The women’s question and the social hygiene movement in American society during the Progressive era

The study analyzes the social hygiene movement in the United States during the Progressive Era in its relationship with the women's question. The study demonstrates how, in the context of large-scale social reforms and the transformation of Victorian ideals of femininity, a new approach to regulating public health and morality emerged. The movement, which united religious reformers, feminists, and medical experts, simultaneously challenged established moral norms in American society through a critique of double standards and became an instrument of repressive biopolitics aimed at controlling female sexuality. Based on an analysis of the movement's ideological tenets and actual practices, this article demonstrates how prostitution was redefined from a moral issue to a public health threat, justifying forced examinations and the isolation of women accused of spreading dangerous diseases. Thus, despite its progressive goals, the social hygiene movement reproduced patriarchal models of control over women

Biopower · Eugenics · Ideology · Police brutality · Progressive era · Public health · Social control · Social movement · American History and Culture · Historical Psychiatry and Medical Practices · Military history and social perspectives

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  Eva Payne, E A Payne•Empire of Purity•2024

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• The Progressives and the Prostitute

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• Prostitution and Social Justice

  Eric Anderson, Eric R Anderson•Social Service Review•1974

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  Open Access•Barbara Welter•American Quarterly•1966

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