No Magic Bullet: A Social History of Venereal Disease in the United States since 1880

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ID: 306815
1986
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Ranked #32 of 143 articles by views in The American Historical Review

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Abstract
From Victorian anxieties about syphilis to the current hysteria over herpes and AIDS, the history of venereal disease in America forces us to examine social attitudes as well as purely medical concerns. In No Magic Bullet, Allan M. Brandt recounts the various medical, military, and public health responses that have arisen over the years--a broad spectrum that ranges from the incarceration of prostitutes during World War I to the establishment of required premarital blood tests. Brandt demostrates that Americans' concerns about venereal disease have centered around a set of social and cultural values related to sexuality, gender, ethnicity, and class. At the heart of our efforts to combat these infections, he argues, has been the tendency to view venereal disease as both a punishment for sexual misconduct and an index of social decay. This tension between medical and moral approaches has significantly impeded efforts to develop magic bullets--drugs that would rid us of the disease--as well as effective policies for controlling the infections' spread.
Reference Key
openalex_W1982502530 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors David J. Pivar, Allan M. Brandt
Journal The American Historical Review
Year 1986
DOI
10.2307/1869303
URL
https://doi.org/10.2307/1869303
Keywords Keywords not found

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