1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 92 5 Leagues of Sunshine: Sunlight, Health and the Environment Simon Carter 5.1 Introduction This chapter explores how, during the 1920s and 1930s, a variety of forces came into play to weave sunlight, as a giver of health, into the fabric of social environments. The use of sunlight, both natural and artificial, was already well-established as a therapy that had been prevalent in Europe since the late nineteenth century. 1 The growth of sunlight therapy, however, expanded greatly in the early part of the twentieth century, with heliotherapy (natural sunlight) being used to treat tuberculosis and actinotherapy (via sunlamps) deployed to combat rickets. 2 These thera- peutic applications, applied in sanatoria and clinics, helped establish an association between sunlight and health. The growth in the use of such sunlight therapies was partially based on the idea of ‘nature’ being cura- tive of the diseased body. 3 However, this idea of nature as curative and enhancing health was also being found in non-clinical developments in this period and these helped to produce equivalence between health and the desire to introduce sunlight into the environments used for living and working. It is these developments that this chapter will consider. The establishment of sunlight as a source of health was in contrast to how the sun’s rays had been commonly regarded. For example at the end of the nineteenth century solarisation was regarded as danger- ous, with bodily isolation from the sun being the prescriptive norm. In particular exposure was commonly regarded in one of two ways: first, for men (particularly those serving the needs of empire and stationed overseas) the sun was seen as a source of danger leading to a variety of ills and even death; 4,5 and, second, for women (especially those with aristocratic aspirations) sun exposure was thought to lead to discomfort and be a marker of low social status. 6 AQ1 AQ1 92 9780230233119_06_cha05.indd 92 9780230233119_06_cha05.indd 92 7/20/2011 1:45:15 PM 7/20/2011 1:45:15 PM This file is to be used only for a purpose specified by Palgrave Macmillan, such as checking proofs, preparing an index, reviewing, endorsing or planning coursework/other institutional needs. You may store and print the file and share it with others helping you with the specified purpose, but under no circumstances may the file be distributed or otherwise made accessible to any other third parties without the express prior permission of Palgrave Macmillan. Please contact rights@palgrave.com if you have any queries regarding use of the file. PROOF