The Biology, Physiology and Sociology of Reproduction Part 3

The thoughtful observer of this phenomenon cannot help wondering what has made this radical difference in the development of these two animals. The solution is not far to seek. From the beginning of p.u.b.erty to the beginning of senile decay, the stallion derives from the testes what is referred to above as an internal secretion.

Physiologists have endeavored to determine exactly what substance formed by the testes is reabsorbed into the lymph and blood. It may be a substance called _spermin_, but whatever the substance is, the physiologists agree that _the testes form some substance which is absorbed by the blood and lymph, is carried to the brain and spinal cord and there produces these profound effects indicated above_. So we have discovered the source of the stallion's strength and beauty.

What is true of the horse is true of man. The young man at p.u.b.erty begins to receive from his testes the internal secretion which leads to the development of his full manly powers. The sum total of the qualities peculiar to manhood has been called VIRILITY. For want of a better word, this term has been applied to the sum total of the male qualities of any animal whatsoever, so that the male qualities of the stallion are also compa.s.sed in the term virility.

The thoughtful and inquiring young man will naturally wish to know at this point if this lesson from the beast of the field can be applied in all its details to the human subject; if man, without any artificial or unnatural means would develop a full and complete virility; if like the horse, he can maintain a strict continence for months or even years without suffering any abatement of virility and of physical powers in general. The unequivocal answer of the medical profession to these questions would be in the affirmative.

An exact parallel to the gelding referred to above can be found in the eunuch of the Orient. If the human male is castrated before p.u.b.erty he develops into a being as different from a virile man as the gelding is different from the stallion;--a being whose physique resembles in many respects that of a woman, and whose temperament manifests qualities of cringing servility and lack of initiative.

The external secretion of the testes differs from the internal secretion in containing spermatozoa; it may be that there are other differences. It is, however, generally believed that one or more of the substances found in the external secretion appear in the internal secretion. If this is true, it must be evident that excessive s.e.xual indulgence or masturbation can draw away from the system this precious vital substance that is necessary to produce or maintain the virility.

It cannot be a.s.sumed that the condition of virility once attained will necessarily always continue--it must be maintained. To be maintained, this vital substance produced by the testes must be continuously absorbed into the blood. When once the man or boy understands this, it must be evident to him that he has, to a certain extent, the making or marring of his own virility; that it is not simply an inexhaustible endowment of nature; but, like such a natural resource as a forest or a coal mine, may be exhausted and will be exhausted if not husbanded carefully.

It is a well known fact in the medical profession that the ovaries of the female exert upon her development an influence a.n.a.logous to that which the testes exert on the development of the male. For that reason, a surgeon should, under no condition, remove both ovaries (s.e.xual glands) unless they are diseased in such a way as to necessitate their complete removal in order to save the life of the individual. If a woman of twenty-five were to suffer the loss of both ovaries, she would go very early into a condition of senile decay. If a female before p.u.b.erty is deprived of both ovaries, it leads her to develop masculine physical characteristics and her temperament is wholly lacking in those characteristics which, summed up, might, for the want of a better term, be called FEMININITY.

CHAPTER IV.

s.e.xUAL HYGIENE OF THE ADOLESCENT MALE.

s.e.xUAL HYGIENE OF THE ADOLESCENT MALE.

No rational or acceptable system of s.e.xual hygiene for the human male can be worked out without constant reference to the lower ranks of the mammalian cla.s.s and to primitive social conditions.

In our study of the anatomy and physiology of the s.e.xual apparatus of the human male, it must have become evident that man has many things in common with other mammals, and that no adequate knowledge of man's physical or psychical attributes can be obtained without a study of similar phases of life among related animals.

All of the changes which Nature introduced into the physical and psychical development of the adolescent male were of a character to equip the individual for the maintenance and protection of a wife and children. This development has been reached by the time the young man is twenty-one to twenty-three years of age, when, in the average case, he would be able, so far as concerns his physique and temperament, to establish and maintain a home. The fact that his adolescent development is complete by the age of twenty-five, and that he has, by the time he arrives at that age, grown into the full stature of all his physical and mental powers, may certainly be interpreted as nature's indication that his home-building should be begun not later than the twenty-fifth year. This means, then, that young men ought, if possible, to marry as young as twenty-five.

But the conditions of society at the present time are such that a large proportion of the young men, particularly those who are preparing for any of the learned professions (theology, medicine, law, pedagogy, etc.) are hardly through their professional courses by the time they reach that age, and most of them feel that they must make a start in their profession before they a.s.sume the responsibilities of supporting a home. This means that a large proportion of them marry as late as thirty years of age.

If we consider now those commercial, financial and industrial vocations which involve considerable preparation in technical inst.i.tutions or a long apprenticeship (engineering, pharmacy, manufacturing chemists, banking, journalism, etc., etc.) we find that the young man is hardly able to establish such a home as most such young men feel that they must maintain on any salary that they receive before they are twenty-eight to thirty years old. This consideration applies particularly to college and university men, as, almost without exception, these men are preparing for some of the above mentioned professions or vocations.

Now the conditions of college life, the field sports and athletics, together with the social conditions, tend to develop in college circles a body of most virile young men. The problem which now confronts us is: How may these young men live a hygienic life under these unnatural circ.u.mstances?

If a man becomes able to procreate his kind at seventeen but is hardly able to marry before he is thirty he must solve the problem as to what his att.i.tude shall be regarding matters of s.e.x. The earlier this problem is solved the better it is for the young man. Unfortunately, a large proportion of young men do not realize that they have any problem in this field to solve until circ.u.mstances, more or less accidental, have already established in them a mental att.i.tude and, perhaps, a habit of life that may not be either wholesome or wise.

From what has preceded, it must be evident that from the early months of the period of p.u.b.erty, through the adolescent and adult period, even until some progress is made in the senile period, every normal male will experience s.e.xual desires. It has been shown that these particular experiences are linked, more or less intimately, with the condition of the s.e.xual apparatus; but whatever the cause, we are confronted with the question, What shall be done about it?

When a man experiences a s.e.xual desire does it necessarily follow that the desire must be satisfied? Some have reasoned that the muscles of the arm, if not exercised, wither and become weak, therefore the s.e.xual desires, if not exercised will become weak, and the s.e.xual apparatus, if it does not exercise its function, must become withered and atrophied. While this course of reasoning may seem rational and the conclusion may seem tenable, it is well known to physiologists and sociologists that the reasoning is fallacious; the fallacy rests in the premises. It was a.s.sumed above that the activity of the s.e.xual glands was comparable with that of muscles.

We must not lose sight of the fact that the male s.e.xual glands are continuously active, and in this continuous activity get their exercise. This activity develops them and keeps them physically perfect after the onset of the period of p.u.b.erty. Their activity consists very largely in the formation of an internal secretion, the office of which is to develop in the male the highest possible state of virility. Nor must we lose sight of the fact that every procreative act is performed at a sacrifice of some of this vital fluid on the part of the male. A wanton sacrifice of vital fluid either in the act of self abuse or in excessive venery is not justifiable under any consideration; nor may these acts, under any circ.u.mstances, be looked upon as sustaining to the gland a relation similar to that which muscular exercise sustains to muscle tissue.

In the light of these facts every normal man would admit that frequent masturbation or excessive s.e.xual intercourse, in wedlock or out, should certainly not be recommended as a method of developing the s.e.xual apparatus.

Most men, however, raise the question: "Is any indulgence or any artificial means for satisfying the s.e.xual inclination to be discouraged?" This inclination comes to us in the course of nature.

Man in the primitive state would seek a mate as soon as he felt this inclination; would fight for the possession of her as soon as he had reached a sufficient stage of muscular development, and once in possession of his mate, would take her to his perch in the trees or to his cave. In his primitive home he would follow his s.e.xual inclination, impregnate his wife and protect her against all dangers.

Under our present social conditions the young man experiences all these desires the same as his primitive ancestor, but he may not be able to choose a mate and begin with her the building of a home for a whole decade after he experiences the desire to do so. What is the solution?

It must be evident that the solution lies in the acceptance of one or another of three alternatives--either the young man may seek illicit intercourse with women to satisfy his s.e.xual desire, or he may adopt some artificial measure, such as masturbation (self abuse) or, finally, he may lead what is known as a continent life. By continence we mean to adopt neither one of the first two alternatives mentioned, but to leave the care of the s.e.xual apparatus wholly with Nature.

We may now consider these three alternatives in turn.

1. ILLICIT INTERCOURSE WITH WOMEN.

By illicit intercourse with women we mean, s.e.xual intercourse out of wedlock. The term applies either to intercourse between any man and a prost.i.tute, between an unmarried man and a married woman, between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman or between a married man and a married woman not his wife. The term, illicit intercourse, applies to all s.e.xual intercourse that is illegal.

In our discussion of the young man's problem, we may confine our consideration particularly to intercourse with professional prost.i.tutes and with clandestines, or women who are willing to accept the s.e.xual embrace for their own gratification or for money.

In this phase of s.e.xual gratification, it is a.s.sumed that the woman has these relations with various men. We purposely eliminate from this discussion the deliberate seduction of pure girls for the purpose of s.e.xual gratification, as such seduction is a heinous offense against the victim and against society, for which offense the man is legally responsible. We are here discussing not the crimes of men, but their vices.

The question that the young man naturally asks is--"Why should society hold these relations as a vice when the woman, who is party to the act, gives her free consent, perhaps even soliciting the relation, and has given herself up to this sort of a life, either as a sole occupation (prost.i.tute) or as an auxiliary occupation (clandestine) to supplement a wage on which she may not be able to live in luxury?"

The answer to this question is not far to seek. Women so occupied have, as a rule, made themselves incapable of maternity. They are outcasts from society, unfortunately exerting a most harmful influence on all those who come into relation with them. Furthermore, they are centers for the dissemination of venereal diseases which wreck the health of all those who become infected. But for the uncontrolled pa.s.sions of men, there would be no such women. So while we, individually, as men, may not be responsible for the ruin of any one woman, we must confess that men as a cla.s.s are responsible for this condition of prost.i.tution and clandestine intercourse. An overwhelming majority of women would, if following their inclinations, seek these relations in wedlock only and for procreation only. But many a young woman, under promise of marriage, sometimes even under a bogus marriage, is brought into a condition of hypnotism or into a mental state that puts her in the power of the man whom she loves and respects. If he deceives her and betrays her, continuing such betrayal until the victim becomes pregnant, he will, in the average case, leave her to bear her child in shame, while he slips away to other scenes of activity. We cannot wonder then, that the girl--deserted, humiliated, crushed by the one in whom she reposed absolute confidence; cast out of society, perhaps thrust from the protection of her own father's roof--gives up the struggle and says--"_What's the use?_"

A vast majority of such poor girls make their way to houses of ill fame and give themselves over to a life of prost.i.tution. Hardly one of these women, if married by the man who brought her to this condition, would have failed to make a true and loving wife and mother. So society, while it casts these women out, has come to recognize that men are the real sinners in such cases.

It may be added here, that an occasional girl goes wrong through temperamental shortcomings within herself--perhaps she may even be a degenerate; but the proportion of women who would willingly and deliberately sacrifice their virtue is vanishingly small as compared with the proportion of young men who seem to be willing to sacrifice their virtue. This is probably in part due to their training.

Mothers, as a rule, instruct their daughters carefully regarding their relations with boys and men. It is in part due to the instinctive and inherent purity of mind of the normal woman.

Nature has devised a retribution for illicit intercourse in the form of venereal disease. If the parties observe fidelity to the marriage vows venereal disease is experienced in wedlock only on very rare occasions, and then through some accidental infection, as from contact with some public utensils, as a public water closet, a public towel or drinking cup. So rare is this unfortunate accident, however, that we may say, that intercourse in undefiled wedlock results normally in pleasure and gratification to both parties, while intercourse out of wedlock, or illicit intercourse, is destined, as a rule, to be visited with retribution.

What form does this retribution that nature metes out to the vice of illicit intercourse take? Besides the various psychic punishments, the princ.i.p.al of which are remorse, and impure thoughts, there are physical punishments in the form of venereal diseases. So prevalent are these venereal diseases among lewd women, whether prost.i.tutes or clandestines, that specialists in this field say that "_all lewd women are diseased part of the time and some lewd women are diseased all the time_."

These s.e.xual diseases are contagious--that is, transmitted by contact.

They are all germ diseases; one of them is practically local, one is capable of spreading the infection to contiguous organs and one is systemic.

a. =Chancroid or Soft Chancre.=--This is the least dangerous of the venereal diseases. It is a contagious disease of purely local type, usually acquired during the s.e.xual act, the infection taking place through a break in the continuity of the mucous membrane.

Chancroid may be single, though most often is multiple. It makes its appearance in from one to five days after exposure, anywhere on the p.e.n.i.s, but most frequently on the under side of the glans beside the fraenulum as a small red spot. This rapidly takes the form of a blister containing serum and pus, and in a few days may become the size of a ten-cent piece. When the roof is removed the ulcer has the appearance of having been punched out, the floor being covered with pus. It is surrounded by a zone of inflammation and is painful.

If uncomplicated the disease runs its course in from two to five weeks. The most common complication is swollen and suppurating glands of the groin on one or both sides. This condition is termed _bubo_ or "blue ball" in common language.

Sometimes serious complications arise which may prove dangerous and require the individual to be confined to his bed for weeks.

b. =Gonorrhea.=--This is incomparably more serious than chancroid.

This disease is very prevalent among the incontinent, and it is claimed by some specialists in this field that from sixty to seventy-five per cent. of men have had gonorrhea before the age of thirty.

It is a contagious disease, acquired usually during intercourse, though the individual may become infected innocently from water closets, bath tubs, etc.

To become infected it is not necessary that there be an abrasion of the mucous membrane.