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This is one of my favorite books, and I was so happy to discover that the original 1985 edition is still in print. It is the fascinating account of degeneracy theory, a quack medical belief that has had a significant impact on our society. You've probably never heard of degeneracy theory, but it was the underpinnings for much of the anti-sexual beliefs that became so ingrained in America's legal and health systems. It also explains the psychology and belief systems behind some of the rabid anti-pornography forces today, based on theories that predate germ theory that blamed sex and masturbation for most of society's health problems. For those trying to piece together the puzzle of America's anti-sexual attitudes, this book provides many important pieces of the puzzle, and is the first comprehensive treatment of the subject. It does not hurt that it is also written by one of the premiere sexologists of our time. The roots of the notion that masturbation is immoral come from a misreading of the story of Onan in the Bible. It was not masturbation, but withdrawing during sex and having an orgasm outside of his brother's wife, whom God had ordered him to impregnate, that got him in trouble (which in the Old Testament usually means getting slaughtered by God). Early Christian church leaders picked up the ball and ran with it, equating all sexuality with immorality. St. Jerome referred to women as "bags of filth". St. Aquinus taught that masturbation is a greater sin than fornication. St. Augustine called sexual intercourse a depravity of nature. Before we understood what caused diseases, demon possession was a good catch-all explanation. This also lead to the torture and killing of a lot of people during the Inquisition, and the author does a great job of explaining why this took place and how it got so out of control. As the notion of demon possession as an explanation for disease faded in the 1700's, a new explanation was needed. In the 1800's, the idea that seminal emission could lead to disease began to take root, oddly enough promoted by people whose names we now associate with breakfast and nursery school snacks. Sylvester Graham, for whom the graham cracker is named, taught that abstinence was important for good health to preserve the vital fluids. He also taught that lustful thoughts effect the nervous system. John Henry Kellogg, adopted those ideas and took them even further, with special emphasis on the avoidance of masturbation, which he believed caused almost all diseases. Kellogg's Corn Flakes were developed as part of his health regimen to reduce lustful thoughts. Kellogg wrote his first tract on the evils and health dangers of sex on his honeymoon, a marriage that was never consummated. A skilled surgeon but a medical quack on issues of sexuality, his sex phobic teachings were adopted by many medical doctors. Treating masturbation became a very lucrative vocation for doctors, since there was no shortage of patients. Medical doctors, adopting a crank and unscientific explanation for disease, may have had even more impact than the religious moralists in promoting anti-sex ideas in the U.S. It was not until 1972 that the A.M.A. completely repudiated the idea that masturbation caused disease when they published Human Sexuality. Just recently, I read an article where so-called experts were studying how pornographic films somehow by-passed the cognitive parts of the brain and lead to all sorts of sexual problems- a basic reworking of the lust equals disease notion. John Money does a good job in the last part of his book explaining his theories on Lovemaps and why these notions of degeneracy are so much hogwash. Attitudes about sex are improving, but we still suffer under the residue of crank medical science, which continues to be the fuel of censorship. It is regularly argued that exposure to pornography leads to moral, if not physical disease. It will take awhile to undo all of the damage that the bad science of degeneracy theory has done to our freedom and our sex lives. You can purchase this book directly from Amazon. -JB |
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