sex in the 1800s

SEX IN THE 1800’s:

SEX IN THE 1800’s BY AMANDA DESCHENES AND KEL CENGA

Contraception:

Contraception People, who don’t have sex, don’t need contraception. People who are abstinent will say “no.” In the 1830’s contraceptives such as diaphragms (womb veils), drugs to induce abortions, condoms, aphrodisiacs, and cures for sexually transmitted infections were advertised.

Types of Contraceptives:

Types of Contraceptives Withdrawal; full withdrawal & partial withdrawal Douching Rhythm; modern science thought ovulation occurred at the start of menstruation instead of in the middle of a women’s cycle and their timing was usually off. Condoms Diaphragms or Womb Veils IUDs & Nursing; they thought nursing a baby kept you from getting pregnant

CONDOMS:

CONDOMS Condom manufacturing was revolutionized by the discovery of rubber vulcanization (turning rubber into strong elastic material) by Goodyear (founder of the tire company) and Hancock. This meant that is was possible to mass produce rubber goods including condoms quickly and cheaply.

More about CONDOMS:

More about CONDOMS In 1861,the first advertisement for condoms was published in an American newspaper when The New York Times printed an ad for 'Dr. Power's French Preventatives.' In 1873, the Comstock Law was passed. Named after Anthony Comstock, the Comstock Law made illegal the advertising of any sort of birth control, and it also allowed the postal service to confiscate condoms sold through the mail.

Birth Control:

Birth Control Then Before the 1800s there was no difference between sex for pleasure and sex for pregnancy Women worried about their right to say “no” to sex Men worried about their wives being faithful Now Worries revolve around cost, convenience, effectiveness and side effects.

Oral Sex:

Oral Sex Was considered unnatural because women could not become pregnant from it. Present in pornographic photography Men preferred women-to-women oral sex, and if he paid to watch one women do this to another he might then want to try it. Men in the 1800s who wanted to receive oral from a prostitute had to find a brothel or a girl with the reputation for giving it. Words to look for; “French”, French Talents”, “French-House”, “unnatural-practices”, and “indecent dances and dinners.” Blowjobs were considered kinky and were more costly.

(Mass)turbation Panic:

(Mass) turbation Panic Masturbation was well-known and practiced in the 1800’s. In the middle of the century an anti-masturbation panic arose and described masturbation as an evil. Physicians in a modern insane asylum discovered their patients masturbated. These physicians published articles claiming masturbation caused insanity.

STD’S:

STD’S Prior to the invention of modern medicines, sexually transmitted diseases were generally incurable, and treatment was limited to treating the symptoms of the disease.

STD’S CONT.:

STD’S CONT. The development of the sulpha drugs and more potent antibiotics provided a wider range of effective drugs against these diseases. It was apparent however that these did not cure diseases, and that public health advice and personal hygiene education were also necessary.

VIP’s in the World of STD’s:

VIP’s in the World of STD’s Philippe Ricord (1799-1889) proved John Hunters self-experiment wrong in 1838, thus showing that syphilis and gonorrhea are not the same disease. Rudolph Virchow (1821-1902) established that syphilis was spread through the body by the blood, explaining the known cardiovascular, muscular, and psychiatric complications. At the turn of the twentieth century up to a third of inmates in mental asylums were known to be suffering fromm tertiary syphilis

References:

References http://www.avert.org/condoms.htm http://www.answers.com/topic/sexually-transmitted-diseases-a-brief-history http://www.jstor.org.prxy8.ursus.maine.edu/stable/2708454?&Search=yes&searchText=prostitution&searchText=1800&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dprostitution%2B1800%26acc%3Don%26wc%3Don&prevSearch=&item=5&ttl=2702&returnArticleService=showFullText http://www.soiled-doves.com/ http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/21375/the_real_lives_of_prostitutes_of_the_pg3.html?cat=37

VIP CONT.:

VIP CONT. German bacteriologist Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915) announced the efficacy of Salvarsan , an arsenic-based treatment for syphilis. A diagnostic test was devised, which was important as it allowed the disease to be detected in those afflicted not yet displaying the symptoms; they could then be advised on how to prevent or minimize passing on the infection.

Fun Facts About Prostitution:

Fun Facts About Prostitution In the bigger cities between one-in-ten and one-in-twenty women were prostitutes; this would be an occasional job for these women. Brothels were plentiful and prostitutes could be found in almost every neighborhood. The pecking order: Courtesans or mistresses to the wealthy, parlor girls, cribs rented for prostitutes, streetwalkers, and finally signboard girls. A full-time prostitute could usually find friendship in another prostitute; sometimes as friends and sometimes as sexual partners. For many the main source of companionship was either their children or pets, and some prostitutes that were jealous, competitive, or socially challenged would fight or call the authorities on other prostitutes to make them feel better about themselves. Before 1855, the average age of consent for American girls was 10 to 12.

How It’s Done:

How It’s Done Three different types of prostitution, tailored to today and the 1800’s: Street prostitution: The prostitute or "streetwalker" solicits customers while waiting at street corners, usually dressed in skimpy clothing, commonly associated with a pimp. Escort/Out-call prostitution- In escort prostitution, the act takes place at the customer's place of residence or more commonly at his or her hotel room. This form of prostitution often shelters under the umbrella of escort agencies. They usually advertise their services in newspapers, magazines . Brothels- are establishments specifically dedicated to prostitution, often confined to special red-light districts in big cities. There are many other services prostitutes offer to clients

Out West:

Out West Mining towns, cow towns, logging camps and large cities were popular centers of prostitute activity. Also in e nd of track towns across the western United States along with army settlements like Hays and Leavenworth, or any frontier boom town. Red light districts and saloons provided the only entertainment and recreation for the men, most of whom were bachelors living lonely lives, alone for weeks or months at a time.

What’s My Name:

What’s My Name Many names for prostitutes included: sportin ' women, soiled or prairie doves, frail sisters, public women, ladies of ill-fame, ladies of easy virtue, nymphs du prairie, women of the rehab, women of evil name and fame, demimonde, frail sisters, scarlet ladies, calico queens, horizontal experts, fallen women, purveyors of  pleasure, red light ladies, faeries of the half-world, brides of the multitude and more.

How Much, Baby?:

How Much, Baby? Prices varied for the ladies depending on their location, age and ethnic background On San Francisco's Barbary Coast, fees ranged from 25¢ for a Mexican woman to $1 for an American. The regular rate in the cribs occupied by African American, Chinese or Japanese girls was 50¢, while the French women sold their favors for 75¢. Even higher prices than any of these were sometimes obtained by prostitutes of unusual youth and attractiveness and particularly red-haired women. It was a popular superstition in San Francisco for many years that a woman with auburn braids was exceedingly amorous and that a red-haired Jewess was the most passionate of all.

Life Expectancy (Not a Reference to Pregnancy) :

Life Expectancy (Not a Reference to Pregnancy) By the time a prostitute was thirty-five or forty years old, they were considered long past their prime, and were reduced to being streetwalkers or living in poverty until they died. Some women who started as prostitutes went on to become madams, and run their own houses of ill-repute . Popular Forms of Death Many prostitutes died young, and in poverty Suicide Drinking to Death Overdose on laudanum, a form of liquid opium . Others were killed violently, caught in bar brawls, shot for stealing a man's money when he was sleeping or passed out, killed by jealous customers or other prostitutes. Tuberculosis S yphilis B otched abortions, because birth control was primitive, and having a child meant loss of money and time working.

Also!:

Also! Women could be seamstresses, laundresses, milliners, waitresses or teachers, but in the small western towns, these jobs were quickly filled, which left other women to find other ways to live and eat. Prostitutes could be as young as fourteen, and as old as forty. The average age of a prostitute in the Old West was about twenty-three years old.

Why?:

Why? During the 1800s the majority of prostitutes were young, usually illiterate, poor and from broken families. These women had a limited number of options available to them during the nineteenth century and because of that, some turned to prostitution as a means of survival. Immigrant women arriving without money or brought into the country forcibly, as with many Asian women, had only prostitution as a way to make money. Some could escape from typical professions by doing prostitution. Some undertook this way of life as temporary until something better came along.