Overview

The publication of Constance M. Chen's ""The Sex Side of Life"" rescued from obscurity the life and accomplishments of an extraordinary woman: Mary Ware Dennett, suffragette, leader of the American Arts and Crafts movement, peace activist, and crusader for the right to obtain and distribute information about contraception. In her battle to make birth control information accessible to all, Dennett tangled both with reluctant Congressmen and Margaret Sanger. She was brought to trial in a landmark censorship case surrounding the sex education pamphlet ""The Sex Side of Life,"" which she wrote for her sons. At a time when family planning information and the Draconian communication laws are at the center of national debates, this biography is as timely and important as ever.

Full Product Details

9781565841338

Table of Contents

Reviews

Praise for The Sex Side of Life A gripping, timely biography of an unjustly forgotten feminist pioneer. -- Publishers Weekly , starred review A thought-provoking biography of a truly great woman. . . . Enlightening and well worth reading. --Senator Carol Moseley Braun Chen does us all a great favor by bringing this remarkable woman to light. . . . This book has an important story to tell and it's about time we heard it. -- San Diego Union-Tribune

This first book by a founding editor of Men's Journal is an impressively researched biography of an undersung leader in the American birth control movement. Mary Ware Dennett was at the forefront of several reform movements of the early 20th century, including the suffragist movement and feminism. Unlike her rival birth control activist, Margaret Sanger, who courted publicity shamelessly, Dennett is not well known; this is the first biography of her. Dennett's dedication to sex education and birth control evolved out of her own experience. Suffering serious physical consequences form the births of three children, Dennett was advised by doctors not to have any more, yet they never mentioned contraception; Dennett and her husband stopped having sex altogether. Her husband fell in love with another woman; their custody battle and divorce trial were widely publicized. Devastated by the breakup of her family, Dennett threw herself into suffrage work. In 1915, unable to find for her sons material on sexuality that was neither moralizing nor overly clinical, she wrote a pamphlet called The Sex Side of Life: An Explanation for Young People. This short work became quite popular and was distributed even by the conservative YMCA. But it led to Dennett's conviction in a celebrated 1929 trial after the pamphlet was seized under the Comstock laws. Chen explores Dennett's emotional and political lives with equal care, quoting liberally from revealing correspondence, such as love letters between Dennett and her husband. Unfortunately, though, Chen pushes her own moral agenda as heavy-handedly as any early 20th century reformer. Writing, for example, about the Dennetts' marital problems, Chen charges, After a few generations, such dissolution of the family could only mean the ultimate disintegration of civilized life. Despite her gracelessly wielded value judgments, Chen has made a strong contribution to the history of birth control, feminism, and sexual mores. (Kirkus Reviews)

Praise for The Sex Side of Life <br><br> A gripping, timely biography of an unjustly forgotten feminist pioneer. <br>-- Publishers Weekly , starred review<br><br> A thought-provoking biography of a truly great woman. . . . Enlightening and well worth reading. <br>--Senator Carol Moseley Braun<br><br> Chen does us all a great favor by bringing this remarkable woman to light. . . . This book has an important story to tell and it's about time we heard it. <br>-- San Diego Union-Tribune <br>

Author Information

Constance M. Chen is a graduate of Harvard University and was one of the founding editors of Men's Journal.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available