The Biology, Physiology and Sociology of Reproduction, Winfield Scott Hall [latest ebook reader txt] 📗

young man at puberty 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 compassed 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 puberty 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 sexual 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 assumed 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 analogous to that which the testes exert on the development of the male. For that reason, a surgeon should, under no condition, remove both ovaries (sexual 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 puberty 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. SEXUAL HYGIENE OF THE ADOLESCENT MALE.

SEXUAL HYGIENE OF THE ADOLESCENT MALE.ToC

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

In our study of the anatomy and physiology of the sexual 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 assume 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 institutions 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 circumstances?

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 attitude shall be regarding matters of sex. 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 circumstances, more or less accidental, have already established in them a mental attitude 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 puberty, through the adolescent and adult period, even until some progress is made in the senile period, every normal male will experience sexual desires. It has been shown that these particular experiences are linked, more or less intimately, with the condition of the sexual apparatus; but whatever the cause, we are confronted with the question, What shall be done about it?

When a man experiences a sexual 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 sexual desires, if not exercised will become weak, and the sexual 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 assumed above that the activity of the sexual glands was comparable with that of muscles.

We must not lose sight of the fact that the male sexual 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 puberty. 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 circumstances, 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 sexual intercourse, in wedlock or out, should certainly not be recommended as a method of developing the sexual apparatus.

Most men, however, raise the question: "Is any indulgence or any artificial means for satisfying the sexual 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 sexual 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 sexual 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 sexual 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, sexual intercourse out of wedlock. The term applies either to intercourse between any man and a prostitute, 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 sexual intercourse that is illegal.

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

In this phase of sexual gratification, it is assumed 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 sexual 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 (prostitute) or as an auxiliary occupation (clandestine) to supplement a wage