© Lesley Hall and list contributors
Date: Sun, 01 Aug 1999 13:59:05 +1000
From: Hera Cook <hera.cook@history.usyd.edu.au>
Subject: [Fwd: [Fwd: Maines' Martyrdom and Vibratory Censorship]]
Hi,
I think lesley's comments about physiotherapists are probably spot on. Here
are some more
thoughts I had - unfortunately I don't have the book to hand and these more
specific
questions would be better being checked against the actual text -
Carol Thomas comments on 'Maine's evident scholarship'. I think her use of
sources raises useful questions for historians of sexual behaviours.
Ultimately it was not clear to me what claims Maine was making about the
prevalance of this practice. She appeared to be claiming that this behaviour was
relatively frequent, based primarily upon the level of advertising of the
machines. Is this a valid basis for such claims?
Maine shifts from analysis of texts - discourse - at an international level to
specific material culture. These different types of evidence provide varying
levels and types of proof - indeed they bear different relationships to the
notion of proof.
It is proved to the reader that the objects, vibrators, existed and were
advertised. The proof of the behaviour, that is that these machines were used as
Maine claims, is from other sources but she doesn't distinguish between the nature
of her proofs.
This issue is absolutely central to the credibility of the book as far as I am
concerned. Maine appears to claim that use of vibrators by doctors to give
hysterical middle-class women clitoral orgasms was common practice in the late
19th and early 20th century. She failed to convince me that this was correct, but
she
did convince me that some - a few doctors - did this. So, if that is all she is
claiming
then that is fine and it is an interesting small addition to the history of 19th
century sexuality.
Next point, Maine writes about hysteria but in many of the arenas/sites she
describes the
patients often would not have been seriously disturbed if at all.
Middle class women were reluctant to allow doctors to examine them when they were
pregnant - I believe that this applied to removing clothes and not just to
internal examinations - however I have done very little work on the 19th century
and perhaps
someone else might like to comment on this. If this is correct would women who
were not seriously disturbed have been likely to agree to genital contact in
Maine's circumstances?
On this note, unless this is acknowledged to be the practice of a tiny radical
minority of doctors - my belief - then I would disregard Freud's experience as he
was hardly typical of his era in his approach to sex....
Last point, hands up all those women who think vibrators and orgasms go together
like a horse and carriage? This is the great unexamined assumption of Maine's book.
Do vibrators provide women with orgasms in the clockwork fashion assumed?
All the best,
Hera
Lesley Hall wrote:
> Histsex:For historians of sexuality - http://homepages.primex.co.uk/~lesleyah
>> Damn! I've been away for most of this, in which I'm extremely interested
> since I've been asked several times to comment on Maines's work (or at
> least, the media representations of same) and have only just got hold of the
> book itself to read (though I've not yet done so). I concur that it sounds
> to be generalising from a tiny and probably fringe phenomenon (do the words
> Isaac Baker Brown raise a resonant echo???), and (as far as I can tell)
> ignores the rise of what in the UK we call physiotherapy, which became an
> organised profession in the 1890s as the Chartered Society of Medical
> Masseuses following the great Massage Parlour Scandal (clandestine brothels
> pretending to be therapeutic, plus ca change), initially told in the columns
> of the British Medical Journal. This indicates that a) if doctors
> recommended hands-on physical treatment they were delegating it to trained
> masseuses/masseurs, who were anxious to indicate their respectability and b)
> even non-executive relief type massage was regarded with not a little
> dubeity. Plus, c) by the early C20th physios were using a wide variety of
> electrically driven devices, going by ads in their journal.
> So there may be a whole other story about medicine and touch and
> electrical devices going on which is missing from Maines' book.
> The 'censorship' line does sound a little dubious (was the contentious
> nature of her research the whole story?) even if it does fit into Brit
> perceptions of US institutions.
> I'll try and post further when I've read the book, but I have GOT to
> finish vol one of Trumbach's magnum opus on sex and gender in C18th London
> for a review first.
> Lesley
> Lesley Hall
> lesleyah@primex.co.uk
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kazetnik@aol.com <Kazetnik@aol.com>
> To: histsex@listbot.com <histsex@listbot.com>
> Date: 27 July 1999 12:45
> Subject: Maines' Martyrdom
>> >Histsex:For historians of sexuality -
> http://homepages.primex.co.uk/~lesleyah
> >> >I am sorry for Maines that she lost her teaching position because of her
> >research, but my guess is such consequences are rare for those of us
> working
> >in this field. I do indeed find the assertions of her work dubious (though
> >not necessarily incredible since I can still be surprised by some of the
> >'oddities' of belief and practice in the 19th century), but it is
> interesting
> >that her work is seen as frivolous. I wonder why that should be? Are
> >vibrators funny per se? Or only 19th century ones?
> >> >Chris White
__________________________________________________________________
From: Kazetnik@aol.com
Date: Sun, 1 Aug 1999 05:18:36 EDT
Subject: Gynaecological exams & orgasms
Hi
To pursue Hera Cook's point about middle-class women's reluctance to be
examined by doctors, Havelock Ellis provides a slightly peculiar insight
based on his own clinical practice with working-class women in 'The Evolution
of Modesty':
'Long ago, when a hospital student on midwifery duty in London slums, I had
occasion to observe that among the women of the poor, and more especially in
those that had lost the first bloom of youth, modesty consisted chiefly in
the fear of being disgusting....As soon as the woman realized that I found
nothing disgusting in whatever was proper and necessary to be done under the
circumstances, it almost invariably happened that every sign of modesty at
once disappeared.'
He seems to regard working class women's modesty as superficial, easily
discarded, and by implication, middle class women's modesty a much more
developed element of their identities, evidently playing on notions of
greater or lesser 'civilization'. It is less clear what he means by
'disgusting', but there is possibly some shadow of the sense of the vagina
being an 'unhealed wound' that must not be displayed, in which case it seems
unlikely that women would have joyfully allowed genital contact of an
explicitly sexual nature, as opposed to one reminiscent of sexual contact.
'Hands up all those women who think vibrators and orgasms go together like a
horse and carriage.' <hand firmly lowered> Such a bizarre notion, a conveyor
belt idea of turning out a whole series of identical products. Maine seems
not to have thought about this *at all*, yet surely it would be fundamental
to her cultural analysis to think through the competing meanings of
'pleasure' mechanically applied and DIY pleasure. Do we really think our
predecessors were so stupid and/or literal minded that because masturbation
was taboo, they would not have done it? One of the principal assumptions of
pornographic material from the period is that women were (a) in constant need
of sexual pleasure and (b) very capable of providing their own once
introduced to the concept. Fantasy obviously, but some story about female
sexual pleasure in the 'real' is being narrated here.
Regards
Chris White
___________________________________________________________________
From: "Lesley Hall" <lesleyah@primex.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Maines' Martyrdom and Vibratory Censorship
Date: Sun, 1 Aug 1999 12:48:37 +0100
I've now had at least a superficial glance at the book.
I suspect, from the authorities Maines cites on the history of hysteria,
that all she says about this will be shot down in flames by Helen King's
recent, highly praised, _Hippocrates' Women_. Unlike most people who have
written on this subject, King is is a highly competent classical scholar who
has gone back to the Greek and Latin texts and has deconstructed the
accepted historiographical analysis of the alleged Hippocratic origins of
what was defined in the C19th as hysteria. While King's book only came out
this year, articles by her in this area have been available for some time.
I also feel that although Maines mentions other aspects of
electrotherapy (galvanic belts and corsets etc) she has paid insufficient
attention to the claims that were being made for these devices in
advertisements, which were very similar to those she cites for vibrators -
e.g. restoring joy of life, purifying blood etc - and similar claims were
made for a variety of 'quack' remedies and devices. As galvanic belts, etc,
did nothing at all (except via suggestion and belief in the almost magical
powers of 'electricity'), I think it may be over-interpreting the claims
made for vibrators to assume a mutually understood sexual subtext to the
ways they were being promoted.
On women and masturbation: presumably some women did discover this and
as it was such an unnamed and taboo topic (unlike male 'self-abuse') there
was little condemnatory discourse they might have encountered - they might
not even have defined it as 'sexual' in an era when 'the sexual' for women
revolved around penetrative intercourse with men. I was struck, when going
through the 1000s of letters to Marie Stopes, how little masturbation was an
issue for women, whereas it recurred frequently as a source of concern in
letters from men (cf my article 'Forbidden by God, despised by men', in Jnl
Hist Sexuality, reprinted in Fout, _Forbidden History_). Stopes even
suggested (though only in private correspondence, not in print!) that for
the mature unmarried woman it was ('in moderation') a permissible form of
relief (particularly in conjunction with the glandular remedies Stopes was
also keen on).
Stella Browne certainly believed that masturbation in women was more
common than might be supposed (views put forward in _The Freewoman_ chastity
debates, 1912), though she did not pathologise the practice (in fact was pro
it).
Even modern surveys (for what they're worth) indicate that while nearly
100% of men have masturbated at one time or another (if not habitually), far
fewer women have, and they tend to start the practice later in life than men
(who normally begin in adolescence) - possibly after their sexual desires
have been aroused by external factors, rather than coming as a spontaneous
response to adolescent erections. So whether women would automatically think
of vibratory massagers as aids to masturbation is questionable, especially
in an era when the desirability of orgasms for all was not being thrust at
them from all sides.
As for the vibrator being the 'magic wand' for all women, I'm dubious of
any statement which contains the words 'all women' (as Stella B commented,
'I have never met the normal woman'). Some women, after all, do have orgasms
from penetrative sex, even if this is far from universal. Some women have
nocturnal orgasms without any stimulation. Some women start masturbating to
orgasm from early childhood and others don't have any orgasms until their
fourth or fifth decade.
Maines largely appears to ignore the Stopes and after tradition of
female authored sex manuals critiquing the phallocentric model of
intercourse - while this was perhaps a more UK than US phenomenon (Stopes,
Hutton, Wright, Malleson, etc were all British) these books did appear in US
editions and are mentioned in Brecher's book on the sex researchers.
Thanks, Hera, for opening this discussion.
Lesley
Lesley Hall
lesleyah@primex.co.uk
___________________________________________________________________
From: "Lesley Hall" <lesleyah@primex.co.uk>
Subject: Research interests register
Date: Sun, 1 Aug 1999 18:46:23 +0100
Some while ago I mooted this and while the response was on the whole =
positive, pressure of other things meant I had to put it on the =
backburner for a while.
I have now given some thought to the possibilities, in particular =
the question of searchability (which was raised as a potential problem), =
and although my webmastering skills are not up to creating an actual =
database on my website, I have put a search engine on the page for =
searching by keyword terms.
The under-development page is on my website at =
http://homepages.primex.co.uk/~lesleyah/hofsresr.htm
though so far I haven't put in any entries (even though some people sent =
me information at the time of the original posting). Any suggestions =
about what should be mentioned there will be welcomed.
If people are interested in putting their information on this =
register, please could they let me have (at my private e-mail address =
lesleyah@primex.co.uk,rather than on-list), the following details:
name, institutional affiliation (if any), e-mail address (and other =
contact details if you want), personal website info if applicable, and =
details of your research, using, as far as possible, terms which other =
individuals are likely to use for search purposes - i.e. indicate not =
merely that you are interested in e.g. prostitution or pornography, but =
the region/country, and the period (general/precise).
There may be some minor delays in getting the information onto the =
site, as I would prefer to reindex the site when I have a reasonable =
batch of entries rather than in driblets of one or two at a time.
Lesley Hall
lesleyah@primex.co.uk
histsex-owner@listbot.com
___________________________________________________________________
From: "Chris Willis" <chris@chriswillis.freeserve.co.uk>
Subject: Maines' martyrdom
Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 12:32:20 +0100
Hi!
Thre's an article about Rachel Maines in today's "Independent on Sunday"
which explains a lot about why her research was considered dodgy. It
includes illustrations of some of the things she insists are vibrators -
some of which quite clearly aren't! She seems to think that any appliance
which has the word "vibrate" or "massage" in its name or instructions must
be a vibrator, even if it's something like a neck and scalp massager. One
of the devices illustrated looks like a 1940s equivalent of the "Tens"
machine which is used to treat people with incurable back and neck
problems - in other words, exactly what the advertisements say it is.
It's a shame that she's insistent on pushing her arguemnts too far. Her
basic argument may well be correct, but it looks as if she's determined to
twist facts in order to produce as much extra "evidence" as possible to back
up her thesis. I find this mildly offensive to all the disabled people who
need the kind of devices she insists are purely sexual (eg RSI sufferers
whose symptoms can be alleviated by neck massage). A deaf friend of mine,
who obviously can't hear a conventional alarm clock, has a device with
vibrates under his pillow instead - I dread to think what Maines would make
of that! :-)
All the best
Chris
=========================================
Chris Willis
English Dept
Birkbeck College
Malet Street
London WC1E 7HX
Chris@chriswillis.freeserve.co.uk
http://www.chriswillis.freeserve.co.uk/
=========================================
___________________________________________________________________
From: "Chris Willis" <chris@chriswillis.freeserve.co.uk>
Subject: Maines - PS
Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 12:39:05 +0100
Hi!
Forgot to say in my last msg - the Independent on Sunday is on-line at
http://www.independent.co.uk/
ATB
Chris
=========================================
Chris Willis
English Dept
Birkbeck College
Malet Street
London WC1E 7HX
Chris@chriswillis.freeserve.co.uk
http://www.chriswillis.freeserve.co.uk/
=========================================
___________________________________________________________________
Date: 15 Aug 1999 19:47:39 -0000
From: "Histsex:For historians of sexuality" <histsex-owner@listbot.com>
Subject: New members/Introductions/Research Interests register
A number of new subscribers have recently joined. I invite them (and
anyone else who has not yet done so) to post a message to the list
introducing themselves and their particular interests. And of course,
don't wait for someone else to start a discussion - jump in with your own
queries, points, information, etc.
I'll remind everyone that I'm setting up a Research Interests Register:
the basic layout of this under development site can be observed at
http://homepages/primex.co.uk/~lesleyah/hofsresr.htm
Let me know by e-mail any information which you would like posted.
Lesley
histsex-owner@listbot.com
lesleyah@primex.co.uk
___________________________________________________________________
From: Kazetnik@aol.com
Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 18:01:13 EDT
Subject: Re: Maines - PS
Hi
Thanks to Chris Willis for the note re the Maines review. But it's
frustrating when only part of a paper is on-line....! The more I hear about
this 'project' of hers, the more disquieted I become. Why has she produced
such shoddy scholarship? Is it the publish-or-be-unemployed scenario? Or is
it somehow related to a caricature of the work of historians of sexuality, a
kind of post-Freud, everything is about sex if you only look properly? It is
tiresome that the objects of our study are regarded by some as trivial,
inappropriate, not serious. It is hopeless if the specificity of the field of
study is annihilated by 'scholars' who insist on producing arguments of such
dubious veracity in the name of writing the history of sexuality. Am I just
being paranoid, or is she doing all of us a disservice?
Chris White
___________________________________________________________________
Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 23:25:46 +0100
To: "Histsex:For historians of sexuality" <histsex@listbot.com>
From: Ianthe <ianthe@duende.demon.co.uk>
In message <5a98a727.24e892a9@aol.com>, Kazetnik@aol.com writes
>Histsex:For historians of sexuality - http://homepages.primex.co.uk/~lesleyah
>>Hi
>>Thanks to Chris Willis for the note re the Maines review. But it's
>frustrating when only part of a paper is on-line....! The more I hear about
>this 'project' of hers, the more disquieted I become. Why has she produced
>such shoddy scholarship?
'Allegedly' ;-) There was an interesting long illustrated
article in Wired on this (her work, not the unsubstantiated
notion that her work might be sub-standard). As most
old Wired articles are online, go check www.wired.com
--
Ianthe Duende
___________________________________________________________________
Date: Sun, 15 Aug 1999 20:37:35 -0700
From: Heather Lee Miller <miller.1438@osu.edu>
Subject: Re: New members/Introductions/Research Interests register
Hi,
Well, I guess I'll take this opportunity to introduce myself! I am a PhD
candidate in history at the Ohio State University (USA) and a managing
editor on the Journal of Women's History. I am working on a dissertation
about the connections between prostitution and lesbianism in sexology and
practice (among sex workers) in the US between 1840 and 1940.
Simultaneously the broadest and the narrowest topic possible! I look
forward to hearing from everyone else!
Best,
Heather Lee Miller
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heather Lee Miller
Ph.D. candidate
Ohio State University
miller.1438@osu.edu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"In my young days, I used to pick up sluts, and I don't mean that nastily.
It's more a term of endearment, really, for girls who know how to speak
their minds."
- Kevin Costner
___________________________________________________________________
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 11:07:53 -0500 (CDT)
From: Sarah Elizabeth Hodges <sehodges@midway.uchicago.edu>
Subject: Re: New members/Introductions/Research Interests register
I too have been lurking this summer. My name is Sarah Hodges and I am a
PhD student in History at the University of Chicago -- although I have
been living in London since spring 98 and look to be signed up for
another 5 years or so.
I began writing a disseration on the history of birth control in India,
but am now just finishing up under the working title: "Modern Families,
Married Love: Towards a History of the 'Small Family Norm' in
20th-Century India." The point of the thesis is to figure out how 'small
family' came to be equated with 'modern family' in India. In order to do
this, I investigate a number of social movements and institutions in
India in the
1920s and 1930s: the non-Brahmin movement in south India, liberal social
reformers, erotic entrepreneurs (aka patent medicine firms and
sex manual publishers), Indian eugenicists and finally, birth cotnrol
advocates. As such, the first half of the thesis sets up how the
conjugal couple was promoted as the new kernel around which modern family
life was to be built, and the second half of the thesis explores how this
couple's 'correct reproduction' was arbitrated.
I would be especially interested if people know of work in places besides
India which deal with this-- I just found a copy of John Gillis' _A World
of their Own Making: Myth, Ritual and the Quest for Family Values_ but I
think that this must eb the tip of the iceberg-- that is, looking at
relations between and among family, normativity and sexuality as part and
parcel of 'modernization' etc.
Also-- a little plug-- I am co-organzing with David Arnold a conference
which will take place in London 18-19 November 1999 on 'Population,
Reproduction, and Birth Control in Late Colonial India' -- it will be
held at the Centre for the Culture and History of Medicine at the School
of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. If there is
interest, I would be happy to post the tentative list of papers and our
preliminary statement.
At least one of the presenters I think is on this list-- perhaps you have
already introduced yourself? There are a lot of younger scholars who are
doing extremely innovative work on the history of sexuality and
reproduction in India and the point of the conference is to have everyone
meet finally in one place but also to showcase how great their work is.
The conference is open to any and all who wish to come.
Finally: to the person who is working on Maud Allen-- a good friend has
great material on her scandalous (and ultimately cancelled) performance
in Madras-- let me know if you would like his email.
Sarah
___________________________________________________________________
From: "Donna Larsen" <ladydonna85@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: New members/Introductions/Research Interests register
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 09:45:11 PDT
I am a 35 year old returning student. At the moment I am working on my
transferrer degree at Seattle Central community college. I plan to obtain
my PH.D in Psychology and then specialize in education and research in the
field of human sexuality. I have joined this list mainly to learn.
I am also a lesbian leather woman. I have been a member of the Seattle
Leather community for about 9 years now. I have been a professional
Dominatrix. I did that for about 8 years and just recently decided to take
a breather from that for a while. I am also a pagan whose sexuality and
spirituality are very much connected.
My wife Stephanie and I are in a Polyamoury relationship. This works
extremely well for us. So that is Me in nutshell. I have been very much
enjoying the information and conversations so far.
___________________________________________________________________
From: "Lesley Hall" <lesleyah@primex.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Maines - PS
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 19:50:21 +0100
> Why has she produced
>such shoddy scholarship? Is it the publish-or-be-unemployed scenario?
I think this may relate to the demand, even by some academic presses, that
new monographs should be marketable to a wide and non-specialist audience.
Obviously to do that it's no good saying you have an interesting small
sidelight on some marginal eccentricities of Victorian sexual culture, you
have to have a startling new thesis which will overturn accepted etc etc
etc.
I note that there is a website 'Good Vibrations' (which I don't offhand
have the URL for which includes a 'Virtual Museum of the History of the
Vibrator' - which seems rather reminiscent of Maines's book though I
couldn't find it cited anywhere. (GV started as a women-friendly business
selling vibrators in I think the 1970s).
Lesley Hall
lesleyah@primex.co.uk
___________________________________________________________________
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 21:48:26 +0100
From: Ianthe <ianthe@duende.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Maines - PS
In message <00d701bee818$58da1920$912f70c3@default>, Lesley Hall
<lesleyah@primex.co.uk> writes
>Histsex:For historians of sexuality - http://homepages.primex.co.uk/~lesleyah
>>> Why has she produced
>>such shoddy scholarship? Is it the publish-or-be-unemployed scenario?
>>I think this may relate to the demand, even by some academic presses, that
>new monographs should be marketable to a wide and non-specialist audience.
In her case it was publish and be _un_-employed. This
Carnegie-Mellon Phd spent 20 years researching and
writing _The Technology of the Orgasm_ (Dec 1998, John
Hopkins UP) and for her pains was apparently (according
to Wired) promptly sacked from the faculty of Clarkson
U, on publication. Luckily it seems she has a research
and curatorship business to fall back on.
_Web links_:
* Amazon.com, with comments:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0801859417/o/qid=934835232/sr=
8-1/002-1370467-1434652 (place all on one line, press 'enter')
* John Hopkins University Press page for the book:
http://www.press.jhu.edu/press/books/titles/f98/f98mate.htm
* The full-text of Chapter 1 (uncorrected proof):
http://128.220.50.88/press/books/titles/sampler/maines.htm
_Some Web reviews_:
* Salon:
http://ww1.salonmagazine.com/urge/feature/1999/02/cov_25feature.html
* CyberSociology:
http://www.socio.demon.co.uk/magazine/5/5orgasm.html
* New York Times:
http://bettydodson.com/org-tech.htm
* LA Weekly:
http://www.laweekly.com/ink/99/03/wls-mithers.shtml
--
Ianthe Duende
___________________________________________________________________
From: HayGirl99@aol.com
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 16:59:31 EDT
Subject: Re: New members/Introductions/Research Interests register
Hi,
I joined the list a couple of months ago....I'm not a college student or
a professor or a writer.....I'm a 15 year old high school student from South
Carolina. I've been interested in the history of women and human
sexuality--mainly the the history of women's sexuality. I'd like to research
these topics in depth. I searched the web for sites on them and came across
an advertisement for this list--so I joined.
Anyway, you won't hear much from me. I'm just here to learn from ya'll
and expand my own knowledge on the subjects. Hopefully, soon I'll be able to
put my two cents in. I've really enjoyed it so far!
Thanks
~Hailey
___________________________________________________________________
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 14:40:07 -0700
From: chris dummitt <cdummitt@sfu.ca>
Subject: maines and intro
Fellow Subscribers,
An anecdote to the Maines discussion: The book, _The Road to Welville_
(1993), by novelist T. Coraghessan Boyle, includes a scenario in which a
doctor (of dubious reputation) manipulates the "wombs" of various women.
Boyle uses the scenario to poke fun at the distinctions made between the
serious science allegedly performed at John Harvey Kellog's sanitarium
(through which the reader has already seen people die) and that type of
science deemed quakery (through which the female characters' conditions
seem to be improving). Now, Boyle is a satirist and his intention is to
poke fun at both types of science but he may have a point. Surely, we can
learn from Maines (without accepting her whole thesis) that the distinction
between legitimate and illegitimate was a fuzzy business in the late
nineteenth century (on this, see Keith Walden's superb _Becoming Modern in
Toronto_ (1997))
I'm not sure of Boyle's historical sources but in this and his other works,
I have found him to evoke historical context better than (alas) many
historians. For example, his _Riven Rock_ is the perfect novel companion
to Gail Bederman's _Manliness and Civilization_.
An introduction: I am a doctoral candidate at Simon Fraser University in
British Columbia. My dissertation is a cultural history of men and
violence in post-WWII Vancouver - looking at the cultural definitions and
responses to different types of violence. I have also done work on
masculine domesticity in the 1950s including an article on the origins of
men's suburban barbecuing in Canada.
chris dummitt
_______________________
Chris Dummitt
Doctoral Candidate
Department of History
Simon Fraser University
_______________________
___________________________________________________________________ From: "Matthew Johnson" <trekdrop78@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: New members/Introductions/Research Interests register
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 18:26:04 PDT
hello,
for what it's worth (I think I may have inadvertantly introduced myself to
the list in a message to Lesley Hall a few weeks back), my name is Matthew
Johnson and I joined the list in may. I will be receiving my BA from New
York Univ in December 99 (in German and European Studies). Partly in spite
of, partly because of my majors, virtually all of the independent research
and writing I have carried out as an undergrad has dealt with issues of
history and sexuality. A great deal of this has focused on the Weimar
Republic: I have carried out research on the german youth movement among the
working-class, the 'decadence' and 'perversions' of Weimar's cabaret culture
and how they related (or did not relate) to the republic's eventual
downfall, the history of the early homosexual liberation movement, and
(currently) the subcultures of the human body in the republic and the nazi
period (esp. nudism and how this related to homoeroticism).
in addition, I am completing a BA thesis begun as a class project for a
course taught by gert hekma at the university of amsterdam. the thesis is
on the prevention of hiv/std's among dutch gay men in the netherlands.
i am in the process of applying for graduate programs, with a PhD in history
as an eventual goal.
again, hello to all. I may not be very talkative, but am here and listening
(that sounds kinda creepy, sorry...)
-- Matt Johnson
_______________________________________________________________
Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com
___________________________________________________________________
Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 18:34:44 -0700
From: Marthe Arends <mnarends@earthlink.net>
Subject: Yet another Intro
Boy, do I feel like an uneducated boob what with everyone's academic
credentials flying hither and yon. I'm not in academia, I'm a writer,
focusing primarily on historical novels in the mid to late
Victorian/early Edwardian eras. While I do not include overt sexual
issues, I plan to touch on one or two (particularly birth control around
the turn of the century) in future books, and am prone to researching
the pants (ha! sorry, bad pun) off of subjects, hence my enjoyment of
this list.
Back into lurk mode...
Marthe
http://home.earthlink.net/~mnarends
___________________________________________________________________
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 12:42:05 +1000
From: Hera Cook <dcoo8738@mail.usyd.edu.au>
Subject: Re: Maines
Ianthe wrote,
In her case it was publish and be _un_-employed. This
Carnegie-Mellon Phd spent 20 years researching and
writing _The Technology of the Orgasm_ (Dec 1998, John
Hopkins UP) and for her pains was apparently (according
to Wired) promptly sacked from the faculty of Clarkson
U, on publication. Luckily it seems she has a research
and curatorship business to fall back on.
Hera replies
I am a bit lost here. I read that she had trouble in the 1980s. I would be
astonished if it was correct that she was sacked from Clarkson U for a book
published by John Hopkins U press in 1999.
As the person who introduced this topic and many of the criticisms of Maine's
work. I would like to comment that I wouldn't have used the word shoddy about her
research. It is evident from her introduction that Maine started her work with
certain preconceptions - but she is hardly alone in that. I am resistant to her
and her publicists' construction of her as matyred to the heroic cause of truth
about vibrators. However one of the problems with being attacked from outside in
an unreasonable basis, as it appears she was on one occasion in the 80s, is that
it tends to diminish people's capacity for re-analysis and skeptism towards their
own work.
So she probably never went back and examined her own fundamental assumptions nor
had the time to look at the medical context in which, as Leslie pointed out, the
vibrators were used quite differently. However she has done a great deal of
research in the areas she thought were relevant. It is not shoddy it is just wrong
and publicised in a way that emphasises that.
Hera
___________________________________________________________________
From: "Lisa Cardyn" <lcardyn@email.msn.com>
Subject: Re: New members/Introductions/Research Interests register
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 01:42:09 -0400
Hi there--
I've been lurking on the list with great interest for a while now and
thought I'd take a moment to introduce myself. I'm a PhD student in
American Studies at Yale working on a dissertation that looks at the
evolution of legal, medical, and psychological conceptions of sexual trauma
in American culture from the postbellum period through the mid-20th century.
In addition to the theoretical chapters that focus most directly on
practical and discursive developments within the professions, I'm also
integrating a select number of historical episodes that serve as case
studies for observing how sexual trauma was represented within the larger
culture (e.g., the use of sexual terror by the Reconstruction-era klans).
I've really come to appreciate hearing what all of you are thinking and
writing about and look forward to participating in many interesting
discussions in the coming months.
Best wishes,
Lisa Cardyn
ABD, Yale University
JD, Yale Law School
___________________________________________________________________
From: Kazetnik@aol.com
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 08:50:53 EDT
Subject: Maines: terms of critique
Hi
Given that I was responsible for calling Maines' work shoddy, I would like to
withdraw the insult and apologise -- it was an overstatement, but one born of
(personal) irritation not so much with Maines, but rather with the climate in
which we UK academics seem doomed to work, in which quantity takes precedence
over quality. Not an original gripe, of course, but with the next RAE
looming, planning for the one after that is beginning to take control. Ugh!
Chris White
___________________________________________________________________
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 14:14:48 +0100 (BST)
From: RM CLEMINSON <R.M.Cleminson@Bradford.ac.uk>
Subject: introduction
I am also relatively new to the list. My interests lie in the field of
Spanish eugenics and history of sexuality. Particularly, I have written
material on the Catalan anarchists' discourse on sexuality and eugenics in
the early twentieth century. I am also interested in critiques of newer
'gay gene' theories.
******************************
Dr.Richard M. Cleminson
Lecturer in Spanish Studies
Department of Modern Languages
University of Bradford
Bradford, West Yorkshire
BD7 1DP
tel: +1274 234595
fax: +1274 235590
___________________________________________________________________
From: "Lesley Hall" <lesleyah@primex.co.uk>
Subject: The silly season? Sex and the ancient Greeks
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 19:44:20 +0100
Seen yesterday in _The Guardian_ (and available for perusal in extenso at
www.newsunlimited.co.uk)
Book tells it straight about sex lives of ancient Greeks
Forget the philosophers - a new study debunks the popular view of
bedroom antics in the classical world, and it's selling by the stack
Helena Smith in Athens
Monday August 16, 1999
In ancient Greece, homosexuals were frowned upon, paedophiles were
punished and masturbation was seen as fit only for slaves. Even the
missionary position was out, according to a slim 88-page volume which has
become one of the hottest reads in Greece.
The book, Love, Sex and Marriage: A Guide to the Private Life of the
Ancient Greeks, has become a bestseller in modern Greece
I'd appreciate the opinion of any of the classicists on the list, but none
of this alleged radical revisionism seems to be saying anything remarkably
new? Apparently 'Mr Vrissimtzis, a sociologist, wrote the book after
studying classical texts, inscriptions and pottery in museums and libraries'
(but not, apparently, the plethora of scholarship relating to precisely this
subject!). The reason for the writing of the book and its success seem
rather confused: on the one hand 'in a country where "obscene" statues and
vases were stashed away in museum storerooms until the early 70s, the
revival has as much to do with revising perceptions of the past as anything
else', on the other 'several Greek historians... are bent on dismissing the
commonly held notion that their ancestors were liberal, free-for-all
revellers'.
This strikes me as another example of canny marketing (as with Maines's
book).
Lesley Hall
lesleyah@primex.co.uk
___________________________________________________________________
From: "Chris Willis" <chris@chriswillis.freeserve.co.uk>
Subject: Maines again
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 12:53:37 +0100
Hi!
>> it's frustrating when only part of a paper is on-line....!
I agree! I'm also wondering whether the pictures the Independent used were
provided by Maines or added by the Independent themselves. (I used to be a
journalist and we quite often supplemented an article with whatever vaguely
relevant pics we could dig out of the library.) If the latter, they may not
be a fair reflection of her research.
I wonder if part of the reason for the hostility to her work is that some of
it could be construed as attacking the medical establishment? OK, so it was
a long time ago, but her allegations about male doctors sexually abusing
women under the pretence that it was medical treatment are very disturbing.
All the best
Chris
=========================================
Chris Willis
English Dept
Birkbeck College
Malet Street
London WC1E 7HX
Chris@chriswillis.freeserve.co.uk
http://www.chriswillis.freeserve.co.uk/
=========================================
___________________________________________________________________
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 12:46:54 -0500
From: Marion <neko75@mindspring.com>
Subject: Re: New members/Introductions/Research Interests register
I guess I'll add my introduction to those of us who have been lurking for a
while. I am a first-year Ph.D. student in U.S. history at the University
of Southern California. I just graduated from Oklahoma State University,
where I developed my interest in the history of sexuality in the United
States. I have always been interested in women's studies, but I have
become very interested in concepts of masculinity (particularly related to
Asian American culture because my main area of study is in
Japanese-American history). I haven't really done any research in these
areas yet, but I have at least five years of Ph.D. work ahead of me during
which I can pursue my interests.
Marion Umeno
University of Southern California
first-year history Ph.D. student
___________________________________________________________________
From: along@crt.state.la.us (Alecia Long)
Subject: RE: The silly season? Sex and the ancient Greeks
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 15:17:43 -0500
I, for one, have a been a little bothered by the assumption that seems to
be be embedded in some of the recent list postings about Maines book and
now about Vrissimmtzs' book.
The assumption that these two books are somehow without value or don't pass
muster because the authors make mistakes and/or fail to take into account
the work of the history of sexuality cannon smacks of the very same kind of
academic derision and elitism that folks in the history of sexuality
community have been fighting against in order to have their work taken
seriously.
I don't think it does a lot of good for us to canibalize each other just
because we can. Criticism is essential, but far too often that criticism
devolves into smug and smirky commentary. God knows trying to write a
dissertation, let alone a book, is the hardest thing I've ever done, and I
always try to remember that when I'm reviewing or critiquing the work of
others. I also try to remember that the most important and bravest things
a writer or scholar can ever do is have the stamina to finish something and
then the nerve to put it out there for public scrutiny.
My own work is on New Orleans. While the existing secondary works on
sexuality in my subject city fall far short of what I consider minimum
standards of professional scholarly research, they have been invaluable to
me -- both in terms of helping me generate questions and providing
invaluable research leads. I would go so far as to say that popular/buff
literature on sexuality (and I would place Vrissimtz' work in this category
but not Maines) does an invaluable service to more "serious" scholars
because it generates interest among the larger reading public.
I think lots of the criticism of Maines' book has been right on-target and
I don't think she's a martyr, but I take exception to the assertion that
her book is an exemplar of "quantity over quality" publishing.
More than enough said I suspect.
Alecia P. Long, Historian
Louisiana State Museum
___________________________________________________________________
Date: Wed, 18 Aug 1999 10:13:14 +1000
From: Hera Cook <dcoo8738@mail.usyd.edu.au>
Subject: Re: New members/Introductions/Research Interests register
Hi,
Other people may feel differently, but I would love you to post your
conference program. That seems to me to be one of the things this list should be
for - to let us all know what is happening in other areas of the history of
sexuality.
(Comment from Leslie, please!)
Regards,
Hera
Sarah Elizabeth Hodges wrote:
> [message snipped]
>> Also-- a little plug-- I am co-organzing with David Arnold a conference
> which will take place in London 18-19 November 1999 on 'Population,
> Reproduction, and Birth Control in Late Colonial India' -- it will be
> held at the Centre for the Culture and History of Medicine at the School
> of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. If there is
> interest, I would be happy to post the tentative list of papers and our
> preliminary statement.
>>> ___________________________________________________________________
Date: Wed, 18 Aug 1999 10:46:53 +1000
From: Hera Cook <dcoo8738@mail.usyd.edu.au>
Subject: Re: Masturbation in Ancient Greece and Maines
Hi,
As I remember the illustrations do come from the book. Also she is not
talking about doctors sexually abusing women.
She believes that these doctors and these women did not see clitoral sensations
as sexual - only vaginal penetration was sexual according to her. Therefore, she
argues, that both the doctors and the women saw doctors giving women clitoral
massage to orgasm as non-sexual relief of hysteria.
As I have said I seriously doubt that this practice was at all common, but where
(or if) it occurred in the ideological framework Maine presents, I would argue
very strongly that it is ahistorical to describe it as sexual abuse. The
experience of sexual abuse is culturally constructed and accordingly differs over
time and in different societies.
I think the reason for the hostility is that she has produced an argument which
is plausible and highly culturally acceptable right now - (read the articles
linked by Ianthe) so it is hard to dispute, even though it is not correct.
Does the Greek book come into the same category? It is obviously a culturally
acceptable idea in modern Greece but how is the evidence for very different
attitudes integrated into an argument for sexual conservatism?
I know little about sexuality in Ancient Greece. Is there anyone out there who
could comment on new scholarship on attitudes to masturbation, especially female
masturbation? And, of course, on attitudes to homosexuality.
(About 3-4 years ago I heard a radio 4 interview with a scholar fromWarwick
University talking about homosexuality in Ancient greece - it was so good I
remember it still - Are you out there by any chance?)
Hera
Chris Willis wrote:
> Histsex:For historians of sexuality - http://homepages.primex.co.uk/~lesleyah
>> Hi!
>> >> it's frustrating when only part of a paper is on-line....!
>> I agree! I'm also wondering whether the pictures the Independent used were
> provided by Maines or added by the Independent themselves. (I used to be a
> journalist and we quite often supplemented an article with whatever vaguely
> relevant pics we could dig out of the library.) If the latter, they may not
> be a fair reflection of her research.
>> I wonder if part of the reason for the hostility to her work is that some of
> it could be construed as attacking the medical establishment? OK, so it was
> a long time ago, but her allegations about male doctors sexually abusing
> women under the pretence that it was medical treatment are very disturbing.
>> All the best
> Chris
>> =========================================
> Chris Willis
> English Dept
> Birkbeck College
> Malet Street
> London WC1E 7HX
>> Chris@chriswillis.freeserve.co.uk
> http://www.chriswillis.freeserve.co.uk/
> =========================================
>> ___________________________________________________________________
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 20:22:03 -0700
From: Jack Kolb <kolb@ucla.edu>
Subject: Re: The silly season? Sex and the ancient Greeks
>Seen yesterday in _The Guardian_ (and available for perusal in extenso at
>www.newsunlimited.co.uk)
> Book tells it straight about sex lives of ancient Greeks
> Forget the philosophers - a new study debunks the popular view of
>bedroom antics in the classical world, and it's selling by the stack
>Lesley Hall
>lesleyah@primex.co.uk
I searched this site, Leslie, but couldn't find the connection to the book
you mention. Maybe I just gave up too soon. But any further help would be
appreciated.
Jack Kolb
Dept. of English, UCLA
kolb@ucla.edu
___________________________________________________________________
Date: Wed, 18 Aug 1999 01:09:55 -0700
From: Margaret <minxs@sonic.net>
Subject: Re: New members/Introductions/Research Interests register
I'm another non-academic. I run the Pro-Choice Views website at About.com -
http://prochoice.about.com - and am always on the lookout for interesting
links and possible topics for articles that relate to abortion, birth
control, and "reproductive issues" in general.
Parenthetically, I just read "Courtesans and Fishcakes" which is about
appetites in ancient Greece. Anyone familiar with it? (Apologies if it's
been discussed already.)
___________________________________________________________________
Date: 18 Aug 1999 08:57:03 -0000
From: "Histsex:For historians of sexuality" <histsex-owner@listbot.com>
Subject: Conference announcements and calls for papers
In response to Hera's enquiry, yes, these are very welcome (I think it
does indicate on the list home page that this is a place for these, and
indeed information about forthcoming or recently published books in the
field, as well as for discussion).
Lesley
histsex-owner@listbot.com
lesleyah@primex.co.uk
___________________________________________________________________
Date: 18 Aug 1999 08:59:53 -0000
From: "Histsex:For historians of sexuality" <histsex-owner@listbot.com>
Subject: Finding Guardian article
There is a search engine somewhere on the site www.newsunlimited.co.uk
which searches the past 7 days: the page that the link takes you to at
first is always the current day's issue. I located the article in question
by searching on keywords from the headline.
Lesley
histsex-owner@listbot.com
lesleyah@primex.co.uk
___________________________________________________________________
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 17:55:00 -0600
From: Miriam Jones <mjones@unbsj.ca>
Subject: Re: New members/Introductions/Research Interests register
Well, the trend is too strong to resist, so here is my intro.
A long-time lurker, first-time (?) poster, I recently finished my PhD
in the Graduate Program in English at York U (Toronto, Canada), and
have just begun an appointment in the Dept. of Humanities and
Languages at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John. My
dissertation was "'Too Common and Most Unnatural': rewriting the
'infanticidal woman' in Britain, 1764-1859." It focuses on class and
gender issues in the way women who were accused of infanticide are
represented in folkloric ballads, broadsides, novels, forensic texts,
and newspapers. I will be working with this material for awhile,
turning it into a book (says she, brightly). I am also beginning some
work on "murderous sweetheart" narratives, which grows out of my
diss. research (for every broadside narrative I found about
infanticide, I found five about men who murdered their pregnant
lovers in order to avoid having to marry them). This should bring up
some interesting questions about sexual danger, the construction of
the labouring-class man as brutal, etc. etc.
I have been enjoying the list immensely.
Miriam
m i r i a m j o n e s, PhD
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Assistant Professor
Department of Humanities and Languages
University of New Brunswick in Saint John
P.O. Box 5050
Saint John, NB, Canada E2L 4l5
(506) 648-5602
mailto:mjones@unbsj.ca
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
___________________________________________________________________
Date: Wed, 18 Aug 1999 12:23:31 -0500
From: "Susan E. Myers-Shirk" <sshirk@mtsu.edu>
Subject: introduction
Hi:
Thought I'd take a moment to introduce myself. I've been reading the
list for sometime, but haven't gotten around to introducing myself yet.
I'm an associate professor in U.S. cultural and intellectual history at
Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN, USA. I'm
finishing up a project right now on Protestant moral imagination in the
mid-twentieth century. It focuses in particular on the work of pastoral
counselors (ordained ministers who were also trained as psychological
counselors and psychotherapists). Surprisingly, (or not surprisingly,
depending upon your perspective) they spent a remarkable amount of time
talking about sex.
This project has led me into my second project in
which I plan to examine the relationship between Protestant mainline or
mainstream denominations and their gay and lesbian parishioners in the
1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, perhaps going as late as the 1970s. There's a
significant amount of published and manuscript material on this topic,
but I'm also looking to interview gay and lesbian folks who were church
members, seminary students/professors or in any way associated with the
Protestant community during these three decades. Any comments or
thoughts from list readers would be welcomed.
I've been enjoying the discussion and am looking forward to more.
Susan Myers-Shirk
___________________________________________________________________
From: "Chris Willis" <chris@chriswillis.freeserve.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Maines and the silly season
Date: Wed, 18 Aug 1999 20:13:52 +0100
Hi!
The point I was trying to make is that Maines' work can be interpreted as an
attack on the medical establishment in general and abusive doctors (or what
we would now term abusive doctors) in particular, which might account for
some of the hostility towards her work. Press coverage certainly hasn't
helped!
While I take your point about cultural constructs, I can't entirely agree
that such treatment was necessarily non-abusive. I appreciate that the
doctors may well have claimed it wasn't abuse but, to paraphrase Mandy
Rice-Jones, "Well they would, wouldn't they?" Does Maines give patients'
views of the treatment? I haven't been able to get hold of her book yet, so
I'm having to go on what she's been quoted as saying, which I do appreciate
may not be accurate. (Some of the accounts I've read give the impression
she is talking about abuse, amongst other things, but then, it is the silly
season!)
Does Maines give any examples of female doctors or male patients involved in
this treatment? There's some fascinating gender politics here. It's
interesting that a professionally-qualified man receiving payment for
stimulating a woman to orgasm was considered to be giving medical treatment,
whereas women who did the same for men were regarded as prostitutes.
All the best
Chris
Hera Cook wrote:
> Also she is not
>talking about doctors sexually abusing women.
>She believes that these doctors and these women did not see clitoral
sensations
>as sexual - only vaginal penetration was sexual according to her.
Therefore, she
>argues, that both the doctors and the women saw doctors giving women
clitoral
>massage to orgasm as non-sexual relief of hysteria.
>As I have said I seriously doubt that this practice was at all common, but
where
>(or if) it occurred in the ideological framework Maine presents, I would
argue
>very strongly that it is ahistorical to describe it as sexual abuse. The
>experience of sexual abuse is culturally constructed and accordingly
differs over
>time and in different societies.
>
___________________________________________________________________
Date: Thu, 19 Aug 1999 07:10:24 +0100
From: Ianthe <ianthe@duende.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Finding Guardian article
In message <934966808.13151.qmail@ech>, Histsex:For historians of
sexuality <histsex-owner@listbot.com> writes
>Histsex:For historians of sexuality - http://homepages.primex.co.uk/~lesleyah
>>There is a search engine somewhere on the site www.newsunlimited.co.uk
>which searches the past 7 days: the page that the link takes you to at
>first is always the current day's issue. I located the article in question
>by searching on keywords from the headline.
The Financial Times are currently offering free access (next 10 days
or so) to their entire 5000-periodial archive, which includes such UK
national broadsheet newspapers as The Guardian and The Independent.
http://www.ft.com/virtual-globalarchive Rip it while you can ;-)
If you're really clever with Perl and fat academic connection you
could write a script which would syphon off the entire Independent
and Guardian article-database... :)
Yours,
--
Ianthe Duende
___________________________________________________________________
Date: Thu, 19 Aug 1999 07:23:18 -0700
From: James Anthony <reader45@pacbell.net>
Subject: Re: new member introduction/
Salutations.
I am here. I read and research. I was introduced to this list last May,
by a visiting professor from Amsterdam. I am always quite intrigued by
Sex/Gender/Queer Culture Theory
and the resulting debates. I look forward to new insights.. with keen
attention.
Sincerely,
--
James Anthony
________________________________________________________________
From: "Donna Larsen" <ladydonna85@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: new member introduction/
Date: Thu, 19 Aug 1999 16:58:35 PDT
Hello James. Are you taking the minor in Gay and Lesbian studies at San
Fransico State University. I also hear that they have a minor in Human
Sexuality. What have you or anyone here heard or found with these programs?
I have been considering this, though leaving Seattle is not something I am
anxious to do. I have also considered majoring in Psychology at University
of Washington and then doing one or both of those minors long distance. I
would apreciate any information from anyone concerning any of these
programs.
________________________________________________________________
From: "jayD" <jaysd@mistral.co.uk>
Subject: infanticide/miriam jones
Date: Fri, 20 Aug 1999 08:50:14 +0100
I sent the following email to Miriam Jones at her email addres and it has
been returned, so I am sending it to you thru' the group. Hope it is
useful.
j
I read your introduction to histsex and noticed your research is in the
area of infanticide. Have you come across the book _The Morning of Her Day_
by Jennifer Green, which is about a 17-year-old servant girl who was
hanged in 1805 for murdering her bastard child? The author, after going
through the evidence, decided that her death had been engineered by her
lover, who may have been involved with the murder of the child. I should
imagine the book is out of print but was published by Divine Books in 1987
and republished by Darf Publishers 50 Hans Crescent London SW1X 0NA (UK) in
1990.
jay Dixon
jaysd@mistral.co.uk
________________________________________________________________
Date: Fri, 20 Aug 1999 01:55:10 -0700
From: Jack Kolb <kolb@ucla.edu>
Subject: Re: Finding Guardian article
Many thanks for your kind suggestion, Ianthe. It sounds like a spurious
study. Has it even been accorded an academic review?
Jack Kolb
Dept. of English, UCLA
kolb@ucla.edu
________________________________________________________________
From: "Lesley Hall" <lesleyah@primex.co.uk>
Subject: Eder, Hall and Hekma: Sexual Cultures in Europe: Tables of contents
Date: Fri, 20 Aug 1999 21:49:07 +0100
It has been suggested to me that members of the list might find this =
information useful. I will also post these details on my website on the =
same page as the announcement of the publication: =
http://homepages.primex.co.uk/~lesleyah/nwsflsh.htm
National Overviews
Introduction by the editors=20
Sexual cultures in Great Britain: Some persisting themes Lesley A. Hall
Religion and Sexual Culture in Ireland Tony Fahey
The Netherlands: Neither Prudish nor Hedonistic Harry Oosterhuis
Sex and Sexuality in France since 1800 Robert A. Nye
Italy: Sexuality, morality, and public authority: metaphors and =
interventionism
Bruno P. F. Wanrooij
Sexual Cultures in Germany and Austria, 1700-2000 Franz X. Eder
Spain: the political and social context of sex reform in the late =
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Richard M. Cleminson & Efigenio =
Amez=FAa
Sexuality and politics in Russia (1700-2000) Igor S. Kon
Sexual Science and Sex Reform=20
Medical Science and the Modernisation of Sexuality Harry Oosterhuis
The World League for Sexual Reform: Some Possible Approaches Ralf Dose
Themes in sexuality
Introduction by the editors
Dangerous sexualities and their control=20
Sexual Education in Germany From the Eighteenth to the Twentieth =
Centuries Lutz D.H. Sauerteig
The Rise and Fall of European Syphilisation: The Debates on Human =
Experimentation and Vaccination of Syphilis, c. 1845-1870 Bertrand =
Taithe
The Culture of Compulsion: VD, Sexuality and the State in =
Twentieth-Century Scotlan d Roger Davidson
Stigmatised sexualities=20
Same-sex Relations Among Men in Europe, 1700-1990 Gert Hekma
Pornography in Western European Culture Dorelies Kraakman
National Responses to Sexual Perversions: The Case of Transvestism =
Angus McLaren
Keeping their fingers on the pulse: lesbian doctors in Britain, =
1890-1950 Emily Hamer
Sex and reproduction=20
Falling fertilities and changing sexualities in Europe since c.1850: a =
comparative survey of national demographic patterns Simon Szreter=20
Cultures of abortion in the Hague, early twentieth century Willem de =
Bl=E9court
'Didn't Stop to Think, I Just Didn't Want Another One': the Culture of =
Abortion in Inter-war South Wales Kate Fisher=20
French Catholics between Abstinence and 'Appeasement of Lust', 1930-1950 =
Anne-Marie Sohn
Lesley Hall
lesleyah@primex.co.uk
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
From: "Lesley Hall" <lesleyah@primex.co.uk>
Subject: Technology of Orgasm
Date: Sun, 22 Aug 1999 12:28:46 +0100
Histsex:For historians of sexuality - http://homepages.primex.co.uk/~lesleyah
Well, I've now read this, and must say I find the case less than =
compelling. The case for hysteria as a historically continuous concept =
meaning the same thing over centuries has been convincingly =
deconstructed by Helen King, but one cannot blame Maines for relying on =
the works she did, long regarded as authoritative. A lot of the =
pre-C19th evidence is not contextualised by reference to the concept of =
drawing the womb, wandering round the body, back into its proper place =
(which, as far as I know, was the purpose of midwives massaging the =
female parts with aromatic oils) or to humoural theories of medicine and =
bodily balance. Thus in some cases (though I'm not an expert on the =
period) I think she's reading things that were meant to produce =
menstrual flow (stoppage of which was seen as dangerous damming up of =
bodily fluids) rather than any form of sexual discharge, as being about =
the latter.
The story also seems perhaps to be a particularly N. American one - =
I certainly don't think I've ever seen ads for similar vibratory =
massagers in UK women's periods of the turn of the century, although =
they do include ads for things like 'Widow Welch's Pills', an =
emmengogue/abortifacient, and Rendells Pessaries (contraceptives), and =
this would probably be comparable with other advertising of small =
consumer electrical items in the 2 countries. It might be interesting to =
look at when things like electric irons, vacuum cleaners, and =
whathaveyou were first advertised in the 2 countries, as a general =
exercise in the differential introduction of electrical technology into =
the household. (Though another factor here might be differences in =
availability of domestic servants?)
Hydropathy, massage, etc, were all supposed to have (and do have) =
benefits in toning up the system, relaxation, etc etc, distinct from =
producing orgasms: I have never seen any indication of the women in the =
whirlpool bath at the Sanctuary - Central London health spa - having =
orgasms, though another assumption of this book seems to be that women's =
orgasms are paroxysmal events, observable by bystanders - not =
necessarily!
The evidence for the sexualisation of the vibro-massager in the =
1920s seems thin - one stag film quoted from a source Maines herself =
regards as not entirely reliable. However, I suspect that there is =
another story about the technologisation of sex, which her gendered =
perspective leaves out. Somewhere in my own files I have xeroxes of =
various ads in 'The Pink 'Un' and similar raffish men's periodicals, =
1890s-1900s, for what I assume to be 'personal services' in the =
prostitution sense, but couched in terms of other bodily services such =
as massage and 'electrotherapy'. Were prostitutes using these devices =
_on men_? And would this be a reason for the growing perception of =
massagers as 'obscene objects' which could not be advertised in =
respectable periodicals.
There is interesting and suggestive material in this book but I =
don't think all the evidence adduced will bear the interpretation Maine =
wants it to. =20
Lesley Hall
lesleyah@primex.co.uk
website http://homepages.primex.co.uk/~lesleyah
________________________________________________________________
From: "Nicky Riding" <nicky@rfharchives.freeserve.co.uk>
Subject: Re: New members/Introductions/Research Interests register
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 12:29:33 +0100
This came from the dodgy sexuality listserve! What do you think? I nearly
died laughing.
-----Original Message-----
From: Donna Larsen <ladydonna85@hotmail.com>
To: histsex@listbot.com <histsex@listbot.com>
Date: Monday, August 16, 1999 5:46 PM
Subject: Re: New members/Introductions/Research Interests register
>Histsex:For historians of sexuality -
http://homepages.primex.co.uk/~lesleyah
>
>I am a 35 year old returning student. At the moment I am working on my
>transferrer degree at Seattle Central community college. I plan to obtain
>my PH.D in Psychology and then specialize in education and research in the
>field of human sexuality. I have joined this list mainly to learn.
>
>I am also a lesbian leather woman. I have been a member of the Seattle
>Leather community for about 9 years now. I have been a professional
>Dominatrix. I did that for about 8 years and just recently decided to take
>a breather from that for a while. I am also a pagan whose sexuality and
>spirituality are very much connected.
>
>My wife Stephanie and I are in a Polyamoury relationship. This works
>extremely well for us. So that is Me in nutshell. I have been very much
>enjoying the information and conversations so far.
>
>_______________________________________________________________
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 09:58:28 -0400
From: Sheila McManus <smcmanus@YorkU.CA>
Subject: Re: New members/Introductions/Research Interests register
Hi Nicky,
>This came from the dodgy sexuality listserve! What do you think? I nearly
>died laughing.
For the benefit of all of us on this listserve I was wondering if you could
explain what exactly it was that you found amusing about Ms. Larsen's
introduction? I for one am thrilled to know that the recipients of this
list represent as much human diversity as the topics we discuss, and that I
am not the only academic leatherdyke in the world.
Sheila McManus
Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History, York University
smcmanus@yorku.ca
________________________________________________________________
From: Kazetnik@aol.com
Message-ID: <c0f7fe70.24f2c116@aol.com>
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 11:21:58 EDT
Subject: Re: New members/Introductions/Research Interests register
To Nicky Riding
Yes, why do you find this funny? I'm not a leatherdyke but I am a lesbian,
and that community is capable of containing a wide diversity of identities
and practices -- just like this list. A little less judging and a little more
listening might do some good.
Chris White
________________________________________________________________
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 16:42:12 +0100
From: Stacy Gillis <stacy.gillis@ukonline.co.uk>
Subject: Re: New members
Whilst not condoning Nicky's comments, I would like to point out that
perhaps she felt that the introduction in question was misplaced. I was
under the impression that this list is concerned with a discussion of the
history and historiography of sexuality. Personal sexual orientation has
not played a part in other introductions and I, for one, would like to
think that I could partake of discussions here without my sexual
preference/personal history being a part of my research/comments. Couldn't
we just move on from this and not get bogged down?
Cheers,
Stacy
---------------------------
Stacy Gillis
stacy.gillis@ukonline.co.uk
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/stacy.gillis/index.htm
The wit of a graduate student is like champagne.
Canadian champagne.
-- Robertson Davies--
________________________________________________________________
From: "Lesley Hall" <lesleyah@primex.co.uk>
Subject: Re: New members
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 19:44:49 +0100
My impression of Nicky's message was that it was posted in error to the
group.
>Personal sexual orientation has
>not played a part in other introductions and I, for one, would like to
>think that I could partake of discussions here without my sexual
>preference/personal history being a part of my research/comments.
I feel that whatever draws individuals to participate in this group is a
valid topic for their personal introduction. Certainly individuals have
indicated their sexual orientation where they feel this is of relevance.
Lesley Hall
lesleyah@primex.co.uk
website http://homepages.primex.co.uk/~lesleyah
________________________________________________________________ From: MZink@webtv.net (M Zink)
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 14:59:50 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: New members
hello,
i am a newbie but, i do have a question, i am in a wheelchair and i
would like to know how many ppl think that it would be hard for them to
have a sexual relationship with a person in a wheelchair, i have only
been in this dang thing since 96 and i really would like to know, not
because i want one myself but i do talk to ppl who are newly in
wheelchairs and i also just want to know?
________________________________________________________________
Subject: Inq. Henning Bech
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 21:03:45 -0500
From: "Michael J. Murphy" <mjmurphy@artsci.wustl.edu>
I wonder if anyone on the list has read Henning Bech's book _When Men
Meet: Homosexuality and Modernity_ (U. Chicago, 1997)? Interested in
comments from other readers.
Best, cheers, tally ho and all that.
Michael J. Murphy, M.A.
Graduate Student, Dept. of Art History and Archaeology
Washington University, St. Louis
mjmurphy@artsci.wustl.edu
********************************
"And remember darling I don't work before 10:30 and never after 4:30 in
the afternoon."
-Norma Desmond to Cecil B. DeMille in _Sunset
Boulevard_
________________________________________________________________
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 13:17:06 +1000
From: Hera Cook <dcoo8738@mail.usyd.edu.au>
Subject: dodgy sexuality
Hi,
Perhaps it would be useful for Nicky to read some theory relevant to the
groups which Donna Larsen belongs. Reading things other than cheap magazine
sensationalism might lead her to be less dismissive of other people's experience.
I am hesitant to suggest any but perhaps Donna might like to.
This might also lead her to be less certain of her own distance from 'the dodgy
sexuality listserve'. For example, harking back to the disucssion of The Sheik,
does she enjoy romances and the dominant/submissive roles enacted therein?
Could people also fill in the subject headings please, it is helpful when tracing
a discussion.
Hera
________________________________________________________________
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 02:33:09 -0700
From: John Baeza <jbaeza@frontiernet.net>
Subject: Info on Albert Moll
Hello,
I am seeking information regarding Albert Moll's Hanbuch der
Sexualwissenschaften (or in english Handbook of Sexual Science ). I am
especially interested to know if this work has ever been translated into
english. I am particulalarly looking for Moll's thoughts on sadism and
what has been termed "necrosadism" in this work. I know the work has
been cited in several english language articles but I am searching for
the exact language from the book.
Any help would be appreciated.
John J. Baeza
________________________________________________________________ Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 13:47:42 +0200
From: Gert Hekma <hekma@pscw.uva.nl>
Subject: Re: Inq. Henning Bech
>I wonder if anyone on the list has read Henning Bech's book _When Men
>Meet: Homosexuality and Modernity_ (U. Chicago, 1997)? Interested in
>comments from other readers.
Michael J. Murphy, M.A.
>Graduate Student, Dept. of Art History and Archaeology
>Washington University, St. Louis
>mjmurphy@artsci.wustl.edu
It is a great book, I saw it already widely quoted, and it is positively
reviewed in a recent issue of Thamyris (journal for gay & lesbian, gender,
ethnic studies)
Gert Hekma
I edited with Franz Eder and Lesley Hall the two volumes of Sexual Cultures
in Europe, teach gay studies (in English!) at the University of Amsterdam
and do often "Book Ends" for Sexualities (mass-reviews of sexuality-books).
I am an editor of Thamyris.
My recent work is on contemporary sexual cultures, especially in the
Netherlands and Europe. See the website of gay and lesbian studies
www.pscw.uva.nl/gl for articles of mine on Amsterdam, the Netherlands and
other topics.
I am a bookcollector and a satin fetischist
So I have a copy of Albert Moll's Handbuch der Sexualwissenschaft, will
look for necrosadism. As far as I know the book was not translated, but
even if it was, you have to realize that most translations of German
sexology books into other languages, certainly into English, are not very
reliable.
________________________________________________________________ From: "Chris Willis" <chris@chriswillis.freeserve.co.uk>
Subject: Wheelchairs
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 13:45:47 +0100
Hi!
My personal answer is if I was attracted to the person then I hope I
wouldn't let myself be put off by the wheelchair. Sorry if this is a rather
simplistic way of putting it.
There was a very good article about sexuality and disability in the Guardian
on Friday, which might be of interest to list members it's on-line at:
http://www.newsunlimited.co.uk/g2/story/0,3604,75233,00.html
All the best
Chris
________________________________________________________________ From: MZink@webtv.net (M Zink)
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 08:00:06 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: Wheelchairs
Chris
thank you for your answering my question,do you know you are the only
person that answered it, and the article was a great help, i think i may
include some of the info on my page at
www.angelfire.com/hi2/quickie121
is it just that my question was not that interesting, or is it just that
people find it hard to talk about folks in wheelchairs and sexuallity, i
am one of the most sexual beings that I know, I feel everything, (below
my waist) and i dont know i thought maybe some other people would have
answered my question, i am rather shocked, guess i should not be though
it has been my experience that ppl have a hard time talking to me about
little things let alone sex. Anyway, thanks once again for being the
only one brave enough to reply to my question about sex and wheelchairs
:+)
________________________________________________________________
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 06:37:41 -0700
From: Karen Duder <kduder@UVic.CA>
Subject: Re: Wheelchairs
Hi there. I think that you'll probably receive many more replies as people
come back from summer vacations - or perhaps we're just a little slow on
the uptake! I'm with Chris: it seems to me that it's the individual who's
important. Surely if people are attracted to each other and have the desire
to be together, then a wheelchair is naturally to be factored in but
needn't be a "problem". I see attitudes about wheelchairs and about
individuals using them as more of an encumbrance than wheelchairs
themselves. The largest and most offensive mistake that a lot of people
make is that a person in a wheelchair is devoid of sexual desire. And quite
frankly, if a person couldn't be bothered to get their head around
something which was a really important part of my life - "so long, honey"!
That seems ruthless, probably...
I've attached a copy of an annotated bibliography on sexuality and
disability. Unfortunately I no longer have the URL for the site from which
I downloaded it some time ago, but there should be enough info (names of
authors etc.) in it to make it very traceable via a web search. I believe
that I simply ran "sexuality + disability" in as a search term. I don't
think that the bibliography includes the new Disability Studies Reader,
from Routledge (I think) or a couple of other 1998 & 1999 publications. In
any case, I hope that it will have something of interest to many people on
the list.
If it doesn't translate well into your software, let me know and I'll try
sending it in another format.
Karen Duder
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karen Duder PhD Programme
Department of History Email kduder@uvic.ca
University of Victoria Dept. Phone (250) 721-7382
P.O. Box 3045 Dept. Fax (250) 721-8772
Victoria, B.C. V8W 3P4
CANADA
"Any measurement must take into account the position of the observer.
There is no such thing as measurement absolute, there is only
measurement relative. Relative to what is an important part of the
question." Jeanette Winterson, _Gut Symmetries_
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
________________________________________________________________
From: MZink@webtv.net (M Zink)
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 10:08:00 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: Wheelchairs
karen,
thank you so much for your responce to my letter, but the information
you sent was i think in java and i have web, and this silly thing wont
work with it, ah, one other thing, do you think you or someone you know
would ask someone out in a wheelchair, and if you did , where would you
put the chair, do you have a big enough car, and if you drive a truck, i
cant get into it, i just wanted to through out somethings to think
about, and if we go somewere do they have handicap ramps and restrooms,
i cant go to ppls houses that have stairs unless you want to carrie me
up them, and i am a big girl and i really dont want a first date to be
carried around anyway, you are sweet to answer my letter, and i really
want more input, i just want people to think about it, how many times
have you or someone you known said dont stair at that person or don't
ask that question, maybe we should ask the questions, that way the vail
will be off and the dark whole i found myself in a few years back would
not be so bad, i went out to a night spot in our town and it is quite
large and i want you to know, and i dont think of myself as a bad
looking person, that no one would talk to me or anying, they made a big
circle around me and it was like void space, and i guess that is what i
mean, would it be hard to think of yourself that way, or would you have
a problem asking someone out. I must say that years back i would have, i
would like to think that i am not vain but i am, and i dont know,
________________________________________________________________
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 07:29:25 -0700
From: Karen Duder <kduder@UVic.CA>
Subject: Re: Wheelchairs
Hi. Ok, here's the bibliography as regular email text. It's a little ugly
in terms of formatting, but it's readable!
These are important questions to raise (and thanks for asking them). And
before anyone on the list should write in and suggest that these sorts of
questions aren't "appropriate" on histsex (the remarks about a recent
posting to the list come to mind), I would venture to suggest that people
examine their reasons for a lack of comfort in trying to answer them. It's
very easy to say, "well, of course it wouldn't be a problem," but one has
to realize that there are many factors to consider, access being a big one.
The car issue is also an important one. I use the buses myself, so it's a
moot point in some respects. Victoria has on all its routes "kneeling"
buses specifically designed for wheelchair and scooter access, so getting
around is annoying but possible. Stairs - got 'em!
Karen
| Home | Previous Page | Top of Section | Next Page | Feedback |
[SIECUS]
Annotated Bibliographies
Sexuality and Disability
Over the past twenty years, pivotal legislation has gone into effect that
has enabled people with disabilities to gain their rightful place as equal
members of American society. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the 1975
Education for All Handicapped Children Act, and the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 have added opportunities for the inclusion and
integration into the community of people of all abilities. With inclusion
and integration come greater opportunities for sexual expression. Thus,
there is a need for greater access to information and educational material
that affirms the sexuality of people of all abilities, including those with
early- and late-onset disabilities; physical, sensory, and mental
disabilities; and disabilities that hinder learning.
SIECUS advocates that all persons, including persons with disabilities,
receive sexuality education, sexual health care, and opportunities for
socializing and sexual expression. This necessitates sexuality education
and training programs for teachers, health care workers, and family members
to help them understand and support the normal sexual development and
behavior of persons with disabilities. Social agencies and health care
delivery systems must develop policies and procedures that will ensure the
provision of services and benefits on an equal basis to all persons without
discrimination because of disability.
This bibliography was prepared by Shelley Ross and Mitchell Tepper, M.P.H.,
Ph.D. candidate, Program in Human Sexuality, Umiversity of Pennsylvania.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
GENERAL BOOKS
Living and Loving: Information about Sexuality and Intimacy
Arthritis Foundation
This book offers tips for solving problems when arthritis interferes
with sexuality. It includes illustrations of comfortable sexual positions
for individuals with arthritis. 1993, 17 pp. Single copies free from local
chapters; bulk rates available.
Arthritis Foundation, PO Box 19000, Atlanta, GA 30326; 800-283-7800.
Sexuality and Multiple Sclerosis, Third Edition
Michael Barrett
This book covers research findings, communication skills for sexual
enhancement, information resources, and positive approaches to sexual
adjustment with multiple sclerosis. It includes sections specifically for
unmarried individuals, gay men, lesbians, and married couples. It discusses
the effects of medication on sexual function. Also available in French.
1991, 80 pp. Single copies free; orders of multiple copies subject to
postage and handling costs.
Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, 250 Bloor Street East, Suite
1000, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4W 3P9; 416-922-6065.
Learning to Love: A Set of Simple Booklets on Sexuality
Brook Advisory Centres
These five publications provide accurate information about sexuality and
reproductive health for young people with learning disabilities. Titles in
the series are Contraception, From Child to Adult, How a Baby Is Born, Sex
and Making Love, and Health & Infections. 1991, 23 pp. each, £12.95 for the
series, bulk rates available.
Education & Publications Unit, Brook Advisory Centres, 153 A East
Street, London SE17 2SD England; 011-44-71-708-1390.
The Sensuous Heart: Sex after a Heart Attack or Heart Surgery
Suzanne Cambre
This cartoon-style booklet explains the emotional and physical needs of
persons who have had heart attacks or heart surgery. It answers questions
about frequency of sexual activity; suggests comfortable positions; and
covers the effects of alcohol, prescribed drugs, stimulants, and illegal
drugs. 1990, 21 pp., $5.75 plus $1.50 postage and handling.
Pritchett and Hull Associates, 3440 Oakcliff Road NE, Suite 110, Atlanta,
GA 30340-3079; 800-241-4925.
The Baby Challenge: A Handbook on Pregnancy for Women with a Physical
Disability
Mukti Jain Campion
This book describes the impact, effect, and outcome of a range of physical
disabilities on pregnancy and childbirth, and of pregnancy and childbirth
on physical disabilities. It outlines how various disabilities affect
fertility, the role of genetics, implications of medication, remission of
symptoms, precautions to take during pregnancy and labor, possible
interventions during delivery, and what to expect in a postnatal ward. A
resource list accompanies each chapter. The book includes a chapter
specifically geared for health care professionals. 1990, $15.95.
Routledge, Chapman & Hall, 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001;
212-244-3336.
Sexuality and Spinal Cord Injury
Sylvia Eichner McDonald, Willa M. Lloyd, Donna Murphy, and Margaret
Gretchen Russert
The authors explore a number of topics regarding sexuality and reproduction
before and after a spinal cord injury, including the physiology of sexual
response and reproductive health. One chapter outlines the steps
individuals with spinal cord injuries may take to prepare for sexual
activity. Another is devoted to different ways to give hugs from a
wheelchair. There is also a general discussion about sexual attitudes,
relationships, parenthood, contraception, and sexually transmitted
diseases. The book concludes with a list of myths about sexuality and
spinal cord injury and a resource list. 1993, 34 pp., $14.95 plus postage
and handling.
The Spinal Cord Injury Center, Froedtert Memorial Lutheran, 9200 West
Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53226; 414-259-3657.
Women with Disabilities: Essays in Psychology, Culture, and Politics
Michelle Fine and Adrienne Asch, editors
Drawing on law, social science, folklore, literature, psychoanalytic
theory, and political activism, the contributers to this volume describe
the experience of women with disabilities. The essays consider the impact
of social class, race, the age at which disability occurs, and sexual
orientation on the disabled woman's self-esteem, as well as on her life
options. Topics include sex roles and culture, bodies and images, the
constructions of gender and disability, and women with disabilities in
relationships. 1988, 347 pp., $19.95.
Temple University Press, University Service Building, Room 305, Broad and
Oxford Streets, Philadelphia, PA 19122; 215-204-8787.
Past Due: A Story of Disability, Pregnancy, and Birth
Anne Finger
The author, who was disabled by polio during childhood, explores the
complexities of disability and reproductive rights through an account of
her pregnancy and home birth experience. Disability rights, motherhood, and
reproductive freedom are among the issues she raises. 1990, 200 pp., $10.95.
The Seal Press, 3131 Western Avenue, Suite 410, Seattle, WA 98121-1028;
206-283-7844.
Love: Where to Find It, How to Keep It
Elle Friedman Becker
This self-help book describes ways for people with disabilities to meet and
discusses communication skills, dating, and terminating relationships. It
is written from the personal experiences and professional observations of a
single woman with an acquired disability who works as a counseling
psychologist. 1991, 104 pp., $6.95 plus $1.25 postage and handling. Accent
Special Publications, Cheever Publishing, PO Box 700, Bloomington, IL
61702; 309-378-2961.
Marriage and Disability
Betty Garee and Raymond Cheever, editors
In this collection of articles from ACCENT magazine, people with a variety
of physical disabilities tell how they met and married, and discuss the
happy, successful lives they are living with their spouses. 1992, 80 pp.,
$7.95.
Accent Special Publications, Cheever Publishing, PO Box 700, Bloomington,
IL 61702; 309-378-2961.
Reproductive Issues for Persons with Physical Disabilities
Florence P. Haseltine, Sandra S. Cole, and David B. Gray, editors This
resource features contributions from both consumers with disabilities and
health professionals from a variety of backgrounds. Chapters focus on
dispelling myths about sexuality and disability and exploring sexual issues
that challenge people with disabilities. Topics include basic information
about congenital and acquired physical disabilities, reproductive rights
and opportunities, sexual dysfunctions, sexually transmitted diseases,
reproductive physiology, sexual development, health care needs, fertility,
birth control, adoptions, pregnancy, labor and delivery, and parenthood.
Personal stories of people with disabilities appear throughout the book,
and various clinical and policy issues are discussed. 1993, 400 pp., $33.00.
Paul H. Brookes Publishing, PO Box 10624, Baltimore, MD 21285-0624;
800-638-3775.
Sex and Back Pain Lauren Andrew Hebert
A physical therapist describes various types of back pain and sexual
positions for maximum comfort. Line drawings and photographs illustrate
recommended exercises and sexual positions for people who experience back
pain. All individuals in the photographs are clothed. In an accompanying
video, a partially clothed man and woman demonstrate the various sexual
positions described in the book. Book: 1992, 121 pp., $12.95. Video: 1993,
21 min., $149.00 (comes with three 21-page professional manuals; additional
manuals are available for $6.00 each).
IMPACC, 1 Washington Street, PO Box 1247, Greenville, ME 04441;
800-762-7720; from outside the United States, 207-695-3354.
Understanding and Expressing Sexuality: Responsible Choices for Individuals
with Developmental Disabilities
Rosalyn Kramer Monat-Haller
The author draws on her experience in counseling to discuss sexuality
issues for people with developmental disabilities. Topics include anatomy
and physiology, physical maturation, contraception, marriage, parenthood,
AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, and sexual exploitation and abuse. The
book includes a bibliography, resource list, and therapeutic intervention
tools. The author conducts in-service training and workshops on this book.
1992, 240 pp., $26.00 plus $2.50 postage and handling. Residents of South
Carolina add 5 percent sales tax.
Paul H. Brookes Publishing. Place orders through Rosalyn Kramer
Monat-Haller, PO Box 2103, Summerville, SC 29484; 803-873-6935.
Enabling Romance: A Guide to Love, Sex, and Relationships for the Disabled
(And People Who Care about Them)
Ken Kroll and Erica Levy Klein
This book contains information on the sexual abilities and limitations
of amputees and individuals with spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis,
blindness, hearing impairments, and neuromuscular disorders. It includes
guidelines for overcoming stereotypes and offers advice on family planning,
safer sex, and establishing intimacy. 1992, 209 pp., $22.50.
Harmony Books/Crown Publishers, 201 East 50th Street, New York, NY 10022;
800-733-3000.
Sexual Rehabilitation of the Spinal-Cord-Injured Patient
J. F. J. Leyson, editor
Twenty-eight experts in the fields of sexuality, sexual dysfunction, and
spinal cord injury contributed to this practical guide to the management of
every type of sexual dysfunction arising from spinal cord injury. The book
also explores fertility, pregnancy, and sexual orientaiton among
individuals with spinal cord injury. 1991, 560 pp., $89.50.
Humana Press, 999 Riverview Drive, Suite 208, Totowa, NJ 07512; 201-256-1699.
Survivor: For People with Developmental Disabilities Who Have Been Sexually
Assaulted
Los Angeles Commission on Assaults against Women
This publication is made up of two spiral-bound booklets. Booklet 1 is
written for individuals with minimal reading levels, to be read with the
assistance of a teacher or parent. Booklet 2 is designed for parents,
teachers, advocates, and others. 1986, single copies free, $1.50 postage
and handling.
Los Angeles Commission on Assaults against Women, 6043 Hollywood Boulevard,
Suite 200, Los Angeles, CA 90028; 213-462-1281.
Finding Love and Intimacy
Robert Mauro
>From the editor and publisher of PeopleNet, the personals newsletter for
unmarried persons with disabilities, comes this compilation of essays,
poems, short stories, and book reviews on love, relationships, and
sexuality. Topics include dealing with protective parents, arranging dates,
and coping with shyness. 1994, 190 pp., $8.95. Accent Special Publications,
Cheever Publishing, PO Box 700, Bloomington, IL 61702; 309-378-2961.
A Guide to Bladder Cancer, Urostomy and Impotence
Roni Olsen
This book offers guidance to people who have recently received a diagnosis
of bladder cancer or who are contemplating a urinary diversion (or an
ostomy of any type). The author shares her husband's experience with
bladder cancer and the results of her own extensive research. 1994, 140
pp., $6.95 plus $1.50 postage and handling. Highline Editions, 6400
Southwood Drive, Littleton, CO 80121; 303-798-8281.
Smooth Sailing into the Next Generation: The Causes and Prevention of
Mental Retardation
Diane Plumridge and Judith Hylton
This manual defines mental retardation, discusses its known causes, and
outlines several discussion points and possible choices one might make that
could influence the risk of producing children with a cognitive disability.
Personal responsibility is emphasized, along with the importance of
planning pregnancy and parenthood within a lifestyle of mature behavior.
1989, 139 pp., 19.95 plus $2.00 postage and handling, bulk rates available.
R & E Publishers, 468 Auzerais Avenue, Suite A, San Jose, CA 95126;
408-866-6303.
The Sensuous Wheeler, Sexual Adjustment for the Spinal Cord Injured Barry Rabin
This sexuality guide for men and women with spinal cord injuries covers
sexual response, adjustment, and functioning. It also outlines ideas for
attracting a partner, preparing for sexual activity, sexual positions, and
nondemand pleasure techniques. 1980, 153 pp., $14.95 plus $3.00 postage and
handling.
New Mobility, Miramar Communications, PO Box 8987, Malibu, CA 90265-8987;
800-543-4116, ext. 454.
The Right to Control What Happens to Your Body: A Straightforward Guide to
Issues of Sexuality & Sexual Abuse
The Roeher Institute
This easy-to-read, large-print book discusses the risk and incidence of
sexual abuse of people with mental disabilities. It includes definitions of
abuse and assault, as well as suggesting ways of recognizing, treating, and
preventing sexual abuse. This guide includes a glossary and lists of
referral sources and legal resources. 1991, 29 pp., $7.00 (Canadian) plus
15 percent postage and handling.
The Roeher Institute, Kinsmen Building, York University, 4700 Keele Street,
North York, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3; 416-661-9611.
Sexual Abuse Prevention Programs and Mental Handicap: A Report Prepared by
the G. Allan Roeher Institute
The Roeher Institute
This Canadian study analyzes several prevention programs in terms of their
suitability or adaptability for use with people who have a mental
impairment. It explores what information is appropriate and required in a
prevention program that deals with people with a disability, summarizes
findings and general trends across programs studied, and presents
recommendations for future development. 1989, 70 pp., $6.00 (Canadian) plus
15 percent postage and handling.
The Roeher Institute, Kinsmen Building, York University, 4700 Keele Street,
North York, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3; 416-661-9611.
Vulnerable: Sexual Abuse and People with an Intellectual Handicap
The Roeher Institute
This study addresses the problems of society's denial of sexual feelings
and of sexual abuse among persons with intellectual disabilities, the
prevalence of sexual abuse among such individuals, and risk factors of
developmental disability as related to sexual abuse. It discusses treatment
and effects of abuse, accessibility of services, prevention, legal issues,
and sex offenders who have an intellectual disability. 1989, 115 pp.,
$14.00 Canadian plus 15 percent postage and handling.
The Roeher Institute, Kinsmen Building, York University, 4700 Keele Street,
North York, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3; 416-661-9611.
Mother-to-Be: Guide to Pregnancy and Birth for Women with Disabilities
Judith Rogers and Molleen Matsumura
This book discusses all aspects of pregnancy in the context of disability,
from making the decision to have a child to the problems that women with
disabilities confront after giving birth. It begins with interviews with
thirty-six women who have a range of disabilities, including cerebral
palsy, lupus, ataxia, multiple sclerosis, spina bifida, postpolio syndrome,
and arthritis. Other chapters discuss nutrition, exercise, labor, and
delivery. Appendices include dietary plans, a glossary, an extensive index,
and lists of important resource organizations and suggested reading
materials. 1991, 410 pp., $24.95 plus $4.00 postage and handling.
Demos Publications, 386 Park Avenue South, Suite 201, New York, NY 10016;
212-683-0072.
The Illustrated Guide to Better Sex for People with Chronic Pain Robert W.
Rothrock and Gabriella D'Amore
This self-help booklet provides information about frequent problems that
interfere with sexual enjoyment for individuals who suffer from chronic
pain and suggests simple, basic solutions. It includes six illustrations
showing comfortable sexual positions for persons with
various pain disorders, and stresses the importance of communication
between partners. 1991, 37 pp., $8.95 plus $3.00 postage and handling, bulk
prices available.
R. Rothrock & G. D'Amore, 201 Woolston Drive, PO Box 1355, Morrisville, PA
19067-0325; 215-736-1266.
Sexual Concerns When Illness or Disability Strikes
Carol Sandowski
This book discusses the possible effects of various medical conditions
(arthritis, diabetes, spinal cord injury, alcoholism) on sexual
functioning, relationships, self-esteem, and communication. The author
explores treatments for sexual dysfunction. 1989, 281 pp., $56.75 plus
$5.50 postage and handling.
Charles C. Thomas Publisher, 2600 South First Street, Springfield, IL
62794-9265; 217-789-8980, 800-258-8980.
Sexuality & Cancer: For the Woman Who Has Cancer and Her Partner Leslie R.
Schover
This booklet offers information about cancer and female sexuality.
Information includes the effects of cancer and treatment on sexuality, keys
to staying sexually healthy during cancer treatment, how to seek
professional help, and a list of resources. 1991, 40 pp., free.
The American Cancer Society, New York, NY. All orders are taken by local
chapters; consult your local telephone directory.
Growing Up: A Social and Sexual Education Picture Book for Young People
with Mental Retardation
Victor Shea and Betty Gordon
This book is designed to be read to students ages twelve and older who have
moderate to severe mental impairments, although many parts may be suitable
for younger students with mild learning problems. The book is looseleaf,
providing basic information and illustrations on the right, and ideas for
discussion and further learning activities on the left. This format allows
for tailoring the program to individual needs. 1991, 147 pp., $22.00 plus
$3.00 postage and handling.
Clinical Center for the Study of Development and Learning Library, UNC-CH,
BSRC, CB#7255, Chapel Hill, NC 27599; 919-966-5171.
Changes in You: A Clearly Illustrated, Simply Worded Explanation of the
Changes of Puberty for Boys
Changes in You: A Clearly Illustrated, Simply Worded Explanation of the
Changes of Puberty for Girls
Peggy C. Siegel
These books explain changes of puberty in a simple, positive manner. They
cover such topics as physical development, menstruation, erections,
masturbation, wet dreams, and sexual abuse prevention. A parent guide
accompanies each book. 1994, 47 pp. each, $8.95 each. Family Life Education
Associates, PO Box 7466, Richmond, VA 23221; 804-262-0531.
Fact Sheet: HIV/AIDS Prevention for People with Disabilities
Sharon Wachsler
This comprehensive fact sheet covers HIV/AIDS prevention and testing
information, and includes a list of resources and agencies. 1991, 20 pp.,
single copies free, multiple copies $1.00 each for Massachusetts residents
and $2.00 each for others.
Information Center for Individuals with Disabilities, Fort Point Place,
27-43 Wormwood Street, Boston, MA 02210-1606; 617-727-5540; TDD
617-345-9743.
Intimacy and Disability
Barbara F. Waxman, Judi Levin, and June Isaacson Kailes
Written by and for individuals with disabilities, this guide assists people
in overcoming barriers to developing intimate relationships. Topics include
self-image, body image, sexuality, dating, intimacy, contraception, and
sexual abuse. The book includes a resource list.
1982, 110 pp., $5.50.
National Rehabilitation Information Center, 8455 Colesville Road, Suite
935, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3319; 800-346-2742.
Signs of Sexual Behavior: An Introduction to Some Sex-related Vocabulary in
American Sign Language
James Woodward
This introduction to sexuality-related American Sign Language vocabulary
offers clear illustrations of more than 130 signs. Comprehensive
explanations and notes on derivation are included. A video illustrating the
signs is also available. Book: 1993, 81 pp., $7.95. Video: 1993, 30 min.,
$24.95. Book and video: $29.95.
T.J. Publishers, 817 Silver Spring Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910,
301-585-4440.
BOOKS FOR PARENTS
HIV & AIDS Prevention Guide for Parents
The Arc
Developed to assist parents and caregivers in talking about HIV/AIDS with
their children who have developmental or learning disabilities, this guide
includes illustrations, resource lists, and position statements. 1991, 14
pp., 1-9 copies, $3.50 each; 10-29 copies, $2.50 each; 30 or more copies,
$1.50 each.
Publications, National Headquarters of the Arc, PO Box 1047, Arlington, TX
76004; 817-261-6003.
Sexuality and People with Intellectual Disability
Lydia Fegan, Anne Rauch, and Wendy McCarthy
This book candidly discusses sexuality and the attitudes of both
individuals with intellectual disabilities and their caregivers. Sample
dialogues and case situations, discussion of sexual rights for people with
intellectual disabilities, and policy guidelines for organizations also are
included. 1993, 144 pp., $30.00.
Paul H. Brookes Publishing, PO Box 10624, Baltimore, MD 21285-0624;
410-337-9580, 800-638-3775.
Shared Feelings: A Parent's Guide to Sexuality Education for Children,
Adolescents, and Adults Who Have a Mental Handicap
Diane Maksym
This book is intended to help parents of children with mental impairments
learn how to teach their sons and daughters about relationships and
sexuality. A parent guide includes tips for facilitating support networks,
goal setting, and working in groups. Outlines for seven meetings are
included. 1990, 181 pp. Parent guide: $16.00. Discussion guide: $14.00
(Canadian) plus 15 percent postage and handling.
The Roeher Institute, Kinsmen Building, York University, 4700 Keele
Street, North York, Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3; 416-661-9611.
How to Thrive, Not Just Survive: A Guide to Developing Independent Life
Skills for Blind and Visually Impaired Children and Youth
Rose-Marie Swallow and Kathleen Mary Huebner, editors
This book is a guide for parents, teachers, and others involved in helping
children with visual impairments develop skills for daily living. Topics
include sexuality education, motor development, personal hygiene and
grooming, clothing selection, self-esteem, social behavior, communication,
and low-vision devices. 1987, 93 pp., $16.95 plus $3.50 postage and
handling.
American Foundation for the Blind, c/o American Book Center, Brooklyn
Navy Yard, Building 3, Brooklyn, NY 11205; 718-852-9873.
An Easy Guide for Caring Parents: Sexuality and Socialization-A Book
for Parents of People with Mental Handicaps
Lynn McKee and Virginia Blacklidge
This book addresses the social needs of children with mental
impairments and other developmental disabilities. It discusses the crucial
role of parents in their children's sexuality education and contains a
comprehensive discussion of sexual development, addressing topics such as
growing up, responsible sexual behavior, masturbation, social life, sexual
orientation, fertility and birth control, sexual abuse, and marriage. 1986,
56 pp., $7.25, bulk rates available. Planned Parenthood/Shasta-Diablo, 2185
Pacheco Street, Concord, CA 94520; 510-676-0505.
BOOKS FOR PROFESSIONALS
The HIV Guide: Resources for Board Members and Administrators
The Arc
This practical guide is intended to help local and state chapter executives
develop and adopt policies and procedures necessary to
address HIV/AIDS issues with staff, consumers, and volunteers. 1991, 48
pp., $6.00.
Publications, National Headquarters of the Arc, PO Box 1047, Arlington, TX
76004; 817-261-6003.
Summary of the National Forum on HIV/AIDS Prevention Education for
Children and Youth with Special Needs
Association for the Advancement of Health Education (AAHE)
This report of an assessment of HIV/AIDS prevention education for special
education students summarizes findings, presents conclusions and
recommendations, and includes a reading list. 1989, 38 pp., single copies
free.
Association for the Advancement of Health Education (AAHE), 1900
Association Drive, Reston, VA 22091; 703-476-3437.
The Sexual Assault Survivor's Handbook for People with Developmental
Disabilities and Their Advocates
Norma J. Baladerian
This book can be used as a guide and support after a sexual assault of an
individual with a developmental disability. It walks the reader through the
events following an assault, and provides guidelines for counseling
survivors and their families. The book can also be used to teach
professionals about how to prevent the sexual assault of people with
developmental disabilities. 1991, 34 pp., $11.95 plus $2.50 postage and
handling.
R & E Publishers, 468 Auzerais Avenue, Suite A, San Jose, CA 95126;
408-866-6303.
HIV Infection and Developmental Disabilities: A Resource for Service
Providers
Allen C. Crocker, Herbert J. Cohen, and Theodore A. Kastner, editors This
text looks at the medical, social, legal, and educational issues involved
in providing appropriate HIV-related services to people with developmental
disabilities. It includes discussion of the developmental needs of children
and youth with congenital and acquired HIV infection, special concerns of
staff, and policy considerations. 1992, 320 pp., $47.00.
Paul H. Brookes Publishing, PO Box 10624, Baltimore, MD 21285-0624;
410-337-9580.
Socialization and Sexuality: A Comprehensive Training Guide for
Professionals Helping People with Disabilities that Hinder Learning
Winifred Kempton
This guide outlines a sexuality education course for persons with
developmental disabilities. It describes teaching strategies that have
proven successful with such individuals and details the process of training
professionals to become sexuality educators for students with cognitive
disabilities. A list of print, video, and multimedia resources is included.
1993, 348 pp., $39.95.
James Stanfield Company, PO Box 41058, Santa Barbara, CA 93140;
800-421-6534. Or Planned Parenthood of Southeast Pennsylvania, 1144
Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107-5740; 215-351-5590.
Teaching Persons with Mental Retardation about Sexuality and Relationships
June Kogut and Susan Vilardo
This manual offers educators of persons with mental retardation guidance
for the development and implementation of sexuality education programs. The
authors are sexuality educators for Planned Parenthood of Connecticut.
1994, $49.95.
Publications Department, Planned Parenthood of Connecticut, 129 Whitney
Avenue, New Haven, CT 06510; 203-865-5158.
Sexuality and the Mentally Retarded: A Clinical and Therapeutic Guidebook
Rosalyn Kramer Monat-Haller
This guide to sexuality counseling and education for individuals with
developmental disabilities presents ethical ch