Sexuality in the (Nineteenth-Century) City: Practicing Class in Gotham’s Bedrooms

Summary

Sexuality provides a powerful mechanism for patrolling the boundaries of socially constructed communities.   Imagined as a natural expression of basic human behavior, sexuality naturalizes social boundaries and marks them as immutable.  In the Nineteenth Century, the medical ills of the "overly-civilized" were identified as having a sexual basis.  Hysteria was given an etiology of too frequent sexual activity.  Education or business would interfere with the proper development of the uterus. For males, too frequent sexual activities could drain vital energies.  Continence was required for proper moral and physical development.  The division between the "overly-civilized" and others was defined by sexuality, fertility and moral character.  This division entangled with ethnicity, class and race called for a materiality that provided both a scaffolding and a façade.  The materiality of these practices is expressed across Gotham in the number and configuration of bedrooms used by the family, and at times, servants and staff.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Legacy and Influences of a Gotham Archaeologist: Papers in Honor of Diana diZerega Wall   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 825