The Trouble with Normal: Postwar Youth and the Making of Heterosexuality

Sarah Stratton, who holds a Ph.D. in American history from York
University, teaches at Open College and is a member of the
research/program staff at the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada.

Mary Louise Adams’s original goal with the Ph.D. dissertation that
became this book was to understand Canadian gay and lesbian history. But
she soon realized that needed to understand the construction of
heterosexuality first. That this first step became the entire project is
a stroke of luck for Canadian historians. The Trouble with Normal is a
fine contribution to the growing body of Canadian postwar social history
and a shining contribution to the history of sexuality.

Adam’s clear explanations of dense theoretical constructs get the
reader off to a good start. She then deftly sketches the postwar context
of prosperous baby-boom parents, who searched for security following the
tumultuous Depression and war years and were gripped by Cold War fear of
the unknown. Next she describes how society tried to define “normal”
as “heterosexual” through sex advice, education, and attacks on
“obscenity,” and notes that teenagers were themselves complicit in
this effort, desiring as they did to be “normal.” Her well-argued
analysis on conformity—its appeal and its dangers—makes for a
devastating critique of the so-called morality squads that continue to
play a role in our social and political lives.

An up-to-date bibliography and a small collection of photographs of the
period are included. The Trouble with Normal is highly recommended for
academics and general readers.