Before World War II, the British attitude towards women was still quite conservative. A survey at the time found that 90 percent of parents had never talked to their children about sex. The lack of sex education has led to so much human ignorance that some girls believe they will become pregnant if they are kissed by a boy.
The arrival of American soldiers changed everything, and they set off a "sexual revolution" in Britain. They came to Britain from 1942 to prepare for a counterattack against Hitler, reaching a maximum of 1.5 million. At the same time, a large number of Young British recruits fought overseas, leaving a huge gender gap at home. Freud's theory of "war sexuality" was tested in British women. After three years of "blitzkrieg", light control and abstinence, these tall, confident, and well-defined American guys suddenly appeared in front of them, as one British writer put it, "as if a black-and-white film suddenly appeared in bright colors, bringing color, romance and warmth to the dark island of women." Not only that, but the American soldiers are also "rich and powerful." In the war years, when a small piece of butter was enough for the whole family to eat for a month, American soldiers were able to "generously" distribute gifts that pleased girls: chocolate, nylon socks, scented soap, and so on.
American soldiers are everywhere. They took The English girls in jeeps, danced with them in the country auditorium, and some stayed in the free bedrooms of the locals. Kids also loved them because they had candy and comic strips. But there are also some American soldiers who are annoying, and many young mothers have been harassed by them. In the evening they would knock on the door, falsely claiming that someone had let them come, and if they refused, they would say with a dead face, "Okay baby, I know your husband is not at home." "A total of 8 American soldiers were hanged for raping British women during World War II.
In 1943, Eric, a British soldier on leave, returned to his hometown of Somerset. Once when he went to the dance hall to dance, he was surprised to see the local girls standing in a row along the wall, and an American soldier walked up to look at them one by one, and selected the most beautiful one, who danced with him excitedly. Eric was horrified by this slave market practice. When the handsome-looking British soldier went up and invited them to dance, no one wanted to dance with him because he had no money in his pocket. "I'll never forget that scene."
The Americans were looking for fun and almost lost an integrated division
During World War I, the incidence of strene diseases in the Allied army was seven times higher than in Germany, and 1.5 million soldiers were withdrawn from battle for treatment. If they clean themselves up, there is a good chance that they will change the course of the war. In World War II, the Allies still did not learn their lesson. In the first three months of 1943, the proportion of American soldiers stationed in britain who contracted venereal diseases was 6%, which was 6 times that of usual. Some soldiers even mistakenly believed that passing it on to others would heal themselves.
At this time, the British and American governments were a little flustered. British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden sent a letter to the Home Office, hoping that the latter would strengthen the fight against prostitution because "this would not only damage britain's image, but also endanger the Anglo-American alliance, and possibly even be used by Nazi Germany as a propaganda offensive——— which would portray Britain as a degenerate country and condone debauchery of women to seduce American soldiers." U.S. military commanders are also concerned that the combat effectiveness and morale of their troops will be affected. Subsequently, at the coordination meeting held by the two sides, the US military formally put forward a request, hoping that the British side would come up with specific measures to strengthen the crackdown on the phenomenon of prostitute solicitation.
But the British police also felt powerless. Under British law at the time, it was illegal to open brothels, but prostitution and the spread of strene diseases did not count. Moreover, the U.S. military is only bound by their own laws, and the British police simply cannot control it. Home Office officials also pointed out that the key to the spread of STDs in the UK is not prostitution, but sexual contact with ordinary British women, the vast majority of which is consensual.
Despite this, the BRITISH government has taken some measures, starting with the passage of a bill called 33B to strengthen the investigation and punishment of stenarian disease carriers. Hundreds of prostitutes were arrested as a result. At the same time, the British government vigorously publicizes the dangers of STDs and warns young women to clean themselves. The U.S. military has also strengthened the management of the troops, such as the imposition of curfews and the strengthening of gendarmerie patrols. These measures have been somewhat successful. In the last two years of World War II, the rate of STD infections in the United States in the United Kingdom was reduced by 2/3, and 15,000 officers and soldiers were spared. This was equivalent to the strength of an integrated infantry division, without which the Normandy landings might have been severely affected.
American soldiers returned home, and British men swallowed bitter fruit
For many British women who depended on American soldiers for their lives, Allied Landing Day (June 6, 1944) became a "day of disappointment" because American troops were gone. Some of them were lucky enough to marry American soldiers and come to the United States after the war. The "Rainbow Club" became a surprise training school for "American brides", where they learned about American traditions and other useful knowledge for future married life.
The "war honeymoon" between American soldiers and British women left many bitter fruits. Before the outbreak of the war, most adultery divorce applications were filed by women, but after the war, 2/3 of such applications were made by husbands. In 1945, the number of divorce applications in Britain was five times higher than in 1939, and American soldiers destroyed countless British families. According to another Sunday Times statistic, of the 5.3 million babies born in britain between 1939 and 1945, one in three were illegitimate children, a significant number of which were left by American soldiers.