1920s: "Post-War Era"

Historical Context

The 1920s marked radical steps in changing basic sex education with broadening the intended audience to the entire general public. While the information was not radically shocking, the presentation of equal information to white men, white women, and black men was radical. Because the public was already in a delicate state because of death and destruction caused by World War I, morals were being further pushed and questioned by the spread of diseases that were sexually trasmitted. People searched to combat their problems in politics and in social life and new steps were being taken towards controlling sex education. While sex education spread, people like A. Maude Royden framed sex within the framework of marriage and morality. Christian values of womanhood and the joy of sex only within marriage remained widely appealing to tradition, but a new counter image of women developed. Though the time was not particularly progressive like the previous decade, advances in women’s rights were made. At the very beginning of the century, the Nineteenth Amendment passed, allowing women the right to vote. In accordance with gaining rights, women also made significant changes in beauty standards as the flapper lifestyle developed and rejected previous strict beauty standards. While considered cheap or frivolous, flapper lifestyle allowed women the chance to experiment with new style, participate in more activities, have more opportunities outside the home, and comprehend and experience sex, unlike the past strict ideals of womanhood.

Sex and Common Sense

Royden, A. Maude. Sex and Common Sense. New York; G.P. Putnam's Sons. 1922.

A. Maude Royden's Sex and Common Sense

A. Maude Royden, the author of Sex and Common Sense, was an assistant preacher at City Temple London and held a position of moral authority. Royden also participated actively in leadership roles in the Suffragette movement in England and continued to write and speak while contributing to the religious and moral aspects of the movement. With a voice that many people listened to, Royden’s position allowed her the opportunity to reach many audiences, including the United States.

Due to its Christian nature, the book is not entirely sex positive, still discussing depravity and temptation. However, it presented an interesting cross between moral fortitude and sex education. Radical ideas of Royden’s include sex being discussed openly, incorporated in education, and even considered a natural part of spiritual life. The first nine chapters of the book are compiled from Royden’s addresses to students at universities where she lectured in 1921.

The book attempts to address problems related to sex education and morality post World War I. Royden directly proposes solutions that involve bringing the discussion of sex out into the light and insists that sex is not a shameful and dirty act, but something natural and joyful. Up until this point, children grew up uneducated and ignorant about sex and sexuality. Surprisingly, the view point in the text seems rather progressive for 1922 due to the gravity of the post war world, but by the 1920s popular ideas about sex had begun to change. In an attempt to find meaning in morality in life post war, Royden extends this search for morality into sex education. Traditional anti-sex and more progressive pro-sex education religious ideas became contested. As part of the modern adaptation, Royden insists sex is not a depraved or a low act, that Christ taught nothing directly about sex, only temptations, and that seexual depravity is different than the “wonder of sex love.” These ideas are significant in a period where moral strength was being sought in every avenue. Shedding a positive light on something usually deemed base and instinctual contradicts the literature that began to reflect a new trend in understanding sex: that it can be for pleasure. Socially, the 1920s began a period of clashing and this book reflects a shift in attitudes. At least for women, the 1920’s allowed a new sense of liberation, gaining the right to vote and taking steps towards refining their sexual liberties. This book is an example of both the moral side and the newly found sexual liberation.

Hair Culture: Rational Methods for Growing the Hair and Developing its Strength and Beauty

Macfadden, Bernarr. Hair Culture; Rational Methods for Growing the Hair and Developing Its Strength and Beauty. New York, New York: Physical Culture Publishing, 1921.

Bernard Macfadden's Hair Culture

Bernard Macfadden has been referred to as the founding father of American bodybuilding. First published in 1922, Hair Culture is widely encompassing, addressing issues that include hair loss, dandruff, eyebrow and eyelash care, and even questions of pure curiosity such as if hair continues to grow after death.

Most prominently, Macfadden explains that healthy hair necessitates a healthy mind and body. While taking appropriate steps to ensure the wellness of ones mind and body does not guarantee the health of an individuals hair, negligence to these concerns greatly undermines the ability to grow a healthy head of hair. Some of the issues indirectly related to hair health discussed by Macfadden include obesity and diet, as well as emotional and mental health.

However, Hair Culture is not simply a suggestive self-help type publication. In addition to suggestions regarding hair care and specifically instructions for healthy hair, Macfadden expounds on medical and anatomical understandings of hair growth. The image to the right, for example, is an excerpt from Dr. C Henri Leonard’s The Hair and is included just prior to chapter one with an elaboration by the doctor to ensure the reader has an understanding of the anatomical design, and appropriate terminology for various components of hair.

Unsurprisingly, there are many reflections of sexism throughout the book and no mention of any kind of racial or ethnic difference in hair growth: a reflection of the times and the distinct intention for address a white middle and upper class audience.

Conclusion

Both texts focus primarily on the experiences of white women. While MacFadden writes about beauty reflecting health, Royden writes about morality and women's natural sexuality. Basic sex education while perceived to be radical at the time, still fit within a certian male dominated framework. Macfadden's work focuses on how women can appeal to men and their desires. Royden recognizes that women have their own natural desires just as men, but suggests that they pursue sexual fulfuillment only within marriage and motherhood, which is the nautral role of women. Sexuality as an inidivdual was only framed with sexuality in the setting of a married couple. Both texts present sex as important and essenital to health and condemn prudishness and celibacy. While these texts don't represent the most radical ideas of the time by rejecting previous strict standards, they definitely represent a shift in the overall more progressive tone.