British Scandal The Other Virgin's Baby | How WW1 Changed Sex | 4
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Dec 31, 2025 Join Professor Lucy Bland, a gender and sexuality historian from Anglia Ruskin University, as she uncovers the curious sexual myths of the interwar period. She discusses how WW1 revolutionized women's confidence and sexual knowledge. Bland reveals the historical misconceptions around female pleasure and the peculiarities of the Russell case, which shocked society. Additionally, she addresses the sensationalism surrounding the 'modern woman' and how scandals reflect deep social anxieties. Tune in for profound insights into sexuality, consent, and cultural dynamics.
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War Changed Women's Sexual Confidence
- World War I gave many women new skills, confidence, and sexual knowledge that reshaped postwar life.
- Lucy Bland connects munitions work and peer info-sharing to increased female sexual confidence.
Forgotten Knowledge About Female Bodies
- Knowledge about female anatomy (like the clitoris) was known then forgotten and only widely rediscovered much later.
- Bland highlights long-standing medical ignorance about ovulation and fertility timing that persisted into the 20th century.
Hymen Misunderstanding Drove The Scandal
- The Russell case exposed huge public ignorance about what counts as sex and reproduction.
- Bland notes the surprising fact that an intact hymen can coexist with pregnancy and how that baffled contemporaries.
