Against Obscenity: Reform and the Politics of Womanhood in America, 1873–1935(Reconfiguring American Political History)

In the tumultuous early decades of the twentieth century, women reformers provoked tremendous political and cultural change. Temperance activists succeeded in enacting Prohibition and then saw it repealed. Welfare reformers built and then dismantled the Children's Bureau. Suffragists cheered their momentous victory and then quarreled over its meaning. This period also saw the emergence of an increasingly sexualized popular culture comprised of burlesque shows, risque vaudeville acts, and indecent moving pictures. Politically active middle- and upper-class women began mobilizing against these lewd public amusements, challenging the male-led organizations that had for several decades defined and regulated obscenity. By the 1930s, women leaders of the anti-obscenity movement enjoyed the support of millions of American women and were courted by presidents, congressmen, and Hollywood moguls. Yet today their influence has been all but forgotten. In Against Obscenity, Leigh Ann Wheeler restores female anti-obscenity activists to their rightful place in twentieth-century women's history, uncovering a fascinating and largely untold aspect of the Progressive Era. At the center of Wheeler's study stands Catheryne Cooke Gilman, an indomitable woman who led the anti-obscenity movement in her native Minneapolis, as well as national grassroots organizations. Through the activities of Gilman and her fellow reformers, Wheeler explains how the rise and fall of women's anti-obscenity leadership shaped American attitudes toward and regulation of sexually explicit material even as it charted a new era in women's politics. She also addresses the passionate disagreements between and among various reform organizations over these issues (and the interesting reasons for the divisions)--whether or not to ban a touring stage show, for example, or close a local burlesque theater, disseminate explicit sex education pamphlets, or create a federal agency to regulate Hollywood films. Today's efforts to protect children from sexual imagery on television and the Internet echo the concerns of this earlier generation of reformers, as do feminist battles over pornography. By recovering the voices of earlier activists--their concerns and conflicts, victories and failures--Against Obscenity offers a fresh perspective on contemporary discussions concerning freedom of expression and the moral supervision of American entertainment. "Against Obscenity is a significant study of women's anti-obscenity activism in America in the Progressive and New Deal years, offering an important look at female political engagement as it crossed the 1920 suffrage divide. Because regional leaders connected with national movements and moved onto a wider stage, the book is more than a study of a local crusade. With its lively writing and fresh material about anti-obscenity campaigns focused on movies, burlesque, and vaudeville, Against Obscenity will engage those interested in First Amendment issues, women, and sexuality."--Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz, Smith College "Beautifully written and beautifully crafted. It makes a strikingly original argument: that in redefining the meaning of obscenity, women reformers legitimized sexual education. Rather than portraying early twentieth-century debates over obscenity as a part of a continuous battle between the forces of 'repression' and 'enlightenment,' Leigh Ann Wheeler identifies key moments in these early sex wars, skillfully elucidating the changing significance of gender. Placing her subject in the broadest possible context, she analyzes its legacy for the sex wars of the 1980s and beyond. In short, Against Obscenity achieves a rare balance: it manages to be scholarly, accessible--and relevant."--Wendy Gamber, Indiana University

Table of Contents:
Preface and Acknowledgments Introduction: Crossing the Great Divide: Women, Politics, and Anti-obscenity Reform Chapter 1. " "Protect the Innocent!": Men, Women, and Anti-obscenity Reform, 1873 - 1911 Chapter 2. Dressing Elsie: Women's Theater Reform, 1912 - 1919 Chapter 3. "Censorship Does Not Protect": Women's Motion Picture Reform, 1919 - 1922 Chapter 4. "Woman vs. Woman": The Leading Ladies of Motion Picture Reform, 1923 - 1930 Chapter 5. "We Don't Want Our Boys and Girls in a Place of That Kind": Women's Burlesque Reform, 1925 - 1934 Chapter 6. "Thinking as a Woman and of Women": Sex Education, Obscenity's Antidote, 1925 - 1934 Chapter 7. "Sinful Girls Lead": Crises in Women's Motion Picture Reform, 1932 - 1934 Chapter 8. "'Catholic Action' is Blazing a Spectacular Trail!": The Collapse of Women's Anti-obscenity Leadership, 1934 - 1935 Conclusion: Anti-obscenity Reform and Women's History List of Abbreviations Notes Notes on Sources Index

About the Author :
Leigh Ann Wheeler is an associate professor of history and American Culture Studies at Bowling Green State University.

Review :
What constitutes obscenity is a contentious issue, and Wheeler makes it clear that historically, it has been dangerous ground for feminists... Her analysis is convincing. Choice Wheeler's account of the anti-obscenity campaign illuminates the importance of gender to that history; she seamlessly explores the movement as it shifted from the local to the national level; and she meticulously recounts the day-to-day struggles women faced. Along the way, she draws on an impressive list of archival sources to reconstruct women's involvement in the campaign, provides a detailed account of the victories and hardships women experienced as they attempted to shape the... anti-obscenity movement, and offers a thoughtful and well-argued addition to a growing number of studies about women activists and how their concerns for mothers and children shaped public policy. American Historical Review Tells the complicated and compelling story of women's meteoric rise to prominence in competing branches of the anti-obscenity movement prior to and immediately following passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, and their arguably more rapid exit from the scene during the late 1920s and early 1930s... A superbly written book. -- Heather Lee Miller Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000 A welcome addition to the growing historiography of obscenity and censorship. In its solid research, Wheeler's book is [also] an important addition to the historiography of grassroots struggles over free speech and other rights in twentieth-century America. Journal of American History In this important book, Leigh Ann Wheeler examines a little-discussed corner of popular culture, women's campaigns to regulate 'obscenity' in the late 1800[s] and early 1900s. Those interested in issues of obscenity and the development of the concept of free speech in the United States will find Wheeler's work compelling. -- Lisa K. Boehm Journal of Popular Culture Wheeler has uncovered a fascinating chapter in the story of women's perennial attempts to protect children and vulnerable young women from the dangers of commercial vice. Her study considers several of these dangers, such as prostitution and burlesque shows, but focuses above all on the new medium of film. -- Cynthia Eagle Russett H-Net Book Review/H-SHGAPE Deftly illuminates the 'possibilities in our past' while addressing the complex struggles of women and citizens in more recent times. -- Hiroshi Kitamura American Quarterly The study gives a very good sense of the anti-obscenity reform activity and concern in the period under study. -- Encarna Trinidad Journal of American Studies This is a very good book about an important topic. -- Rebecca J. Mead Journal of Social History Wheeler's impressively researched study is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of anti-obscenity reform and women's activism in general. -- Christine Erickson American Studies