Rice researcher redefines Victorian era

Common notions of the Victorians and sex were redefined Wednesday night, as part of a lecture given by Rice University English professor and author Helena Michie.\nSpeaking to a crowd of about 60 people in the Indiana Memorial Union's Georgian Room, Michie, chair of Rice's English department, argued that the Victorian's were ignorant or secretive towards sex, and said they were likely not the sexually prudish people obsessed with the subject, as is sometimes thought. \nDrawing on research from archives in England and Wales, including novels, medical and conduct manuals and personal diaries from the period, Michie specifically focused on honeymoons to explore the issue, and analyzed 63 couples as part of her study. As evidence of the subtlety of sex in the culture, Michie said she found sex mentioned in only five of the 63 couple's cases, and often had to look to periods of silence in diary passages for evidence of lovemaking. \n"I'm really delighted with how academic her talk was and how accessible (it was) to the general public, as well," said Carol McCord, assistant dean with the Office of Women's Affairs, which sponsored the event. "I'm reminded of the dangers of ignorance of sex in Victorian times and today." \nThe lecture was the first in the Ken Gros Louis Women of Distinction lecture series. The idea for the series began after Gros Louis, IU's next University chancellor, first retired in 2001, and was designed to commemorate his positive support of women's issues, said Linda McCammon, editor and director of administration for the OWA.\nThis year's speaker was selected by Gros Louis himself, who spoke with other faculty members in the English department before making the decision, she said. \n"It's to bring very distinguished women's scholars from all across the country to the university here for speaking engagements," McCammon said. \nFor Moya Andrews, a retired speech and hearing professor, the lecture was an educational and amusing experience; one that she said helped to provide new insight into the Victorian era. \n"The honeymoon was obviously a very interesting time period to choose ... but it's revealing in many ways," she said. \nThe Gros Louis lecture series will likely occur once a year, as funds permit, and is open to lecturers in a variety of fields, McCammon said. No future dates have been scheduled at this time.