This source includes a collection of letters written by women who experience female sexual arousal disorder. These people want to learn more about the underlying cause of their psychological and physiological difficulties.
These letters are very informative because they throw light on the experience of many females living in the first half of the twentieth century. First of all, it is possible to say that they are extremely concerned about their inability to derive satisfaction from sexual intercourse. More importantly, these documents demonstrate that these women tended to blame themselves for this problem.
Nevertheless, they did not think that these difficulties could be partly attributed to their husbands. This trend manifested themselves among women who might represent different social or racial groups. Additionally, this article shows that according to the norms, which existed during that time, sexual intercourse was one of the issues that could not be openly discussed. To a great extent, it was viewed as the “necessary evil” by people who could have different backgrounds (Faulkner, 155).
This source does not throw much light on the relationship between marriage and sexuality to class and racial norms. The letters included in this document do not contain references to the concepts of class or race. Nevertheless, this document shows that women, who might represent different classes or racial groups, could be ashamed of having psychological or physiological problems.
To some degree, these people felt marginalized because they could not perceive themselves as “normal” (Faulkner, 153). This reading does not show how exactly spouses could discuss these issues. Additionally, it does not show if men paid any attention to this problem. These are the main arguments that can be advanced.
Works Cited
Faulkner, Howard. Dear Dr. Menninger: Women’s Voices from the Thirties, London: UM Press, 2000. Print.