In 1918, Dr. Marie C. Stopes published Married Love — “dedicated to young husbands and all those who are betrothed in love.”
I still have my father’s yellow-edged and fingerprint-stained 1931 edition of the book. (I have not yet finished packing up my books, amazed at the titles that I’ve chosen to cart around with me.)
Apparently the book was banned in America until 1931. I wonder if my Dad was first in line at the bookstore. 🙂
According to the Oxford University Press, which has a 2004 edition,
“Married Love” (1918) combined a lyrical evocation of marital love with a no-nonsense and detailed account of sexual intercourse and sexual pleasure. It has sold over a million copies in Britain alone and was for many people a revelation.
With a “passion” for helping the individuals in heterosexual couples to achieve an enjoyable sex life, Stopes did not approve of homosexuality. In that way, she was an unfortunate product of her times.
But in other ways, she’s right on the money with her advice for men about how women’s bodies and psyches function in tandem. While biology doesn’t have to be destiny, hormones can sure set us up on roller coasters of all kinds.
“Well, Dad,” I think, packing the slim volume in along with John Lennon’s In His Own Write and the little Pocket Poet Howl from the 50s, “Good for you. I hope that Mom read it too.”