INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely afreet reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zed) Road, Ann Arbor MI 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 PATRIOTS, PROSTITUTES, PATRIOTUTES: THE MOBIUZATION AND CONTROL OF FEMALE SEXUAUTY IN THE UNITED STATES DURING WORLD WAR II DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy m the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Marilyn Elizabeth Hegarty, B.A., M.A. ' k ' k ' k ' k ' k The Ohio State University 1998 Dissertation Committee Professor Leila J. Rupp Professor Susan M. Hartman Fhrofessor John C. Burnham / Adviser Department of History UMI N iim ber: 9 9 1 1 2 0 2 Copyright 1998 by Hegarty, Marilyn Elizabeth All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9911202 Copyright 1999, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Copyright by Marilyn E. Hegarty 1998 ABSTRACT This dissertation explores the wartime processes of both mobilizing U. S. women's "patriotic" sexuality and suppressing "deviant" sexuality. As the United States mobilized for war, the government, the military, and the medical establishments collectively launched a campaign to control and contain women labelled as "prostitutes" or "promiscuous" who came to symbolize the recurrent wartime problem of venereal disease. Social agencies, such as the American Social Hygiene Association, and the media also supported the campaign. But a simultaneous effort to mobiUze female sexuality in support of the war effort complicated the campaign. In order to formulate venereal disease control policies, the Army, Navy, Federal Security Agency, State Health Departments, and the American Social Hygiene Association met and drew up the Eight Point Agreement in 1939, marking the official start of sociopolitical efforts to control female sexuality. In 1941, the May Act made prostitution in proximity to defense-related areas a federal crime. The federal government then created the Social Protection Division to serve as a "watchdog" over women's morals. American women became a suspect category, subject to surveillance for the duration of the war. The narrative base of this study rests on the records of the Social Protection Division of the Office of Community War Services, the Army and Navy, the United States Public Health Service, and the American Social Hygiene Association. This ii dissertation presents a challenge to existing scholarship regarding World War II and the postwar period. It extends the ongoing historical debate regarding the effects of wartime transformation of the status of American women by looking beyond changes in women's labor force participation. It introduces sexuality as a critical factor in the debate regarding the liberating aspects of war and suggests that the 1950s emphasis on family and domesticity should be reconsidered as, in part, a response to wartime disruption of the sexual system. Ill Dedicated to SKD IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to the many individuals and institutions who supported me during my years in graduate school, as well as during the time that I researched and wrote this dissertation. From the beginnining. Dr. Leila J. Rupp, my advisor, and Dr. Susan M. Hartmann have been staunch supporters of my pursuit of the Ph. D. 1 am deeply grateful to both of them. 1 have received financial support from several sources; without such assistance the project would not have been possible. My thanks go to the Department of History at The Ohio State University for the Ruth Higgins Award; to the Graduate School for the Alumni Research Award; and to the Department of Women's Studies for the Elizabeth D. Gee Fund for Research on Women Award. In the course of my research, 1 encountered many individuals who made this enormous task a bit easier. David Klassen at the Social Welfare History Archives Center of the University of Minnesota provided invaluable assistance. At the beginning of this project. Bill Creech, at the National Archives in Washington DC, introduced me to the records of the Social Protection Division. Barry Yerby, at the National Archives Center in College Park, MD, went above and beyond anything a researcher could expect as he assisted me with the records of the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. Bertha Ihnat at The Ohio State Archives also provided assistance in the early part of my research. And the people at the Rockefeller Archives were quite helpful during my time there. My research took me to several other sites; to all those who provided assistance, 1 offer my thanks. Returning to the academy after an absence of over twenty years was not easy. I am fortunate to have had the support of many good people. I want to thank Dr. Warren Van Tine for always offering verbal, as well as academic support, and Dr. Stephanie Shaw for working with me on the General Exams. When 1 returned to school. Dr. Susan Hartmann took the time to work closely with me as 1 refined my rusty writing skills; 1 will always be grateful for her patience and support. Thanks also the Dr. John C. Burnham for joining my dissertation committee, and for his comprenensive critique of the manuscript. Everyone in graduate school has an advisor, but few are as fortunate as 1 to have had an outstanding advisor. Mere words are inadequate to thank Dr, Leila J. Rupp for all her support during the past years. She is both a rigorous critic and a kind person. My work has benefitted from her keen insight, her excellent suggestions, and her belief in my scholarly ability. She kept me going whenever my spirits sagged; 1 will be forever grateful. 1 would also like to say thank you to friends and relatives who cheered me on as I followed my dream. To my sister. Ginger, how fortunate 1 am to have you for a sister. To my children Elizabeth, Daniel and especially Mary Lou, who always believed her mother was "smart," please accept my heartfelt thanks. To my friends and colleauges, Barbara and Carol, thanks for caring. To Mandy, thanks for all the grad student conversations and encouragement. And last, but assuredly not least, 1 want to say much more than thank you to Suzanne Damarin, without whom none of this would have been possible. Thank you for sharing the good times and the hard times. Thank you for sharing your incredible knowledge; our conversations have enriched my work and my thinking. Thank you for supporting me in so many ways over the years, for believing in me when I found it difficult to believe in myself. And finally, thank you for loving me. VI VTTA June 6, 1940 ............................................ Bom, New York, New York 1 9 6 1 .......................................................... B.A., Education, Queens College 1 9 9 1 .......................................................... M.A., History, The Ohio State University 1993 .......................................................... Gerry D. Guthrie Prize for best paper on a Civil War Subject, Department of History 1993-1996 ................................................ Graduate T eaching Associate, Department of History, The Ohio State University. 1995 .......................................................... Ruth Higgins Award for outstanding scholarship. Department of History. 1995 .......................................................... Graduate School Alummi Research Award 1995 .......................................................... Elizabeth D. Gee Award for Research on Women 199 6 .......................................................... Foster Rhea Dulles Award to support research in U.S. History, particularly the Twentieth Century, Department of History 1993-1996 ................................................ Adjunct Professor, Columbus State Community College 1997 .......................................................... Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of History, The Ohio State University. 1997-1999 ................................................ Adjimct Professor Antioch College 199 8 .......................................................... Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of History, The Ohio State University. PUBLICATIONS Scholarly