The Social Hygiene Movement

In response to high STI rates, a New York physician, Prince Morrow, started a move­ment in 1905 that was a curious mixture of both liberal and traditional attitudes. The social hygiene movement convinced legislators that scores of “virtuous” women were catching STIs from husbands who frequented prostitutes, and so laws were passed man­dating blood tests before marriage, and a number of highly publicized police actions were brought against prostitutes. On the other hand, although the movement accepted that sex in marriage was for pleasure, not just reproduction, followers were against premarital sex and warned that masturbation harmed one’s future sex life. Most importantly, they were early (if unsuccessful) advocates for sex education in the schools for all students, male and female (D’Emilio & Freedman, 1988).