Omg 😭 I’m not sure how I haven’t read abt Ida before. Changing that now! Between even just she and Ralph Ginzburg, what they suffered because of Comstock, and now, today, oh my blood is boiling 😕🤬
Our society treatment of women has improved greatly since gave them the vote in the 1920s. In my lifetime, I have observed that women were definitely not treated equally in banking or in other fields. They had low paying jobs. Etc.
And now our president may well be a black woman . Yay!!! Billserle.com
Thanks, Greg, for this incredible story about "the wedding night!" While I do not wish to undermine its importance, my focus lies here where I discovered a new-to-me story linked by Timothy Snyder’s “Thinking About…” substack. My thought is that you and your readers would appreciate what the Ukrainian literary world has and had been doing to safeguard their literature after having it obliterated many years ago.
Apologies if this is “old news” to many, but thought I would offer it to the some who would be reading it for the first time, and would appreciate these sheroes and heroes of literature who are in a country ravaged by war.
I did not need to subscribe to the New Yorker to read it; I trust others will have no difficulty either:
"Kharkiv’s cultural life is intense and incredibly interesting, despite constant bombing. A new amazing project “In the name of the city” was recently launched by Kharkiv Literature Museum, jointly with such wonderful artists as Kostiantyn Zorkin and others."
And in case you are interested, here is Professor Snyder’s newsletter where he talks about the irony of launching his new book “On Freedom” amidst the launching of Russian missiles into Ukraine.
Why haven't we found a better, more all-encompassing word for people like Comstock and our current crop of Comstockians than "hypocrite?" I'm also a little shocked that although we still invoke Benedict Arnold's name when speaking of traitors (which should rightfully be replaced by Donald Trump's), people have all but forgotten the sick, little man, Anthony Comstock. His name should have lived in infamy and yet, other than this book by Amy Sohn, which I'm now about halfway through, it hasn't. And we now have people trying to use the Comstock Act against their opponents to stop mail order Mifepristone because thus far we've been neglectful enough since 1873 to leave the cursed thing on the books! Ida C Craddock was a hero! I understand it, but it's a shame of biblical proportions that she took her own life because of the unjust actions of Comstock and Judge Thomas (history DOES repeat). They should have been charged with her murder.
I blame Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake for what's happening now. Well, I don't blame them specifically, but it WAS after the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, when Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson's nipple shield to the viewing public, that all hell broke loose, and I don't think we've ever recovered. People were INSANE about it, people in fact, called it the equivalent of, “obscene, lewd, lascivious, and dirty.” There was wailing and gnashing of teeth that FAMILIES watched the Super Bowl together and youngsters were exposed to that! I'm not a football fan and don't watch the Super Bowl, but even I heard ALL about it. And then, George W Bush went on to win a second term that he should not have won. Coincidence? I think not. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XXXVIII_halftime_show_controversy
And here we are. Men STILL trying to control women's bodies, forcing birth, outlawing even life-saving medical procedures. I really can't decide if I have ANY sympathy for doctors in Georgia who refused to perform a D&C on Amber Nicole Thurman for FEAR they'd be jailed. I'm going to guess, with no evidence at all except my hunch, that the doctors who let Ms. Thurman die were male doctors because women doctors would have said, "Fuck it! This woman will die if we don't do a D&C," and got the job done in time, instead of wringing their well-washed hands for twenty fucking hours. Is there no Hippocratic Oath anymore? Do no harm?
Make no mistake. Project 2025 is the Comstock Act on steroids. They will outlaw abortion (a MEDICAL procedure) nationwide, then all forms of contraception will go, and more than likely, so-called pornography will be next, and all of its various delivery systems. Wherever will Mark Robinson go to get his "tranny porn" fix? Be careful what you wish for, Black Nazi!
We not only have to vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, but EVERY Democrat for House and Senate. This is no time to play at divided government, which I've never really understood anyway. The partisanship now will stop ANYTHING good from being passed into law unless the entire government is controlled by Democrats. Republicans have had their time in the sun, and they chose Donald Trump every single time they could have left him in the dust. They ALL need to go! Register and/or CHECK that you're registered and VOTE! I also heard that Trump's campaign has sued Illinois, one of many states, about mail-in voting. After filling out my mail-in ballot, I'm taking it to a drop box instead of mailing it back using DeJoy's USPS. I trust NO ONE connected to Republicans anymore. You shouldn't either.
Judge Edward Beers Thomas graduated from Yale Law School as did Justices Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito. I wonder if they all took a minor in "Hatred of All Things Women"?
Another very informative Sunday column, thanks Greg.
Shared w my daughter; we both share a love of Victorian literature & woman’s rights. At first, I blushed as I read her rapturous account of the virginal wedding night. Then, my emotion turned to rage than, to sadness. The far rightwing male, who is deprived of any adoring eye from the opposite sex, has wielded their powers against women’s in the the must cynical & sadistic way. In affect, that they are trying to ban midwifery even.
Thank you, Greg, for this in-depth article on Ms Craddock. I learned something today. It made me furious and sad. In my seven decades of life I’ve seen it all play out. Right now - it’s sickening.
It’s up to the Women of this country now to outperform at the voting booth. I hope they feel the call, feel the mission, feel the need to do their part… if they want to regain their freedoms.
It’s heartbreaking and rage inducing that a near equivalent to an actual witch trial is a part of our recent history and that Comstock’s hatreds are still legally expressed. I also know too well that the more things change the more they stay the same, so much so that I didn’t even have to look it up, and I’ve never studied French.
Why would anyone have wanted to repress Craddock’s pamphlet other than to squelch any expectation of mutual respect, affection, and pleasure? I cringe.
Bet they haven’t thought this through: if medication abortion can be restricted by the Comstock act, then Viagara and any similar aid or treatment must also be. Just wait for the squealing when the greasy old pricks can’t get their needs met, so I can tell them exactly what they can’t do with their feelings.
What a sad story—on several different levels. She was clearly ahead of her time, as was, say, Tesla. She was a woman in a patriarchal society, sharing a fate in some ways with victims of the Salem witch trials. The sexual and reproductive aspects of her work and the Comstock reaction have obvious parallels with the reprehensible intentions of the current far right. I also see parallels to recent campaigns to totally destroy the reputation of someone whose success cannot be tolerated; Marie Yovanovitch comes to mind as just one example. I guess the good news is that our views on sexual mores have evolved to the point where those of us in the majority—we who will not go back—can clearly see that she had good intentions and actually in the end made a positive difference.
Omg 😭 I’m not sure how I haven’t read abt Ida before. Changing that now! Between even just she and Ralph Ginzburg, what they suffered because of Comstock, and now, today, oh my blood is boiling 😕🤬
Our society treatment of women has improved greatly since gave them the vote in the 1920s. In my lifetime, I have observed that women were definitely not treated equally in banking or in other fields. They had low paying jobs. Etc.
And now our president may well be a black woman . Yay!!! Billserle.com
Thanks, Greg, for this incredible story about "the wedding night!" While I do not wish to undermine its importance, my focus lies here where I discovered a new-to-me story linked by Timothy Snyder’s “Thinking About…” substack. My thought is that you and your readers would appreciate what the Ukrainian literary world has and had been doing to safeguard their literature after having it obliterated many years ago.
Apologies if this is “old news” to many, but thought I would offer it to the some who would be reading it for the first time, and would appreciate these sheroes and heroes of literature who are in a country ravaged by war.
I did not need to subscribe to the New Yorker to read it; I trust others will have no difficulty either:
https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/the-museum-director-who-stayed-behind-to-defend-ukrainian-literature
This Xitter feed shows a partly new interactive exhibition of the museum (approx. 2minutes):
https://x.com/ukraine_world/status/1795783330937360613?prefetchTimestamp=1726496420243
"Kharkiv’s cultural life is intense and incredibly interesting, despite constant bombing. A new amazing project “In the name of the city” was recently launched by Kharkiv Literature Museum, jointly with such wonderful artists as Kostiantyn Zorkin and others."
And in case you are interested, here is Professor Snyder’s newsletter where he talks about the irony of launching his new book “On Freedom” amidst the launching of Russian missiles into Ukraine.
https://snyder.substack.com/p/launches-in-ukraine
Wow. Fascinating stuff. Horrifying stuff.
I’m laughing about how Clarence Thomas also has a porn hound history. These hypocrites.
Excellent
Why haven't we found a better, more all-encompassing word for people like Comstock and our current crop of Comstockians than "hypocrite?" I'm also a little shocked that although we still invoke Benedict Arnold's name when speaking of traitors (which should rightfully be replaced by Donald Trump's), people have all but forgotten the sick, little man, Anthony Comstock. His name should have lived in infamy and yet, other than this book by Amy Sohn, which I'm now about halfway through, it hasn't. And we now have people trying to use the Comstock Act against their opponents to stop mail order Mifepristone because thus far we've been neglectful enough since 1873 to leave the cursed thing on the books! Ida C Craddock was a hero! I understand it, but it's a shame of biblical proportions that she took her own life because of the unjust actions of Comstock and Judge Thomas (history DOES repeat). They should have been charged with her murder.
I blame Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake for what's happening now. Well, I don't blame them specifically, but it WAS after the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, when Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson's nipple shield to the viewing public, that all hell broke loose, and I don't think we've ever recovered. People were INSANE about it, people in fact, called it the equivalent of, “obscene, lewd, lascivious, and dirty.” There was wailing and gnashing of teeth that FAMILIES watched the Super Bowl together and youngsters were exposed to that! I'm not a football fan and don't watch the Super Bowl, but even I heard ALL about it. And then, George W Bush went on to win a second term that he should not have won. Coincidence? I think not. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XXXVIII_halftime_show_controversy
And here we are. Men STILL trying to control women's bodies, forcing birth, outlawing even life-saving medical procedures. I really can't decide if I have ANY sympathy for doctors in Georgia who refused to perform a D&C on Amber Nicole Thurman for FEAR they'd be jailed. I'm going to guess, with no evidence at all except my hunch, that the doctors who let Ms. Thurman die were male doctors because women doctors would have said, "Fuck it! This woman will die if we don't do a D&C," and got the job done in time, instead of wringing their well-washed hands for twenty fucking hours. Is there no Hippocratic Oath anymore? Do no harm?
Make no mistake. Project 2025 is the Comstock Act on steroids. They will outlaw abortion (a MEDICAL procedure) nationwide, then all forms of contraception will go, and more than likely, so-called pornography will be next, and all of its various delivery systems. Wherever will Mark Robinson go to get his "tranny porn" fix? Be careful what you wish for, Black Nazi!
We not only have to vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, but EVERY Democrat for House and Senate. This is no time to play at divided government, which I've never really understood anyway. The partisanship now will stop ANYTHING good from being passed into law unless the entire government is controlled by Democrats. Republicans have had their time in the sun, and they chose Donald Trump every single time they could have left him in the dust. They ALL need to go! Register and/or CHECK that you're registered and VOTE! I also heard that Trump's campaign has sued Illinois, one of many states, about mail-in voting. After filling out my mail-in ballot, I'm taking it to a drop box instead of mailing it back using DeJoy's USPS. I trust NO ONE connected to Republicans anymore. You shouldn't either.
Apparently the 3-way with God was just too hot for Comstock and Judge Thomas.
Judge Edward Beers Thomas graduated from Yale Law School as did Justices Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito. I wonder if they all took a minor in "Hatred of All Things Women"?
Another very informative Sunday column, thanks Greg.
Great column. Thank you for this astute rendering of what women are suffering in America.
Shared w my daughter; we both share a love of Victorian literature & woman’s rights. At first, I blushed as I read her rapturous account of the virginal wedding night. Then, my emotion turned to rage than, to sadness. The far rightwing male, who is deprived of any adoring eye from the opposite sex, has wielded their powers against women’s in the the must cynical & sadistic way. In affect, that they are trying to ban midwifery even.
Thank you, Greg, for this in-depth article on Ms Craddock. I learned something today. It made me furious and sad. In my seven decades of life I’ve seen it all play out. Right now - it’s sickening.
It’s up to the Women of this country now to outperform at the voting booth. I hope they feel the call, feel the mission, feel the need to do their part… if they want to regain their freedoms.
It’s heartbreaking and rage inducing that a near equivalent to an actual witch trial is a part of our recent history and that Comstock’s hatreds are still legally expressed. I also know too well that the more things change the more they stay the same, so much so that I didn’t even have to look it up, and I’ve never studied French.
Why would anyone have wanted to repress Craddock’s pamphlet other than to squelch any expectation of mutual respect, affection, and pleasure? I cringe.
Bet they haven’t thought this through: if medication abortion can be restricted by the Comstock act, then Viagara and any similar aid or treatment must also be. Just wait for the squealing when the greasy old pricks can’t get their needs met, so I can tell them exactly what they can’t do with their feelings.
What a sad story—on several different levels. She was clearly ahead of her time, as was, say, Tesla. She was a woman in a patriarchal society, sharing a fate in some ways with victims of the Salem witch trials. The sexual and reproductive aspects of her work and the Comstock reaction have obvious parallels with the reprehensible intentions of the current far right. I also see parallels to recent campaigns to totally destroy the reputation of someone whose success cannot be tolerated; Marie Yovanovitch comes to mind as just one example. I guess the good news is that our views on sexual mores have evolved to the point where those of us in the majority—we who will not go back—can clearly see that she had good intentions and actually in the end made a positive difference.
Another subject: Mr. Olear, have you seen the two articles in NYMagazine’s Intelligencer about Opus Dei and Vance as a post -liberal Catholic?
Is corporate media, at long last, paying attention to this story? Maybe they have noticed (or used) your work on the subject?