University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--English English 2016 Come Together: Desire, Literature, and the Law of the Sexual Revolution Eir-Anne E. Edgar University of Kentucky, [email protected] Author ORCID Identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7823-1453 Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.13023/ETD.2016.535 Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Edgar, Eir-Anne E., "Come Together: Desire, Literature, and the Law of the Sexual Revolution" (2016). Theses and Dissertations--English. 52. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/english_etds/52 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the English at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--English by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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Edgar, Student Dr. Rusty Barrett, Major Professor Dr. Jill Rappoport, Director of Graduate Studies COME TOGETHER: DESIRE, LITERATURE, AND THE LAW OF THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION DISSERTATION A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By Eir-Anne Edgar Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Edward R Barrett, Professor of Lexington, Kentucky Copyright © Eir-Anne Edgar 2016 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION COME TOGETHER: DESIRE, LITERATURE, AND THE LAW OF THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION While some scholars have viewed the Sexual Revolution as a “war” with winners and losers, this project finds that all Americans were subject to the fantasy of liberation. This fantasy takes different forms during the era, including relaxed sexual strictures against pre-marital sex, the availability of birth control, and an increased focus on sexual pleasure. However, the seemingly liberatory quickly becomes conservative, coming into focus through the analysis of court cases and legal mandates that protected the declining structures of marriage and heteronormativity. Beginning with widespread fears about interracial mixing in the early 1950’s, escalated by the end of segregation by Brown v. BOE and ending with the availability of divorce on a nation- wide level in 1972, this project is concerned with the literary imagination and the radical cultural and political changes affecting sexuality. This dissertation places literature and film in conversation with major legal cases to show how fictional texts make evident the legal cases’ potentialities, including their gains and their failures, focusing on cultural paradigms in literature and film concerning interracial couples, homosexuality, non-monogamous marriage, and divorce. This dissertation finds that all Americans simultaneously benefited and suffered from cultural and political changes regarding sexuality during the Sexual Revolution. KEY WORDS: Sexual Revolution, American literature, Critical Legal Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Film, Cultural Studies Eir-Anne Edgar August 26, 2016 COME TOGETHER: DESIRE, LITERATURE, AND THE LAW OF THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION By Eir-Anne Edgar Edward R. Barrett, Director of Dissertation Jill Rappoport, Director of Graduate Studies August 26, 2016 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation could not have evolved into the final stages without the support and encouragement of many people. My dissertation director, Rusty Barrett, spent countless hours reading drafts, listening to my ideas, and providing the optimism and confidence needed to complete the dissertation. I want to also thank Virginia Blum, whose guidance in this endeavor was crucial, especially in shaping and honing the nuances of this project. Michael Trask and Karen Tice were also instrumental in providing insight and feedback at different stages in the development of this project. Many colleagues and friends also provided emotional and academic support as I embarked on this long endeavor. Craig Slaven read many drafts and listened to many unformed ideas. Leah Toth commiserated and offered friendship when I needed it. I have also been incredibly lucky to have a wonderful group of friends from the larger Lexington community who offered unwavering support, cold beers, and simply the pleasure of their company. Stephanie Parker, Tony Manuel, Amanda Brown, Caitlin Bentley, Stacey Herron, Kristin Hall, Chris Rymond, Tyler Palmquist, Lindsey Mullins, Matt Herron and so many others – thank you for your patience and your friendship. I also look to my family with gratitude - Edgar, Isner, and Marinelli clans were supportive and excited about this long academic journey – many thanks for their love and support throughout the years. Finally, I wish to thank my husband, J Marinelli. J took on more than his fair share of house cleaning and the essential mundane, never lost faith in me, and loved me even when I was at my most unlovable. I’m so glad you’re my partner, always. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………iii Chapter One: Introduction………………………………………………………………...1 Chapter Two: You and Your Folks: Interracial Desire and Legal Subjectivity…………23 Racial Subjectivity………………………………………………………………………………..27 Racial Legal History and Illicit Desire…………………………………………………………...30 Petry and Desegregation………………………………………………………………………….40 Baraka, Cleaver, and Black Masculinity………………………………………………………….50 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………..59 Chapter Three: Have Love, Will Travel: Street Hustlers and Surveillance………...…....61 City of Night……………………………………………………………………………………...63 Pre World War II Sexual Surveillance, An Overview…………………………………………....67 Post World War II Sexual Surveillance, An Overview…………………………………………..72 Police, Surveillance, and Evasion in City of Night………………………………………………81 Mid-Century Masculinity and Internalized Surveillance…………………………………………84 Queer Community………………………………………………………………………………...93 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………..99 Chapter Four: Daytripper: Suburban Swingers and the Sexual Revolution…..………..101 Sex and Marriage, and Overview………………………………………………………………..103 Legal Constructions of Marital Sexuality……………………………………………………….107 A Failure to Transform, Swinger Studies……………………………………………………….114 Sex and Surveillance, Updike’s Couples………………………………………………………..119 Fun and Games in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice………………………………………………...127 “Fucking Family” in The Ice Storm……………………………………………………………..131 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………136 Chapter Five: You’ll Still Love Me Tomorrow: Adultery, Divorce and the Sexual Revolution………………………………………………………………………………138 Divorce Law Reforms…………………………………………………………………………...142 Mid-Century Marriage and The Apartment……………………………………………………..152 Revolutionary Sexuality, Self Expression, and Diary of a Mad Housewife…………………….162 Enlightenment and Fear of Flying………………………………………………………………173 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………180 Coda……………………………………………………………………………….……183 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………189 iv Chapter One: Introduction While scholars such as Barbara Ehrenreich have viewed the Sexual Revolution as a “war” with clear winners and losers, this project finds that many Americans were subject to the fantasy of liberation1. This fantasy takes on different forms during the 1960’s and 70’s, including relaxed sexual strictures against pre-marital sex, the availability of birth control, and an increased focus on sexual pleasure. However, the seemingly liberatory quickly becomes conservative, coming into sharp focus through the analysis of court cases that protected the declining traditional structures of marriage and heteronormativity. Beginning with widespread fears about interracial mixing in the early 1950’s, escalated by the end of segregation by Brown v. BOE and ending with the availability of divorce on a nation-wide level in 1972, this project is concerned with the literary imagination and the radical cultural and political changes affecting sexuality. This dissertation places literature and film in conversation with major