ZOMG! Don't be like those godless Europeans: Abstinence-only in 1915
What's the opposite of nostalgia? When you go digging into a past you've run far and hard from, with the wary caution of post-apocalyptic scavengers looking through the ruins in a Stephen Vincent Benet story? (Aside: goodness gracious, By The Waters of Babylon is from the Thirties?! Well, so was The Black Flame. Sigh. We were given to understand in English class that it was about the Cold War and MADness-induced Armageddon.)
Anyways, that's the feeling I got when I unearthed these digitized examples of the hard-copy morality manuals I was raised upon, the ones that told me over and over again that humans can overcome their sexual desires by the application of prayer and willpower, that men are attracted to women's bodies and weakness and women are attracted to men's domineering natures and pocketbooks, that people who have sex for fun really actually hate each other and arranged marriages were the happiest and most fulfilling ones, and that as long as you don't read books or watch movies that talk about romance you won't be at risk for wanting one...
Accurate information and condoms won't stop the spread of VD - only Jesus will! And don't miss the natalist panic-mongering about the need to outbreed the Hun! (I actually read a variant of this article in a print copy of America from 1919 in the library basement at my college. There was also a rant in that issue about the availability of "Holiday" cards that had puppy dogs on them, instead of only religious Christmas cards for sale.)
God will (probably) make sure your husband gets a raise so that you can afford to have children, if you only trust Him enough to refrain from the sinful prophylactics! (Also, kissing your boyfriend is a sin if either of you get a "thrill" from it. You should get everything you will need to know for your wedding night about what physical intimacy will be like from books and parents and doctors.)
Accurate sex ed is like smoking around gasoline - because you'd never have those desires if people hadn't told you about them! (I'm sure that it was such a relief not having those sexy silent movies and modern novels, for Abelard and Eloise...)
These articles cover quite a range of years, from before US entry into WWI to post-WWII. I won't say "enjoy", but "appreciate" them - because these attitudes have most definitely not gone away. Plenty of kids are still being raised to believe that these lies are true, and plenty of politicians are still merrily exploiting the hypocrisies of the prude brigade and the envious who can't stop agonizing over the fact that (in their heads) Everyone's having more sex than them...
Anyways, that's the feeling I got when I unearthed these digitized examples of the hard-copy morality manuals I was raised upon, the ones that told me over and over again that humans can overcome their sexual desires by the application of prayer and willpower, that men are attracted to women's bodies and weakness and women are attracted to men's domineering natures and pocketbooks, that people who have sex for fun really actually hate each other and arranged marriages were the happiest and most fulfilling ones, and that as long as you don't read books or watch movies that talk about romance you won't be at risk for wanting one...
Accurate information and condoms won't stop the spread of VD - only Jesus will! And don't miss the natalist panic-mongering about the need to outbreed the Hun! (I actually read a variant of this article in a print copy of America from 1919 in the library basement at my college. There was also a rant in that issue about the availability of "Holiday" cards that had puppy dogs on them, instead of only religious Christmas cards for sale.)
God will (probably) make sure your husband gets a raise so that you can afford to have children, if you only trust Him enough to refrain from the sinful prophylactics! (Also, kissing your boyfriend is a sin if either of you get a "thrill" from it. You should get everything you will need to know for your wedding night about what physical intimacy will be like from books and parents and doctors.)
Accurate sex ed is like smoking around gasoline - because you'd never have those desires if people hadn't told you about them! (I'm sure that it was such a relief not having those sexy silent movies and modern novels, for Abelard and Eloise...)
These articles cover quite a range of years, from before US entry into WWI to post-WWII. I won't say "enjoy", but "appreciate" them - because these attitudes have most definitely not gone away. Plenty of kids are still being raised to believe that these lies are true, and plenty of politicians are still merrily exploiting the hypocrisies of the prude brigade and the envious who can't stop agonizing over the fact that (in their heads) Everyone's having more sex than them...