Actually, men were also were advised to "shun bad company". See, as I recall, versions of Captain Kidd and Botany Bay, as well as "the Black Horse " (which I just found on the net). More specific advice was "shun all piracy" (the Flying Cloud). I'm sure there's more specific moral advice in the various songs and ballads, and it might be interesting to compile such a list, both for men and for women. The consequences of bad company varied of course dependent on gender (e.g., pregnancy versus the Hangman).
Lew Becker
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