Thesis
THE SACRED SEX: EVANGELICAL WOMANHOOD AND SEXUAL POLITICS IN THE RISE OF MODERN AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1970-1990
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
2026
Abstract
In 1970s and 1980s American evangelicals became increasingly involved in American politics, mobilizing around questions of sexuality, family, and national morality. Amid the cultural upheavals of the 1970s and 1980s, evangelical leaders framed women’s sexual behavior as central to the preservation of both the Christian family and the American nation. This thesis argues that evangelicals in the 1970s and 1980s constructed female sexual purity as a lifelong moral obligation and positioned women as the spiritual and moral guardians of themselves, their families, and through their families the nation. This thesis traces how women were taught to regulate sexuality from girlhood to marriage and finally to motherhood. Evangelical teachings instructed young women to manage both their own sexual purity and the behavior of the men around them, wives to sustain marriage through sexual availability and submission, and mothers to defend the moral and spiritual well-being of the next generation against an increasingly “corrupt” culture. By linking intimate sexual discipline to broader fears of national decline, this thesis demonstrates how evangelical constructions of womanhood helped transform private intimate choices into a powerful framework for modern American conservative politics.
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Details
- Title
- THE SACRED SEX: EVANGELICAL WOMANHOOD AND SEXUAL POLITICS IN THE RISE OF MODERN AMERICAN CONSERVATISM, 1970-1990
- Creators
- Kelsey Kuball
- Contributors
- Matthew A Sutton (Advisor)Jennifer Thigpen (Committee Member)Robert Bauman (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of History
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 111
- Identifiers
- 99901393505801842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis