Richard Burton - "Sexual Inversion in Women" from Sexual Inversion (1901) lyrics

From: Havelock Ellis, Studies in the Psychology of Sex: Sexual Inversion, Philadelphia, FA Davis Company, 1901. While the inverted woman is cold, or, at most, comradely, in her bearing toward men, she may become shy and confused in the presence of attractive persons of her own s**, even unable to undress in their presence, and full of tender ardor for the woman whom she loves. The pa**ion finds expression in sleeping together, kissing, and close embraces, with more or less s**ual excitement, the orgasm sometimes occurring when one lies on the other^s body or else in mutual masturbation; the extreme gratification is cunnilingus {in lamhendo lingua genitalia alterius), sometimes called sapphism. There is no connection, as was once supposed, between s**ual inversion in women and an enlarged cli*oris, which has very seldom been found in such cases, and never, so far as I am aware, to an extent that would permit of its use in coitus with another woman. While the methods mentioned are certainly those by which inverted women most usually attain s**ual satisfaction in their relationships, it must at the same time be added that the various phenomena of sadism, masochism, and fetichism which are liable to arise, spontaneously or by suggestion, in the relationships of normal lovers, as well as of male inverts, may also arise in the same way among inverted women, though, probably, not often in a very pronounced form. Moll, however, narrates a case {Kontrare Sexualempflndungj 1899, pp. 666-70) in which various minor, but very definite, perversions were combined with inversion, and on this account it may be of interest to refer to it briefly. The case was that of a young lady of 26, of good heredity, who from the age of 6 had only been attracted to her own s**, and even in childhood had practiced mutual ounnilingu&. She is extremely intelligent, and of generous and good-natured disposition, with various masculine tastes, but, on the whole, of feminine build and with completely feminine larynx. During the past seven years she has lived exclusively with one woman. She is able to find complete satisfaction in active ounnilingus, but prefers simultaneous mutual cunnilingus. (...) The inverted woman is an enthusiastic admirer of feminine beauty, especially of the statuesque beauty of the body, unlike, in this, the normal woman, whose s**ual emotion is but faintly tinged by esthetic feeling. In her s**ual habits we rarely find the degrees of promiscuity which is not uncommon among inverted men. I am inclined to agree with Moll, that h*mos**ual women love more faithfully and lastingly than h*mos**ual men.Sexually inverted women are not rarely married; Moll, from various confidences which he has received, believes that inverted women have not the same horror of normal coitus as inverted men; this is probably due to the fact that the women under such circumstances can retain a certain pa**ivity. In other cases there is some degree of psychos**ual hermaphroditism, although, as among inverted men, the h*mos**ual instinct seems usually to give the greater relief and gratification. It has been stated by many observers who are able to speak with some authority — in America, in France, in Germany, and in England — that h*mos**uality is increasing among women.It seems probable that this is true. There are many influences in our civilization to-day which encourage such manifestations. The modern movement of emancipation — the movement to obtain the same rights and duties, the same freedom and responsibility, the same education and the same work — must be regarded as, on the whole, a wholesome and inevitable movement. But it carries with it certain disadvantages. It has involved an increase in feminine criminality and in feminine insanity, which are being elevated toward the masculine standard. In connection with these we can scarcely be surprised to find an increase in h*mos**uality, which has always been regarded as belonging to an allied, if not the same, group of phenomena. Women are, very justly, coming to look upon knowledge and experience generally as their right as much as their brothers' right. But when this doctrine is applied to the s**ual sphere it finds certain limitations. Intimacies of any kind between young men and young women are as much discouraged socially now as ever they were; as regards higher education, the mere a**ociation of the s**es in the lecture-room or the laboratory or the hospital is discouraged In England and in America. Marriage is decaying, and, while men are allowed freedom, the s**ual field of women is becoming restricted to trivial flirtation with the opposite s**, and to intimacy with their own s**; having been taught independence of men and disdain for the old theory which placed women in the moated grange of the home to sigh for a man who never comes, a tendency develops for women to carry this independence still further and to find love where they find work. I do not say that these unquestionable influences of modern movements can directly cause s**ual inversion, though they may indirectly, in so far as they promote hereditary neurosis; but they develop the germs of it, and they probably cause a spurious imitation. This spurious imitation is due to the fact that the congenital anomaly occurs with special frequency in women of high intelligence who, voluntarily or involuntarily, influence others. The frequency of h*mos**ual practices among prostitutes is a fact of some interest, and calls for special explanation, for, at the first glance, it seems in opposition to all that we know concerning the exciting causes of h*mos**uality. Regarding the fact there can be no question. It has been noted by all who are acquainted with the lives of prostitutes, though opinion may differ as to its frequency; at Berlin, Moll was told in well-informed quarters, the proportion of prostitutes with Lesbian tendencies is about 25 per cent. This was precisely the proportion at Paris many years ago, according to Parent-Duchatelet, who investigated the matter minutely; to-day, according to Chevalier, it is larger; and Bourneville believes that 75 per cent, of the inmates of the Parisian venereal hospitals have practiced h*mos**uality. In London, so far as my inquiries extend, h*mos**uality among prostitutes is very much less prevalent, and in a well-marked form is confined to a comparatively small section. I am indebted to a friend for the following note: "From my experience of the Parisian prostitute, I gather that Lesbianism in Paris is extremely prevalent; indeed, one might almost say normal. ...It is evident 'that there must be some radical causes for the frequency of h*mos**uality among prostitutes. One such cause doubtless lies in the character of the prostitute's relations with men; these relations are of a professional character, and, as the business element becomes emphasized, the possibility of s**ual satisfaction diminishes; at the best, also, there lacks the sense of social equality, the feeling of possession, and scope for the exercise of feminine affection and devotion. ...It is interesting, in this connection, to recall the comparative frequency with which, in men, a love-disappointment with a woman serves to develop a h*mos**ual tendency. Apart from this it must be borne in mind that, in a very large number of cases, the prostitute shows in slight or more marked degree many of the signs of neurotic heredity, of physical and mental "degeneration^^; so that it is almost possible to look upon prostitutes as a special human variety an*logous toinstinctive criminals. The irregular life of the prostitute, the undue amount of s**ual irritation, and indulgence in alcohol still further emphasize this unbalancing influence; and so we have an undue tendency to h*mos**uality, just as we have it among criminals, and, to a much less extent, among persons of genius and intellect.