Rewriting Sex: Sexual Knowledge in Antebellum America

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

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2. Introduction: Voices in the Sexual Conversation in Antebellum America

   1. Introduction: Voices in the Sexual Conversation in Antebellum America

      • Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz

      Pages 1-31

3. The Documents

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 33-33

      PDF

   2. Voices in the Sexual Conversation: The Four Frameworks

      • Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz

      Pages 35-123

   3. Controversy and Commerce

      • Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz

      Pages 124-156

   4. Coda: The Comstock Law of 1873

      • Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz

      Pages 157-159

4. Back Matter

   Pages 166-181

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The public discussion of sexuality in America first came about in the 1820s. Predictably, Americans diverged considerably on how to approach the controversial topic. Folk wisdom, current scientific beliefs, and the teachings of evangelical Christianity all shaped the antebellum conversation about the moral, social and physical implications of sex. In her introduction, Professor Horowitz takes American sexual history beyond the boundaries of the twentieth century and elucidates the complex issues surrounding nineteenth-century debates and dialogue. Helpful headnotes contextualize this colorful selection of hard-to-find documents, which includes medical articles, religious pamphlets, advertisements and propaganda, and popular literature. Contemporary illustrations, a chronology, and a bibliography foster students understanding of antebellum sexual knowledge.

• gender, sexuality and law

"Rewriting Sex accomplishes two rarely-seen objectives in a history book. First, Horowitz takes old, well-traversed material and reformulates it into a startling and provocative new narrative . . .Second, and more impressively, she accomplishes this with an economy of words written in clear, crisp and easy-to-follow prose." - Timothy J. Gilfoyle, Loyola University Chicago

"Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz s volume is so welcome; it combines an unparalleled assortment of primary sources with a clear but sophisticated analysis of the social and cultural meanings of sex and sexual knowledge in antebellum era." - Amy Greenberg, Pennsylvania State University

Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz is Sylvia Dlugasch Bauman Professor in American Studies at Smith College.

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