The sexual question : $b A scientific, psychological, hygienic and sociological studyForel, Auguste
Science
The sexual question : $b A scientific, psychological, hygienic and sociological study
Forel, Auguste
Sex
Poverty acts indirectly in a much more intense and efficacious manner.
First of all it compels the proletariat to live in the most disgusting
promiscuity. Not only do the father, the mother and the children
occupy the same room, but they sleep there, often in the same bed. The
children are witnesses of their parents' coitus and become initiated
in sexual intercourse, often in its most bestial form, under the
influence of alcohol, for example. Neglected and herded together with
other children, most of them as badly brought up as themselves, from
their early youth they become acquainted not only with the most gross
and filthy things, but also with the most pathological and deformed
excrescences of the unhealthy life of towns. In the proletariat of
certain towns there are few girls of fourteen years of age who are
still virgins.
Again, poverty urges parents to exploit their children, for it is easy
to deliver them into the hands of proxenetism. But this is not
confined to the poorest classes; among small tradespeople, poverty is
also an indirect agent of prostitution. Here again the effect of
pitiless exploitation is seen; in certain occupations which leave the
girls free evenings, and also in certain shops, the proprietor only
pays his employés an absurdly small salary, because they can add to it
by prostitution. For this reason, many saleswomen, dressmakers, etc.,
are obliged to content themselves with a minimum wage. When they
complain, and especially when they are good looking, they are often
given to understand that with their attractive appearance it is very
easy for them to increase their income, for many a young man would be
glad to "befriend them," to say nothing of other insinuations of the
same kind. I have already pointed out how waitresses are utilized as
bait in certain taverns, etc. Let us cite a few figures:
About 80 per cent. of the prostitutes in Paris have some occupation
besides prostitution.
In factories, shops, etc., the average wage of men is 4 francs 20. per
day; that of women 2 francs 20.; but in domestic service it is only 2
francs 10. for men and 1 franc 10., or even 90 centimes for women,
even where the latter do the same work! Is it to be wondered that they
have recourse to prostitution?
=High-class Brothels.=--In these establishments the life of the
prostitute is much more agreeable: the goods of superior quality
demanded by rich and fastidious clients requires better treatment and
special care. I will cite a case published in the annual report of the
Société de Pestalozzi (for cruelty to children) at Vienna:
"In October, 1904, the Tyrolean Society for Abandoned Infancy
sent us the papers of a young Tyrolean girl of eighteen, who was
found at Venice under police control. Our attention was drawn to
the youth of this girl and the incapacity of the father to
induce her to reform. We were requested to restore her, if
possible, to an honest life.
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account