"A remedy [for masturbation] which is almost always successful in small boys is circumcision, especially when there is any degree of phimosis. The operation should be performed by a surgeon without administering an anaesthetic, as the pain attending the operation will have a salutary effect upon the mind, especially if it be connected with the idea of punishment."
- John Harvey Kellogg
(Just think about that next time you reach for a box of Bran Flakes in the supermarket, folks).
Now, it turns out that Kellogg himself didn't explicitly advocate circumcision of newborns for this purpose (although his position is arguably even creepier-- he's essentially saying that for it to have any "salutary effect", the victim has to be old enough to know what's going on, and experience the pain in context). However, plenty of other medical professionals did. This article¹ traces the history of the practice in America with an overview of its pseudoscientific justifications; prevention of infant masturbation being one of the prevalent themes.
And while we're on this particular, queasy topic: I used to live just down the block from the world-famous Museum of Sex in NYC, where they have a whole permanent exhibit section of ingenious tools for the facilitation-- and prevention-- of masturbation. That's right, it's ACTUAL PHOTO TIME:
Mark showed us the blueprints; here's the end product. Also note the contemporary depiction of the pernicious effects of self-abuse on health and personal appearance, in the background.
Shall I put this one up here as well? I sure can't think of a reason not to!
¹ You'll need to log into EBSCOHost via your university Athens account. If you can't get in directly (sometimes it logs you in, only to dump you at the e-Journals home page so you have to start searching all over again...) you're looking for David Gollaher, 'From ritual to science: the medical transformation of circumcision in America', Journal of Social History, vol. 28, no. 1 (1994), pp.5-38.
(Just think about that next time you reach for a box of Bran Flakes in the supermarket, folks).
Now, it turns out that Kellogg himself didn't explicitly advocate circumcision of newborns for this purpose (although his position is arguably even creepier-- he's essentially saying that for it to have any "salutary effect", the victim has to be old enough to know what's going on, and experience the pain in context). However, plenty of other medical professionals did. This article¹ traces the history of the practice in America with an overview of its pseudoscientific justifications; prevention of infant masturbation being one of the prevalent themes.
And while we're on this particular, queasy topic: I used to live just down the block from the world-famous Museum of Sex in NYC, where they have a whole permanent exhibit section of ingenious tools for the facilitation-- and prevention-- of masturbation. That's right, it's ACTUAL PHOTO TIME:
Mark showed us the blueprints; here's the end product. Also note the contemporary depiction of the pernicious effects of self-abuse on health and personal appearance, in the background.
Shall I put this one up here as well? I sure can't think of a reason not to!I'm afraid that (numerous) other photos of the masturbation exhibits are not suitable for posting here, given the blog guidelines... but are freely available in one of my Facebook albums, for those of you who have access.
¹ You'll need to log into EBSCOHost via your university Athens account. If you can't get in directly (sometimes it logs you in, only to dump you at the e-Journals home page so you have to start searching all over again...) you're looking for David Gollaher, 'From ritual to science: the medical transformation of circumcision in America', Journal of Social History, vol. 28, no. 1 (1994), pp.5-38.
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