Includes bibliographical references (p. [185]-219) and index.
Contents:
American physicians and sexual defense -- Femininity, frigidity, and female heterosexual health -- Masculinity, sexual function, and male heterosexual health -- The premarital pelvic examination -- Artificial insemination and the American man -- Epilogue.
Summary:
Lewis traces how medical professionals defined and reinforced heterosexuality in the mid-twentieth century, giving certain heterosexual desires and acts a veritable stamp of approval while labeling others as unhealthy or deviant. Lewis links their prescriptive treatment to Cold War anxieties about sexual norms, gender roles, and national security.
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