Emily Fox

Precocious sexuality during World War II

Since many men were off to war during the 1940s, or going to war soon, women were
more free with their sexuality, which caused hemlines to rise and sexually transmitted diseases
(STDs) to surface.
While men were off to war in the 40s, women had the chance to work in factories and
take jobs previously occupied by men. But thousands of women supported the war effort not by
working in heavy war industries, but by providing morale-boosting services to soldiers, ranging
from dances at officers' clubs to more blatant forms of sexual services, such as prostitution
(Hegarty, muse.jhu.edu). Men would be going off to war, soon and possibly dying. Women took
the chance while they could to be more free with their sexuality. Daily life acquired an exciting
urgency. The barriers of sexual licence were dramatically extended. Many women of all
nationalities felt a sentimentality, even a duty, towards fighting men on the brink of the grave
(Hastings, .dailymail.co.uk).
Womens style reflected this new freedom that they experienced. Dress hemlines rose
from the ankle in 1934 to above the knee in 1939. By 1932, skirts were calf-length, belts were
in, breasts became visible again thanks to the development of a boned brassiere from the Kestos
Company, and dresses took on a more natural feminine silhouette. (Olds,
digitalcommons.iwu.edu). Frills and ruffles were nowhere to be seen, as the WPB (War
Production Board) was trying to save fabric for the soldiers at war. The W.P.B. is the fashion
dictator this fall (Jakobson, decades.sirs.com).
STDs were a major problem during World War II. V.D. had caused the Army lost
services of 18,000 servicemen per day (med-dept.com). Since more people were having sex, it
became a more widespread problem. Posters warned that 98% of all procurable women have

venereal diseases and said things like You cant beat the axis powers if you have VD (Taylor,
nydailynews.com). Many of the posters blamed the pick-up girls or good - time girls for the
STDs and portrayed them as evil and seductive while trying to transmit diseases. Although
people were more open to women expressing their sexuality, sexist attitudes remained. Women
were portrayed women as booby traps (Taylor, nydailynews.com), however, soldiers were not
innocent. By the late summer of 1944, large numbers of women in Normandy were complaining
about rapes by US soldiers. Fear spread among the population, as did a bitter joke: "Our men had
to disguise themselves under the Germans. But when the Americans came, we had to hide the
women" (von Rohr, spiegel.de).
During World War II, people were more open to women expressing their sexuality.
Dresses were shorter and more feminine. Although there was more acceptance, sexism was still
rampant.

Works Cited
Hastings, Max. "Women were brutalised by World War II but for millions it meant
social and sexual freedom beyond their wildest dreams..." Daily Mail. N.p.,

12 Sept. 2011. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.

Hegarty, Marilyn. Victory Girls, Khaki-Wackies, and Patriotutes: The Regulation
of Female Sexuality during World War II. New York: NYU Press, 2008. Print.
Jakobson, Bob. Fall Fashions: Wartime. 6 Sept. 1942. Photograph.
Olds, Lauren. "World War II and Fashion: The Birth of the New Look."
Constructing the Past 2.1 (2001): n. pag. Digital file.
Spiegel Online. N.p., 29 May 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
Taylor, Victoria. "World War II-era posters warn soldiers of the dangers of
STD-carrying prostitutes." Daily News. N.p., 11 June 2013. Web. 11 Mar.
2015.
WW2 US Medical Research Centre. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.