Sex and Manners: Female Emancipation in the West 1890 - 2000(Published in association with Theory, Culture & Society)

`This is a highly original and in many ways brilliant text. It is a model of how historical/process sociological research ought to be conducted and written-up. The author's subtle blending of theory and data is outstanding' - Eric Dunning, Professor of Sociology, University of Leicester `Wouters has written a book both broad in scope and deep in analytic reach. Exploring changes in courtship norms over the last century in English, Dutch , German and American books of manners, he discovers changes which confirm the theory of informalization. Relations between the sexes are, he shows us, less regulated from outside and more from inside. This change calls - paradoxically - for both an emancipation of emotion and an ever sharper cultural eye on ways of managing emotion. The book carries Elias's classic, The Civilizing Process one giant step further. An important contribution and a fascinating read' - Arlie Russell Hochschild, University of California This dazzling book examines changes in American, Dutch, English and German manners, regarding the changing relationships between men and women. From the disappearance of rules for chaperonage and the rise of new codes for courting, dates, public dances and the work place, it shows how women have become their own chaperone by gaining the rights to pay for themselves, to have a job and be a sexual subject. This original and thought-provoking book: * provides empirical evidence showing how younger generations removed their courting from under parental wings and how the balance of power between the sexes shifted in women's favour; * monitors changes in codes regarding sexuality by focusing on the balance between the desire for sexual gratification and the longing for enduring intimacy; * documents the balance of controls over sexual impulses and emotions shifting from external social controls to internal ones; * compares nationally different trends, particularly between the USA and Europe, focusing on the American dating system and its resulting double standards; * argues that the initial greater freedom of American women has turned into a deficit. Cas Wouters teaches Sociology at Utrecht University

Table of Contents:
Introduction Perspective and Contents An Overview On Regimes of Manners and Emotions Manners and the Modelling Function of Good Societies Confined to the Drawing Room Dancing Fury To Pay or Be Paid For? Going to Work Manners at Work Developments in Courting Regimes Introduction Chaperonage and the Courting Regime in England Chaperonage and the Courting Regime in Germany Chaperonage and the Courting Regime in the Netherlands Chaperonage in the USA Chaperonage Compared Some National Differences and General Trends The American Dating Regime Courting Regimes Compared Some National Differences and General Trends The Lust Balance of Sex and Love Since the Sexual Revolution Fuck Romance! The Sexual Revolution From ′Sexual Liberation′ to `Sexual Oppression′ The Anti-Pornography Movement What is the Price of Sex? Revival of Lust The Lust and Love Revival International Comparisons, Theoretical Interpretations, and Regularities in Processes of Emancipation and Integration From a Comparative Perspective Developments in Europe and in the USA Balancing The Lust Balance and the Balance of Power, the Balance of Controls, and the We-I Balance Regularities in Processes of Emancipation and Integration Lust Anxiety Social and Sexual Fear of ′Heights′ and ′Depths′ Three Types Trend-followers, Radicals and Moderates Phases in Processes of Emancipation, Accommodation and Integration Intensified Tugs-of-War and Ambivalence

About the Author :
Cas Wouters is a senior lecturer at the Institute of General Social Sciences at Utrecht University.

Review :
`This is a highly original and in many ways brilliant text. It is a model of how historical/process sociological research ought to be conducted and written-up. The author′s subtle blending of theory and data is outstanding′ - Eric Dunning, Professor of Sociology, University of Leicester "Wouters′ work is useful because of its comparative, empirical, synthetic and systematic approach. He is able to develop a convincing theory of change on the basis of clear patterns of similarity and difference in the different nations he examines. His systematic and empirical approach- he starts with evidence and ends with theory as opposed to the other way around- will make it easier for other to evaluate and use his work. "