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Venereal Disease Control and the Policing of Female Sexuality in the United States, 1890-1945

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Venereal Disease Control and the Policing of Female Sexuality in the United States, 1890-1945 University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--History History 2016 PATIENT-PRISONERS: VENEREAL DISEASE CONTROL AND THE POLICING OF FEMALE SEXUALITY IN THE UNITED STATES, 1890-1945 Evelyn A. Sorrell University of Kentucky, [email protected] Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.13023/ETD.2016.484 Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Sorrell, Evelyn A., "PATIENT-PRISONERS: VENEREAL DISEASE CONTROL AND THE POLICING OF FEMALE SEXUALITY IN THE UNITED STATES, 1890-1945" (2016). Theses and Dissertations--History. 41. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/history_etds/41 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the History at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--History by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of my work. I understand that I am free to register the copyright to my work. REVIEW, APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on behalf of the advisory committee, and by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), on behalf of the program; we verify that this is the final, approved version of the student’s thesis including all changes required by the advisory committee. The undersigned agree to abide by the statements above. Evelyn A. Sorrell, Student Dr. Kathi Kern, Major Professor Dr. Scott Taylor, Director of Graduate Studies PATIENT-PRISONERS: VENEREAL DISEASE CONTROL AND THE POLICING OF FEMALE SEXUALITY IN THE UNITED STATES, 1890-1945 _________________________________ DISSERTATION _________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of History in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By Evelyn Ashley Sorrell Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Kathi Kern, Professor of History Copyright © Evelyn Ashley Sorrell 2016 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION PATIENT-PRISONERS: VENEREAL DISEASE CONTROL AND THE POLICING OF FEMALE SEXUALITY IN THE UNITED STATES, 1890-1945 Sexual politics were central in the United States’ venereal disease control movement in the early decades of the twentieth century. This dissertation analyzes the evolution of the venereal disease control movement from the Progressive Era reformers focus on creating a single standard of morality to the Public Health Service’s (PHS) concern over maternal and economic health during the Great Depression. I examine the intersections of public health, gender, sexuality, and citizenship through reactions and policies addressing venereal disease. In particular, the United States’ entry into World War I heightened fears of moral and health crises, as military physicals uncovered a presumably high number of military recruits to have syphilis or gonorrhea. Military officers, public health officials, and social reformers viewed their infections as indicative of the moral failings of women. From this perspective, public health policies that criminalized and stigmatized women — mostly poor and working-class — emerged. Beginning under the 1918 Chamberlain-Kahn Act, law enforcement officers, military officials, and public health workers had the authority to arrest women on mere suspicion of venereal disease and detain them for unspecified lengths of time under the guise of “treatment.” Women arrested under public health laws often found themselves labeled as sexual deviants because of the way in which venereal disease infections were inextricably tied to questions of morality. Deemed threats to the public and moral health of society, they were excluded from society and denied equal protection under the law. As such, I interrogate the role of public health in building a surveillance state that served to police morality and make female citizenship contingent upon white middle-class notions of “virtuous” sexuality, respectability, and motherhood. KEYWORDS: Venereal disease, gender and sexuality, citizenship, World War I, Great Depression Evelyn Ashley Sorrell Student’s Signature November 4, 2016 Date PATIENT-PRISONERS: VENEREAL DISEASE CONTROL AND THE POLICING OF FEMALE SEXUALITY IN THE UNITED STATES, 1890-1945 By Evelyn Ashley Sorrell Kathi Kern____________________ Director of Dissertation Scott Taylor___________________ Director of Graduate Studies November 4, 2016______________ Date Acknowledgements The completion of this dissertation would not have been possible with the help and support of many great scholars, mentors and friends. First, I would like to thank my Committee Chair, Kathi Kern for shepherding me through my graduate school career, offering thoughtful feedback, and always being my biggest champion. This achievement also would not be possible without the support of my committee members. In particular, I would like to thank Karen Petrone for constructive comments and feedback, which ultimately made this a better piece of historical scholarship. I also would like to express my gratitude to Melissa Stein for sharing her intellectual insights. Her scholarship shaped and continues to shape how I see the intersections of gender, sexuality and citizenship. Carol Mason provided thoughtful feedback, support, and her advice helped soothe my anxiety going into the defense. Melanie Goan graciously agreed to serve on the committee with short notice. She read through each chapter and offered insights that made this project more expansive. Also, thank you to Lynn Phillips for being a kind and supportive outside examiner. I received invaluable emotional support and encouragement from family and friends. In particular, I would not have made it through with my sanity in tact if it weren’t for Dana Caldemeyer. Thank you for reading multiple drafts of every chapter, lending a sympathetic ear, and simply being a great source of support throughout these past five years. Dana Johnson also proved to be a great travelling partner and conference companion and Juli Book offered sound advice that helped keep me grounded in the weeks leading up to my defense. I wish to thank my mom and sister for their unending support. Finally, I want to thank my husband, Ryan for giving me the strength to continue when I thought I had reached my limit. It is because of his belief in me that I was able to see this project to completion. iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................................. iii List of Figures .............................................................................................................................................................. v Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 2: Building a Clean Army of Democracy ..................................................................................... 26 Chapter 3: Policing Female Sexuality on the Homefront ...................................................................... 56 WOMEN’S DETENTION IN WAR ............................................................................................................................ 68 SEXUAL FREEDOM AND PROPHYLAXIS OVERSEAS .............................................................................. 88 Chapter 4: Women’s Resistance to World War I Venereal Disease Control Policies ................ 93 LEGAL CHALLENGES ................................................................................................................................................ 104 Chapter 5: Female Delinquency and Venereal Disease Control in Interwar America ......... 123 COURTS AND THE CRIMINALIZATION OF VENEREAL DISEASE ................................................... 130 SOCIAL SURVEILLANCE AND REFORMATORIES .................................................................................... 135 RISING VOICES .............................................................................................................................................................. 150 VOLUNTARY TREATMENT CLINICS AND SOCIAL SURVEILLENCE ............................................ 157 Chapter 6: Race, Maternal Health, and Venereal Disease Control in the Rural South ......... 161 POLICING DOMESTIC WORKERS ......................................................................................................................
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