Dissertation Information for Susan Gonda NAME: - Susan Gonda
DEGREE:
- Ph.D.
DISCIPLINE:
- History
SCHOOL:
- University of California, Los Angeles (USA) (1999)
ADVISORS: - Ellen Carol DuBois - Regina Moranzt-Sanchez
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: - Clyde S. Spillenger - Eric H. Monkkonen - Christine A. Littleton
MPACT Status: Fully Complete
Title: Strumpets and angels: Rape, seduction, and the boundaries of consensual sex in the Northeast, 1789-1870
Abstract: This study reveals how cultural and legal meanings of rape and seduction overlapped. Chapters illuminate how Americans came to view forced sex upon a woman as non-criminal through notions of "seduction"--a vague term that described a variety of acts. Discussions include: seduction (and "forced seduction") as a popular--and influential--phenomenon; rape as a crime against female chastity (versus a woman's body); folklore and physicians' definitions of female physiology and chastity; and female moral reformers' campaign to criminalize seduction beginning in 1838. The very existence of "seduction" allowed myriad interpretations of forced sexual acts, and female moral reform activists recognized this. We cannot understand current rape law and heterosexual relations without studying the impact of ideas about seduction in American lives and law.
Rape trial transcripts, Massachusetts Governor's Pardon records, seduction literature, publications of female moral reformers and medico-legal experts, and medical jurisprudence manuals all reveal the variety of ways a forced sexual act could be interpreted. Six broad historical changes influenced beliefs about forced sex: the rise of "seduction" as a phenomenon in popular culture and law, evolving ideals of womanhood and manhood; the glorification of female chastity; women's activities in public places and the private spaces of the workplace; misunderstandings about female physiology and myths about rape; and finally, industrialization, urbanization, and a mobile population.
Rape's status as a serious crime declined as more girls risked their chastity in public settings. Rape upon a semi-autonomous working girl was not the same offense as the rape of a dependent daughter had been in earlier periods. Judges, juries, and even the parties themselves interpreted forced sexual acts based on popular understandings of seduction as men's legitimate, aggressive chase of female chastity. Because the age of consent until mid-century in most states was ten years, a forced act upon adolescent girls could be claimed as seduction--force was merely passionate excitement. For this reason, the campaign to criminalize seduction paralleled later activism against statutory rape. The campaign resulted in criminal laws in 37 states by 1920, further confounding sexual boundaries and institutionalizing vague notions about seduction and female chastity.
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calculated 2008-09-29 11:27:04
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