Introduction
Women have been subjected to biology for decades, unable to escape the inextricable relationship between sexuality and reproduction. The study examines women in marriage and sex, abortion, and birth control by evaluating various sources, including historical documents, to demonstrate that there has been a significant shift in society’s attitudes on these issues. The historical period chosen is from the eighteenth to the twentieth century to demonstrate the advancement of social structures for women.
Women in Marriage and Sex
A woman’s identity was increasingly regarded as being inexorably linked to her reproductive organs, beginning in the late eighteenth century. It was assumed that women would and should seek their fulfillment primarily in the roles of wives and mothers (Block et al. 233). Despite this, the changing reality of women’s lives in the second half of the nineteenth century demonstrates improvement. Contrary to their assumed inherent passivity, modesty, and domesticity, women were pressed for greater access to education and participation in public discussion on problems of prostitution and women’s rights, employment, and marriage later in life (Block et al. 233). Jabour mentions that the women’s rights movement began in the mid-nineteenth century (121). As a result, extraordinarily educated, intelligent, and motivated women were delaying or bypassing marriage completely to pursue jobs.
Even minor violations of the social systems that constituted ‘feminine’ modesty might be regarded ill in the late nineteenth century. Hurd states in his letter of 1888 that masturbation in women and girls is a complex problem to address (221). He mentions that “the inveterate female masturbator is generally a hopeless case” (Hurd 222). Clelia Dule Mosher, a Californian physician, began questioning some of her female patients about their sexual habits and activities in the 1890s (Block et al. 289). Even though she never properly examined her data, historians have depended significantly on her poll of forty-five women.
For instance, when Mosher asks about the aim of intercourse, according to respondent number one, it is required for males but useless for women (Block et al. 289). Respondent 35 adds that males need sex because they are too anxious, but women only need sex for reproduction (Block et al. 289). Dr. Carlton C. Frederick explained his views on female ‘nymphomania’ throughout a long medical career in 1907 (Block et al. 289). His belief that female sexual desire was abnormal and that lesbianism was one of its most degraded manifestations represented medical orthodoxy in the early twentieth century. According to Dr. Carlton, masturbation is most likely one of the most visible signs of nymphomania (Block et al. 291). In the twentieth century, there was a change from a physiological to a psychological explanation of nymphomania as a sign of a disordered psyche rather than a biological illness (Block et al. 239). As a result, psychologists’ interest in women’s sexual health has grown significantly over time.
Abortion and Birth Control
Women have been subjected to biology for centuries, unable to escape the inextricable relationship between sexuality and reproduction. Lerner, for instance, claims that even when birth control research was well-advanced scientifically and technology to restrict reproduction was accessible, such information was concealed from women by man-made laws and societal norms (423). In the nineteenth century, women from all classes engaged in illegal and often risky abortions (Lerner 424). Eugene Caves’ letter to state attorney Mylrea in 1896 demonstrates that women were suffering from unlawful abortions. Caves said that in May 1893, they employed a fifteen-year-old girl to perform housework (Peiss 310). It turned out that the girl became pregnant and took pills, but “they did her no good” (Preiss 310). Her condition deteriorated, and a girl died as a result. Another document examined is Doctor Smith’s 1875 letter on the prevalence of abortion. He claims to practice in a community of three hundred people, with a surrounding rural population average in health, education, and morality; the number of abortions known to him equals ten percent of total births. This statement can demonstrate the relationship to the abortion issue: “And this, in spite of the fact that I have invariably refused to be a party to this most detestable of murders” (Smith 259). Hence, women had no right to abortion; it was also regarded as murder.
Nonetheless, Margaret Sanger had a significant influence in shifting public perception; she was a pioneer in putting contraception at the heart of feminist issues. Sanger emphasized the need for birth control in her 1917 document, The Case for Birth Control (Peiss 311). The activist claimed that the country has to solve the birth control issue. When Sander attended a hospital to pursue a nursing career, she discovered that seventy-five percent of men’s and women’s illnesses are caused by sex functions (Peiss 312). She claims in the text that every aspect of life was open to research and debate, except for the “shaded valley of sex” (Peiss 312). According to Sanger, working-class women had sympathetic views on the immorality of bringing children into the world to die of hunger; they would sooner risk their lives through abortion than have children they could not feed (Peiss 312). The critical argument is that “no other country in the world has so large several abortions nor so large a number of deaths of women resulting therefrom as the United States of America” (Peiss 312). Thus, she contends that a woman should be allowed to have only the children she wants and can care for; this is decency. Hence, the activist’s essential thesis was that women should be shielded from constant childbirth before fully engaging in social life.
The debate over abortion and birth control has evolved significantly throughout time. Despite Sanger’s efforts, the organized women’s rights movement of her day disregarded and sidestepped her. Only after the birth of new feminism did young feminists in the National Organization of Women demand abortion legislation repeal as a fundamental component in their 1967 platform (Lerner 423). According to Lerner, the action revolution’s 1967 conference helped develop the new feminist view that abortion is a fundamental right of women (425). Thus, Margaret Sager’s cry that a woman has a right to control her own body established the groundwork for developing feminist legal issues. Linda Gordon’s paper on birth control and social revolution was published in 1977; she claims that some historians have suggested that a sexual revolution occurred in the early twentieth century (Peiss 321). The more proof of birth control became available, the adequate birth control appeared. The campaign that began with the phrase “birth control” was a force of individuals battling for their immediate needs.
Conclusion
Marriage and sexual relationships have evolved throughout time. In the eighteenth century, it was considered normal for women to find fulfillment primarily in the roles of wives and mothers. Nonetheless, women were pressed for more access to education, participation in public debates, employment, and marriage later in life. In the nineteenth century, women persisted in resorting to illegal and often risky abortions. Margaret Sanger was a forerunner in putting contraception at the forefront of feminist concerns. Sanger made birth control a class issue, claiming that the wealthy had some access to birth control methods while the poor did not have access or information. Young feminists in the National Organization of Women pushed to make abortion legislation repeal a central point in their 1967 program only after the arrival of the new feminism. Birth control became more widely accepted in the twentieth century as more proof of its effectiveness became available.
Works Cited
Block, Sharon, et al. Major Problems in American Women’s History. 5th ed., Cengage Learning, 2013.
Hurd, E. P. “Masturbation in Women and Girls.” Medical and Surgical Reporter (1858-1898), vol. 58, no. 7, pp. 221-222. APS Online.
Jabour, Anya. Major Problems in the History of American Families and Children. 1st ed., Cengage Learning, 2004.
Lerner, Gerda. The Female Experience. Bobbs-Merrill, 1977.
Peiss, Kathy. Major Problems in the History of American Sexuality. 1st ed., Houghton Mifflin, 2021.
Smith, W. M. “The Prevalence of Abortion.” Medical and Surgical Reporter (1858-1898), vol. 33, no. 12, 1875; p. 259. APS Online.