author

R. B. (Roscoe Burdette) Tobias

b. 1880

Best known for a provocative 1918 social critique co-written with Mary E. Marcy, this early 20th-century writer explored how economics shaped women’s lives and public roles. The surviving record is sparse, which gives the work an unusual, almost rediscovered feel today.

1 Audiobook

Women As Sex Vendors

Women As Sex Vendors

by Mary Marcy, R. B. (Roscoe Burdette) Tobias

About the author

R. B. Tobias, identified in public-domain editions as R. B. (Roscoe Burdette) Tobias (born 1880), is known primarily for Women As Sex Vendors; Or, Why Women Are Conservative, published in 1918 and co-written with Mary E. Marcy.

The book takes a strongly socio-economic view of gender, arguing that women’s status and choices were deeply shaped by material conditions rather than simple moral or personal explanations. Because that title is the main work consistently tied to Tobias in available sources, most modern references to the author focus on that collaboration and its place in early 20th-century social and political debate.

Beyond that, reliable biographical detail appears limited in the sources available online. No clearly verified portrait was found from the pages reviewed, so a profile image is not included here.