Thesis
Sodomists and citizens: the Washington State sodomy law at the turn of the twentieth century
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
2015
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/101349
Abstract
At the turn of the twentieth century a number of same-sex sexualities permeated Washington State. Transient and working-class men formed their own subcultures, sexual codes, and sexualities that mostly functioned outside the attention of state authorities. At the same time, however, state reformers increasingly regulated and defined these sexualities as deviant. This project explores the role of Washington State's sodomy law in this process. I analyze how legislative, judicial, penitentiary, and reformatory officials combined their Progressive-era social ideas with the creation, enforcement, prosecution, and incarceration of the Washington State sodomy law. This analysis helps us to understand the construction of specific sexualities, criminality, and citizenship; the legacies of which still influence us today. Sodomy laws at the turn of the twentieth century covered a range of sexual acts, but were mostly enforced against men who engaged in same-sex sex. Relying primarily on the penitentiary and reformatory records of the more than 175 men convicted of sodomy or attempted sodomy in Washington State before 1922, I argue that these laws, and the discourses surrounding the legislative, legal, and carceral policies created through the enforcement of these laws, helped create and enforce standards of sexual normativity defined by, generally white, middle- and upper-class Progressive-era social reformers. In this thesis I show that the creation and revision of Washington State's sodomy law in 1893, and 1909, helped create a system that normalized specific sexualities. Additionally, the state's enforcement of this law helped defined same-sex sexuality as a problem of transience, immigration, alcohol, and urban areas. Lastly, carceral officials repeated these concerns when enacting their policies or choosing to deport men who engaged in same-sex sex.
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Details
- Title
- Sodomists and citizens
- Creators
- Brian Enright Stack
- Contributors
- Peter Boag (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- History, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; [Pullman, Washington] :
- Identifiers
- 99900524859001842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis