A mechanical and critical enquiry into the nature of hermaphroditesParsons, James
History
A mechanical and critical enquiry into the nature of hermaphrodites
Parsons, James
Intersexuality -- Early works to 1800
The Doctor calls the Extremities of the Nymphæ a Frænum, which he says
fasten’d the Glans and Præputium; for in all Females of this kind, the
Nymphæ arise in an acute Angle on the under side of the End of the
Clitoris, which will appear in our Description hereafter, but owns ‘the
Glans was imperforated, wherefore the Semen made its way through the
Pudendum Muliebre;’ it would have been better and more judicious, not
to have said a Word of the Semen’s being deny’d a Passage thro’ the
Glans, and so going back in a refluent Manner the other Way, except he
had a Mind to demonstrate by what Road it had such a refluent Passage.
The inconsistencies that appear thro’ this whole Narration from first
to last, should promise no great Credit, for it is entirely taken from
the Owner of the Girl, and securely presented to the _Royal Society_,
without the Author’s considering that no one Part of his History can be
reconciled to the known Laws of the Structure of the human Body. I should
not omit in fine, to take notice of one Word more, ‘That at the Sight of
a Woman her Penis was erected, and became flacid at the Sight of a Man;’
from this I can conceive no other, than that she had more desire to the
Woman than the Man; and yet a little after he says, she cast her Eyes
upon a handsome Man and fell in Love with him. But as I have said above,
_Diemerbroeck_ will in his turn illustrate more particularly how little
credit ought to be given to the Tales of Shew-men, by the Learned.
It has been often argued by Authors, that these Confricatrices are more
inclined to desire the Access of Women than of Men, and being willing to
favour the Opinion of both Sexes being found in one Person, draw from
that Argument this Conclusion, that therefore there must be as much of
a Masculine nature, as of a Female in them. To this it is answer’d: That
they do not desire Women more than Men, from a mere natural Inclination,
but because by a Gratification of this Nature there is not so much danger
of being expos’d; therefore a Congress like this is the more eagerly
sought after, and agreed on by two Females so inclin’d, since by an over
long Clitoris in one, both find their accounts answer’d, without fear of
that Accident, that is the necessary Consequence of dealing with Men; for
that Part being, as all allow, the Seat of great Titulation, it is no
wonder it should be stimulated by being embraced in the Vagina, nor that
the Receiver should also be effected by such Frication, as well as by a
Penis Virilis; thus I hope it appears plainly that this Conclusion is ill
grounded.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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