials about you. An
example would be Oscar Wilde, who was charged with sodomy. So people were still
rather invested in other people’s sex lives like today. So the question is was
sexuality different in the Victorian Era from today? From what history says no.
[1]
Amelia, Cotter. Suite 101, "Prostitution and Venereal Disease in the Civil
War." Last modified April 22, 2010. Accessed March 23, 2014.
https://suite101.com/a/prostitution-and-venereal-disease-in-the-civil-war-a228450.
[2]
Donna M., Campbell. Washington State University, "Domestic or Sentimental
Fiction, 1820-1865." Last modified July 4, 2013. Accessed March 23, 2014.
http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/domestic.htm.
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