Disorderly Conduct: Visions of Gender in Victorian America

by Carroll Smith-Rosenberg

This first collection of essays by Carroll Smith-Rosenberg, one of the leading historians of women, is a landmark in women's studies. Focusing on the disorderly conduct women and some men used to break away from the Victorian Era's rigid class and sex roles, it examines the dramatic changes in male-female relations, family structure, sex, social custom, and ritual that occurred as colonial America was transformed by rapid industrialization. Included are two now classic essays on gender relations in 19th-century America, The Female World of Love and Ritual: Relations Between Women in Nineteenth-Century America and The New Woman as Androgyne: Social Order and Gender Crisis, 1870-1936, as well as Smith-Rosenberg's more recent work, on abortion, homosexuality, religious fanatics, and revisionist history.

Throughout Disorderly Conduct, Smith-Rosenberg startles and convinces, making us re-evaluate a society we thought we understood, a society whose outward behavior and inner emotional life now take on a new meaning.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Gender, 19th Century, American History, Queer, Victorian

384 pages, Paperback

First published June 12, 1985

About the author

Carroll Smith-Rosenberg, the eminent feminist scholar and professor emerita of History, American Culture, and Women’s Studies at the University of Michigan, is the author of several books and many groundbreaking essays on gender, sexuality, feminism, body politics, race and colonialism.

She radically changed the conceptualization of nineteenth-century gender relations with her pioneering 1975 article “The Female World of Love and Ritual." She argued that women act as agents of their own history and are not merely acted upon. With the use of diaries and letters of women during a period ranging from the 1760s to the 1880s, Smith-Rosenberg contended that American women in this period constituded a mutually supportive society separate from the world of their fathers, brothers, and husbands, in which women were of primary importance in each other's lives. Her study broke away from a Freudian perspective and provided evidence of passionately romantic relations among women that lasted lifetimes and were unaffected by their marriages.

She has held many fellowships, including from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Professor Smith-Rosenberg is a past Director of American Culture and a former member of the LSA Executive Committee. She has twice received the Binkley-Stephenson Award for best article in the Journal of American History. Her most recent book is This Violent Empire: The Birth of an American National Identity (2010).

Reviews

[Lacey Williams]

Disorderly Conduct offers a fascinating exploration of gender norms and societal expectations in Victorian America, examining how they shaped—and were shaped by—culture, politics, and everyday life. The book is thoroughly researched and presents its arguments with clarity, making it both informative and engaging.

One of the book's strengths is its ability to reveal the contradictions within Victorian ideals of masculinity and femininity, showcasing how individuals navigated these rigid frameworks in both public and private spheres. The analysis is rich with historical detail, drawing on a wide array of sources to illustrate how gender was policed, performed, and occasionally subverted.

Though at times dense with academic language, this work is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in gender studies, history, or the cultural dynamics of 19th-century America. It’s an insightful and thought-provoking read that will leave you reflecting on the enduring influence of Victorian ideals on modern society.

[Liz]

Returned library book. Started 2/8/18 - on pg. 78

[Laurie]

Great book, a bit dated but a wonderful resource.

[Maria Hiers]

Soooo gooooud

[Sara G]

Certainly interesting and well written.

[Oyceter]

http://oyceter.livejournal.com/213629...

[Monica]

Reads too much like a textbook. Couldn't focus.

[Helga]

It's scholarly, yet light enough to read in the bathtub! Learning without pain. Wheee!

[Mills College Library]

305.40973 S6588 1986