Os prazeres da carne: o onanismo entre os discursos médico e religioso nos séculos XVIII e XIX

Abstract

The present work aims to analyze how the medicine of the 18th and 19th century is positioned in front of onanism (male masturbation) and in the background, also examining some aspects of the female; considering it as a “disease” and a cause of death among young people. The text also lists other areas that came into contact with the theme, such as religion and their speeches that demonized the act and transformed it into a sin to be avoided by its faithful. As the main source for this work, it was used in the work of the French doctor Jacques-Louis Doussin Dubreuil, called “Letter on the dangers of onanism and advice on the treatment of the resulting diseases”, written in 1813 in France, translated from French into Portuguese by João Candido de Deos e Silva, in 1825, for use by the Brazilian youth, to be used as a guide to fight the “execrable addiction” of masturbation. We observe the social construction of masturbation and the formation of corporal control by State institutions, such as doctors and the Catholic Church. In addition to the main source, we used authors from the time of onanism discussion, such as Samuel Auguste André David Tissot, a Swiss physician from the 18th century who works with the theme, presenting several manuals that describe the practice, its consequences and its religious vision as one of the causes that would lead to the death of the practitioner. As a theoretical framework for this study, authors such as Thomas Szasz and his research on changes in the concept of modesty in society, authors of the time of onanism discussion, as well as authors such as Jurandir Freire Costa and Philippe Brenot, were used, researching changes in conception body in the history of mankind, reflecting on the social transformations that the regulation of masturbation and sexual acts presented for young people.