Against Obscenity
Reform and the Politics of Womanhood in America, 1873-1935

Why are children the focus of debates over sexually explicit material? This title answers this question in an examination of women's anti-obscenity activism between 1873 and 1935. It shows how the rise and fall of women's anti-obscenity leadership shaped American attitudes toward the regulation of sexually explicit material.

Completed under the direction of Sara Evans, Wheeler's work offers a sterling example of how students of the women's experience can open new questions and deepen our understanding of cultural-political conflict in American life.