AN OUTLINE OF SEX-INSTRUCTION
The limitations of this chapter will prevent more than a mere outline
of the periods in a child’s life when sex-information should be
imparted and the character of it. Familiarity with the boy’s psychology
given in Chapters III and IV will be of value in its application. From
birth until the child is six years old--the prescholastic age--he
is at home under the care and guidance of his mother, excluding the
kindergarten which is attended by a small proportion of children.
During this period the mother’s chief concern should be the hygienic
care of the child’s body and the prevention of danger which may come
from an injudicious or immoral nurse. The only sex-instruction
should be a simple answer to his question as to the origin of human
life--usually prompted by the birth of a baby whom he has seen or of
whom he has heard. This may be done by the statement that God sent it
in a human basket and the doctor delivered it, or other phraseology
which carries the same import and will satisfy his curiosity for the
time being until another inquiry is made. It is desirable to remember
that the child up to approximately ten years of age will continue these
interrogatories to his mother from time to time and that whenever he
ceases to make such inquiries it is evidence that he believes he has
obtained full information on the subject either from parental or from
outside sources.
The mother, not the father, should begin the sex-education of her son.
The most effective method of imparting sex-information is by what is
called the biological approach. At age seven or eight the foundation
for sex-instruction should be laid by information concerning plant
production; that the pollen dust of the father plant becomes attached
to the legs of the honey-seeking bee and is transferred to the mother
plant, where it fertilizes the seed from which a baby plant grows. The
function of the wind, also, in effecting the conjunction of pollen with
the ovule of the stigma should be explained; and how the pollen or male
principle fertilizes and gives life to the female ovule, making seed
from which a new plant is born.
Now by successive stages and in detail his mind should be directed
to the processes of reproduction in the lower forms of animal life,
such as fishes, snakes, and frogs; then to the higher forms of life
represented in birds and domestic fowl, and then to the still higher
form of mammals, and finally to reproduction in the human being,
emphasizing its biological and sacred aspects. The wonderful workings
of nature should be made predominant in explaining the reproduction of
the lower orders of life while the pure and spiritual phase of human
reproduction should be stressed. Coincident with the conclusion of such
instruction, there should be given a brief explanation of the functions
of the generative organs in the process of reproducing the species, the
injury of secret vice and the necessity for personal purity.
At this first sign of approaching puberty the father should assume
the duty of further instruction, which should now advise the boy of
the wonderful sexual changes about to take place in his body and the
new and powerful desires about to be awakened. The normal development
of adolescence should be pointed out and a warning sounded as to the
error of mistaking certain natural phenomena for the abnormal.
At the age of fifteen to sixteen the necessity arises for admonition
against sexual promiscuity and its relationship to the hygienic health
of the individual and its eugenic influence on coming generations.
During the entire period the note of personal purity should be sounded
by a strong appeal to his moral and religious sense.
Untold numbers of boys go wrong sexually through ignorance, who would
have kept to the paths of purity had they but known.
It is important that the boy, especially during adolescence, shall be
kept from the contaminating influences of theatrical productions whose
sex-appeal is conspicuous. The moving picture show, which fascinates
children with its interest, is objectionable chiefly because of its
connection with the cheap vaudeville so commonly associated with it.
Few vaudeville “turns” have any ethical, moral, or intellectual value.
They are, at best, ephemeral entertainment and frequently are so coarse
as to be unmoral if not positively immoral in their persuasiveness. The
sex excitation produced by the physical display of the partly clothed
female, _risqué_ dialogues and suggestive songs which are common, in
some degree, to a certain class of musical comedies, burlesques, and
vaudeville shows is a potent reason for keeping the adolescent away
from their influence. And it must be obvious that the sex-problem play
is equally unsuited to his needs.
As a guide to the subject matter and methods of sex-instruction the
author appends a brief bibliography culled from the flood of literature
on the subject. Much that has been published is good; some is bad and
some is indifferent. The necessity for widespread sex-education has
resulted in the formation of many societies whose primary object is
the dissemination of knowledge on the subject through lectures and the
publication of pamphlets designed for the education of the parent in
how and when to impart sex-instruction to his child. Other pamphlets,
graded according to the age of the reader, are to be placed in the
hands of the boy himself. Such leaflets may be purchased from these
societies for the few cents which they cost to publish, and samples are
frequently issued gratuitously. Among the many pamphlets, leaflets,
and circulars issued by the several societies for sex-hygiene, the
following are suitable for the instruction of parents or may be placed
in the hands of the boy himself if so indicated:
AMERICAN FEDERATION FOR SEX HYGIENE.
105 West 40th St., New York City.
“Report of the Special Committee on the Matter and Methods of Sex
Education.” Thomas M. Balliet, Dean of the School of Pedagogy, New
York University; Maurice A. Bigelow, Professor of Biology, Teachers
College, Columbia University; Prince A. Morrow, M.D. 34 pp.,
December, 1912. Copies upon request.
“The Teaching of Sex Hygiene.” Prince A. Morrow, M.D. Copies upon
request.
CALIFORNIA SOCIAL HYGIENE SOCIETY.
U. S. Custom House, San Francisco, Cal.
Four circulars as follows:
“The Four Sex Lies.” 4 pp.
“When and How to Tell the Children.” For parents. 7 pp.
“The Secret of Strength.” For boys ten to thirteen years of age. 5
pp.
“Virility and Physical Development.” For boys thirteen to eighteen
years of age. 7 pp.
Samples upon request with postage.
COLORADO SOCIETY FOR SOCIAL HEALTH.
1434 Glenarm St., Denver, Colo.
“Teaching Regarding Sex in the Public Schools.” Edward Jackson, M.D.
Reprint from Denver _Medical Times_. 7 pp.
Samples upon request with postage.
CONNECTICUT SOCIETY OF SOCIAL HYGIENE.
42 High Street, Hartford, Connecticut.
“Sex Hygiene for Young Men.” 8 pp.
CHICAGO SOCIETY OF SOCIAL HYGIENE.
305 Reliance Building, Chicago, Ill.
A circular:
“Self Protection.” Sexual Hygiene for Young Men. 4 pp.
MARYLAND SOCIETY OF SOCIAL HYGIENE.
15 East Pleasant Street. Baltimore, Md.
Two circulars on Social Hygiene:
“Sex Hygiene for Young Men.” 1912. 4 pp.
Reprint of seven Charts, on “Methods of Teaching Sex Hygiene,” from
the exhibit of The American Federation for Sex Hygiene. 1913. 8
pp.
Samples and prices upon request.
DETROIT SOCIETY FOR SEX HYGIENE.
Wayne County Medical Society’s Building, Detroit, Mich.
Three leaflets:
“A Word to Parents on Sex Hygiene.” 6 pp.
“A Plain Talk with Boys.” For parents to tell boys from six to
fourteen years old. 4 pp.
“Some Plain Facts for Young Men upon Sexual Matters.” 6 pp. Single
copies upon request with postage; 25 cents per 100.
ST. LOUIS SOCIETY FOR SOCIAL HYGIENE.
4069 Shenandoah Ave., St. Louis, Missouri.
Two circulars:
“A Plain Talk with Boys on Sex Hygiene.” 4 pp.
“The Effect of Venereal Diseases on Young Men.” 4 pp.
Samples upon request.
THE SOCIETY OF SANITARY AND MORAL PROPHYLAXIS.
105 West Fortieth St., New York City.
Educational pamphlets:
“The Young Man’s Problem.” 32 pp.
“Instruction in the Physiology and Hygiene of Sex.” For teachers. 24
pp.
“The Boy Problem.” For parents and teachers. 32 pp.
“How My Uncle, the Doctor, Instructed Me in Matters of Sex.” 32 pp.
“Health and Hygiene of Sex.” 32 pp.
Each 10 cents.
THE OREGON SOCIAL HYGIENE SOCIETY.
719 Selling Building, Portland, Oregon.
Five circulars:
“The Four Sex Lies.” 4 pp.
“When and How to Tell the Children.” 8 pp.
“Books for Use in the Family on Sex Education.” 2 pp.
“The Secret of Strength.” For younger boys, ten to thirteen years of
age. 6 pp.
“Virility and Physical Development.” For older boys, thirteen to
eighteen years of age. 8 pp.
PENNSYLVANIA SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF SOCIAL DISEASE.
1708 Locust St., Philadelphia, Penna.
“The Social Evil in University Life.” Robert N. Willson, M.D. 1912.
Reprint from the New York _Medical News_. 19 pp.
Prices upon request.
THE TEXAS STATE SOCIETY OF SOCIAL HYGIENE.
T. Y. Hull, M.D., Secretary, San Antonio, Texas.
“Instructions Our Children Need to Form Ideas of Personal Purity.”
Malone Duggan, M.D. 10 pp.
“The Child.” Theo. Y. Hull, M.D. Reprint from _Club Woman’s Argosy_,
December, 1910. 8 pp.
THE SOCIETY OF SOCIAL AND MORAL HYGIENE OF SEATTLE.
League Building, Seattle, Washington.
“Stamp Out the Black Plague.” An envelope containing three
circulars:
“Four Sex Lies.”
“The Black Plague.”
“Why, What, When and How Parents should Instruct Children in Sex
Matters.”
Samples and prices upon request.
THE SPOKANE SOCIETY OF SOCIAL AND MORAL HYGIENE.
422 Old National Bank Building, Spokane, Washington.
Five circulars: “The Need for Education in Sexual Hygiene.” 4 pp.
“A Frank Talk with Boys and Girls About Their Birth.” Children six
to ten. 4 pp.
“A Straight Talk with Boys About Their Birth and Early Boyhood.”
Boys ten to thirteen. 4 pp.
“A Plain Talk with Boys About Their Physical Development.” For boys
approaching puberty and during puberty. 6 pp.
“Sexual Hygiene for Young Men.” 8 pp.
Sample Set upon request for 10 cents in stamps.
The following books, among others, are recommended:
“Truths. Talks with a Boy.” Dr. E. B. Lowry, Forbes & Co., Chicago.
“From Youth to Manhood.” Dr. Winfield S. Hall. Association Press. New
York.
“What a Father Should Tell His Little Boy.” Isabelle T. Smart. Bodmer
& Co., New York.
“What a Father Should Tell His Son.” Isabelle T. Smart. Bodmer & Co.,
New York.
“The Renewal of Life. How and When to Tell the Story to the Young.”
Margaret W. Morley, A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago.