{"product_id":"teaching-america-about-sex-m-e-melody-9780814755327","title":"Teaching America about Sex: Marriage Guides and Sex Manuals from the Late Victorians to Dr. Ruth","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn this witty and provocative study of sex and marriage manuals, M.E. Melody and Linda M. Peterson reveal that permissiveness, prohibition, and, tellingly, persuasion and enforcement-from sermons and hellfire to mutilation and electroshock-have informed popular sex education over the past hundred and twenty years.\u003cbr\u003e From the late Victorian obsession with masturbation and hygiene, to the \"if it feels good, do it\" ethos of \u003ci\u003eThe Joy of Sex\u003c\/i\u003e, America's disposition to sex has evolved from a general squeamishness to a veritable cult of mutual orgasm. But despite the recent emphasis on \"voluptuous pleasure,\" the basic power dynamic underlying the discourse on sex has been remarkably resistant to change. The authors reveal that, even as sexual behavior changed during periods of upheaval, the prescriptive literature on sex has remained traditional at its core, promoting sex within marriage for the purpose of reproduction.\u003cbr\u003e A cross-generational account of the major constructions of masculinity and femininity from 1880 to the present day, \u003cb\u003eTeaching America About Sex \u003c\/b\u003eserves up a lucid and entertaining reading of the twentieth century's vexed relationship with sex.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e M. E. Melody,Linda M. Peterson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0814755321\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780814755327\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e New York University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/01\/1999\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 296\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.20lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.24h x 6.29w x 0.98d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/15\/1999 pg. 112\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/03\/1999 pg. 58\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/15\/1999 pg. 1762","brand":"M. E. Melody","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":47425080623359,"sku":"9780814755327","price":107.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_79d9bdd7-2880-4a2d-b0d6-aae711e868f0.jpg?v=1761536874","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/teaching-america-about-sex-m-e-melody-9780814755327","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}