"Among the nations of Western civilization there is a conviction that there is only one correct position in the sexual act, that all other varieties are indecent and should not even be mentioned," wrote sexologist William Martin in 1935. And he insisted that it is high time to overthrow this archaic superstition.
Martin was one of the handful of the most progressive sex professionals. At the beginning of the 20th century, the medical community was still dominated by delicacies, convinced that looking for a change in love life not only leads to debauchery, but even to the destruction of the organism. For example, the authors of Self-Rape (Masturbation) in Men and Women in 1908, they likened sex in any position other than traditional to masturbation - the worst plague to plague mankind.
How would I get down to business…. Not in a missionary position! Illustration from the book “The epoch of hypocrisy. Sex and erotica in pre-war Poland ”by Kamil Janicki.
First sex master
War against such views was declared in the interwar period by Theodoor Hendrik Van de Velde, author of A Perfect Marriage - the first sex manual in modern Europe with a detailed guide to erotic techniques and positions . It was apparently a book like many.
Only in Polish in the interwar period there were published at least a dozen collections of advice for newlyweds and another as many - compendiums on sexual life. But their authors could only dream of success like van de Velde.
The first edition of A Perfect Marriage was published in German in 1926, immediately conquering the publishing market. It had been reprinted forty-two times by 1932. Neither the fact that she was included in the Index of Forbidden Books nor the words of indignation from all over the world hurt her. There were over forty editions in the English version, and seven hundred thousand copies were sold. The first Polish edition was published as early as 1935.
The article is based on the book by Kamil Janicki entitled "The age of hypocrisy. Sex and erotica in pre-war Poland ” . Click and buy with a discount on empik.com ,
What to do to make the bliss last?
The Dutch physician launched a crusade against ignorance for the sake of the permanence of the marriage. He argued that no relationship could do without some changes in the bedroom. " All delight, as already stated by the ancients (...), can be permanent when it is not uniform . From this point of view, therefore, the matter discussed here is very important for marital happiness, "he wrote.
William Martin, the author of the book Rational Sexual Life , also spoke in the same vein. . He explained that "very serious hygiene considerations speak for trying a number of other items" . This is a characteristic argument. Propagated in the interwar period, the "love technique" had an eminently pragmatic overtone.
Sex very pragmatic
It was about improving the condition of marriages, facilitating the fertilization process, and protecting them during periods of illness. And only in the last place - for physical pleasure. For example, the Dutch gynecologist pointed out that "the arrangement, allowing the sperm to ejaculate deep inside the vagina, promotes the immediate entry of sperm into the uterus ”.
Even for the most progressive specialists, sex was first and foremost a means to an end - pregnancy. Illustration from The Encyclopedia of Sexual Life (1937).
The same effect was to have "leaving the vagina for some time after the penis act" . Fortunately, among these arguments, he did not completely forget about the erotic side of the issue:
The intensity of the pleasure is largely dependent on the orientation at mating. This dependence is manifold, as the quality of stimuli and the places of their action change simultaneously with the arrangement of the bodies during intercourse. (…) The scale of varieties of sexual pleasure is therefore very large.
Despite this, sexologists emphasized that most couples did not decide to experiment at all. William Martin of "normal alignment" wrote as follows:
"The recumbent position - male over female - is the natural position of people during mating. However, it is often the case that the constant use of the same heading results in overshadowing. ”
Van de Velde agreed that it was a technique used by everyone. Nevertheless, he decided to describe her in detail:“The woman is lying on her back with her thighs slightly bent and apart. The man is lying on top of the woman with his legs between hers. The man tries to reduce his body weight by leaning his elbows and knees on the mattress ”.
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Illustration from the pre-war erotic magazine "Cupid".
The verdict was as one might expect:"The excitement of" normal "intercourse, in a" normal "position, in a" normally "excitable spouse - is" normal ", that is, average (...). The intensity of the bliss is also average. ”
Real fireworks should be looked for elsewhere, but this is a topic for a separate article. Individual positions and sexual techniques, as well as aphrodisiacs, potency remedies and special erotic accessories will be presented in the next episodes of the "Pre-war school of sex" series. We will also look again at the very term "missionary position." In the 20s and 30s nobody used it because it did not exist yet. It will be invented right after the Second World War… and thanks to a certain Polish anthropologist.
Source:
The article was based on the literature and materials collected by the author during the work on the book The age of hypocrisy. Sex and erotica in pre-war Poland . This book was published as the first book under the brand of "Curiosities of history". Buy with a discount on empik.com.