Sexuality, Politics, and Social Control in Virginia, 1920-1945

Nonfiction, Health & Well Being, Psychology, Human Sexuality, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Discrimination & Race Relations, History, Americas, United States
Cover of the book Sexuality, Politics, and Social Control in Virginia, 1920-1945 by Pippa Holloway, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Pippa Holloway ISBN: 9780807877494
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: September 6, 2007
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: Pippa Holloway
ISBN: 9780807877494
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: September 6, 2007
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

In the first half of the twentieth century, white elites who dominated Virginia politics sought to increase state control over African Americans and lower-class whites, whom they saw as oversexed and lacking sexual self-restraint. In order to reaffirm the existing political and social order, white politicians legalized eugenic sterilization, increased state efforts to control venereal disease and prostitution, cracked down on interracial marriage, and enacted statewide movie censorship. Providing a detailed picture of the interaction of sexuality, politics, and public policy, Pippa Holloway explores how these measures were passed and enforced.

The white elites who sought to expand government's role in regulating sexual behavior had, like most southerners, a tradition of favoring small government, so to justify these new policies, they couched their argument in economic terms: a modern, progressive government could provide optimum conditions for business growth by maintaining a stable social order and a healthy, docile workforce. Holloway's analysis demonstrates that the cultural context that characterized certain populations as sexually dangerous worked in tandem with the political context that denied them the right to vote. This perspective on sexual regulation and the state in Virginia offers further insight into why white elite rule mattered in the development of southern governments.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In the first half of the twentieth century, white elites who dominated Virginia politics sought to increase state control over African Americans and lower-class whites, whom they saw as oversexed and lacking sexual self-restraint. In order to reaffirm the existing political and social order, white politicians legalized eugenic sterilization, increased state efforts to control venereal disease and prostitution, cracked down on interracial marriage, and enacted statewide movie censorship. Providing a detailed picture of the interaction of sexuality, politics, and public policy, Pippa Holloway explores how these measures were passed and enforced.

The white elites who sought to expand government's role in regulating sexual behavior had, like most southerners, a tradition of favoring small government, so to justify these new policies, they couched their argument in economic terms: a modern, progressive government could provide optimum conditions for business growth by maintaining a stable social order and a healthy, docile workforce. Holloway's analysis demonstrates that the cultural context that characterized certain populations as sexually dangerous worked in tandem with the political context that denied them the right to vote. This perspective on sexual regulation and the state in Virginia offers further insight into why white elite rule mattered in the development of southern governments.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book Shifting Gears by Pippa Holloway
Cover of the book The Woodwright's Apprentice by Pippa Holloway
Cover of the book Burying the Dead but Not the Past by Pippa Holloway
Cover of the book Closer to Freedom by Pippa Holloway
Cover of the book No More Work by Pippa Holloway
Cover of the book Rape and Race in the Nineteenth-Century South by Pippa Holloway
Cover of the book The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse by Pippa Holloway
Cover of the book By the Bomb's Early Light by Pippa Holloway
Cover of the book The Greensboro Reader by Pippa Holloway
Cover of the book The Origins of Proslavery Christianity by Pippa Holloway
Cover of the book American Bards by Pippa Holloway
Cover of the book William Alexander Percy by Pippa Holloway
Cover of the book Making Marriage Work by Pippa Holloway
Cover of the book The Slave Catchers by Pippa Holloway
Cover of the book Black Life on the Mississippi by Pippa Holloway
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy