The Anti-Masturbation Movement In The Nineteenth Century

April R. Haynes, the authoress of Riotous Flesh, describes how and why there was an anti-masturbation movement targeted at women in the nineteenth century. The anti-masturbation movement of the nineteenth century, towards women, was first brought to public attention by Sebastian Graham. Graham had, in 1833, tried to talk to an only female audience about sex and anti-masturbation (Haynes 6). While Graham had already talked to men about anti-masturbation, he could not talk to women about it because massive riots would spring up when he tried. Riots happened because Graham was challenging because the theme behind it was that men and women were the same in nature (7). In other words, Graham was describing how women were not passionless and did have the same sexual nature as men. Graham’s talks were also challenging the moral …show more content…
This idea of women and men having equal sexual natures not only gave power to women, but it took away the patriarchal and libertine republican power that men had over women. Libertine republican power meaning that white men had more sexual liberties than those of women and colored people (7). Men who followed libertinage also saw Sylvester Graham’s lectures as a threat of amalgamation. Amalgamation is interracial intimacy or mixing of white and black people. While amalgamation does not have to be of a sexual nature, most people see it as being heavily applied. Libertine men saw amalgamation in Graham’s lectures because there was a mixed race of females attending his lectures (56). The two races of women attended because Graham alluded to the fact that both races had the ability of virtue. Virtue meaning that a person was able to govern themselves. If females of both races believed in this, then the power that males have over women would be