Instruction and Advice for the Young Bride

Last updated

Instruction and Advice for the Young Bride purports to be a booklet written by Ruth Smythers in 1894 that states that women find sex displeasurable and discusses methods which a newly married woman may use to discourage her husband from sex. Although there is ample evidence that the text is a joke or hoax - Ruth Smythers, her husband and the institutions mentioned in the pamphlet did not exist (names 'Ruth' and 'Smithers' (sic) appear alongside, albeit separately in a once popular work of fiction by John Galsworthy, a 1910 play Justice [1] ), and some of the language and reference points were not used until the 20th century [2] [3] [4] - it has fooled some people and even a newspaper into believing it is a serious text, partly because some back covers of the book imply that it is genuine. [5]

Contents

The text, purportedly published by Spiritual Guidance Press, New York City and reprinted by The Madison Institute Newsletter, Fall Issue, in 1894, has become a well-known humorous pamphlet. [6] [7] [8] It has been published in book form as Sex Tips for Husbands and Wives from 1894. [9]

Internet origins

The text, which has circulated and spread over websites and blogs and has been translated into other languages, [10] is sometimes sourced to a 1998 course on human sexuality in the University of Washington. [11] However, as this was two years after a passage of the book was read out in a legal hearing during the Krull case, this is unlikely.

Krull case

In 1996, the Ombudsman of King County in Seattle, David Krull, was fired for misconduct after he emailed the text of the booklet to his assistant, Amy Calderwood, who was about to get married. Krull had stated that the email was a light hearted joke, but Calderwood claimed it was "inappropriate", her fiancé said it was "vile" and council member Maggi Fimia, who voted for Krull to be fired, called the text "incredibly offensive". [12] [13] [14] [15] Fimia picked out the following passage and said it was suitable only for discussion in a women's studies class: [14]

Most men are by nature rather perverted, and if given half a chance, would engage in quite a variety of the most revolting practices. These practices include, among others, performing the normal act in abnormal positions; mouthing the female body; and offering their own vile bodies to be mouthed in turn.

— Instruction and Advice for the Young Bride, Ruth Smythers, 1894

See also

Related Research Articles

Dan Savage American sex advice columnist and gay rights campaigner

Daniel Keenan Savage is an American author, media pundit, journalist, and LGBT community activist. He writes Savage Love, an internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column. In 2010, Savage and his husband, Terry Miller, began the It Gets Better Project to help prevent suicide among LGBT youth. He has also worked as a theater director, sometimes credited as Keenan Hollahan.

Richard Conlin Seattle city councilmember, 1998–2013

Richard Conlin is a former member of the Seattle City Council, first elected to council in 1997 and reelected in 2001, 2005 and 2009. He was first elected, unanimously, by the council to be their president on January 7, 2008 and was unanimously reelected on January 4, 2010. He was defeated in the 2013 election for the seat by Kshama Sawant of Socialist Alternative.

William Lansing Downing is a judge of the Superior Court of Washington for King County (Seattle) and a former deputy prosecutor. He is notable for his ruling that same-sex marriages are legal in Washington, as well as for the prosecutions of the Wah Mee massacre killers.

Kristen Pfaff American musician

Kristen Marie Pfaff was an American musician, best known as the bassist for alternative rock band Hole from 1993 to 1994. Prior to Hole, Pfaff was the bassist and backing vocalist for Minneapolis-based band Janitor Joe. Pfaff returned to Janitor Joe for a short tour in the weeks before her death.

Chris Woodward American baseball player / coach

Christopher Michael Woodward is an American former professional baseball utility player and coach, who is currently the manager of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Texas Rangers. Woodward played in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, Seattle Mariners, and Boston Red Sox, from 1999 through 2012. He served as a coach for the Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers, from 2014 through 2018, prior to being hired by the Rangers.

KXPA is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Bellevue, Washington, and serving the Seattle metropolitan area. It is part of the nationwide Multicultural Radio Broadcasting network, one of 30 stations owned by Arthur Liu, which cater to minority and immigrant communities with programs in their native languages.

Frederick Kimball Young is a former professional American football player who played linebacker for seven seasons for the Seattle Seahawks and the Indianapolis Colts. He was selected to four Pro Bowls - two on the special teams and two as linebacker. He was renowned as a heavy hitter and was featured in the NFL film 'The NFL Crunch Course.'

Sanford "Sandy" Brown is a travel writer, tour guide, and United Methodist minister from the Seattle, Washington area. He was formerly senior pastor of First United Methodist Church, the oldest church in the Seattle area.

Bertha Pitts Campbell was a civil rights activist and one of the 22 founding members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

KLFE

KLFE is a radio station broadcasting a conservative talk radio format. Licensed to Seattle, Washington, United States, it serves the Seattle metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by Salem Communications. KLFE's studios are located on 5th Avenue South in Seattle, while its 4-tower transmitter array is located on Bainbridge Island.

Kyle Wachholtz was a 7th round pick by the Green Bay Packers in the 1996 NFL Draft. Wachholtz won Super Bowl XXXI with the Packers against the New England Patriots. He played college football at USC.

Pamela Roach is an American Republican politician and a former Washington State Senator. She represented the 31st Legislative District until 2017, when she became a member of the Pierce County Council.

Office humor, also often called workplace humor is humor within the workplace, in particular, office, environment. It is a subject that receives significant attention from students of industrial and organizational psychology and of the sociology of work, as well as in popular culture.

Dick Knight attended Shoreline High School in Seattle, Washington where he was a high school tennis standout competing with and against other tennis great Tom Gorman. From 1966 to 1970 he attended the University of Washington where he was named Tennis Captain and the first U.W. NCAA Coaches All American. He was inducted into the Husky Hall of Fame in 1995 and the USTA Pacific Northwest Hall of Fame in 2015.

Mike Fucito American soccer player

Michael Fucito is a retired American soccer player.

Laura Macchi is an Italian professional basketball player who played for the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA.

Margaret Allen is an American cardiothoracic surgeon and an academic at the Benaroya Research Institute. She was the first woman to perform a heart transplant and is a former president of the United Network for Organ Sharing.

Scott William Cox is an American serial killer, convicted on two separate counts of homicide in 1993 in Portland, Oregon, and suspected of many more. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, but was granted parole in 2013, five years early. He currently is serving a post-prison supervision term of life. He is also the prime suspect in 20 unsolved murder cases throughout the United States and Canada, although charges were never brought against him.

The Americans (gang) street gang and organized crime group based in Cape Flats area of Cape Town

The Americans gang is a large street gang and organized crime group based in Cape Flats area of Cape Town. Like the Hard Livings gang, many smaller gangs throughout the Cape Flats owe allegiance to it. Some of these gangs include the Spoilt Brats, Dollar Kids, Young Americans, and Dixie Boys. It is the largest of the street gangs in Cape Town.

Assunta Ng is Chinese American community organizer and the publisher of Northwest Asian Weekly and Seattle Chinese Post, based in Seattle's Chinatown/International District.

References

  1. ↑ "Justice by John Galsworthy" . Retrieved 2 May 2017– via www.gutenberg.org.
  2. ↑ Ray (20 December 2007). "The Amazing Mrs. Ruth Smythers" . Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  3. ↑ Origins @Gonzo Journalism on the NET!
  4. ↑ "Advice to Young Brides". 6 July 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  5. ↑ Bolin, Anne; Whelehan, Patricia (1 January 1999). "Perspectives on Human Sexuality". SUNY Press. Retrieved 2 May 2017– via Google Books.
  6. ↑ Drunkcow Landmines, Daryl Meakes, 2004, p. 219 Book overview in google: "Drunkcow landmines are wickedly-unusual-but-oddly-believable stories that have been passed along by someone who believes the story to have happened to a friend of a friend."
  7. ↑ "Instruction and Advice for the Young Bride". humor.beecy.net. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  8. ↑ Liddy, G. Gordon (19 September 2003). "When I Was a Kid, This Was a Free Country". Regnery Publishing. Retrieved 2 May 2017– via Google Books.
  9. ↑ Smythers, Ruth (1 September 2008). "Sex Tips For Husbands and Wives from 1894". Summersdale. Retrieved 2 May 2017– via Amazon.
  10. ↑ "Инструкции и съвети за млади булки". 30 May 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  11. ↑ "University of Washington course website". Archived from the original on 23 March 2010. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  12. ↑ "Local News - Harassment Charge Believed By Expert - Seattle Times Newspaper". community.seattletimes.nwsource.com. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  13. ↑ Ombudsman Is Fired -- County Council Says Krull Engaged In `Misconduct' in Seattle Times October 22, 1996
  14. 1 2 "Local News - Accused Of Misconduct, Ombudsman Fights Back -- King County Watchdog Says Sex Complaint Is `Retaliation' - Seattle Times Newspaper". community.seattletimes.nwsource.com. Retrieved 2 May 2017.
  15. ↑ "Local News - Council Fires Back At Krull - Seattle Times Newspaper". community.seattletimes.nwsource.com. Retrieved 2 May 2017.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.