Regulating Passion uncovers how Massachusetts residents used sexuality to maintain and subvert patriarchy from the colonial era through the early republic. The American Revolution, according to Ryan, did not lead to dramatically new sexual values. Instead, the Revolution forced Americans to adopt to more private modes of sexual regulation over those used in the government in the colonial era, which included government enforced laws and investigations into sexual behavior. After the Revolution, the printing press, charitable organizations, and individuals pushed for a sexual morality that favored the racial separation and the gender hierarchy.
Praised for its intersectional analysis, Regulating Passion highlights how sexual hierarchies interacted with those of race, class, generation and gender to sustain patriarchy.
Reviews:
“Expertly crafted,” in Journal of the Early Republic, Summer 2015
“Ryan’s work has many strengths,” Commonplace, Summer 2015
“Draws from a vast array of sources,” Journal of American History, September 2015
“Multi-faceted narrative,” American Historical Review, April 2015
”Contributes to a new understanding of the continued divisions crated by the regulation of gender and sexuality in early America,” The English Historical Review, October 2016
“Interesting contributions to her field,” in Journal for Eighteenth Century Studies, March 2018