CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2015
| Author | Taylor, Jack |
|---|---|
| Title | The Unnatural Sin: Male Rape in Eighteenth Century England |
| Summary | This thesis examines male rape from a historical perspective, specifically in eighteenth century England. It utilises archival material from ‘The Proceedings of the Old Bailey’, a published newspaper of trials at London’s central criminal court, to explore how male rape was conceptualised in a period which did not have its own legal definition of male rape. Fourteen cases were found which contain instances of male rape, half of which involved adult victims and the other half with child victims. These are analysed to show that male rape was a material reality, and it is shown that the courts prosecuted it under the offence of sodomy. The first chapter contains a review of relevant literature, while the second describes the sources, theoretical framework, and research method used in the thesis. The third chapter charts the development of male rape laws, while the fourth is an analysis of the primary source material, detailing what was important to the courts and the whole courtroom procedure. Chapter five uses the concept of Governmentality to argue that male rape was included in the process of the governance of sexuality and thus conceptualised differently from the modern day, and explores the various discourses and techniques which made this so. Chapter six utilises the concept of Hegemonic Masculinity and examines the allusions to masculinity in the records, drawing parallels between these cases and modern male rape cases. It also looks at the role of the ‘Molly’, effeminate sodomites, in these cases and argues that it can be seen as an alternative form of masculinity. These records show that male rape was seen differently before its introduction as a specific crime in the late twentieth century. Despite the absence of a legal offence, it was still prosecuted by the courts, showing that male rape has a history. |
| Supervisor | Gruziel, Dominika; Johnston, Helen |
| Department | Gender Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2015/taylor_jack.pdf |
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