Episode
Early American Family Limitation: Contraception and Abortion
Sarah and Elizabeth discuss methods of family limitation in Early America. Just in case you need some tips.
Sex
Puritan Sex: The Surprising History of Puritans and Sexual Practices
We have an image of puritans as cold, severe, hyper-strict and religious people, and while that’s not entirely false, it’s also not entirely true. From the very beginning, early Americans were thinking about sex. The courts were burdened with hundreds of cases in which people broke the laws regarding sexual morality, Read more
Sex
Selling Sex: 19th Century New York City Prostitution and Brothels
In 19th century New York City, sex was for sale and it wasn’t hard to find it. Commodified sex was everywhere and available for any price. The years between roughly 1850 to about 1910 were the years that commercialized sex and vice in New York City were the most visible, the most prolific, and Read more
Sex
Marie Stopes: Married Sexual Pleasure, Birth Control and Eugenics
Marie Stopes was one of the most significant figures in the modern birth control movement. She founded 37 international family planning clinics and brought sexual knowledge and fulfillment to countless women around the world. She was also a complex and complicated figure in the women’s rights and eugenics movement. We Read more
Sex
The Marquis de Sade: Sex, Violence, and the French Revolution
The Marquis de Sade is a notorious figure in the history of the French Revolution. Some see him as a twisted, debauched lunatic who preyed on the bodies of women and children. Others see him as a literary genius who was a revolutionary spirit ahead of his time. We invite Read more
Sex
Communists and Uteruses: How the Soviet Union and People’s Republic of China Sought to Control Women’s Reproduction
What happens when Communist states want to control the reproductive functions of women’s bodies?