Socialism; Women -- Social and moral questions; Women and socialism
Such being the intensity of sexual impulse, it is not to be wondered
at that with both men and women sexual abstinence frequently leads
to serious disorders of the nervous system, and in some cases even
to insanity and suicide. Of course, not all natures manifest an
equally strong sexual impulse. It can also be restrained to a great
extent by education and self-control, especially by avoiding the
stimulant of lewd conversation and literature, alcoholism, etc. It
is held that the sexual impulse is weaker among women than among
men, and that sometimes women even feel revulsion against sexual
contact. But these constitute a small minority whose physiological
and psychological dispositions are peculiarly constituted.
We may say that the manner in which the natural desires of the sexes
are expressed, both in their organic and physical development, in
form and in character, marks the degree of perfection of a human
being, be it man or woman. Each sex has attained its own highest
development. “Among civilized human beings,” says Klenke in his
essay on “Woman as a Wife,” “sexual intercourse is controlled by
moral principles dictated by common sense. But nothing could ever
fully subdue the instinct of race preservation, implanted by nature
in both sexes. Wherever healthy male or female individuals failed
to fulfill this ~duty~, it was ~not of their own free will~, though
they may deceive themselves into believing it, ~but was a result of
social hindrances and restrictions~. These hindrances have impeded
the laws of nature, have stunted the organs, and have transformed
the whole organism into an atrophied type both in appearance and
in character and have caused nervous disorders that bring about
abnormal, pathological conditions of body and mind. The man becomes
effeminate; the woman becomes masculine in form and character, because
the sexual contrast has not been realized; because such particular
human being remained one-sided, failing to attain his own integration,
the full height of his existence.” Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell says in
her essay on “The Moral Education of the Young in Relation to Sex”:
“Sexual impulse exists as an inevitable condition of life and the
foundation of society. It is the greatest power in human nature....
While undeveloped it is not an object of the thoughts, but it remains
nevertheless the ~central force of life~. This inevitable impulse is
the natural guardian against all possibility of destruction.”[44]
Practical Luther has positive advice to offer. He advises: “Let him
who has no desire for chastity look about him for work and turn to
matrimony; a boy at the latest when he is twenty, a girl when she is
fifteen or eighteen years of age. Then they are healthy and skillful
and trust to God to provide for them and their children. God gives
them the children and he will provide for them.” Unfortunately our
social conditions make it impossible to follow Luther’s good advice,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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