Excessive Venery, Masturbation and Continence, by William Howe – Chapter One

The full title of this next book is Excessive Venery, Masturbation and Continence: the etiology, pathology, and treatment of the diseases resulting from venereal excesses, masturbation and continence. Gee, do you think this book is going to deal with venery in excess, not to mention masturbation and continence? The author is one Joseph W. Howe, M.D., and a brief bio follows. He is author of three other books, namely “Emergencies,” “The Breath,” and “Winter Homes for Invalids.” Um, okay. In addition, he is a professor of surgery, a practicing surgeon, and so on, so I suppose he feels he’s qualified to talk about sexual matters. This book was published in 1887, so he came before Mary Wood-Allen and her slew of books. Also, for the curious, this book’s price is listed as $2.75.

The preface (note there are no commendations in this one from others, as he’s a man, and a doctor, so he’s automatically taken seriously) tells the reader that this book was originally formulated as a series of lectures, as well as the good doctor’s own personal experiences. This book was meant for a medical student, I presume. This might be a serious undertaking, folks. Lots of medical words!
Chapter I – General Considerations. No one is teaching young people about sexual matters, and this is a problem. The health and happiness of the human race depends on teaching such things prior to puberty. Physicians are the only professional people who can SEE the importance of such a matter, especially teaching against the “ignorant assaults on the genital organs.” Very few can see the difference between the false side of life, or the real suffering due to bad habits, and while a little advice from a well-meaning parent, or a teacher, can be all the help one needs to avoid such situations, the doctor is the BEST suited for this task, solely because he’s a doctor. Already this guy is a prick.

 

What a Young Girl Ought to Know, by Mary Wood-Allen, Part Five

Twilight Talk VII. From all fathers to the Big Daddy upstairs, Mother references the Bible, stating that all fathers take pity on their children. Parental love is just a shadow of what God’s love is. Again, we go through the hierarchy of creatures, and find that the only beings on the planet who have a REAL knowledge of being parents are humans. Damn, this lady is smug. I hope she got reincarnated as some lower life form. Well, that was a short chapter. I guess because the climax, so to speak, of the book has already arrived. It leaves me to wonder what the rest of this book is. There are over a hundred pages left to go.

Twilight Talk VIII. Ah, selective breeding. Gentlemen, we have the technology. We can make a faster horse. Angora kittens for 25 dollars apiece; a veritable STEAL today! If we can do this for other, lower animals, why not humans?

How is this of importance to a little girl? Well, here comes a slight shade of feminism: make yourself the strongest, best and noblest woman you can be, and help to change the world. Of course, only in the spheres of cooking, cleaning, and childcare, but the seeds are slowly being planted. It’s a start.

The children of 1905 are making the world what it will be in a hundred years. Well, that would have been 2005. What a scary sight to behold.

While knitting, Mother sometimes wonders what the world would be like if each human being had been directly created by God, like Adam and Eve. No fathers or mothers, no birthdays. No weddings – because a marriage is not complete without children from your own womb, I suppose. No pictures of Jesus and his mother, which is curious; I guess because we would all be perfect and there would be no need of Jesus? At any rate, she finishes up with the fact that it would be a rather dreary world, full of adults, and I suppose adults are no fun, or cannot make their own fun, a characteristic lost upon entering the world of puberty.

Children should not be teased about being lovers and sweethearts, for that’s joking about something sacred and that’s just not done. Children have no knowledge about love, apparently, until they reach adulthood, and then you marry the first suitable boy that comes along, and then, next stop: babyville!

Otherwise, you’re defective and will be an old maid.