Sex and the Married Girl: Heterosexual Marriage and the Body in Postwar Canada

Heather Stanley

Published by University of Toronto Press 2022

Sex and the Married Girl

Heterosexual Marriage and the Body in Postwar Canada

Heather Stanley

In the series Studies in Gender and History

https://doi.org/10.3138/9781487512675

Overview
Contents

About this book

This book examines how embodied, heterosexual, married sexual experiences were constructed for, and by, Canadian women in the postwar era.

Author / Editor information

Stanley Heather :

Heather Stanley is an assistant professor in the Department of History at the University of Lethbridge.

Reviews

Sarah Carter, Professor of History, University of Alberta:

"If you believe in the sentimentalized myths and idealizations of 1950s wives and mothers, be forewarned: this book challenges, dissects, and explodes these stereotypes. This book is an outstanding contribution to Canadian gender and sexuality scholarship, with an original and welcome focus on Western Canada and on rural women."

Jane Nicholas, Associate Professor of History and Sexuality, Marriage, and Family Studies, University of Waterloo:

"In this clear and compelling book, Heather Stanley strips away the stereotype of the 1950s housewife to reveal the medical and religious discourses that shaped and reshaped postwar white, married, middle-class women’s bodies. Covering a range of subjects from psychoanalysis and birth control to religious marriage manuals and motherhood, Stanley contributes significantly to our understanding of post–World War II heterosexual marriage and the female body."

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Illustrations Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Abbreviations Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	xiii
Chapter One. Breaking Free from the “Nostalgia Trap”: History and the Paradox of Female Sexuality in the Postwar World Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter Two. Embodying Family Values: The Canadian Medical Association Journal and the Creation of the “Mother Body” Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	15
Chapter Three. Sex, Marriage, and the “One-Flesh” Body: Married Sexuality in the Anglican, United, and Roman Catholic Denominations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	47
Chapter Four. Bringing Down Goliath: Oral Histories and the Engagement of Individual Bodies with the Ideal Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	87
Chapter Five. Conclusion: Making Good (Sex) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	137
Appendix: Interview Data Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	145
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	155
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	189
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	207

Language: English
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Audience: College/higher education;Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 240
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 4
- Other: 4 b&w illustrations
Keywords: history of sex; gender; heterosexuality; marriage; baby boom; Canada; religious history; women’s history; Western Canada; medical history; oral history; Canadian Medical Association Journal; ethnography

eBook

Published: November 1, 2022
ISBN: 9781487512675