FREE ESSAY ON HISTORY OF SEXUALITY

HISTORY OF SEXUALITY

As you may well know and as I have recently discovered, there are endless publications
concerning themselves with sex. However, finding sources that deal with the subject of
masturbation are few and far in between. I first began by gaining access to the Internet
to begin my research under the notion that I couldn't go wrong using a tool containing
such a wealth of information. After having initiated a search of the word masturbation
and finding that nearly all of the results directed me to sites dedicated to pornography,
it became obvious that I was heading in the wrong direction. I then decided to take the
more traditional route by utilizing the San Francisco State University Library and
Bookstore, where after much mental strain, I was able to successfully conduct a thorough
research of the topic. However, much of the text I was able to find, seem to quote each
other, all stemming from the works of just a few scholars from centuries past. Very
little new ground seems to be covered, and it is almost impossible to find anything that
didn't either make me yawn, or that offered me a fresh or interesting perspective. As a
result, I have taken what I feel to be the most beneficial and engaging segments from the
sources that I have gathered and pieced them together to create this report: The Criminal
History of Masturbation. Hopefully, what little information I was able to find will be of
interest to those of you who already consider yourselves experts on the subject.
Thesis Statement
Masturbation, as you might suspect, is a purely solitary form of sexual behavior, and as
such can tend to be regarded as even more personal and intimate than sex itself. As such,
it gains a status as a taboo subject, even among people like myself who consider
themselves among the sexually liberated. But, these attitudes concerning masturbation are
quite recent, shifting considerably in the last 50 years or so. Historically,
masturbation was not a subject that you would so kindly label as taboo but, for example,
as a self-polluting sin against nature that threatens all that is Godly....remedied only
by condemning such sodomites to their deserved fate of eternal damnation. Even to the
most closed-minded and modern traditionalists, those who endeavor to protect their own
believed concepts of decency and decorum, this may seem to be a bit harsh. My goal in
this report is to explore the subject matter of masturbation and the attitudes
surrounding it throughout our history. I hope to divulge to the reader an overview of
these negative connotations, hopefully forming an understanding of how nonsensical and
absurd they may seem, especially to individuals like myself who endorse the normality of
autoerotic pleasure. As an artist, I have decided to include some examples of medieval
art, which portray negative connotations of masturbation. I will then form a conclusion
to my report that will include a summary of my findings and an explanation of my reaction
to a subject that has historically been considered as criminal. 
The Criminalization of Masturbation
There are no clear answers as to the origin of the word masturbation, but an educated
guess and a little help from Paula Bennett M.D., author of Solitary Pleasures, gives its
entomology to the Latin language, manus (hand) - stupro (to defile). However many
scholars believe it to have a Greek beginning, mezea (genitals), with the original
meaning, to arouse the genitals. The lack of certainty as to the origin of the word stems
from the fact that both the Romans and the Greeks mentioned the subject of masturbation
very rarely. However, Hippocrates noted that he believed excessive loss of semen caused
spinal consumption. And even though several Christian and Judaic followers consider the
act of masturbation sinful, the Bible has no clear-cut stance on the subject. (The story
of Onan [Genesis 38:9-11], is often sighted as proof of the Bible's stance. God condemned
Onan to hell for having spilt his seed on the ground rather than conceiving a child,
which the law demanded. However, it seems biblical scholars believe that it is instead, a
reference to coitus interuptus [the act of pulling out the penis from the vagina before
ejaculation]). As a result, masturbation was more commonly known as onanism well into
this century.
The negative connotation associated with masturbation can be traced back to a Swiss
physician, S. Tissot (1729-1797). Tissot believed that all sexual activity was dangerous
because it forced blood to rush to the head, leaving the rest of the body dangerously
low. As a result the nervous system degenerated, causing insanity. S. Tissot presented
his research to the scientific community, making masturbation not only a sin, but an
illness as well. Tissot concerted his efforts on prevention and cure of masturbation.
Tissot believed it to be especially dangerous because it was convenient and could be
started during the formative years of childhood. Benjamin Rush (one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence and a leader in early American medicine) published several
pamphlets supporting Tissot's work.
Parents searched desperately to keep their children from masturbating and doctors were
only to willing to help. Much money was spent trying to prevent children from defiling
themselves. At first doctors tired to restrict both the behavior and diet of there
patience. Items like eggs, ginger, oysters, alcohol, salt, pepper, fish, and chocolate
were denied to masturbators. Other doctors believed that tight britches, bed sheets,
touching of the genitals by nursemaids, as well as touching during urination, stimulated
masturbation. As time progressed and doctors found that masturbatory practices did not
subside, several other tactics were tried. Straight jackets, tying hands to the bedposts,
and warping the patient in wet bed sheets (to cool their desires)! Still masturbation
continued, and more drastic measures were tried. Several devices were constructed to
prevent masturbation. Most of them could be aptly described as medieval. One device that
I learned about in a human sexual variations class stood out in my mind, and for very
obvious reasons. The device was designed so that the penis was placed into a tube lined
with spikes..... Yes, spikes! As the penis became erect, the spikes pricked, causing the
erection to immediately subside. I believe that this technique most likely proved to be
extremely effective but also inhumane and torturous to all that had to endure it. Still
other revolutionary physicians placed leaches on the genitals of their self-polluting
patients to keep them from touching themselves without experiencing great pain. The most
drastic measures that I could find that were used to cure those who continued to
masturbate after all else failed, was castration. A medical journal of the mid 1800s
described castration (both male and female) as a proven cure for this form of insanity
(confession: if masturbation is indeed a form of insanity, I desperately need to either
get some help or be taken away).
I found that the common practice of circumcision in newborn males is in large part a
carryover from Victorian times. It was thought that by removing the foreskin, the penis
would require less maintenance. By reducing the amount of maintenance needed to clean the
penis, the temptation to play with it in ungodly ways was thusly reduced. 
Thankfully, by the beginning of the 20th century, the American medical community began to
realize that masturbation did not cause insanity. Some doctors even recommended
masturbation to their female patients to relieve hysteria, and that males masturbate
instead of picking up prostitutes (and there for an STD). However, there were still a
number of holdouts. In an article in a medical journal (dated 1930), onanism was thought
to still be lurking in activities such as rope climbing, bicycle riding, and (for the
life of my I couldn't find a reason why...) the operation of a sewing machine. Examples
like the previous go to prove just how jaded and desperate the individual was who go so
far as to make such a claim. It is even harder to conceive the reasoning of the
individuals who would decide to believe it.
Around the middle of this century, the public opinion of masturbation finally began to
experience a major shift toward acceptance. And many medical texts and journals removed
it from the list of neurological disorders and as a cause for disease and death. However
even today, there are a significant number of people that half jokingly state that
masturbation is a cause for certain ailments. For example, I read in Solitary Pleasures
:an excerpt from a medical journal from the early 20th Century which stated that,
masturbation causes blindness, and also that it can cause hair to grow uncontrollably
from the hands, making it obvious to anyone and everyone of your own personal practices
of defilement (I, for one have 20/20 vision and silky smooth hands.......I must be
lucky). Unfortunately, It seems to me that some doctors are only slightly more informed
about this subject, than the population at large. It would seem that it was the doctors
who had much to do with the criminalization of masturbation anyway.