I found this really fascinating article on sexual education from 1890- 1920. I think it really relates to our topic of virginity because the education people were receiving was completely based on the fact that sex was for procreation ONLY – and people were therefore expected to wait until they were married.
Some interesting points that were discussed:
1.) The Semen Theory – boys were told that semen, through some process that was not yet understood, secreted special cells. If semen were not expended these cells would be reabsorbed into the blood and would allow for a boy to develop a deep voice, and grow a full beard. It was also though that if there was excess of semen cells that they would be reabsorbed into the blood, and travel up to the brain and would allow new thoughts and critical thinking. It led boys and men to believe that not having sex was necessary for the growth and develop of society
2.) What women were told: it was through sexuality and love that a woman fulfilled her “destiny”, which was creating a family. This was because families were thought to be, “the primary cell in which society flourishes.”
3.) Everyone was told that sex was for procreation. If men had sex with their wives for pleasure it was considered “legalized prostitution.”
4.) Believed that children were just curious and that if they taught them the general plumbing that their curiosity would be satisfied
5.) They feared “mental masturbation” (sexual fantasies) were more dangerous than actual masturbation because mental masturbation could be practiced with no limit
6.) Believed that dangers in reference to sex differed drastically between girls and boys. Boys were active, spontaneous, and aggressive and needed to be taught self-control. Girls were passive and were at risk of being “awoken” to external stimuli so they need to be scared (pregnancy) into becoming unresponsive and frigid.
7.) They believed that if they could convince children that sex was for reproduction only that they could eliminate premarital sex, prostitution, and excess sex in marriages.
8.) Attempted to instill the belief that the ideal relationship between a man and a woman was the one that a boy had with his mother and sister, or that a girl had with her father or brother.
9.) It was thought that masturbation would lead to sex for pleasure, so masturbation was NEVER talked about. Boys were also told that they were NEVER to touch their genitals and that if they had to for hygiene/medical reasons they were to do so with a pair of tongs. Girls were told to,"keep the opening of the nest covered, and to never touch it except to clean.”
Used venereal disease to help regulate behaviour by telling men that, “any girl who has given herself to you has probably given herself to others who have diseased you”
11.) Wanted to introduce sexuality to kids using books but were afraid that the books would fall into the hands of small children – ideally wanted to give information in one-on-one sessions but that was not practical. They began to secretly put it in other courses, like science, using plants and animals to describe reproduction.
Strong, B. (1972). Ideas of the Early Sex Education Movement in America, 1890-1920 .History of Education Quarterly, 12(2),129-161
A lot of these ideas probably led to a lot of the weight and values we place on virginity today. At one point in time men used to think that if they masturbated, or had too much sex that they would expend to much semen (along with specials “cells”) get sick and die, while women were taught to be frigid and unresponsive to sexual advances. Though today we all see that many of these ideas and strategies are ridiculous, I believe that they still have had lasting implications on how society views virginity.
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