Psychology of sex - Total No. of Records in System :: 2032

PSYCHOLOGY OF SEXergophily in a young married woman who was unableto respond to the affection of her husband though shehad no complaintto make of him. She was a delicate childand at the age of four was taken to see a traveling countrycircus company; she was so impressed and excited by thejuggling performance with balls of a little girl scarcelyolder than herself that she felt strange warm sensationsin the genital region followed by a kind of spasm andwetted herself. (When such a spasm occurs in early lifedetumescence may take the form of urination.) Afterthat the little juggler became a day-dream with her, andsometimes a sleeping dream, followed by the same sensationsand micturition. After puberty at 14 she saw at acircus an elegant and accomplished athlete who producedin her the same effects, and then the little juggler andthe athlete alternated in her dream. At 16 after a moun-and awoketain excursion and a rich meal she fell asleepwith the vision of the athlete and a powerful orgasm, but,to her satisfaction, no urination (detumescence havingceased to be vesical). She came to live in Paris, and soonall skilful or energetic masculine activities, in theaters,workshops, etc., proved sources of sexual pleasure. Marriagemade no difference, though later she came to anexplanation with her husband. In minor degree, ergophilymay be considered normal.To sum up,itmay be said that beauty is not, as somehave supposed, a mere matter of caprice.It rests in parton (i)an objective basis of esthetic nature which holdsall its variations together and leads to a remarkable approximationamong the ideals of feminine beauty cherishedby the most intelligent men of all races. But beyondthis general objective basis we find that (2) the specificcharacters of the race or nation tend to cause divergencein the ideals of beauty, since beauty is often held to con-