'Khaki fever' and its management: the moral panic about young women's sexuality in Britain during the First World War

The First World War was a time of great social, political and economic upheaval for men, women and children across Europe. For working-class young women in Britain, the war brought new freedoms and new opportunities, as... [ view full abstract ]

The First World War was a time of great social, political and economic upheaval for men, women and children across Europe. For working-class young women in Britain, the war brought new freedoms and new opportunities, as increasing numbers of women engaged in work in factories, mines and fields, and increasing numbers chose to serve overseas as nurses and drivers etc. Alongside this massive social change came renewed concern for the behaviour of young working-class women, and specifically the sexual behaviour of young working-class women. ‘Khaki fever’ became the expression of this concern, as military and police authorities, feminists and other social reformers and commentators (that is, early social workers) sought to do something to control the behaviour of young women who were found to be hanging about outside barracks and running after men in uniform.

This paper will interrogate the concept of ‘khaki fever’ as a moral panic, asking where the discourse came from, how it played out in practice, and what its consequences were, both positive and negative, for those involved and for society as a whole. The paper will consider the position of early social workers as guardians of morality and controllers of sexuality, looking specifically at the role of the National Vigilance Association within this. It will finally make links between this moral panic and current concerns about young people and sexuality, often expressed today in terms of child sexual exploitation.