Sex-education A series of lectures concerning knowledge of sex in its relation to human life — Context and Discussion

The Lecturer's Balancing Act

Bigelow's voice shifts between two registers: the dispassionate biologist and the worried moralist. In the excerpt on 'Dangers in Literature on Abnormal Sexuality,' he first adopts a clinical tone—'the opinion is spreading among those who are studying the educational problems'—then slides into alarm: 'there is great danger, even for many adults.' He warns that 'it has struck sex o'clock in America,' a phrase that captures his blend of sociological observation and anxiety. The pacing accelerates as he lists symptoms—novels, plays, motion pictures, divorce cases—each example adding urgency. Yet he never abandons the posture of expertise; he cites a superintendent who read 'more than five thousand pages' on abnormal sex, using this anecdote to reinforce his call for a missing treatise on the normal side. The rhythm of these paragraphs—short, declarative sentences punctuated by longer, enumerative ones—mimics a lecturer driving home a point.

Constructive vs. Morbid Interest

A recurring structural pattern is Bigelow's contrast between 'normal' and 'abnormal' interest in sex. He insists that the sex-education movement must 'take into account the present tendency towards a dangerous interest in literature relating to sexual abnormality.' The language of danger and disease pervades: 'morbid craving,' 'awful details,' 'bestial vulgarity.' But he also offers a positive program, urging readers to focus on 'the normal and bright side of sex-life.' This binary frames the entire lecture series. Notably, Bigelow does not define 'normal' with precision; instead, he relies on shared assumptions about morality and health. The excerpts suggest that his argument proceeds less by evidence than by rhetorical contrast—setting up a straw man of sensationalism to advocate for a restrained, educational approach. The pacing here is deliberate: he builds a case through accumulation of examples, then pivots to a solution.

Audience and Address

The lectures were originally tailored to specific groups—parents, teachers, men, women—and the text retains traces of these different audiences. In the prefatory note, Bigelow mentions 'combination and rearrangement' to avoid repetition, but the resulting volume still shifts in tone. When addressing parents, he likely adopts a more intimate, advisory voice; when speaking to teachers, a more pedagogical one. The excerpt on literature, however, seems aimed at a general educated reader, using the inclusive 'we' and 'our.' The pace varies accordingly: direct commands ('parents and teachers should point out') alternate with broader cultural commentary. This polyvocal quality makes the book feel like a series of discrete performances rather than a unified treatise. Readers should attend to these shifts, as they reveal Bigelow's strategic adaptation to his listeners' presumed concerns.

Bigelow's lectures are best read as period documents in the history of educational reform, not as timeless guides. The author's voice—earnest, anxious, scientifically credentialed—reflects a specific moment when sex education was emerging from silence into public debate. Pay attention to how he manages tone: the biologist's calm gives way to the moralist's urgency, then back again. These oscillations are the book's real subject, revealing the tensions inherent in speaking openly about sex in early twentieth-century America.

Sometimes I think about Bigelow’s careful lectures on sex education—how he tiptoed between science and modesty, anxious not to corrupt while teaching. That same tightrope walk came to mind when I stumbled across The Members of the Established Church Vindicated from certain charges, direct or implied, in a letter addressed to them by the Rev. John Alexander, on the subject of — Text and Context, where another reformer defends proper instruction against misunderstanding. Both felt like quiet pleas for balance, spoken into a room that wasn’t ready to listen.