How much power did women of antebellum America have over their sexuality?

Question

both at the level of ideology and practice....did class status have anything to do with it?

Answer 1

They had little or none. The ornate dresses that were referenced were standard daily wear. Women were expected to meet an ideal standard of purity, but had no legal rights protecting their sexuality. (Men had rights over their women's sexuality and could sue other men for violating it.)

Class definitely affected it, as did race. Enslaved women and even those who were paid servants were considered sexually available to masters. This common promiscuity was not extended toward the master's wife, who was expected to be faithful.

Since it was mentioned, think about the scene in Gone with the Wind where she is saying she doesn't want to go upstairs but he takes her anyway... then afterward, she looks fine. That's pretty much how it was. You were expected to do what your husband wanted and you were also expected to be happy with whatever decisions he made. It didn't matter if you said no or not (even legally).

Answer 2

I don't know, but it's intriguing to think about.
I was raised in the deep South and we used to go out on Sunday to the Antebellum homes sometimes. They hired women to wear the dresses of that period, and I loved that as a girl--very "Gone With the Wind"!
I can honestly say I've never considered this question before.
I know that some white families had children by their slaves, though. That's pretty much commonly accepted as fact.
I hope you get some good answers so I can learn about this.
Good luck

Answer 3

Forget the silver screen. Woman were not even enfranchised at the time of the Emancipation Proclomation let alone given any hope of self determination, especially when it came to Their sexuality.

Answer 4

I would imagine that would depend on the individual woman. Who knows what went on in those bedrooms.......one thing for sure......they can't tell you. I don't think you can classify any one woman's behavior with rumors of what did or did not go on. Most of them had many children and you don't get babies from baking cookies.....so I would say they were very active.