Sex & Character: Authorised Translation from the Sixth German Edition — John Shaqi
Sex & Character: Authorised Translation from the Sixth German EditionWeininger, Otto
Philosophy
Sex & Character: Authorised Translation from the Sixth German Edition
Weininger, Otto
Character; Sex; Sex (Psychology); Sexual ethics
The law of Sexual Attraction gives the long-sought-for explanation of
sexual inversion, of sexual inclination towards members of the same sex,
whether or no that be accompanied by aversion from members of the
opposite sex. Without reference to a distinction which I shall deal with
later on, I may say at once that it is exceedingly probable that, in all
cases of sexual inversion, there will be found indications of the
anatomical characters of the other sex. There is no such thing as a
genuine “psycho-sexual hermaphroditism”; the men who are sexually
attracted by men have outward marks of effeminacy, just as women of a
similar disposition to those of their own sex exhibit male characters.
That this should be so is quite intelligible if we admit the close
parallelism between body and mind, and further light is thrown upon it
by the facts explained in the second chapter of this book; the facts as
to the male or female principle not being uniformly present all over the
same body, but distributed in different amounts in different organs. In
all cases of sexual inversion, there is invariably an anatomical
approximation to the opposite sex.
Such a view is directly opposed to that of those who would maintain that
sexual inversion is an acquired character, and one that has superseded
normal sexual impulses. Schrenk-Notzing, Kraepelin, and Féré are amongst
those writers who have urged the view that sexual inversion is an
acquired habit, the result of abstinence from normal intercourse and
particularly induced by example. But what about the first offender? Did
the god Hermaphroditos teach him? It might equally be sought to prove
that the sexual inclination of a normal man for a normal woman was an
unnatural, acquired habit--a habit, as some ancient writers have
suggested, that arose from some accidental discovery of its agreeable
nature. Just as a normal man discovers for himself what a woman is, so
also, in the case of a sexual “invert” the attraction exercised on him
by a person of his own sex is a normal product of his development from
his birth. Naturally the opportunity must come in which the individual
may put in practice his desire for inverted sexuality, but the
opportunity will be taken only when his natural constitution has made
the individual ready for it. That sexual abstinence (to take the second
supposed cause of inversion) should result in anything more than
masturbation may be explained by the supposition that inversion is
acquired, but that it should be coveted and eagerly sought can only
happen when the demand for it is rooted in the constitution. In the same
fashion normal sexual attraction might be said to be an acquired
character, if it could be proved definitely that, to fall in love, a
normal man must first see a woman or a picture of a woman. Those who
assert that sexual inversion is an acquired character, are making a
merely incidental or accessory factor responsible for the whole
constitution of an organism.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account