Sex and female sexuality in 19th century America

Stumbled over an interesting article about Clelia Mosher, a professor at Stanford University who studied female sexuality between 1892 and 1920. She conducted surveys which reveal what family historian generally know more clearly than the general public: that Victorians were just as interested in sex as we are.

How do family historians know? Because 6 out of 10 Victorian brides were pregnant, that's how. The picture we have of a sternly disapproving society and virginal womanhood who barely knew which bits were involved in procreation is a bit misleading.

It is true that women often knew very little about the way in which their own bodies worked, but I think that actually that's pretty much true even today. Many women confuse menstruation with ovulation, don't understand the physical process of pregnancy and giving birth. The difference is that today, that's a choice.