Love for Sale

Courting, Treating, and Prostitution in New York City, 1900-1945

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Gender Studies, Women&, History, Americas, United States
Cover of the book Love for Sale by Elizabeth Alice Clement, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Elizabeth Alice Clement ISBN: 9780807877074
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: December 8, 2006
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: Elizabeth Alice Clement
ISBN: 9780807877074
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: December 8, 2006
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

The intense urbanization and industrialization of America's largest city from the turn of the twentieth century to World War II was accompanied by profound shifts in sexual morality, sexual practices, and gender roles. Comparing prostitution and courtship with a new working-class practice of heterosexual barter called "treating," Elizabeth Alice Clement examines changes in sexual morality and sexual and economic practices.

Women "treated" when they exchanged sexual favors for dinner and an evening's entertainment or, more tangibly, for stockings, shoes, and other material goods. These "charity girls" created for themselves a moral space between prostitution and courtship that preserved both sexual barter and respectability. Although treating, as a clearly articulated language and identity, began to disappear after the 1920s and 1930s, Clement argues that it still had significant, lasting effects on modern sexual norms. She demonstrates how treating shaped courtship and dating practices, the prevalence and meaning of premarital sex, and America's developing commercial sex industry. Even further, her study illuminates the ways in which sexuality and morality interact and contribute to our understanding of the broader social categories of race, gender, and class.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The intense urbanization and industrialization of America's largest city from the turn of the twentieth century to World War II was accompanied by profound shifts in sexual morality, sexual practices, and gender roles. Comparing prostitution and courtship with a new working-class practice of heterosexual barter called "treating," Elizabeth Alice Clement examines changes in sexual morality and sexual and economic practices.

Women "treated" when they exchanged sexual favors for dinner and an evening's entertainment or, more tangibly, for stockings, shoes, and other material goods. These "charity girls" created for themselves a moral space between prostitution and courtship that preserved both sexual barter and respectability. Although treating, as a clearly articulated language and identity, began to disappear after the 1920s and 1930s, Clement argues that it still had significant, lasting effects on modern sexual norms. She demonstrates how treating shaped courtship and dating practices, the prevalence and meaning of premarital sex, and America's developing commercial sex industry. Even further, her study illuminates the ways in which sexuality and morality interact and contribute to our understanding of the broader social categories of race, gender, and class.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book Whitman's Poetry of the Body by Elizabeth Alice Clement
Cover of the book The Missouri Compromise and Its Aftermath by Elizabeth Alice Clement
Cover of the book Red and Black in Haiti by Elizabeth Alice Clement
Cover of the book Colorblind Injustice by Elizabeth Alice Clement
Cover of the book Black Litigants in the Antebellum American South by Elizabeth Alice Clement
Cover of the book Kingdom to Commune by Elizabeth Alice Clement
Cover of the book Remembering Generations by Elizabeth Alice Clement
Cover of the book Native Orchids of the Southern Appalachian Mountains by Elizabeth Alice Clement
Cover of the book Alien Nation by Elizabeth Alice Clement
Cover of the book The Trouble with Minna by Elizabeth Alice Clement
Cover of the book Corn and Capitalism by Elizabeth Alice Clement
Cover of the book One Fantastic Ride by Elizabeth Alice Clement
Cover of the book Raising the White Flag by Elizabeth Alice Clement
Cover of the book A Short, Offhand, Killing Affair by Elizabeth Alice Clement
Cover of the book Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism by Elizabeth Alice Clement
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy