At first, only the names of the parts will be given, with such slight
comments and explanations as are necessary for making this part of the
subject clear. A detailed setting forth of the functions and proper
exercise of these organs will be given later.
The sex organs in a male human being consists, broadly speaking, of
the penis and the testicles. All these are located at the base of the
abdomen, between the thighs and on the forward part of the body. The
penis is a fleshy, muscular organ, filled with most sensitive nerves,
and blood vessels that are capable of extension to a much greater
degree than any of their similars in other parts of the body. In a
quiescent, or unexcited condition, in the average man, this organ is
from three to four inches long and about an inch or more in diameter.
It hangs limp and pendent in this state, retired and in evidence not
at all. In its excited, or tumescent condition (the word tumescent
means swelled, and is the technical word for describing the erect
condition of the penis) it becomes enlarged and rigid, its size in
this state being, on an average, six or seven inches long, and from
an inch-and-a-half to two inches in diameter. It is almost perfectly
cylindrical, slightly thicker at the base than at its forward part.
The testicles are two kidney shaped glands, not far from the size of
a large hickory nut, and are contained in a sort of sack, or pocket,
called the scrotum, which is made for their comfortable and safe
carrying. The scrotum hangs directly between the thighs, at the base
of the penis, and in it are the testicles, suspended by vital cords
that are suspended from the body above. The left testicle hangs a
little higher in the sack than the right, so that, in case the thighs
are crowded together, one testicle will slip over the other, and so
the danger of crushing them will be avoided. This is one of the many
ways which the Maker of the human body has devised to insure the
proper preservation of the vital organs from harm, a fact which
should inspire all human beings with profound reverence for this most
wonderful of all life forms, the beautiful human body, the "temple of
the Holy Spirit."
The part of the body upon which the sex organs, male and female, are
located is known as the pubic region. It is covered with hair, which,
in both sexes, extends well up the lower belly. This is known as pubic
hair, and in general corresponds in quality and quantity to the hair
upon the individual head, being coarse or fine, soft or bristly, to
match, the head covering, in each case. This hair is usually more or
less curly, and forms a covering an inch or more in depth over the
whole pubic region, extending back between the thighs slightly beyond
the rectum. In occasional cases this hair is straight and silky, and
sometimes grows to great length, instances being known, in some women,
where it has extended to the knees. A well-grown and abundant supply
of fine pubic hair is a possession highly prized by women, of which
they are justly proud, though few of them would acknowledge the fact,
even to themselves. None the less it is a fact.
The female sex organs, speaking generally also, are as follows: The
vulva, or outward portion of the parts; the vaginal passage; the
uterus, or womb, and the ovaries. All but the first named lie within
the body of the woman. The vulva is made up of several parts which
will be named and described later. The vaginal passage is a tube, or
canal leading from the vulva to the womb. In length and diameter it
corresponds almost exactly with that of the penis, being six or seven
inches in depth, and capable of a lateral extension which will
readily admit the entrance of the male organ when the two are brought
together. The vaginal passage opens into, and terminates in the
uterine, or womb cavity.
The womb is a pear shaped sack which is suspended in the womb cavity
by cords and muscles from above. It hangs, neck downwards, and is, in
its unimpregnated condition, about two and a half inches in diameter
at its upper, or widest part, tapering to a thin neck at its lower
end. It is hard and muscular in its quiescent state, filled with
delicate and most sensitive nerves and capacious blood vessels. At its
lower, or neck end, it opens directly into the vaginal passage.
The ovaries are two in number, and are situated on each side of, and
above the womb, in the region of the upper groins. They are small, fan
shaped glands, and are connected with the uterus by small ducts which
are known as the fallopian tubes.
As already stated, the exterior parts of the body, in which the female
sex organs are located, are covered with hair for their adornment and
protection.
Such in brief, are the male and female sex organs in human beings. A
further description of them and their functions and proper use we are
now ready to consider.
V
THE FUNCTION OF THE SEX ORGANS
It hardly need be stated here, for it is a matter of common knowledge,
that the _primary_ purpose of sex in the human family is the
reproduction of the race. In this respect, considered merely on its
material, or animal side, mankind differs little from all other forms
of animate life. As Whitman says, we see "everywhere sex, everywhere
the urge of procreation." The flowers are possessed of this quality,
and with them all vegetable forms. In the animal kingdom the same is
true. Always "male and female" is everything created.
And the chief facts in reproduction are practically the same wherever
the phenomena occur. Here, as everywhere else in the world, when a
new life-form appears, it is always the result of the union of _two_
forces, elements, germs or whatsoever. These two elements differ
in nature and in function, and each is incomplete and worthless by
itself. It is only by the combining of the two that any new result
is obtained. It is this fact that has led to the most suggestive and
beautiful phrase "The duality of all unity in nature."
Many centuries ago an old Latin philosopher wrote the now celebrated
phrase, _Omne ex ovo_, which, translated, means _everything is from an
egg_. This is practically true of all life-forms. Their beginning
is always from an ovum, or egg. In this respect, the reproduction of
human beings is the same as that of any other life-form.
Now in this process of producing a new life-form, the female is always
the source of the egg, out of which the new creation is to come. This
egg, however, is infertile of itself, and must be given life to, by
mingling with its germ, an element which only the male can produce
and supply. This element is technically known as a sperm, or a
spermatozoa. Its function is to fertilize the dormant germ in the
egg produced by the female, and thus to start a new and independent
life-form. This life-form, thus started, grows according to the laws
of its becoming more and more, until, at the expiration of a fixed
period, which varies greatly in different animals, it becomes a
complete young individual, of the nature and kind of its parents.
The fertilization of the ovum in the female is called conception;
its growing state is called gestation, and its birth, on becoming a
separate being, is called parturition. In its growing condition, and
before its birth, the new young life form is known as the foetus.
Now it is the fertilization of the ovum in the female (and from now
on, it is only of the male and female in the human family that mention
will be made) by the male, in the woman, by the man, that is of
supreme interest and importance to both the parties concerned in
producing this result. How this is brought about is substantially as
follows:
As already stated, the infertile ovum, or egg, is produced by the
woman. Such production begins at what is known as the age of puberty,
or when the hair begins to grow upon the pubic parts of the female
body. The time of the appearance of this phenomenon in feminine life
varies from the age of nine or ten years to fifteen or sixteen. The
average, for most girls, is fourteen years of age. At this time
the formation of ova, or eggs, in the female body begins, and it
continues, in most women, at regular intervals of once in twenty-eight
days, except during pregnancy and lactation, for a period of about
thirty years. During all this time, under favorable conditions, it is
possible for the ovum produced by the woman to become fertilized, if
it can meet the sperm of the male.
In a general way, this meeting of the infertile ovum of the woman with
the sperm of the man can be brought about, as follows:
The ova are produced by the ovaries (the word ovaries means egg
producers) where they slowly develop from cells which originate
in these glands. When they have reached maturity, or are ready for
fertilization, they pass out of the ovaries and down into the womb, by
way of the fallopian tubes. As already stated, such passage of the ova
from the ovaries into the womb occurs every twenty-eight days, and
it is accomplished by a more or less copious flow of blood, a sort of
hemorrhage, which carries the ova down through the fallopian tubes,
and deposits them in the womb. This blood, after performing its
mission of carrying the ova down into the womb, escapes from the
body through the vaginal passage and is cared for by the wearing of
a bandage between the thighs. This flow of blood continues for about
five days, and is known as a menstrual flow; and this time in a
woman's life is known as the menstrual period. It is so named because
of the regularity of its recurrence, the word _mensa_ meaning a
_month_. In common parlance, these periods are often spoke of as the
"monthlies."
After the ovum has reached the womb it remains there for a period of
about ten days, after which, if it is not fertilized during that time,
it passes out of the womb into the vaginal passage, and so out of the
body. But if, at any time after it is ripe for fertilization, that is,
from the time it begins its journey from the ovaries to the womb,
and while it is in the womb, the ovum is met by the male sperm, it is
_liable_ to become fertilized--conception is possible. These are facts
of the _utmost importance_, to be thoroughly understood and kept well
in mind by all married people who would live happily together, as will
be hereafter shown.
So much regarding the female part of the meeting of the ovum and the
sperm. The male part of this mutual act is as follows:
The sperm, or spermatozoa, originate in the testicles. Each sperm is
an individual entity and _several thousands_ of them are produced
and in readiness for use, _at each meeting_ of the male and female
generative organs; and if _any one_ of the countless number comes in
contact with the unfertilized ovum in the womb, conception is _liable_
to result.
These sperms are so small that they are not visible to the naked eye,
but they are readily seen by the use of a microscope. In shape they
much resemble tad-poles in their earliest stages.
At the base of the penis, well up in the man's body, there is a large
gland which surrounds the penis like a thick ring, and which is called
the prostate gland. It secretes a mucous fluid which looks much like,
and is about the consistency of the white of an egg. Close to this
gland, and almost a part of it, is a sack, or pocket, into which the
mucous secretion from the prostate gland is poured, and where it is
kept, ready for use, in performing its part of the germinal act.
Now it is the business of this mucous fluid, which comes from the
prostate gland, to form a "carrying medium" for the spermatozoa which
originate in the testicles. There are small ducts leading from the
testicles into the pocket which contains the prostate fluid. These are
known as the seminal ducts, and through them the spermatozoa pass
from the testicles into the prostate pocket. Here they mingle with the
prostate fluid, in which they can move about freely, and by means of
which they can be carried wherever this fluid goes. The combination of
prostate fluid and spermatozoa is called "semen."
Seen under a microscope, a single drop of semen reveals a multitude of
spermatozoa swimming about in the prostate-carrying medium. It is in
this form that the vitalizing male element meets the female infertile
ovum. This mass of live and moving germs is poured all around and
about the region in which the ovum lies waiting to be fertilized, and
every one of them seems to be "rushing about like mad" to find what it
is sent to do, namely, to meet and fertilize the ovum. The manner of
depositing the semen where it can come in contact with the ovum is as
follows:
In order that this mingling of the male and female sources of life may
be possible, it is necessary that there be a union of the male and the
female generative organs. For such meeting, the penis is filled with
blood, all its blood vessels being distended to their utmost capacity,
till the organ becomes stout and hard, and several times its dormant
size, as has been already told. In this condition it is able to
penetrate, to its utmost depths, the vaginal passage of the female,
which is of a nature to perfectly contain the male organ in this
enlarged and rigid condition. Under such conditions, the penis
is inserted into the widened and distended vaginal passage. Once
together, a mutual back and forth, or partly in and out movement, of
the organs is begun and carried on by the man and woman, which action
further enlarges the parts and raises them to a still higher degree
of tension and excitement. It is supposed by some that this frictional
movement of the parts develops an electrical current, which increases
in tension as the act is continued; and that it is the mission of the
pubic hair, which is a non-conductor, to confine these currents to the
parts in contact.
Now there are two other glands in these organs; one in the male and
one in the female, which performs a most wonderful function in this
part of the sexual act. These are the "glans penis" in the male and
the "clitoris" in the female. The first is located at the apex of the
male organ, and the other at the upper-middle and exterior part of the
vulva. These glands are covered with a most delicate cuticle, and
are filled with highly sensitive nerves. As the act progresses, these
glands become more and more sensitized, and nervously surcharged,
until, as a climax, they finally cause a sort of nervous explosion of
the organs involved. This climax is called an "orgasm" in scientific
language. Among most men and women it is spoken of as "spending."
On the part of the man, this orgasm causes the semen, which till this
instant has remained in the prostate pocket, to be suddenly driven
out of this place of deposit, and thrown in jets, and with spasmodic
force, through the entire length of the penis, and, as it were, shot
into the vaginal passage and the uterine cavity, till the whole region
is literally deluged with the life-giving fluid. At the same time,
the mouth of the womb opens wide; and into it pours, or rushes, this
"father stuff," entirely surrounding and flooding the ovum, if it be
in the womb. This is the climax of the sexual act, which is called
"coitus," a word which means, going together.
With the myriads of spermatozoa swarming about it, if the vital part
of the ovum comes in contact with some one of them, any one of which,
brought into such contact, will fertilize it, conception results. The
woman is then pregnant, and the period of gestation is begun.
This is a brief description of the act of coitus and of the means by
which pregnancy takes place. It is, however, only a small part of the
story of the sex relations of husbands and wives; and, be it said, a
_very_ small part of that, as will now be shown.
As has already been said, this use of the sex organs, merely to
produce progeny, and so insure a continuance of the race, is a quality
that mankind shares with all the rest of the animal kingdom. In all
essentials, so far as the material parts of the act are concerned, the
beginnings of the new life in the human family differ not a whit from
that of any other mammals. In each case the ovum is produced by the
ovaries of the female, passes into the womb, is there met by the semen
from the male, fertilized by the spermatozoa, and so the foetus gets
its start. This is the universal means by which the beginnings of all
animal reproductive life takes place.
But there is another phase in the sex life of human beings, which is
_entirely different_ from that of all other animals, and which must
therefore be considered beyond all that needs to be said regarding the
act of coitus for reproductive purposes only. This we are now ready to
consider and study.
Now in all animals, except human beings, the act of coitus is only
permitted by the female, (it would seem is only _possible_ for her)
when the ovum is present in the womb and ready to be fertilized. _At
all other times, all female animals, except woman, are practically
sexless_. Their sexual organs are dormant, and _nothing can arouse
them_ to activity. Not only do they fail to show any desire for
coitus, but if an attempt should be made to force it upon them, _they
would resist it_ to the utmost of their strength.
But when the ovum is present in the womb, these same female animals
are beside themselves with desire for coitus. They are then spoken of
as "in heat." And until they are satisfied, by meeting the male and
procuring from him the vitalizing fluid which will fertilize their
infertile ovum; or, failing in this, until the ovum passes away from
them, out of the womb, they know no rest. At such times they will
run all risks, incur all sorts of danger, do every possible thing to
secure pregnancy. The thousand-and-one ways which female animals use
to make known to their male mates their sexual desire and needs, when
in heat, is a most interesting and wonderful story, a record made up
of facts which would be well worth any student's knowing. But as all
such knowledge can readily be procured from books which are within the
reach of all, there is no need of noting the data here.
But now, _in woman, all these things are different!_ As a matter of
fact, the presence of the ovum in the womb of a normally made woman
_makes little, and, in many cases, no difference whatever_ as regards
her status concerning the act of coitus! That is, women are never
"in heat," in the same sense in which other female animals are. To be
sure, in some cases, though they are rare, some women are conscious
of a greater desire for coitus just after the ceasing of the menstrual
flow; that is, when the ovum is in the womb. But such cases are so
infrequent that they may well be counted atavistic, that is, of the
nature of a tendency to return to a previous merely animal condition.
For the most part, it is true of all normal women that the presence of
the ovum in the womb makes little difference, one way or another, in
regard to their desire for, or aversion to, the act of coitus.
Now the fact of this remarkable difference in the sex-status of women
and the same quality in all other female animals leads us to a great
number of interesting, not to say startling, conclusions, some of
which are as follows:
In the first place, the phenomenon clearly establishes the fact that
sex in the female human being _differs, pronouncedly_, from that of
all other female life. For, whereas, among all females except woman,
coitus is _impossible_, except at certain times and seasons, among
women the act can not only be permitted, but is as much possible or
_desired_ at one time as any other, regardless of the presence or
absence of the ovum in the womb. That is (and this point should be
noted well by the reader) there is a _possibility_, on the part of
the female humanity, for coitus, _under conditions that do not at all
obtain in any other female animal life_.
This is a conclusion which is of such far-reaching importance that its
limits are but dimly recognized, even in the clear thinking of most
married people. The fact of such difference is known to them, and
their practices in living conform to the conditions; but what it all
means, they are entirely ignorant of, _and they never stop to think
about it_.
And yet, _right here is the very center and core of the real success
or failure of married life_! Around this fact are grouped all the
troubles that come to husbands and wives. About it are gathered all
the joys and unspeakable delights of the happily married--the only
truly married. It is these items which make a knowledge of the real
conditions which exist, regarding this part of married life, of such
supreme importance. If these conditions could be rightly understood,
and the actions of husbands and wives could be brought to conform to
the laws which obtain under them, _the divorce courts would go out of
business_, their occupation, like Othello's, would be "gone indeed."
The first conclusion, then, one that is forced upon the thoughtful
mind by the fact of this difference in the sex possibilities of women
and other female animals, is, as already stated, but which is here
repeated for emphasis, that coitus _can_ be engaged in _by women_ when
_pregnancy_ is _not_ its purpose, on her part; and that _this never
occurs in any other form of female life!_
In view of this fact, is it too much to raise the question whether or
not sex in woman is designed to fulfill any other purpose than that of
the reproduction of the race? True it is, that the _only_ function
of sex in all other females is merely that of producing offspring--of
perpetuating its kind. Under no circumstances does it _ever_ serve
_any_ other end, fulfill any other design. _There is no possibility of
its doing so_!
But one can help wondering if it is not true that, with the existence
of the _possibility_ of engaging in coitus _at will_, rather than
at the bidding of _instinct_ alone, there has also come a _new_ and
_added_ function for the sex-natures that are capable of engaging
in such before-unknown experiences? To a fair-minded person, such
conclusion seems not only logical, but irresistible! That is in view
of this conclusion, it naturally follows that sex in the human family
is _positively designed to fulfill a function that is entirely unknown
to all other forms of animal life_. And from this, it is but a step to
the establishment of the fact that _sex exercise in the human family
serves a purpose other than that of reproduction_!
Now, this fact established, a whole world of new issues arises and
demands settlement. Among these, comes the supreme question: _What is
the nature of this new experience that has been conferred upon human
beings, over and above what is vouchsafed to any other form of animal
life? What purpose can it serve? How can it be properly exercised?
What is right and what is wrong under these new possibilities_? These
are some of the issues that _force_ themselves upon all thoughtful
people, _those who wish to do right under any and all circumstances in
which they are placed_.
Of course, here as elsewhere, the unthinking, the happy-go-lucky and
the "don't-give-a-damn," can blunder along in almost any-old-way.
But they can, and will, reap only the reward which always follows
blundering and ignorance. In these days of scientific clear-thinking,
we have come to understand that _salvation from sin comes by the way
of positive knowledge and not at the hands of either ignorance
or innocence_! If husbands and wives ever attain to the highest
conditions of married life, it can only be after they _know and
practice, what is right in all their sex relations, both for
reproductive purposes and in all other respects! Note that well_!