Event Title
Constructing Gender and Sexuality: An Examination of Sex Education Propaganda During World War I and World War II
Presentation Type
Poster/Portfolio
Presenter Major(s)
Women and Gender Studies
Mentor Information
Kathleen Underwood
Department
Women and Gender Studies
Location
Kirkhof Center KC15
Start Date
10-4-2013 1:00 PM
End Date
10-4-2013 2:00 PM
Keywords
Gender, Historical Perspectives
Abstract
Since the passage of the Comstock Act in 1873, educating the American public about sex and sexuality has been controversial and contested. Until recently, most education about sex focused on disease prevention, with abstinence-only messages providing both sex education and a form of social control of American attitudes toward sexuality and sex. However, during World War I and World War II, the need for sex education increased significantly as men were away at war and venereal disease rates spiked. This project examines more than 20 propaganda posters from World War I and World War II that were aimed at enlisted men and the public to raise awareness about the increasing rates of venereal disease. Using media analysis, the research questions the ways that gender stereotypes were reinforced in both the overt and covert messages about sex and sexuality. This research adds a gendered lens to established body of research and the results show that ideas of gender and sexuality are reinforced.
Constructing Gender and Sexuality: An Examination of Sex Education Propaganda During World War I and World War II
Kirkhof Center KC15
Since the passage of the Comstock Act in 1873, educating the American public about sex and sexuality has been controversial and contested. Until recently, most education about sex focused on disease prevention, with abstinence-only messages providing both sex education and a form of social control of American attitudes toward sexuality and sex. However, during World War I and World War II, the need for sex education increased significantly as men were away at war and venereal disease rates spiked. This project examines more than 20 propaganda posters from World War I and World War II that were aimed at enlisted men and the public to raise awareness about the increasing rates of venereal disease. Using media analysis, the research questions the ways that gender stereotypes were reinforced in both the overt and covert messages about sex and sexuality. This research adds a gendered lens to established body of research and the results show that ideas of gender and sexuality are reinforced.