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Sex and Manners
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Sex and Manners
Female Emancipation in the West 1890 - 2000



September 2004 | 200 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
`This is a highly original and in many ways brilliant text. It is a model of how historical/process sociological research ought to be conducted and written-up. The author's subtle blending of theory and data is outstanding' - Eric Dunning, Professor of Sociology, University of Leicester

`Wouters has written a book both broad in scope and deep in analytic reach. Exploring changes in courtship norms over the last century in English, Dutch , German and American books of manners, he discovers changes which confirm the theory of informalization. Relations between the sexes are, he shows us, less regulated from outside and more from inside. This change calls – paradoxically – for both an emancipation of emotion and an ever sharper cultural eye on ways of managing emotion. The book carries Elias's classic, The Civilizing Process one giant step further. An important contribution and a fascinating read' - Arlie Russell Hochschild, University of California

This dazzling book examines changes in American, Dutch, English and German manners, regarding the changing relationships between men and women. From the disappearance of rules for chaperonage and the rise of new codes for courting, dates, public dances and the work place, it shows how women have become their own chaperone by gaining the rights to pay for themselves, to have a job and be a sexual subject.

This original and thought-provoking book:

· provides empirical evidence showing how younger generations removed their courting from under parental wings and how the balance of power between the sexes shifted in women's favour;

· monitors changes in codes regarding sexuality by focusing on the balance between the desire for sexual gratification and the longing for enduring intimacy;

· documents the balance of controls over sexual impulses and emotions shifting from external social controls to internal ones;

· compares nationally different trends, particularly between the USA and Europe, focusing on the American dating system and its resulting double standards;

· argues that the initial greater freedom of American women has turned into a deficit.

Cas Wouters teaches Sociology at Utrecht University

 
Introduction
 
Perspective and Contents
An Overview

 
 
On Regimes of Manners and Emotions
 
Manners and the Modelling Function of Good Societies
 
Confined to the Drawing Room
 
Dancing Fury
 
To Pay or Be Paid For?
 
Going to Work
Manners at Work

 
 
Developments in Courting Regimes
Introduction

 
 
Chaperonage and the Courting Regime in England
 
Chaperonage and the Courting Regime in Germany
 
Chaperonage and the Courting Regime in the Netherlands
 
Chaperonage in the USA
 
Chaperonage Compared
Some National Differences and General Trends

 
 
The American Dating Regime
 
Courting Regimes Compared
Some National Differences and General Trends

 
 
The Lust Balance of Sex and Love Since the Sexual Revolution
Fuck Romance!

 
 
The Sexual Revolution
 
From 'Sexual Liberation' to `Sexual Oppression'
 
The Anti-Pornography Movement
 
What is the Price of Sex?
 
Revival of Lust
 
The Lust and Love Revival
 
International Comparisons, Theoretical Interpretations, and Regularities in Processes of Emancipation and Integration
 
From a Comparative Perspective
Developments in Europe and in the USA

 
 
Balancing
The Lust Balance and the Balance of Power, the Balance of Controls, and the We-I Balance

 
 
Regularities in Processes of Emancipation and Integration
 
Lust Anxiety
Social and Sexual Fear of 'Heights' and 'Depths'

 
 
Three Types
Trend-followers, Radicals and Moderates

 
 
Phases in Processes of Emancipation, Accommodation and Integration
 
Intensified Tugs-of-War and Ambivalence

`This is a highly original and in many ways brilliant text. It is a model of how historical/process sociological research ought to be conducted and written-up. The author's subtle blending of theory and data is outstanding' - Eric Dunning, Professor of Sociology, University of Leicester


"Wouters' work is useful because of its comparative, empirical, synthetic and systematic approach. He is able to develop a convincing theory of change on the basis of clear patterns of similarity and difference in the different nations he examines. His systematic and empirical approach- he starts with evidence and ends with theory as opposed to the other way around- will make it easier for other to evaluate and use his work. "

C. Dallett Hemphill
Ursinus College

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