Empire and Sexuality - (Studies in Imperialism) by Ronald Hyam (Paperback)

About the Book

Established in the belief that imperialism as a cultural phenomenon had as significant an effect on the dominant as it did on the subordinate societies, the "Studies in Imperialism" series seeks to develop the new socio-cultural approach which has emerged through cross-disciplinary work on popular culture, media studies, art history, the study of education and religion, sports history and children's literature. The cultural emphasis embraces studies of migration and race, while the older political, and constitutional, economic and military concerns are never far away. It incorporates comparative work on European and American empire-building, with the chronological focus primarily, though not exclusively, on the 19th and 20th centuries, when these cultural exchanges were most powerfully at work. This work explores the sexual attitudes and activities of those who ran the British Empire. The study explains the pervasive importance of sexuality in the Victorian Empire, both for individuals and as a general dynamic in the working of the system. Among the topics included in the book are prostitution, the manners and mores of missionaries and aspects of race in sexual behaviour.

Book Synopsis

Established in the belief that imperialism as a cultural phenomenon had as significant an effect on the dominant as it did on the subordinate societies, the "Studies in Imperialism" series seeks to develop the new socio-cultural approach which has emerged through cross-disciplinary work on popular culture, media studies, art history, the study of education and religion, sports history and children's literature. The cultural emphasis embraces studies of migration and race, while the older political, and constitutional, economic and military concerns are never far away. It incorporates comparative work on European and American empire-building, with the chronological focus primarily, though not exclusively, on the 19th and 20th centuries, when these cultural exchanges were most powerfully at work. This work explores the sexual attitudes and activities of those who ran the British Empire. The study explains the pervasive importance of sexuality in the Victorian Empire, both for individuals and as a general dynamic in the working of the system. Among the topics included in the book are prostitution, the manners and mores of missionaries and aspects of race in sexual behaviour.

From the Back Cover

The sexual attitudes and activities of the men who ran the British empire are the subject of this pioneering book, which makes plain the pervasive importance of sexuality both for individuals and as a general dynamic, crucial to the way the whole imperial system worked. Basic psychosexual concepts are analysed, individual sexual imperatives are illuminated, the chronology of sexual opportunity in the Victorian home base is established, the way in which the empire provided an enlarged field of sexual opportunity is described, and the impact on race relations is assessed. There is also an account of the missionary attempt to alter indigenous sexual practices, and of the Edwardian Purity-mongers' successful campaign against sexual interaction between rulers and ruled.

Based on a large and varied secondary literature and original research, this humanely written study should appeal to a wide range of readers interested in the way the British have handled their sexuality, as well as those with a more specialised interest in how the empire was run.