Ixion Revisited Revisited - The Leg Business

“That? Oh! That is my wife; but, by the Prophet! I am inclined to think, by the way she dresses tonight, that she is the wife of every gentleman in the room!” (p. 149)

Although I do occasionally yearn for the day when the average American’s vocabulary and style of speech was a tad more sophisticated, I am not jealous of the perceptions about women’s bodies from the 1860’s. Allen writes that even the ability to look at a woman’s body was solely the right of her husband—so called “scopic possession.” A woman who was wearing anything that even partially suggested that she was a sexual being was interpreted by the masses as an attempt at adultery or prostitution.  This risqué wardrobe included anything showing the outline of her lower body especially, the baby-making area that was the sole property of the husband. 

This got me thinking about the word “hypersexualization.” I’ve heard many times that we live in a hypersexualized society.  There are ads all over the place showing almost naked men and women. Sex scandals between celebrities and politicians are top news when they are released.  Girls pledge their purity to their fathers at “purity balls.”  However, when I walk out of my house in the summer wearing shorts, I don’t expect people to sexualize me in any way.  On the other hand, if I were to have done that in 1868, William Dean Howell probably would have fainted and written five articles about the need for decency in public.

 

Mirriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines hypersexual as “exhibiting unusual or excessive concern with or indulgence in sexual activity.” I think it works for both societies, just in opposite ways.  Women in the 1860’s wanted to hide their sexuality as much as possible, whereas women today (in some cases) try to embrace their sexuality and their looks.  In other words, if you got it, flaunt it.  There is still an underlying fear of women’s sexuality though, but it has shifted into something new.  It‘s still around in the form of purity rings and high school dress codes that don’t allow leggings, and it’s present when women talk about how many sexual partners they have had. 

Trying to look beautiful and trying to look sexy may be deemed as two separate goals in our culture, but in Lydia Thompson’s time, they were very much seen as the same thing.  Showing some leg was about as sexual as actually having sex.  So I guess my question is, what changed? How did women start wearing pants? When did women start to embrace their looks and their sexuality, and how did society’s ideologies change to allow this?  In what other ways are our societies different or the same in terms of hypersexualization?  I think burlesque definitely played a part. Any thoughts?