Prostitution and Victorian Social Reform

1. Auflage 2014
ISBN: 978-0-415-75258-9
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 306 Seiten, Format (B × H): 166 mm x 233 mm, Gewicht: 478 g

Reihe: Routledge Library Editions: Women's History

In the mid-nineteenth century many parts of England and Wales were still subjected to a system of regulated prostitution which, by identifying and detaining for treatment infected prostitutes, aimed to protect members of the armed forces (94 per cent of whom were forbidden to marry) from venereal diseases.

The coercive nature of the Contagious Diseases Acts and the double standard which allowed the continuance of prostitution on the ground that the prostitute 'herself the supreme type of vice, she is ultimately the most efficient guardian of virtue', aroused the ire of many reformers, not only women’s rights campaigners.

Paul McHugh analyses the social composition of the different repeal and reform movements – the liberal reformists, the passionate struggle of the charismatic Josephine Butler, the Tory reformers whose achievement was in the improvement of preventative medicine, and finally the Social Purity movement of the 1880s which favoured a coercive approach. This is a fascinating study of ideals and principles in action, of pressure-group strategy, and of individual leaders in the repeal movement’s sixteen year progress to victory.

The book was originally publised in 1980.

Autoren/Hrsg.

McHugh, Paul

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder England, UK, Irland: Regional & Stadtgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Prostitution und Sexindustrie: Soziale & Ethische Themen

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface 1. Introduction 2. Regulating Prostitution 3. The Attack on the Acts Launched 4. Defeat and Regrouping 5. The Repeal Campaign in Action – Organisation and Methods 6. The Role of Women in the Repeal Movement 7. Religion and the Repeal Campaign 8. The Liberal Strategy 9. Political Connections and Alliances in the Repeal Campaign 10. Conclusion. Appendices

Über Autor(innen)

Paul Mchugh