Sexing History

Jan 06 2023 23 ep. 44 mins 869

Sexing History Podcast artwork

A podcast about how the history of sexuality shapes our present.

Society & Culture

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Season 4, Episode 2: Topless Roanoke

In the 1960s, Papa Joe’s in Roanoke, Virginia, became the very first club in the state and among the earliest in the nation to feature topless dancing. While some heralded Papa Joe’s owner, George Christofis, as a sexual revolutionary, many religious leaders and local residents condemned him. But Papa Joe’s history is not a simple tale of moral outrage in a part of the countr

Season 4, Episode 1: A Sacred Calling

For nearly half a century, Curtis Boyd and Glenna Halverson Boyd have devoted their lives to providing safe and affirming abortion care. Curtis, a former Baptist minister, began providing abortions in Texas before the procedure was legal in the state. After Roe, with the help of an interfaith network of clergy, Curtis opened up a clinic in Dallas. In the 1970s, Glenna came to work

Season 3, Episode 4: Come All Ye Faithful

In this episode, we’ll be taking a cue from Santa Claus and sketching a naughty and nice history of festive sexual expressions. So, grab your eggnog, curl up by the fire and join us as we explore the ghosts of Christmas nights past. Hosts and Creators: Gillian Frank and Lauren Gutterman Senior Producer: Saniya Lee Ghanoui Producer and Story Editor: Rebecca Davis Assistant Produc

Season 3, Episode 3: The Stained Glass Closet

How do you come out in a religious community that loves you conditionally? What do you tell yourself about your faith and your desires when your Church views your sexuality as disordered? In this episode of Sexing History, we focus on the experiences of three gay men who were priests or seminarians in the St. Louis diocese beginning in the 1990s. Their overlapping stories, their fr

Season 3, Episode 2: The Pickup Artist

Straight white men’s sexuality is too often imagined as natural, timeless, and unchanging. In The Pickup Artist, we showcase the 1970 bestseller, How to Pick Up Girls, in order to explore the cultural forces that have shaped how white men experienced and publicly expressed their desire for women in increasingly casual and aggressive ways. How to Pick Up Girls by Eric Weber was a

Season 3, Episode 1: Love and Labor

The story of African American midwifery is part of a larger history of Black women’s struggles to protect their own lives, as well as the lives of other Black women and their children. This episode explores the long history of African American midwives, doulas, and birth attendants who have labored to ensure the safety and dignity of Black mothers and their children in and beyond

Season 2, Bonus Episode 2: Marabel Morgan

Nov 21 2019 63 mins

Welcome to a bonus track from Sexing History. This track features an extended version of Gillian Frank’s interview with Marabel Morgan from our episode “Touch Me, I’m Yours.” That episode explores how Evangelical women responded to and contributed to the sexualization of American culture in the 1970s. In 1973, Marabel Morgan’s marriage guide, The Total Woman, became a b

Season 2, Episode 6: Against Our Will

Nov 15 2019 41 mins

In the 1960s and early 1970s many Americans believed that rape was a rare and violent act perpetrated by outsiders and sociopaths. Popular culture taught men that women needed to be tricked or coerced into sex, and psychiatrists accused rape victims of secretly inviting their attacks. Susan Brownmiller’s best-selling book Against Our Will shattered these myths about sexual violen

Season 2, Episode 5: Let's Dance!

Oct 10 2019 29 mins

In the 1960s and 1970s, a belly dancing craze swept the United States. Audiences could enjoy live belly dancing performances in Middle Eastern restaurants and clubs. Viewers could watch belly dancers in hit movies and on popular television shows. At first glance, the history of belly dancing appears to be a story of white middle-class women appropriating Middle Eastern culture and

Season 2, Episode 4: Canary

Jun 24 2019 65 mins

For a short time in the 1970s, Canary Conn was everywhere. She was on television. On the radio. And on bookshelves. Her story, that of a Texas-born recording artist, husband and father who transitioned into a woman whom the media described as “young,” “lithe” and “with flowing blonde hair,” captured national attention. Although some newspaper interviews with Canary have