Learning Objective for World War I and the Control of Sexually Transmitted Diseases: The Role of Gender and Sexuality in Public Health Initiatives

In this unit, you will develop your ability to think historically through primary sources related to venereal disease control in the years during and immediately following World War I. The sources will help you understand the central role of gender and sexuality in public health initiatives, while also challenging you to think about how venereal disease control policies were influenced by cultural and social constructions of gender and sexuality. The unit’s structure will allow you to analyze larger historical connections among gender, sexuality, and how war may exacerbate the need for strict gender conformity on the home front. The documents represent the state’s role in constructing strict guidelines of femininity and masculinity through the public health campaign for venereal disease control. By studying World War I through the lens of gender, sexuality, and public health, you will gain a new historical perspective of women’s experience on the home front during the war.