1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:03,480 Speaker 1: So this July, the United States celebrates her two hundred 2 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:08,360 Speaker 1: and fiftieth anniversary. That moment in time changed everything about politics. 3 00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:12,480 Speaker 1: But what about personal lives and sexual freedom? Did you 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 1: know that in eighteenth century New England as many as 5 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:19,079 Speaker 1: forty percent of brides were pregnant before they got married. 6 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:22,319 Speaker 1: I'm Patty Steele. Sex and the lead up to the 7 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:26,440 Speaker 1: Revolution was a lot wilder than we thought. That's next 8 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 1: on the backstory. We're back with the backstory. When you 9 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:37,720 Speaker 1: hear the word sex and revolution in the same sentence, 10 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 1: you probably think we're going to talk about the sexual 11 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:44,200 Speaker 1: revolution of the nineteen sixties. But here we are about 12 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:47,559 Speaker 1: to celebrate the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the 13 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:51,320 Speaker 1: American Revolution. We know the battles they fought, but we 14 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:54,480 Speaker 1: have to ask ourselves what were their private lives and 15 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 1: their sex lives like back in those days. Sex was 16 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:01,639 Speaker 1: a complicated thing for folks back in the eighteenth century. 17 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:04,760 Speaker 1: On the one hand, there was a powerful mix of 18 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:10,280 Speaker 1: expectations based on religion, society, and individual needs and desires. 19 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 1: But on the other hand, you have to couple that 20 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,000 Speaker 1: with the fact that they had the same basic desires 21 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: humans have had from day one and still have problem 22 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:22,039 Speaker 1: is they had to deal with pretty much no ability 23 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:25,319 Speaker 1: to prevent pregnancy, so you had a lot of taboo 24 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:28,360 Speaker 1: stuff going on, made all the more exciting in a 25 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 1: lot of cases because it was taboo. Now, it turns 26 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:35,800 Speaker 1: out in the early seventeen hundreds, pre marital sex and 27 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:39,240 Speaker 1: even same sex relationships were a lot more common than 28 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,560 Speaker 1: you would think. Marriage was certainly the goal, but pre 29 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:46,559 Speaker 1: marital activities like bundling were allowed, where the couple would 30 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:49,240 Speaker 1: sleep in the same bed so they could enjoy a 31 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:52,400 Speaker 1: little physical intimacy, but it was done with a thing 32 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 1: called a bundling board, which was placed between them to 33 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:59,680 Speaker 1: prevent them from going too far. Now, apparently the bundling 34 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: board words weren't exactly fool proof, because records show that 35 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: up to forty percent of New England brides were pregnant 36 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:10,480 Speaker 1: before their wedding. That was only whispered about, but it 37 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 1: was documented by marriage and birth records and it fed 38 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:17,720 Speaker 1: the gossip mill. But women who were sexually assertive were 39 00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: kind of common. Then, for whatever reason, things took a 40 00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:26,520 Speaker 1: conservative turn late in the seventeen hundreds, especially for wealthy 41 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:30,480 Speaker 1: white women who were expected to be quote virtuous wives 42 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:34,320 Speaker 1: and Republican mothers who would guide their husbands and raise 43 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: virtuous children. On the other hand, they believed women of 44 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:42,280 Speaker 1: lower classes were a bit wilder and more prone to temptation. 45 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:46,320 Speaker 1: Of course, men from a sexual standpoint were viewed as 46 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 1: more aggressive and less controlled, and that was simply accepted 47 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:54,240 Speaker 1: when it came to sex between married couples or lovers. 48 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 1: You would have to wonder how they managed to get 49 00:02:56,919 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: down to business with all the fluffy clothing women in war, 50 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: the corsets, chemises, petty coats, hoopskirts, stockings, boots and dresses, 51 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: not to mention the gloves and the hats. And they 52 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 1: had acres of fabric for all that stuff. But the 53 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: funny thing is fashion historians say it would be pretty 54 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: easy for a woman to have sex without taking off 55 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:22,600 Speaker 1: her clothes. The underwear women wore right up until the 56 00:03:22,639 --> 00:03:26,359 Speaker 1: twentieth century were split in the middle, so they could 57 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: go to the bathroom and also have sex. If you 58 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,080 Speaker 1: were out in the garden on a romantic evening or 59 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:35,000 Speaker 1: in a drawing room and you felt the passion, you 60 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:39,080 Speaker 1: really didn't need to take off any clothing. Frequently, upper 61 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: class and upper middle class husbands and wives had separate bedrooms, 62 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 1: so sex was a little more alluring for them. They 63 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:49,520 Speaker 1: are in the privacy of one of their bedrooms, they 64 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:53,960 Speaker 1: could drop their dressing gowns and have that one another. Interestingly, 65 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: prostitution was really common during the eighteenth century, and that 66 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:02,520 Speaker 1: profession had different classes as well. There was a hierarchy 67 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:06,360 Speaker 1: of elite prostitutes at the top to serve wealthy men. 68 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:09,920 Speaker 1: The top tier of these ladies who were called courtesans. 69 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:14,480 Speaker 1: They were known for their beauty, style, wit, intelligence, and 70 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:18,920 Speaker 1: love of men and sex, and they dressed exquisitely. There 71 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 1: were also kept mistresses, who were attached to and serviced 72 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:25,839 Speaker 1: one aristocratic man at a time who took care of them. 73 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:28,880 Speaker 1: And then there was the woman of fashion or the 74 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:32,040 Speaker 1: lady of pleasure, who was in the upper echelons of 75 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:35,680 Speaker 1: the sex trade. Wow. Love those names. Now beyond that 76 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:39,040 Speaker 1: you had the women who serviced less wealthy men. It 77 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:41,760 Speaker 1: was thought that these women needed the money due to 78 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:44,279 Speaker 1: a lack of jobs for women in general, and the 79 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 1: men needed the gratification. Not so hard to imagine, right, 80 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:52,880 Speaker 1: These ladies were known as harlots, whores, strumpets, and street walkers. 81 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:57,240 Speaker 1: And finally, in the eighteenth century, close and often erotic 82 00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:01,680 Speaker 1: friendships between same sex folks was not all that uncommon. 83 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:05,240 Speaker 1: In fact, some same sex couples referred to each other 84 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:08,440 Speaker 1: as husband and wife and would even share beds and 85 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:12,160 Speaker 1: write tantalizing letters to one another about their sex lives. 86 00:05:12,839 --> 00:05:16,080 Speaker 1: It's interesting to see that over long periods of history 87 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:19,039 Speaker 1: there's kind of an ebb and flow when it comes 88 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:22,719 Speaker 1: to romance and sexuality and how we view it. The 89 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 1: Revolutionary War itself made us more serious about believing in 90 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 1: a cause and living by a set of rules and 91 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 1: powerful beliefs. It brought on a less self indulgent attitude 92 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:36,920 Speaker 1: in society here, and how that played out in their 93 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 1: sex lives continued to impact our society for a good 94 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:45,360 Speaker 1: two hundred years. Hope you're enjoying The Backstory with Patty Steele. 95 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 1: Please leave a review and follow or subscribe for free 96 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:52,680 Speaker 1: to get new episodes delivered automatically. Also feel free to 97 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:54,479 Speaker 1: DM me if you have a story you'd like me 98 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:58,320 Speaker 1: to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty Steele and on Instagram 99 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:08,080 Speaker 1: Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. The Backstories a production 100 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:12,280 Speaker 1: of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks. The Elvis Durand Group and Steel 101 00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:16,800 Speaker 1: Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. 102 00:06:17,120 --> 00:06:20,600 Speaker 1: We have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free 103 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:22,960 Speaker 1: to reach out to me with comments and even story 104 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:27,039 Speaker 1: suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty Steele and on Facebook 105 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:30,039 Speaker 1: at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the Backstory with 106 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:33,599 Speaker 1: Patty Steele, the pieces of history you didn't know you 107 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:34,279 Speaker 1: needed to know.