America's obsession with sex - abstinence for soldiers in WW I was the thinking, I guess

from: https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/10-largely-forgotten-first-world-war-facts.html

"The only allied power in the first world war that did not provide its soldiers with condoms was the United States. The comstock laws that were being enforced did not allow any birth control devices nor information to be shipped abroad. As a result over 400.000 US soldiers were infected by STDs."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comstock_laws

Weird. I thought we were supposed to protect our precious bodily fluids!

tjohn said:
from: https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/10-largely-forgotten-first-world-war-facts.html
"The only allied power in the first world war that did not provide its soldiers with condoms was the United States. The comstock laws that were being enforced did not allow any birth control devices nor information to be shipped abroad. As a result over 400.000 US soldiers were infected by STDs."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comstock_laws

Gasp !!! Pushing morality and abstention didn't work? Even in the days of out Great Grandfathers? I'm shocked !!!

Comstock. There was a piece of work.

Is there a point here? I don't see how this applies to Americas obsession with sex? With the millions of solders involved, it seems in line with the STD percentages that other nations faced? And we won right? So what are you trying to say? I don't get it.

ace11 said:
Is there a point here? I don't see how this applies to Americas obsession with sex? With the millions of solders involved, it seems in line with the STD percentages that other nations faced? And we won right? So what are you trying to say? I don't get it.

There are a lot of prurient Puritans in America. Keeps the news entertaining.

Never mind the STDs... how many unplanned pregnancies did this cause????

Ace, the Americans so obsessed with sex that they would not allow soldiers to have condoms resulted in a little sexually transmitted problem for our boys in uniform. That seems to have quite a bit to do with sex and obsession, albeit maybe not the way you were thinking.