A mechanical and critical enquiry into the nature of hermaphrodites — John Shaqi
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
He gives the Story of what he calls the Woman Hermaphrodite first, which
is much of a Piece with that of the other Authors mention’d hereafter.
But if he had said at once, that he had consider’d the Cases of a Man and
Woman, he would have appear’d a more judicious Historian, than he seems
to be by adding the Word Hermaphrodite to either; which will be evident
by the Sequel of his Account, _viz._[88]
‘There was one of those _Æthiopian_ Women, called, by the _Lombardians_,
Cingaræ, who could neither perform as a Man nor Woman, for she
unfortunately had both Sexes imperfect; the Penis not exceeding the Size
of one’s little Finger, in length or thickness, and the Hole of the Vulva
was so narrow as not to be capable of receiving the Top of the little
Finger. This Wretch intreated me to cut off the Penis, which she said,
would be a Hinderance to her in the Coitus, and also desir’d I would
enlarge the Vulva, that she might be capable of receiving a Man; but I
dared not grant her Request; knowing the Danger the Vessels were liable
to, therefore thought it could not be done without hazarding her life.’
There is not the least room to hesitate upon this Case, with regard to
the hermaphrodital Character he gives her; for it is plain from her
own desire, nothing but the Properties of a Female were in her. If
otherwise, she would never have begg’d him to cut off the Part which our
Author calls a Penis, but in truth the Clitoris; and from her earnest
Entreaty to have her Femine Parts dilated and made capable of receiving
the necessary Part of the contrary Sex; for it is commonly the Case in
such Women as have the Clitoris longer than ordinary, to have the Orifice
more or less, covered with a thin[89] Skin arising from the Perinæum;
this must have been the Case with her, and the Author might have
gratified her by a Chirurgical Excision of that Part, as safely as the
_Ethiopians_ and _Egyptians_ perform the same upon their own Children.
And as to the membranous Covering to the Orifice of the Vagina, it might
have been remedied by a Snip of a Scissars. That part in the Angolan is
near half covered with the same; and not many Days ago, a Child of about
eight Years old, had it almost entirely covered, which was cured in the
same easy Manner.
But to our Author’s Man Hermaphrodite[90]:
‘I made Observations on a living Man Hermaphrodite, who appeared as
follows; He had a Penis and Scrotum with Testes, under which, in the
Perinæum (that is, between the Testicles and the Anus) where the Section
is made for the Extraction of the Stone of the Bladder, there was a
Hole in the Manner of a Vulva, but was not deep; and these are all the
Hermaphrodites I have met with.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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