The Sexual Life Of The Child Part 2

During the second period of childhood s.e.xual differences become much more distinct. Before considering these differences, I must say a few words regarding the growth of the child, since in this particular there exists a notable distinction between the s.e.xes. Careful measurements have shown that during certain years of childhood growth occurs especially in height, whereas in other years the main increase is in girth. For this reason, it is customary to follow Bartels in his subdivision of each of the two periods of childhood into two subperiods.

The age from one to four years is the _first period of growth in girth_; from the beginning of the fifth to the completion of the seventh year is the _first period of growth in height_; from the beginning of the eighth to the completion of the tenth year is the _second period of growth in girth_; and from the beginning of the eleventh to the completion of the fourteenth year is the _second period of growth in height_. During these periods there are certain differences in respect of growth between boys and girls. Although in general the growth in height of the boy exceeds that of the girl, there is a certain period during which the average height of girls is greater than that of boys. From the beginning of the eleventh year onwards, the girl grows in height so much more rapidly than the boy, that from this age until the beginning of the fifteenth year the average height of girls exceeds that of boys, although at all other ages the reverse is the case. In our consideration of the differences between the s.e.xes, these differences in respect of growth must not be overlooked.

In addition to these, other important differences between the s.e.xes manifest themselves during the second period of childhood. In the first place, it is an established fact that in the girl the secondary s.e.xual characters make their appearance earlier than in the boy, the boy remaining longer in the comparatively neutral condition of childhood. We have seen that in the girl, at the end of the first period of childhood, the lower half of the body begins to resemble that of the woman in type.

During the second period of childhood, this peculiarity becomes more marked; the pelvis and the hips widen, the thighs and the b.u.t.tocks become more and more rounded; the enduring feminine characteristics in these respects are acquired. More gradually, the feminine development of the upper half of the body succeeds that of the lower; the transition from the lower jaw to the neck become less abrupt, and the face becomes fuller. The s.e.xual difference in the growth of the hair also manifests itself in childhood. Whether cut or uncut, the girl's hair tends to grow longer than the boy's. Later, the typical development of the b.r.e.a.s.t.s occurs. As early as the beginning of the second period of childhood, the surface of the areola mammae may become slightly raised; but the typical deposit of fat, leading to the hemispherical prominence of the breast, does not begin until towards the close of the second period of childhood. Even later than this is the growth of the axillary and pubic hair. Various answers are given to the question as to the relation in time between the appearance of menstruation and the development of the s.e.xual characters just described. Unquestionably there are great differences in this respect. Whereas Axel Key declared that the secondary s.e.xual characters appeared before the first menstruation, according to C. H. Stratz this is true only of girls belonging to the lower cla.s.ses; whilst according to his own observations on girls belonging to the upper cla.s.ses of society, the first menstruation precedes the development of the b.r.e.a.s.t.s and the growth of the pubic and axillary hair.

Concerning a number of s.e.xual differences, during childhood, authors are not agreed. As regards the type of breathing, for instance, in the adult man, the abdominal type prevails; that is, the respiratory exchange of gases is effected chiefly by movements of the diaphragm and the abdominal muscles: whereas in the adult woman the respiration is costal, the respiratory exchange being effected chiefly by movements of the thorax. How unsettled our views are in respect of the types of respiration in children is well displayed by the collection of opinions given by Havelock Ellis.[14] According to Boerhaave, s.e.xual differences in the type of respiration were manifest even in very small children; but his observations have not been confirmed by others. Thus, Sibson states that the characteristic costal type of respiration begins in girls at the age of ten, for which reason some observers have a.s.sumed that the wearing of the corset is the cause of its appearance; others, however, among whom Hutchinson may be mentioned, deny this alleged causal connexion, stating that they have observed costal respiration in young girls who have never worn any constricting garments.

Unquestionably, s.e.xual differences in the type of respiration become apparent in the later years of childhood.

I have already pointed out that in girls the secondary s.e.xual characters begin to make their appearance at an earlier age than in boys. In the onset of s.e.xual differentiation, the boy thus plays a more pa.s.sive part than the girl, inasmuch as he retains longer the childish type. None the less, in the boy also certain secondary s.e.xual characters begin to develop comparatively early. Thus, in the second period of childhood, the boy's shoulders often become wider, his muscles stronger, than those of the girl. Since at the same period there occurs in girls the greater deposit of fat previously described, marked differences result in the external contours of the respective bodies. The boy's body is therefore much more angular and k.n.o.bby, far less softly rounded, than that of the girl. Towards the end of the second period of childhood, an additional s.e.xual character makes its appearance in the male s.e.x, namely, the voice breaks. The chief remaining differences, the growth of the beard and the pubic hair, and the development of the characteristically masculine larynx, usually manifest themselves after the close of the second period of childhood--that is to say, during the period of youth.

As children become physically differentiated in respect of s.e.x, so also does a mental differentiation ensue. Authorities are not agreed as to whether mental s.e.xual differentiation exists in the very earliest years of life. Many a.s.sume its existence, and profess to have observed s.e.xual differences even in the movements of quite small children. On the other hand, it is urged that the alleged differences are made up out of chance, auto-suggestion on the part of the observer, and the results of education. There is, however, general agreement as to the fact that during the second period of childhood mental differences become apparent between the s.e.xes. Such differences are observed in the matter of occupation, of games, of movements, and numerous other details. Since man is to play the active part in life, boys rejoice especially in rough outdoor games. Girls, on the other hand, prefer such games as correspond to their future occupations. Hence their inclination to mother smaller children, and to play with dolls. Watch how a little girl takes care of her doll, washes it, dresses and undresses it. When only six or seven years of age, she is often an excellent nurse. As Padberg[15] pictures her, she sits at the bedside of her sick brother or sister, resembling as she does so an angel in human form. Her need to occupy herself in such activities is often so great, that she pretends that her doll is ill. Chamisso, in his poem _Das kleine Madchen und die Puppe_ (_The Little Girl and her Doll_), describes this relationship between the child and her doll, one whose nature is fully understood only by a mother:--

"Wie Du mit den kleinen Kindern, Will ich alles mit ihr tun, Und sie soll in ihrer Wiege Neben meinem Bette ruhn.

Schlaft sie, werd' ich von ihr traumen, Schreit sie auf, erwach' ich gleich,-- Mein himmlisch gute Mutter, O, wie bin ich dock so reich!"

"All you do for your children, For my Doll I do instead, And in her little cradle She lies beside my bed.

When she sleeps, I dream about her, When she cries, I wake up too.

My own, dear, darling Mother, I'm just as rich as you!"

Once I saw a little girl of seven running up and down the room, carrying all kinds of things as fast as she could to her doll. When I asked her what was the matter, she told me that her doll had the measles, and she was taking care of her. In all kinds of ways, we see the little girl occupying herself in the activities and inclinations of her future existence. She practises housework; she has a little kitchen, in which she cooks for herself and her doll. She is fond of needlework. The care of her own person, and more especially its adornment, are not forgotten.

I remember seeing a girl of three who kept on interrupting her elders'

conversation by crying out "New clothes!" and would not keep quiet until these latter had been duly admired. The love of self-adornment is almost peculiar to female children; boys, on the other hand, prefer rough outdoor games, in which their muscles are actively employed, robber-games, soldier-games, and the like. And whereas, in early childhood, both s.e.xes are fond of very noisy games, the fondness for these disappears earlier in girls than in boys.

Differences between the s.e.xes have been established also by means of experimental psychology, based upon the examination of a very large number of instances. Although it must be admitted that some of the acquirements of this school are still open to dispute, the data of these collective investigations must not be ignored. Berthold Hartmann has studied the childish circle of thought, by means of a series of experiments which are commonly spoken of as the Annaberg experiments.

Schoolboys to the number of 660 and schoolgirls to the number of 652, at ages between 5-3/4 and 6-3/4 years, were subjected to examination. It was very remarkable to see how in respect of certain ideas, such as those of the triangle, cube, and circle, the girls greatly excelled the boys; whereas in respect of animals, minerals and social ideas, the boys were better informed than the girls. Characteristic of the differences between the s.e.xes, according to Meumann,[16] from whom I take these details, and some of those that follow, is the fact that the idea of "marriage" was known to only 70 boys, as compared to 227 girls; whilst the idea of "infant baptism" was known to 180 boys as compared to 220 girls. The idea of "pleasure" was also much better understood by girls than by boys. Examination of the memory has also established the existence of differences between the s.e.xes in childhood. In boys the memory for objects appears to be at first the best developed; to this succeeds the memory for words with a visual content: in the case of girls, the reverse of this was observed. In respect of numerous details, however, the authorities conflict. According to Lobsien, boys have a better memory for numbers, words, and sounds. The same investigator informs us that in girls the visual memory is distinctly better than it is in boys, this indicating that girls' memory for objects is also better; but Netschajeff, on the other hand, maintains that boys have a better memory for objects perceptible by the senses. It is interesting to note that certain variations have been shown to exist at different ages. During the first years of school-life, boys' memories are in general better than girls', this advantage persisting up to the age of ten; from this time onwards until the end of the years spent in primary schools, girls excel boys in the matter of memory, but especially at ages of eleven, twelve, thirteen, and fourteen. Later than this, the boys become equal to the girls, and still later surpa.s.s them. Very striking is the fact, one upon which a very large number of investigators are agreed, that girls have a superior knowledge of colours. Experimental investigations made by means of Holmgren's test have shown that the superiority of girls in this respect is remarkable, and these experiments are confirmed by other lines of study.

There are additional psychological data relating to the differences between the s.e.xes in childhood. I may recall Stern's investigations concerning the psychology of evidence, which showed that girls were much more inaccurate than boys. I may also refer, on the other hand, in relation to s.e.xual differentiation, to the experiences obtained by Hans Gross by means of observations on practical life, although his results are not entirely free from certain sources of fallacy, and moreover have been disputed by other observers as not generally applicable. Hans Gross, however, found a notable difference between boys and girls, of which I shall later give a detailed description. Here, I shall merely quote the comprehensive summary given in his _Criminal Psychology_: "My results show that the boy who has pa.s.sed his first years of childhood is, if well trained, the best observer and witness that can possibly be found, because he watches with interest all that goes on around him, stores it impartially in his memory, and reproduces it faithfully; whereas the girl of like age is often an untrustworthy, and even a dangerous witness. She is inevitably this when, after traversing the stages of talent, ardour, reverie, romanticism, and enthusiasm, she has pa.s.sed into a condition of _Weltschmerz_, tinged with _tedium vitae_.

This emotional mental atmosphere is entered at an earlier age than is commonly imagined; and when such a girl's own personal interests are in any way affected by the occurrences under examination, we are never secure from gross exaggeration and misstatement. Petty larceny becomes robbery with violence; a trifling incivility, a serious a.s.sault; a harmless pleasantry, an interesting proposal for elopement; and the foolish prattle of children becomes a dangerous conspiracy."

I shall subsequently discuss in detail a psychical difference which is the most important of all those connected with the s.e.xual life, namely, the direction of the s.e.xual impulse, which attracts the man to the woman, and the woman to the man. We shall see to what a considerable degree this phenomenon manifests itself even in childhood.

It has been widely a.s.sumed that these psychical differences between the s.e.xes result from education, and are not inborn. To avoid misunderstanding, we must, in our consideration of this question of education, distinguish between two distinct cla.s.ses of phenomena, those which are individual and those which have existed for a number of generations. The s.e.xually differentiated qualities in any individual may be regarded as inborn, and yet we may admit that the differentiation was originally the result of education, if we suppose that in earlier generations in either s.e.x certain qualities were developed, and that gradually, by monos.e.xual inheritance, the differences became confirmed, until finally they became inborn. Others, however, a.s.sume that the psychical characteristics by which the s.e.xes are differentiated result solely from individual differences in education. Stern believes that in the case of one differential character, at least, he can prove that for many centuries there has been no difference between the s.e.xes in the matter of education; this character is the capacity for drawing.

Kerschensteiner has studied the development of this gift, and considers that his results have established beyond dispute that girls are greatly inferior in this respect to boys of like age. Stern[17] points out that there can be no question here of cultivation leading to a s.e.xual differentiation of faculty, since there is no attempt at a general and systematic teaching of draughtsmanship to the members of one s.e.x to the exclusion of members of the other.

Without further discussing the question, to what extent in earlier generations there has been any cultivation of psychical differences, I believe that we are justified in a.s.serting that at the present time the s.e.xual differentiation manifested in respect of quite a number of psychical qualities is the result of direct inheritance. It would be quite wrong to a.s.sume that all these differences arise in each individual in consequence of education. It does, indeed, appear to me to be true that inherited tendencies may be increased or diminished by individual education; and further, that when the inherited tendency is not a very powerful one, it may in this way even be suppressed.

Observations on animals which exhibit s.e.xual differentiation very early in life, also support the notion of the inherited character of certain tendencies; for instance, the movements of male animals often differ from those of the females of the same species.

We must not forget the frequent intimate a.s.sociation between structure and function. This well-proved connexion would lead us _a priori_, from the more powerful muscular development of boys, to infer the different inclinations of the two s.e.xes. Rough outdoor games and wrestling thus correspond to the physical const.i.tution of the boy. So, also, it is by no means improbable that the little girl, whose pelvis and hips have already begun to indicate by their development their adaptation for the supreme functions of the s.e.xually mature woman, should experience obscurely a certain impulsion towards her predestined maternal occupation, and that her inclinations and amus.e.m.e.nts should in this way be determined. Many, indeed, and above all the extreme advocates of women's rights, prefer to maintain that such s.e.xually differentiated inclinations result solely from differences in individual education: if the boy has no enduring taste for dolls and cooking, this is because his mother and others have told him, perhaps with mockery, that such amus.e.m.e.nts are unsuited to a boy; whilst in a similar way the girl is dissuaded from the rough sports of boyhood. Such an a.s.sumption is the expression of that general psychological and educational tendency, which ascribes to the activity of the will an overwhelmingly powerful influence upon the development of the organs subserving the intellect, and secondarily also upon that of the other organs of the body. By the influence of the will, it is supposed by this school, certain a.s.sociation-tracts in the brain are developed; or at least certain tracts. .h.i.therto functionally inactive are rendered functionally active.

We cannot dispute the fact that in such a way the activity of the will may, within certain limits, be effective, especially in cases in which the inherited tendency thus counteracted is comparatively weak; but only within certain limits. Thus we can understand how it is that in some cases, by means of education, a child is impressed with characteristics normally foreign to its s.e.x; qualities and tendencies are thus developed which ordinarily appear only in a child of the opposite s.e.x. But even though we must admit that the activity of the individual may operate in this way, none the less are we compelled to a.s.sume that certain tendencies are inborn. The failure of innumerable attempts to counteract such inborn tendencies by means of education throws a strong light upon the limitations of the activity of the individual will; and the same must be said of a large number of other experiences.

It is, moreover, established beyond dispute that in certain cases, in consequence of an inborn predisposition, contrary s.e.xual inclinations make their appearance, and that these represent a divergency from the proper s.e.xual characters. It is with these mental s.e.xual differential characters just as it is with the physical secondary s.e.xual characters, any of which may, on occasion, make their appearance in the wrong s.e.x, or may be wanting in the right one. We know that there exist women with beards, masculine larynges, and a masculine type of thorax; and, on the other hand, men with feminine mammae, feminine larynges, and a feminine type of pelvis. Because we meet with such atypical instances, we are not therefore justified in inferring that it is by a mere arbitrary sport of nature that in the woman a great mammary development is normally a.s.sociated with the development of the ovaries, and that in man the growth of the beard is a.s.sociated with the development of the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es.

But just as in these respects there are certain exceptions, whose origin we are not always in a position to explain, so also are there exceptional s.e.xual a.s.sociations in respect of the secondary psychical s.e.xual characters. Thus it comes to pa.s.s that many women exhibit masculine tendencies, and many men exhibit feminine tendencies.

Unquestionably, the fact that psychical qualities, just as much as physical characters, may occasionally make their appearance in the wrong s.e.x, does not invalidate the general truth of the statement that s.e.xually differentiated psychical tendencies are inborn.

Occasionally, indeed, even in late childhood, this psychical differentiation is still but little marked. We must also bear in mind the fact that in many instances the bodily development of the girl--apart, of course, from the actual reproductive organs--differs but little, even during the second period of childhood, from that of the boy; and that in such cases the specific differentiation makes its first appearance later than is usual. We find boys also who have entered upon the period of youth (see p. 1) without exhibiting any trace of downy growth upon the upper lip or the chin; in some, the first definite growth of hair on the face may not occur until several years later. I remember also that I have seen boys in whom during the period of p.u.b.eral development an enlargement of the mammae took place, going so far that it was possible by pressure on the glands to expel fluid from the mammillary ducts; at a more advanced age, however, this mammary growth was arrested, and subsequently atrophy ensued.

But all these observations notwithstanding, the fact remains well established that even in childhood notable s.e.xual differences make their appearance. Other observations, too, confirm this notion of s.e.xual differentiation--for example, pathological experiences.

There are some diseases to which women are especially liable, others which occur by preference in men. To some extent, indeed, this is explained by the special exposure of one s.e.x or the other to certain noxious influences. The neuroses that appear as the sequelae of injuries are especially common in the male s.e.x, because the occupations of men expose them more than women to injuries of all kinds. Of such cases, of course, we do not speak here. But there are some unquestionably hereditary morbid tendencies which manifest themselves by preference in one s.e.x or the other, and such s.e.xual predisposition shows itself even in childhood. I propose to give instances of this; some quoted from Mobius,[18] some from other authors, and some taken from my own personal experience.

Chlorosis is a disease of feminine youth, but very often makes its appearance in childhood, especially towards the end of the second period of childhood, at this earlier age, also, attacking girls in preference to boys. Haemophilia, on the other hand, and also certain hereditary forms of muscular atrophy, occur chiefly in males, and this in early childhood. Diabetes is princ.i.p.ally a disease of adults, but occasionally it is met with in children also; among adults, there is a considerable preponderance of males affected with this disease when diabetes occurs in childhood, the disease also exhibits a preference for the male s.e.x, although at this time the peculiar s.e.x-incidence is less marked than in later life. Congenital defects of the heart are commoner in boys, the proportion obtained from a very large number of cases of this kind being 61.6 boys: 38.4 girls. Ch.o.r.ea (St. Vitus's dance) affects girls more often than boys, the ratio in this case being 2.5 girls: 1 boy. In the case of whooping cough, we find that two girls suffer for every one boy.

As regards circ.u.mscribed facial atrophy, which usually begins during childhood, a preponderance of the disease in the female s.e.x is also noticeable. Hysteria was formerly regarded as a typically feminine disease, and although this view has now been shown to be erroneous, the fact remains that girls and women are far more often affected than boys and men. As regards hysteria in childhood, Bruns[19] states that the ratio of girls affected is to boys affected as 2:1. It is interesting to note that in the earlier years of childhood, prior, that is to say, to the age of nine years or thereabouts, no marked difference exists in the s.e.x incidence of hysteria, the cases being distributed in the proportion, 55 per cent. girls, 45 per cent. boys; but after the age of nine, the proportion of girls affected with hysteria increases, while that of boys diminishes. Eulenburg,[20] indeed, records 17 cases of hysteria, affecting children at ages nine to fourteen years; of these nine were boys, and eight girls. Clopatt, on the other hand, collected from the literature of the subject 272 cases of hysteria in young children, 96 being boys, and 176 girls. Typhoid is commoner in males; and Mobius lays stress on the fact, which he regards as especially striking, that the difference in the s.e.x-incidence of this disease is manifest even in childhood. As regards colour-blindness, there is a notable preponderance among males, and since we here have to do with a congenital affection, this preponderance is as marked among children as among adults. Many defects of speech also exhibit a notable difference in their s.e.x-incidence. Hermann Gutzmann[21] has shown that in the case of stammerers we find 71 per cent. boys and 29 per cent. girls. I take this opportunity of referring briefly to the fact that, as Max Marcuse[22] reports, certain diseases of the skin exhibit s.e.xual differentiation of type even during childhood. The disseminated cutaneous gangrene of children is far more frequent in girls than it is in boys; Broker, among twelve cases, found ten girls. Alopecia areata, on the other hand, affects both s.e.xes with equal frequency, but affects them at different ages. Whereas during the first years of life girls are more frequently attacked; when the age of twenty is pa.s.sed, the relation between the s.e.xes in this respect are reversed.

Criminological experiences appear also to confirm the notion of an inherited s.e.xual differentiation, in children as well as in adults.

According to various statistics, embracing not only the period of childhood, but including as well the period of youth, we learn that girls const.i.tute one-fifth only of the total number of youthful criminals. A number of different explanations have been offered to account for this disproportion. Thus, for instance, attention has been drawn to the fact that a girl's physical weakness renders her incapable of attempting violent a.s.saults upon the person, and this would suffice to explain why it is that girls so rarely commit such crimes. In the case of offences for which bodily strength is less requisite, such as fraud, theft, &c., the number of youthful female offenders is proportionately larger, although here also they are less numerous than males of corresponding age charged with the like offences. It has been a.s.serted that in the law courts girls find more sympathy than boys, and that for this reason the former receive milder sentences than the latter; hence it results that in appearance merely the criminality of girls is less than that of boys. Others, again, refer the differences in respect of criminality between the youthful members of the two s.e.xes to the influences of education and general environment. Morrison,[23]

however, maintains that all these influences combined are yet insufficient to account for the great disproportion between the s.e.xes, and insists that there exists in youth as well as in adult life a specific s.e.xual differentiation, based, for the most part, upon biological differences of a mental and physical character. I have referred to these criminological data for the sake of completeness, but I feel it necessary to add that their importance in relation to our subject of study is comparatively trifling, since most of the cases in question are offences committed by persons who can no longer properly be regarded as children.

As we have seen, during childhood, and especially during the second period of childhood, there exists a larger number of s.e.xual differences both mental and physical. Some of these are obviously discernible when we compare isolated individuals; others only become apparent when we inst.i.tute a statistical comparison. And when such differences appear in childhood, we find that they are quant.i.tatively less extensive than the s.e.xual differences of adults. For the s.e.xual life is in the child less developed than it is in the adult. We shall learn that in the matter of the s.e.xual impulse, the child exhibits an imperfect differentiation. A similarly imperfect differentiation is found in childhood in respect of a number of other qualities. Thus, there are many diseases which later in life manifest a s.e.xual differentiation, but in childhood are undifferentiated. We observe a similar age-distinction in respect of suicide, which occurs in Europe far more frequently in men than in women, the ratio among suicides being three or four men to one woman.

Among child-suicides there is far less disproportion between the s.e.xes.

According to Havelock Ellis, indeed, the suicidal tendency makes its appearance in girls at an earlier age than in boys.

Such a marked differentiation as there is between the adult man and the adult woman certainly does not exist in childhood. Similarly in respect of many other qualities, alike bodily and mental, in respect of many inclinations and numerous activities, we find that in childhood s.e.xual differentiation is less marked than it is in adult life. None the less, we have learned in this chapter, a number of s.e.xual differences can be shown to exist even in childhood; and as regards many other differences, though they are not yet apparent, we are nevertheless compelled to a.s.sume that they already exist potentially in the organs of the child.

CHAPTER IV

SYMPTOMATOLOGY

The data recorded in the preceding chapter suffice to show that the activity of the s.e.xual life begins in childhood, for the secondary s.e.xual characters and the other s.e.xual peculiarities which manifest themselves thus early in life are dependent upon s.e.x. We shall now proceed to the systematic description of the direct manifestations of the s.e.xual life, and we can most usefully begin with the genital organs.

Erections occur during childhood; they have been observed even in infancy. They sometimes result from external stimuli, especially of a pathological nature, such as a strictured prepuce, or inflammatory states of the p.e.n.i.s. Occasionally in the child, as normally in the adult male, distension of the bladder with urine leads to erection of the p.e.n.i.s. Although in these cases the erection is not induced by s.e.xual processes, it is nevertheless not devoid of significance in relation to the s.e.xual life. The sensations in the genital organs to which the pathological stimuli give rise are further increased by the erection, and the child's attention is therefore increasingly drawn to his s.e.xual organs. His attention may, of course, be directed to his genital organs by such stimuli as those we have described, even though these latter do not lead to the occurrence of erection. By such sensations, the child is very readily induced to manipulate his genital organs. Just as the little child soon learns to scratch other itching regions of the skin, so also he learns to scratch his genital organs when these are the seat of an itching eruption, or when in any other way irritating sensations arise in this region. Pfluger and Preyer[24] have made investigations regarding the itching-reflex (_Kitzelreflexe_), and although in many respects their results are divergent, yet one point is clearly established by both, namely, that within a few months after birth a distinct itching-reflex is in operation, inasmuch as the child endeavours to scratch itching areas. Thus, by itching of the genital organs, a child is readily led to practise masturbation; and this is not necessarily effected by the hands, but sometimes by the feet, or by rubbing the thighs against one another, this last being generally done when the child is in the sitting posture. When erections occur in the child, we cannot always trace them to external stimuli, for in many cases they are due to stimuli of other kinds. Erection may, in fact, result from internal stimuli, connected with the development of the genital organs, and more especially that of the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es. Moreover, such developmental stimuli may induce the child to manipulate the genital organs, and thus give rise to masturbation, without in the first instance causing erection. It appears that such stimuli leading to the practice of masturbation occur, during the first years of childhood, chiefly, if not exclusively, in children with morbid hereditary predisposition.

Such processes as these, viz., inflammatory stimuli originating in the external genital organs, or developmental stimuli proceeding from the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es, may lead to the practice of masturbation without having directly affected the child's consciousness. Just as in the pithed frog, if we stimulate one foot with acetic acid, the other foot scratches the irritated area, so a child may, with his hands or in some other way, scratch itching regions of the body, and, above all, of the external genital organs, without its being necessary for us to a.s.sume that he is fully conscious of what he is doing. Further, as we have already pointed out, such masturbation may or may not be preceded by a reflex erection.

And just as the boy soon learns that itching is relieved by scratching, so also he learns that by means of artificial stimulation he may induce sensations of a voluptuous character. It is the same with the little girl, in whom sensations occur in the genital organs, due in some cases to developmental, and in others to pathological stimuli (skin eruptions are an instance of the latter kind), and these lead to manipulations of the genital organs.

In contradistinction to the cases just described, in which the child has learned spontaneously to practise artificial stimulation of his genital organs, are the cases in which seduction by others is the cause of masturbation. Nurses sometimes touch, stroke, and stimulate the external genital organs of the children entrusted to their care--boys and girls alike--either to keep them quiet, or for the gratification of their own l.u.s.tful feelings. In this way the child, who in the case of all agreeable sensations has a natural desire for their repet.i.tion, is gradually led to imitate the manipulations which have given rise to the voluptuous sensations, and is thus seduced to the practice of masturbation.

In the preceding pa.s.sages I have spoken of all kinds of mechanical stimulation of the genital organs, and also of erections[25] occurring in small children. I now pa.s.s on to consider e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n. Whereas during normal intercourse in the s.e.xually mature man and woman a fluid secretion is expelled, nothing of the kind is possible in children, at least such is the general opinion. Frequently, indeed, as regards the male s.e.x, the end of childhood, properly speaking, is supposed to be indicated by the first e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n of s.e.m.e.n. Matters are, however, by no means so simple as this. We have seen that the testicular secretion, the most important const.i.tuent of the s.e.m.e.n, consists, as Furbringer[26] has pointed out, almost entirely of spermatozoa. But how is it in the case of children? The spermatozoa may be first formed at very varying ages.

According to the investigations of Mantegazza,[27] they rarely make their appearance earlier than the eighteenth year of life. Furbringer does not unconditionally accept this view; but he has himself, as he has personally informed me, examined boys at ages of fifteen to sixteen in whom the e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n was entirely devoid of spermatozoa. But, on the other hand, he has found spermatozoa in the s.e.m.e.n of a boy aged only twelve or thirteen years. I have myself examined the emissions of boys in a considerable number of cases, and have repeatedly found that, even in the case of boys of sixteen, the e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed secretions contained no spermatozoa. The reports of other investigators also show that as regards this point very wide individual variations occur. Hofmann[28]

has contributed some data to this discussion. A case published by Klose, in which pregnancy is alleged to have resulted from intercourse with a boy aged nine years, is, indeed, regarded by Hofmann as probably apocryphal. But he had personal knowledge of a case in which a woman was impregnated by a boy fourteen years of age. He a.s.sumes that when a boy's general development is advanced (masculine habit of body, large p.e.n.i.s, &c.), his reproductive capacity will also make its appearance at an earlier age. But he has met with exceptions to this generalisation.

Thus, in the post-mortem examination of the body of a boy aged fourteen, whose physique was still quite infantile, he found well-developed spermatozoa both in the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es and in the seminal vesicles. In the case of two boys aged fifteen years, in whom the genital organs were powerfully developed, he found in one abundant spermatozoa, but in the other none at all. In two other boys, also fifteen years of age, in whom the pubic hair had not yet appeared, spermatozoa were present. They were absent, again, in a young man of eighteen years. Similar variations were found by Haberda. Thus, for example, in two boys aged fifteen and seventeen years, respectively, he found no spermatozoa, notwithstanding the fact that in both the pubic hair had grown. On the other hand, in a boy aged 13-3/4 years, with an abundance of pubic hair, numerous well-developed spermatozoa were present. Haberda is of opinion that, speaking generally, the first formation of the spermatozoa is a.s.sociated with the appearance of the other indications of p.u.b.erty. The earliest authenticated age at which spermotozoa have been known to appear is 13-1/2 years; they have been found at this age by two separate investigators, one in Paris, the other in Berlin. Notwithstanding the fact that, as we have seen, such extensive variations occur, we are justified in making the general statement that in the case of children in our own country no spermatozoa are developed; if exceptions ever occur, they can relate only to the last year or year and a half of the second period of childhood.

We must now proceed to ask whether it is possible for e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n to occur in children at a time of life when the formation of spermatozoa in the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es has not yet begun; this question must be answered with an unconditional affirmative. We have seen that the secretions of several other glands intermingle with the secretion of the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es. These glands are the following: the prostate gland, the glands of the vesiculae seminales and the vasa deferentia, the glands of Cowper, and the glands of Littre. It is certain that these glands begin to secrete at different times, and, above all, that some of them begin to secrete before spermatozoa have appeared in the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es. Hence it is rightly believed that the capacity for coitus (_potentia coeundi_) develops much earlier than the capacity for procreation (_potentia generandi_)--a fact which was well known to Zacchias.[29] _Quae enim hanc juventutem vel praecedunt aetates, vel sequuntur aut plane s.e.m.e.n non effundunt aut certe infoecundum aut male foecundum effundunt._ Stra.s.smann[30] considers that in our climate the capacity for procreation begins at the earliest at the end of the fifteenth year, and the capacity for coitus at the end of the thirteenth year. In a number of cases in which in children I found stains on the underclothing, or in some other way obtained specimens of the e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed fluid, the results of the examination for spermatozoa were entirely negative. In a case which came under my notice a long time ago, that of a child seven years of age, I had a.s.sumed that the fluid with which the underclothing was stained was produced by inflammatory irritation of the urethra consequent upon masturbation.

Subsequent experience, however, in conjunction with the observations of other investigators, has led me to the firm conviction that even in our climate we do not need to invoke the idea of such inflammatory irritation of the urethra in order to account for the e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n of fluid by children--at any rate when these are approaching the end of the second period of childhood. In the case of twelve-year-old boys, I believe that such e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.ns of fluid occur in quite a large number of cases. One instance, which did not come under my own observation, but was communicated to me by one of our best-known educationalists, relates to a boy only ten years of age. This boy, endeavouring to climb over a fence, repeatedly slipped back; while thus engaged, he experienced his first seminal emission. In this way he then m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.ed several times.[31]

Let us now consider whence the e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed fluid can be derived prior to the age at which it comes to contain spermatozoa. In the first place, it is possible that the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es themselves, before they begin to form the spermatozoa, may yet furnish an indifferent secretion, although in the adult the secretion of the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es consists chiefly of the spermatozoa. We have also to consider the glands previously enumerated, whose secretions normally form const.i.tuents of the s.e.m.e.n. We possess, however, hardly any trustworthy information regarding the time at which the glands of the vasa deferentia begin to secrete. The glands of Cowper, as Henle[32] showed many years ago, begin to secrete within a few weeks after birth. He believed that these glands secreted continuously, but that the secretion was retained for a time in the ducts, and was discharged intermittently with the urine. For this reason he believed that the glands of Cowper did not form a part of the reproductive system. Subsequent investigations, however, have led us to believe that the secretion of Cowper's glands is one of the const.i.tuents of the s.e.m.e.n. Another const.i.tuent is the secretion of the glands of Littre, and these glands also perhaps begin to secrete at a much earlier age than the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es. We may regard it as certain that the seminal vesicles may contain secretion before any spermatozoa are formed in the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es. As regards the prostate gland, it is supposed that this first begins to secrete at the commencement of the age of p.u.b.eral development or even later. According to the data collected by Frisch, the prostate gland, comparatively small in childhood, first begins to grow quickly at the epoch of the p.u.b.eral development. During childhood, the gland tissue is comparatively scanty, although it already contains concretions. Only during the p.u.b.eral development does the prostate gland attain its full size; according to the researches of Englisch, who observed 1282 instances, this does not occur until after the full development of the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es. Beyond question we are justified, from the information at our disposal, in concluding that the prostate gland begins to secrete comparatively late. But, on the other hand, it is equally clear that certain glands whose secretion in the adult forms part of the s.e.m.e.n, begin to secrete long before any spermatozoa have been formed in the t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es, and may in this way give rise to the formation of a s.e.m.e.n incapable of fertilising the ovum.

In respect of the extrusion of the fluid, we have to recognise two different ways in which this is effected: first, e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n, due to a rhythmical expulsive movement; and secondly, the _urethrorrhoea ex libidine_ met with in adults, of which an account was given in the second chapter (p. 22). In my own investigations on the subject, I have been able to learn nothing regarding the occurrence in children of any _urethrorrhoea ex libidine_; and my information relates only to the true e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n of a fluid, I have seen a few cases in which such e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n occurred in boys at the early age of twelve years, although this is quite exceptional, and, as already mentioned, in such cases the e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed fluid contains no spermatozoa.

In the case of women, what has been said of the glands of Cowper applies equally to the glands of Bartholin, the h.o.m.ologues of the former both as regards significance and development. The glands of Bartholin also begin to secrete in s.e.xually immature girls, and even in children. It must be added that when e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n occurs in s.e.xually immature girls, the products of other glands are probably intermingled with the secretion of the glands of Bartholin (mucous glands of the uterus, of the cervix uteri, the v.a.g.i.n.a, the v.u.l.v.a, and perhaps also of the urethra).

I have distinguished the simple outflow of secretion from its forcible expulsion--from true e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n. This latter demands the rhythmical activity of certain muscles, such as takes place during coitus. The question arises, whether such muscular activity can occur before any fluid has been formed capable of being e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed. When I compare what is published in the literature of the subject with what I have myself observed in this connexion, I regard the following points as definitely established. There are certain cases, and these in young persons of both s.e.xes, in which typical rhythmical muscular contractions take place in the child, although no e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed fluid is discoverable. It remains doubtful, however, whether a small quant.i.ty of secretion, overlooked by the observer, and perhaps not even recognisable, may not, after all, be e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed. I consider it probable that this is so. Moreover, we must not forget that the rhythmical muscular contractions, which in the adult effect e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n, are able to expel the fluid from the urethra only when this fluid is present in sufficient quant.i.ty. When the quant.i.ty is minimal the fluid is retained for a time in that pa.s.sage, owing to the frictional resistance of the urethra, and is perhaps not expelled until the next act of micturition. Some may, of course, object to denote such a process by the word e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n; but I myself see no reason why the term should not be extended to include the rhythmical muscular contraction both in the child and the adult, even in cases in which there is not sufficient fluid secretion in the urethra for this to be visibly extruded by these contractions.

What have we to say regarding the voluptuous sensation in children? It is extremely difficult to form clear ideas about this matter, for the sources of fallacy previously described (p. 5 _et seq._) are here markedly in operation; above all, in the case of little children, the voluptuous sensation, purely subjective in character, is extraordinarily difficult to recognise objectively. This much, however, may be said. It appears to me to be beyond question that in childhood, and even in very early childhood, a sensation may sometimes be excited of the same kind as the voluptuous sensation of adult life. None the less, we must be careful not to a.s.sume too readily, in any particular case, that such a sensation has actually been experienced. Certain oscillatory movements on the part of infants and other small children have frequently been regarded as an indication of the practice of masturbation, and of the occurrence of voluptuous sensations; but in my opinion that view is to a large extent erroneous. Such movements may be no more than the expression of a general sense of well-being, without having anything whatever to do with the s.e.xual life or with the specific voluptuous sensation. Doubtless the voluptuous sensation may be experienced by very small children, and even by infants. When we see a child lying with moist, widely-opened eyes, and exhibiting all the other signs of s.e.xual excitement, such as we are accustomed to observe in adults, we are justified in a.s.suming that the child is experiencing a voluptuous sensation. But what is usually wanting in such cases, at any rate in young children, is the voluptuous acme which in adults occurs in a.s.sociation with the act of e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n. Cases have also been occasionally reported to me in which, even in infancy, a voluptuous acme has occurred; and still more frequently I have been told this in respect of somewhat older children, for example, at ages of seven or eight years. I believe, however, that this voluptuous acme is, at any rate in children, much less common than the equable voluptuous sensation which can be aroused by all kinds of manipulations and stimulations of the peripheral genital organs, and more especially of the glans, the p.e.n.i.s, the c.l.i.toris, and the l.a.b.i.a minora. The older the child, the more frequently is the voluptuous acme attained; in our own climate, during the last years of the second period of childhood, this occurs comparatively often; the voluptuous acme does not last so long as in s.e.xually mature individuals, but is in other respects described in identical terms. It is experienced simultaneously with the occurrence of the rhythmical muscular contractions which have previously been described. It is possible, as I suggested before, that in such cases the e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.o.n of a certain quant.i.ty of glandular secretion always occurs, although, as I have also explained, this secretion may sometimes be too small in quant.i.ty to be actually expelled from the urethra by the muscular extractions. This point is, however, still obscure. But it may be regarded as definitely established that the equable voluptuous sensation, and more particularly the voluptuous acme, may occur at an age at which, at any rate, secretion does not yet exist in sufficient quant.i.ty to be expelled from the urethra, and the existence of such secretion is therefore not unequivocally manifested. In exceptional, and doubtless pathological instances, and above all in cases in which, owing to the practice of masturbation, there has been excessive stimulation, instead of the voluptuous acme, a painful sensation may be experienced.

In general, however, in children, just as in adults, the voluptuous acme is a.s.sociated with a sense of satisfaction, and with the subsidence of the previously existing s.e.xual excitement. _This much is beyond question, that the voluptuous acme and the sense of satisfaction a.s.sociated therewith make their appearance subsequent to the development of erection and the equable voluptuous sensation in the genital organs._ Mutatis mutandis, _this is equally true of both s.e.xes_.