Part 4

In 500 cases that have come under my own observation, the women concerned belonging to very various nationalities, the duration of the sexual life, as witnessed by the continuance of menstruation, was as follows:

Menstruation continued for:

6 years in 1 woman. 7 years in 1 woman. 9 years in 2 women. 11 years in 4 women. 15 years in 6 women. 16 years in 8 women. 17 years in 12 women. 18 years in 15 women. 19 years in 9 women. 20 years in 6 women. 21 years in 18 women. 22 years in 20 women. 23 years in 24 women. 24 years in 18 women. 25 years in 16 women. 26 years in 25 women. 27 years in 26 women. 28 years in 29 women. 29 years in 36 women. 30 years in 22 women. 31 years in 32 women. 32 years in 49 women. 33 years in 31 women. 34 years in 26 women. 35 years in 12 women. 36 years in 12 women. 37 years in 10 women. 38 years in 8 women. 39 years in 6 women. 40 years in 2 women. 43 years in 2 women. 45 years in 1 woman. 46 years in 1 woman.

Thus we see that the duration of the sexual life varies from 6 to 46 years. The most frequent duration is one of 32 years, next to this one of 29, next again, 31, 33, and 37 years, respectively. In 6 women only did the duration of the sexual life exceed 40 years, and in 4 only was it less than 11 years. In half of all my cases the duration of the sexual life was between 27 and 34 years, and from these figures we obtain an average duration of about 30 years.

For North Germany, _Krieger_ gives data from which it appears that in this region the average duration of the sexual life is 30.49 years. In more than half of the 722 cases recorded by this writer the duration was between 31 and 37 years. In isolated cases the duration was very short, not exceeding 8, 9, or 10 years, or, on the other hand, as long as 47 years; whilst the number of cases increased fairly regularly up to the duration of 34 years, and thereafter again diminished.

As regards Austria, _Szukits_ has collected information in the case of 269 women, and found, in these, that the duration of the sexual life varied from 12 to 45 years. The average duration was 29.16 years; in more than half of the women, the period of sexual activity lasted from 21 to 30 years; the shortest period observed was 12 years, the longest 45 years.

The period of sexual activity lasted:

12 years in 2 women. 14 years in 1 woman. 15 years in 2 women. 17 years in 3 women. 19 years in 3 women. 20 years in 17 women. 21 years in 10 women. 22 years in 7 women. 23 years in 5 women. 24 years in 17 women. 25 years in 7 women. 26 years in 13 women. 27 years in 5 women. 28 years in 26 women. 29 years in 18 women. 30 years in 17 women. 31 years in 8 women. 32 years in 8 women. 33 years in 13 women. 34 years in 8 women. 35 years in 18 women. 36 years in 19 women. 37 years in 14 women. 38 years in 9 women. 39 years in 8 women. 40 years in 1 woman. 42 years in 1 woman. 43 years in 1 woman. 44 years in 2 women. 45 years in 2 women.

In Poland, according to _Raciborski_, the duration of sexual activity is in Jewesses 23 years, but in women of Slavonic blood 31 years.

In France, according to _Courty_ and _Puech_, the usual duration of the sexual life is from 28 to 30 years.

According to _Puech_, among 10 women menstrual activity lasted:

33 years in 2 women. 35 years in 1 woman. 36 years in 2 women. 39 years in 2 women. 43 years in 2 women. 44½ years in 1 woman.

_Brierre de Boismont_ gives the following particulars of the duration of menstrual activity in 178 Frenchwomen:

5 years in 1 woman. 6 years in 1 woman. 8 years in 1 woman. 11 years in 1 woman. 16 years in 4 women. 17 years in 4 women. 18 years in 1 woman. 19 years in 3 women. 20 years in 3 women. 21 years in 4 women. 22 years in 3 women. 23 years in 12 women. 24 years in 8 women. 25 years in 8 women. 26 years in 11 women. 27 years in 7 women. 28 years in 6 women. 29 years in 7 women. 30 years in 13 women. 31 years in 13 women. 32 years in 9 women. 33 years in 9 women. 34 years in 7 women. 35 years in 5 women. 36 years in 10 women. 37 years in 6 women. 38 years in 5 women. 39 years in 2 women. 40 years in 7 women. 41 years in 1 woman. 42 years in 3 women. 44 years in 2 women. 48 years in 1 woman.

For England, _Tilt_ gives the mean duration of menstrual activity, as observed in 500 women, as 31.21 years; it varies between 11 and 47 years; there are more cases with a period of 34 years than with any other integral number of years. _Tilt_ found the duration to be:

11 years in 1 woman. 13 years in 1 woman. 15 years in 3 women. 16 years in 1 woman. 17 years in 2 women. 18 years in 4 women. 19 years in 1 woman. 20 years in 3 women. 21 years in 6 women. 22 years in 11 women. 23 years in 11 women. 24 years in 10 women. 25 years in 22 women. 26 years in 11 women. 27 years in 25 women. 28 years in 29 women. 29 years in 35 women. 30 years in 36 women. 31 years in 33 women. 32 years in 38 women. 33 years in 35 women. 34 years in 49 women. 35 years in 33 women. 36 years in 26 women. 37 years in 16 women. 38 years in 15 women. 39 years in 15 women. 40 years in 6 women. 41 years in 4 women. 42 years in 7 women. 43 years in 5 women. 44 years in 3 women. 45 years in 1 woman. 46 years in 1 woman. 47 years in 3 women.

For London the average figure is 34 years; for Paris, 30 years; for Vienna, 29 years; and for Berlin, 34 years.

From the data of various observers obtained from diverse nationalities, the following table has been compiled, exhibiting the mean duration of the sexual life:

_Comparative Table Showing the Duration of the Sexual Life in Various Nationalities._

┌───────────┬────────┬────────┬─────────┬──────────┬─────────┬───────┬───────┐ │ │Germany.│Austria.│ France. │ England. │Denmark. │Norway.│Russia.│ ├───────────┼────────┼────────┼─────────┼──────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────┤ │Number of │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ Cases │ 722 │ 265 │ 178 │ 500 │ 312 │ 391 │ 100 │ ├───────────┼────────┼────────┼─────────┼──────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────┤ │Mean │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ duration │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ of │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ menstrual│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ activity,│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ in years │ 30.4 │ 29.1 │ 29.1 │ 31.8 │ 27.9 │ 32 │ 31 │ ├───────────┼────────┼────────┼─────────┼──────────┼─────────┼───────┼───────┤ │Observers’ │Krieger,│ │ Brierre │ │ │ │ │ │ names │ L. │ │ de │ │ │Faye & │ │ │ │ Mayer. │Szukits.│Boismont.│Whitehead.│Hannover.│ Vogt. │Lieven.│ └───────────┴────────┴────────┴─────────┴──────────┴─────────┴───────┴───────┘

In the temperate zone the sexual life of woman lasts longer than in the colder and subarctic regions. Still more favorable is the contrast between the temperate zone and the countries of the tropics, in which the duration of the period of menstrual activity is limited to eighteen or twenty years. According to some isolated observations the duration of sexual activity in Arabian women in Africa was as little as nine years.

A certain influence on the duration of the sexual life is exercised by the commencement of menstruation at an earlier or later age than the average. The total duration of menstrual activity is more variable in women who begin to menstruate early than in women who begin to menstruate late, in whom the duration of the sexual life is a more regular one. In those women who begin to menstruate early the mean duration of the sexual life is about thirty-three years, in those who begin to menstruate late it is about twenty-seven years.

The following data, based on the observation of 250 cases, are published by _W. Guy_, regarding the duration of the sexual life, that is to say of menstrual activity, in women beginning to menstruate early and those beginning to menstruate late, respectively:

_Menstruation began._ _Duration of the sexual life._ In 5 cases in the 8th to the 10th year Averaging 36.60 years. In 70 cases in the 11th to the 13th year Averaging 33.65 years. In 110 cases in the 14th to the 16th year Averaging 30.85 years. In 56 cases in the 17th to the 19th year Averaging 28.35 years. In 9 cases in the 20th year or later Averaging 20.45 years.

A further analysis of these 250 cases is given by Guy in the following table:

_First appearance of menstruation._ _Average age at _Duration of which menstrual menstruation activity._ ceased, in years._ In 1 case in the 8th year 42 34 years. In 2 cases in the 9th year 46 37 years. In 2 cases in the 10th year 47 37 years. In 10 cases in the 11th year 47.10 36.10 years. In 29 cases in the 12th year 45.34 33.34 years. In 31 cases in the 13th year 46.16 33.16 years. In 39 cases in the 14th year 45.33 31.33 years. In 40 cases in the 15th year 46.30 31.30 years. In 41 cases in the 16th year 46.14 30.14 years. In 26 cases in the 17th year 45.18 28.18 years. In 19 cases in the 18th year 46.87 28.87 years. In 11 cases in the 19th year 46.18 27.18 years. In 5 cases in the 20th year 40.80 20.80 years. In 3 cases in the 21st year 41.66 20.66 years. In 1 case in the 23d year 41 18 years.

_Hannover_ also gives data respecting the relation between the duration of menstrual activity and the early or late appearance of menstruation. These data are tabulated as follows:

_First appearance of menstruation._ _Average age at _Duration of which menstrual menstruation activity._ ceased, in years._ In 5 cases in the 12th year 47.80 35.80 years. In 10 cases in the 13th year 45.89 32.89 years. In 50 cases in the 14th year 44.98 30.98 years. In 34 cases in the 15th year 45.56 30.56 years. In 38 cases in the 16th year 44.13 29.13 years. In 36 cases in the 17th year 43.00 26.00 years. In 49 cases in the 18th year 44.96 26.96 years. In 33 cases in the 19th year 44.79 25.79 years. In 38 cases in the 20th year 45.36 25.36 years. In 10 cases in the 21st year 44.10 23.10 years. In 4 cases in the 22d year 43.50 21.50 years. In 3 cases in the 23d year 44.33 21.33 years. In 4 cases in the 24th year 39.50 15.50 years.

Totals: In 412 cases the average age at the menopause was 44.82, and the average duration of menstrual activity was 27.973 years.

From the tables of _L. Mayer_, _Krieger_ has instituted a comparison between the duration of menstrual activity in 101 women who began to menstruate early and 180 women who began to menstruate late, finding in the case of the former a mean duration of 33.673 years, and in the case of the latter a mean duration of 27.344 years, showing therefore a sexual life longer on an average by 6.429 years in those in whom puberty was early as compared with those in whom puberty was late.

From the tables of _Tilt_, based on the observation of 164 cases, 76 women in whom menstruation appeared early and 88 in whom it appeared late, we learn that among the former the shortest duration of menstrual activity was 18 years, among the latter 12 years; among the former the longest duration was 37 years, among the latter only 33. The majority of those who began to menstruate early continued to menstruate for 28, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, or 39 years; those who began to menstruate late, for 23, 27, 28, 30, or 31 years. The mean duration of the sexual life in those who began to menstruate early was 33.66 years; in those who began to menstruate late it was 28.28 years. Since the average duration of the menstrual function is given by _Tilt_ as 31.33 years, those who began to menstruate early exceeded this average by 2.33 years, while those who began to menstruate late exhibited a duration of menstrual activity of at least three years less than the average.

In addition to climate, nationality, and the age at which menstruation begins, the sexual activity of women also exercises an influence on the duration of their sexual life, and of especial importance in this connection are the number of children born, and exercise or neglect of the function of lactation. From my own observations on this matter it appears, that in women who are healthy and of powerful constitution, whose reproductive organs have been sufficiently exercised, who have given birth to several children and have suckled these children themselves, the duration of menstrual activity is in general notably longer than in women whose circumstances have been just the opposite in these respects. Among the women in my own series of cases in whom menstrual activity lasted longest, of the 177 women in whom menstruation ceased between the forty-fifth and the fiftieth year of life, 1 only was unmarried, 2 were married but childless, 32 married with 1 or 2 children only, and 142 married and with more than 2 children; of the 89 women in whom menstruation ceased between the fiftieth and the fifty-fifth year of life, none were either unmarried or childless, 19 were married with 1 or 2 children, 17 married and with more than 2 children; of the 17 women in whom menstruation ceased later than the fifty-fifth year of life, there were 2 only with less than 2 children, but 10 who had each given birth to from 6 to 8 children. A similar influence is exercised by the function of lactation. Among 40 women who had not suckled their children, the average duration of menstrual activity was 4 years less than the general mean.

As regards the conditions of life, _L. Mayer_ affirms that the duration of sexual activity among well-to-do women is on the average a year and a half longer than among women of the working classes.

_Metschnikoff_ has drawn attention to the remarkable disharmony in the development of three of the phases of the sexual life of woman, inasmuch as the sexual impulse, the union of the sexes, and the capacity for procreation, which, considering their nature and purpose, might have been expected to be attuned so as to act in harmony, exhibit as a matter of fact no such relation; the different factors of the sexual function develop independently and unharmoniously. In a child not yet fitted to fulfil the function of procreation, the sexual impulse will none the less make its appearance, and be liable to misuse. In the girl the pelvis does not attain that complete development which fits it for the process of parturition until toward the age of twenty, whilst puberty occurs at the age of sixteen. “A girl of ten is capable of aspiring to play the part of a woman, but not before the age of sixteen is she fitted to play that part, nor indeed fitted to become a mother before the age of twenty.”

In general, we may say, regarding the women of our own part of the world, that in those who are healthy, who lead a regular life, are well fed, free from the pressure of anxieties, with their sexual functions sufficiently exercised, the duration of the sexual life is longer than in women whose circumstances are the reverse of those just enumerated. It is a sign of decadence when women of the well-to-do classes, leading a life of ease, manifest a diminished duration of the sexual life. The greatest physical power and the highest ethical development are associated with a lengthening of life in general, and associated also with a lengthening alike in the sexual life of woman and the sexual potency of man. A decline in morals and culture entails a diminution of sexual vital capacity, this being true alike of individuals, of families, and of nations. Woman is venerated and valued the more, the longer the duration of her sexual life; a woman in whom the sexual life is short quickly loses value and significance, both in domestic and in social circles.

The social significance of the sexual life of woman is disproportionately greater and farther reaching than the sexuality of the male, as the former is concerned with the fundamental principles of human social life, influencing the constitution of the family, and controlling the good of the coming race. Sexual purity, which to the youth is a romantic dream, is to the maiden a vital condition of existence; adultery, in the husband a pardonable transgression, is in the wife an overwhelming sin committed against family life. To the freedom of the male in affairs of love is opposed the strict restraint of the female, based on monogamic marriage. The sexual needs and desires of the female are transformed in an ideal manner by means of the feeling of duty of the wife and mother; the violent pressure of the sexual impulse is restrained by the opposition of ethical forces. When this restraint fails, the running off the rails that ensues has a far profounder influence in the case of the female than of the male, an influence not limited to her own personality, but dragging down the whole family into the abyss of consequences, into the depths of moral and physical destruction.

Though in nature everywhere the same, the sexual life of woman exhibits in the various gradations of social life different outward manifestations, from the brutal sexual congress that does not greatly shun publicity, to the modern would-be philosophical free love. And throughout all variations the two darkest points remain, the illegitimate child and venereal infection, both of which entail upon the woman the most unspeakable anxieties and the greatest possible misery, whilst the man who is in either case to blame passes comparatively unscathed.

The social sexual position of woman suffers most at the present day from the mature age at which under existing social conditions men are alone able to marry and from the ever-increasing number of cases of venereal infection. In both these directions social science and medical skill must work hand in hand for the amelioration of the sexual life of woman.

On the twentieth century falls the duty of furnishing a solution for these problems. Contesting voices are heard on all sides. _Tolstoi’s_ rigid demand for complete sexual abstinence, the exhortation of the professors of the German universities to their students in favor of moral purity, the associations for the official prevention of venereal diseases, the agitation among young men in favor of abstinence from sexual intercourse before marriage, finally, the clamorous voices of the supporters of women’s rights—all these are influences within the sphere of sexual morality, which must lead slowly but surely to extensive social changes in the sexual life of women.

The discussion of the sexual life of woman, which for many centuries was concealed by a thick veil from the eyes of the profane, or was viewed only through the frosted glass of poetical metaphor, has in recent times assumed a quite revolting character. Not only have the acquired liberties and the social aims of the present day a tendency to give to women in general a freer and higher position, to emancipate them from the bonds in which owing to the conditions of family life they have so long been shackled, but some members of the women’s rights party go even farther, and demand for women greater freedom in the sphere of sexual activity.

With this end in view the sexual life of woman is used as the fulcrum of the lever, and is withdrawn from the twilight into the open light of day, or indeed too often into a dazzling and altogether false illumination. Women writers especially, who have hitherto been accustomed to delude themselves and the world with sensational representations of the feminine soul, of feminine modesty, and the fineness of feminine sensibility in matters sexual, now find their greatest joy in unveiling themselves and their sisters before the face of all the world, and in discussing in the plainest language the most intimate processes of the genital organs. In writings exhibiting but little good taste, though all the more temperament, they emphasize again and again one side only of the sexual life, to wit, the sexual impulse, the force of which is intentionally exaggerated to a high degree, so that it is described as a mighty current of passion, which may with great pains be held in check for a season, but must ultimately break loose, and with devastating rage must overwhelm everything which has hitherto been regarded as discipline and good morals. Young girls, even, step down into the arena to take part in the contest concerning the reform that is to take place in the relations between men and women. Especially sensational in this connection was _Eine für Viele_. _Aus dem Tagebuche eines Mädchens von Vera_,[18] a book which, totally ignoring the biological differentiation of the sexes and their diverse sociological course of development, goes so far as to insist that from the man entering upon marriage, as from the woman, sexual purity and virginity are to be demanded. (The heroine of the book commits suicide because her lover has in earlier years had experience of sexual intercourse.)

From a mistaken standpoint other supporters of women’s rights oppose the ideal method in sex-relations, life-long monogamy, and the ideal of sexual sensibility, motherhood, and they put forward quite new sexual pretensions on behalf of women, as belonging to them by natural right. Upon these pretensions it is the duty of physicians, who truly know and truly prize womanhood, to pass their judgment, and that judgment, which will find ample justification in the ensuing descriptions of the individual phases of the sexual life of woman, is that the modern movement on behalf of the emancipation of women goes much too far. We do not, however, mean to imply that this movement is totally unjustified.