Masturbation
The word masturbation was likely derived from either mas turbativ 'disturbance of the male genitalia' or manus stupratio 'defiling with the hand.'
During the seventeenth-century, childhood sexuality was generally ignored and masturbation was accepted as long as it was used in moderation. However, in the eighteenth-century, that all changed. Early in the century, a Biblical moralist published a pamphlet that outlined the moral and physical consequences of masturbation. Later, a medical moralist published his findings on the numerous diseases that masturbation supposedly caused, including "tuberculosis, memory loss, and epilepsy" (Shpancer). Through the discourse these publications prompted, a new view of childhood sexuality developed, one that defined "normal and abnormal" childhood sexuality, placing masturbation in the second category (History 275). To curb masturbation in children, they were threatened with terrible fates and futures. During the nineteenth-century, "the campaign against childhood sexuality, especially masturbation, which had been conducted on a limited and individual basis in the eighteenth-century, transformed into a crusade" (History 277). A French doctor wrote, "In my opinion, neither the plague, nor war, nor smallpox, have resulted more disastrously for humanity than the habit of masturbation: it is the destroying element of civilized society" (History 277).
Even though masturbation was condemned by essentially all parts of society, it was still seen differently in men and women. Masturbation in men was not only associated with moral and physical decay, but with homosexuality as well. Some even claimed that masturbation could cause homosexuality. The issues with female masturbation were slightly more complex, as it was not considered clinically or medically safe for women to masturbate; however, doctors would perform “masturbation treatments” to women who appeared to be suffering from “hysteria” (Shpancer). This occasional occurrence was practiced by using the following tactic, “Suppress and deny female sexual knowledge and expression, and when the resulting misery erupts through general manifestations of bodily and emotional discomfort, diagnose the women as ill and have them get sexual release through the desexualized digital (and later mechanical) manipulations of male physicians” (Shpancer).
Masturbation was opposed for a wide variety of reasons including health, morality, and power dynamics. The "private power [of masturbation] was felt to threaten the social order" (Shpancer). The stigma surrounding masturbation continued well beyond the nineteenth-century, and not until the 1960s and 1970s was masturbation perceived as natural human behavior that was common and healthy (Shpancer). Even today, masturbation is still considered a taboo topic.
Sources:
Fishman, Sterling. "The History of Childhood Sexuality." Journal of Contemporary History 17.2 (1982): 269-83. JSTOR. Web. 14 Sept. 2014.
Shpancer, Noam. The Masturbation Gap." Psychology Today: Insight Therapy. Psychology Today, 29 Sept. 2010. Web. 09 Sept. 2014.
Even though masturbation was condemned by essentially all parts of society, it was still seen differently in men and women. Masturbation in men was not only associated with moral and physical decay, but with homosexuality as well. Some even claimed that masturbation could cause homosexuality. The issues with female masturbation were slightly more complex, as it was not considered clinically or medically safe for women to masturbate; however, doctors would perform “masturbation treatments” to women who appeared to be suffering from “hysteria” (Shpancer). This occasional occurrence was practiced by using the following tactic, “Suppress and deny female sexual knowledge and expression, and when the resulting misery erupts through general manifestations of bodily and emotional discomfort, diagnose the women as ill and have them get sexual release through the desexualized digital (and later mechanical) manipulations of male physicians” (Shpancer).
Masturbation was opposed for a wide variety of reasons including health, morality, and power dynamics. The "private power [of masturbation] was felt to threaten the social order" (Shpancer). The stigma surrounding masturbation continued well beyond the nineteenth-century, and not until the 1960s and 1970s was masturbation perceived as natural human behavior that was common and healthy (Shpancer). Even today, masturbation is still considered a taboo topic.
Sources:
Fishman, Sterling. "The History of Childhood Sexuality." Journal of Contemporary History 17.2 (1982): 269-83. JSTOR. Web. 14 Sept. 2014.
Shpancer, Noam. The Masturbation Gap." Psychology Today: Insight Therapy. Psychology Today, 29 Sept. 2010. Web. 09 Sept. 2014.
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