Strangechord

In case you’re interested, I’ve posted my final research paper for my History of Sexualities class: “Orgasm over Eighty Years: Women’s Sexual Pleasure in America, 1880-1960″. It was incredibly time consuming to research and write, but at least the subject matter was fascinating. Here’s an excerpt on masturbation:

Physicians and Freudians may have been championing the theory that vaginal orgasms were superior, but the truth is that many women were having whatever kind of orgasms came easiest and most pleasurably for them. Female masturbation was held in deep contempt prior to Freud, now the clitoral orgasms it produced were pathological as well. Havelock Ellis and others were troubled by female masturbation; they believed it caused “marital aversion” in women (Maines, 56). Even more distressing to experts, however, was the idea of married women masturbating. Their behavior, Maines writes, “raised doubts about the ideal of mutual bliss in coitus” (56). Despite the number of authorities who disapproved, women were masturbating anyway. “During the 1920’s, Katharine B. Davis surveyed 2,200 women about their sex lives and found that a majority of those born after 1850 reported masturbating to orgasm.” (Freedman, 200)

If you’re interested in exploring the subject further, be sure to check out the works cited section; those references make for titillating reading. (Thanks again to Cleis for the Hypatia article.) Enjoy!