Women, Gender, Sexuality 392EF - S-Sex and European Feminism

Why has sex been a central issue for feminism throughout its history? How have feminist attitudes towards sex changed over time, and how have attitudes varied amongst feminists themselves? What connections did feminists make between sexual reform, women's rights, and broader social, political, and economic change? And what are the legacies of past feminist sexual politics for the present day? This course addresses these questions by exploring the history of feminist sexual politics in Europe over the course of the "long nineteenth century," that is, between the years 1789 and 1918, and will focus on developments in Britain, France, and Germany. From the French Revolution to the First World War, we will examine feminists' writing and activism regarding intimacy, heterosexuality, same-sex desire, prostitution, and birth control to understand how definitions of sex, feminism, and sexual politics have changed over time. We will also analyze how feminist sexual politics have been shaped by race and class, and will assess similarities and differences amongst feminists from different national backgrounds. Finally, we will explore the ways in which feminism and sexual politics have been shaped by major developments in modern European history and how these same developments have been profoundly shaped by gender, sexuality, and feminist activism.