Sex In Two Cities The Formation And Regulation Of Sexual Relationships In Edinburgh And York 15601625 Melissa Hollander by Melissa Hollander 9781590166017, 1590166019 instant download after payment.

Through a comparison of two early modem cities, Edinburgh and York, this thesis brings together the literature on social reform, transition and change in post reformation England and Scotland and the growing body of work examining the construction of gender identities. It examines how ideas about sexual interaction shaped the language of insult, the ways in which men and women constructed social identities through their choice of sexual partners, how they carried out their roles as parents and spouses, and how they were affected by marriage and its disintegration. This thesis uses the institutions of religious and moral reform, the church courts of York and the Kirk Session in Edinburgh, to examine not only how men and women contested their social identities with each other but also with these institutions. The depositions of the York courts and the minutes of the session provide a unique insight into the local disputes that caused friction between men and women, and the ways that men and women employed the language and rhetoric of the courts to their own ends. This thesis argues that the negotiation of sexual identity was a social enterprise in which individuals, communities and the church all participated, each asserting or assigning sexual responsibility and culpability.