"Sex lies at the root of life, and we can never learn to reverence life until we know how to understand sex." - Havelock Ellis
Havelock Ellis was a British physician who ranks among the most influential sexologists in the beginning of the 20th century. He supported new theories that seem passe now, but at the time, were revolutionary. For instance, he argued against the prevailing notion that female sexual desire is sinful or even physiologically harmful, suggesting instead that the female sex drive is perfectly natural and healthy, and comparable to that of men. To the fledgling sexologists of the time period, Ellis served as a quasi-heroic figure in his attempts to divorce the study of sexuality from arguments of morality or religion. Although he was quite a colorful character in his personal life, Ellis was remarkably introverted regarding his work, and had no desire for fame or followers. Thus, many of his theories were overshadowed by those of his contemporary, Sigmund Freud.
Biographical Information
He was born Henry Havelock Ellis on February 2, 1859 in Croydon, Surrey, England (he later dropped the first name Henry when publishing his work). His father's occupation as a sea captain encouraged young Ellis to travel, and he spent a great deal of time in Australia and South America before returning to London to study medicine at Saint Thomas's Hospital. Although he successfully completed the medical degree, Havelock Ellis only practiced medicine as a physician for a matter of months. He preferred to write and apply his medical training to his other studies in anthropology and psychology.
Science was not Havelock Ellis's only interest, though. In 1883, he joined a socialist debate group that later became known as the Fabian Society. Through this group, Ellis became acquainted with London's progressive intelligentsia, and his social circle expanded to include artists and writers such as George Bernard Shaw, H.G. Wells, and Hilda Doolittle (better known by her pseudonym HD). Though the Fabian Society was primarily dedicated to discussion of sociopolitical import, they were a varied group with many interests, including the study of sexuality. The group undoubtedly played a significant part in inspiring Havelock Ellis to dedicate his life to sexology, although at the time, Ellis evinced little interest in the subject - he later admitted that he was overcome by fears of the supposed evils of masturbation and considered himself sexually inept. In fact, he remained a virgin until the age of 32, when he married Edith Lees, a progressive and self-proclaimed lesbian. Although all sexual intercourse ceased within the first year, Lees and Ellis remained together in an unconventional and often stormy marriage as they both sought out affairs with women.
It was his wife, or perhaps more accurately, his wife's sexual orientation, that prompted Havelock Ellis to collaborate with John Addington Symonds in writing the tome Sexual Inversion on homosexuality. Symonds unexpectedly died midway through the process, leaving Ellis the responsibility of publishing the work. It was first published in German in 1896 under the title Das Konträre Geschlechtsgefühle (Contrary Sexual Feeling) because Ellis could not find an English publisher who was willing to take the risk after Oscar Wilde's 1895 sodomy trial. A radical British publisher, George Bedborough, finally published an English version of Sexual Inversion in late 1897. Authorities characterized the book as "wicked, bawdy, scandalous, and obscene," and Bedborough was promptly prosecuted as a pornographer. Although the publisher was not convicted of the charges, the book was not reprinted until it was picked up by a reputable American publisher in 1903.
Despite the problems with censorship, Havelock Ellis continued to study and write about sex. Between 1897 and 1928, Ellis published a seven volume encyclopedia of sex entitled, appropriately enough, Studies in the Psychology of Sex (Sexual Inversion eventually became volume 2 of the series). Like sexologists that preceded him, most notably Richard von Krafft-Ebing, Havelock Ellis dedicated a great deal of the pages to the study of so-called sexual deviation, but unlike his predecessors, Ellis also made a conscious effort to explore the realm of normal sexuality and bring the heretofore unmentionable aspects of everyday life to light. He advanced the radical idea that sex, and the enjoyment of sex, is a natural human function, even when the intended result is not procreation. The publication of the work was a Pyrrhic victory for Ellis, as it was published exclusively in the United States and until 1953, it was only available to physicians as a medical text.
In 1914, Ellis became acquainted with the famous (and infamous) activist and sex educator Margaret Sanger, who had recently fled the United States to escape prosecution under the Comstock Law for distributing information on birth control to women through the mail. Publicly, Sanger became Ellis' most vocal champion. Privately, Sanger and Ellis were almost definitely lovers, a situation that was complicated by the fact that Sanger provided Ellis with considerable financial assistance, including the payment of a secretary's salary to Francoise Lafitte Cyon, his longtime mistress. Even after she returned to the US, Sanger and Ellis enjoyed an extended correspondence and intellectual exchange. Sanger regularly deified Ellis in public, but her own peculiar form of hero worship abruptly ceased when she read his autobiography My Life (published posthumously in 1940), in which he trivialized his relationship with Sanger as a "mildly intimate" friendship.
Ellis continued to write on a variety of subjects, sexual, social, and political, until his death. His other work includes (but is not limited to): Man and Woman (1904), A Study of British Genius (1904), The Erotic Rights of Women (1918), and the The Dance of Life (1923). Havelock Ellis passed away in London on July 7, 1939.
Ellis on Female Sexuality
Havelock Ellis is perhaps best known for his studies of female sexuality. The prevailing mindset in Ellis' time was that sex in general was a disdainful activity, necessary for the survival of the species but otherwise it was considered disgusting at best, and harmful at worst. Males were allowed a bit of latitude, as the common belief was that the male's need to sow his wild oats was so strong that outlets such as mistresses or prostitutes were acceptable if used in a discreet manner. The female enjoyment of non-procreative sex was considered unnecessary and degrading. Common whores might enjoy servicing their customers, but ladies of culture and breeding were supposed to have no sexual desire, except as an indirect result of their natural desire for motherhood.
Ellis shattered the Victorian misconceptions regarding female sexuality. He supplemented his theories with case studies and anthropological research. He noted that the clitoris appears to have no function except to provide pleasure in response to sexual stimulation, and reasoned that nature would not have equipped women with such an organ if it was unnatural or unhealthy to enjoy sexual activity. What began as an interest in the biological aspects of the female sexual response soon extended into the social ramifications of the erotic instinct in women. He regarded the Western ideal of women as either chaste maidens or asexual mothers as both implausible and cruel. He denounced the patriarchal cult of domesticity as Machiavellian, and urged women to reclaim their social, political, economic, and erotic rights. Ellis was a staunch supporter of women's right to use contraception, for he believed in "intelligent voluntary motherhood," and was of the opinion that women have the right to enjoy active participation in sexual activities without the fear of pregnancy.
Havelock Ellis believed in gender equality, and undoubtedly would have considered himself a feminist had the concept existed at the time. Ironically, he has come under intense criticism from contemporary feminist scholars. Some of this criticism is deserved, but much of it is unfounded or misguided. His preferred method of writing was to first explore opposing viewpoints, then to present evidence that calls the opposing arguments into question, and finally to expound his own theory on the subject. Feminist criticism of Ellis supports the attack with decidedly misogynist quotations from Ellis' work. However, when examining his work in whole, one can see that in the "anti-feminist" quotes, he was largely summarizing opposing arguments to which he did not personally subscribe. Granted, some of Havelock Ellis' writing is not what we would consider politically correct today, but it is unfair to judge him solely by contemporary standards, especially when this judgement is based upon incomplete readings of his work.
Ellis on Masturbation
Masturbation proved to be a thorny topic for Havelock Ellis, and his theories regarding self-pleasure evolved over time. He did not regard it as immoral and correctly recognized that it does not cause physical harm. However, at least in the beginning of his studies, Ellis theorized that masturbation could prove to be psychologically harmful. He believed that much of humanity's worthy endeavors are the result of individuals channeling their sexual energy into other avenues. While he certainly did not go so far as to suggest total abstinence, he feared that excessive masturbation might be too much of a counter-productive distraction.
Ellis eventually came to reverse his stance on masturbation. After extensive study, he discovered that masturbation exists in veritably every culture across the globe. Ellis recanted his previous theories and decided that masturbation was so common that it can be considered normal. In fact, he was the first to coin the term "autoeroticism" as a value-neutral word for sexually stimulating oneself, because he felt that the words "masturbation" and "onanism" (as it was more commonly called in Ellis' time) carried too many negative connotations.
Ellis on Homosexuality
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the working theory accepted by both the medical and psychiatric communities was that homosexuality is the product of gender inversion - gay men were thought to be women trapped in male bodies, and similarly, lesbians were men trapped in female bodies. Over the years, various factors were pegged as the culprit for causing homosexuality, including masturbation, congenital disease, and plain old wickedness. Although the title of Havelock Ellis' most controversial work is Sexual Inversion, he did not support any of these theories.
Ellis used the term "inversion" as a convenient handle for homosexuality, but he did not believe that same sex desires were due to mixups in gender identity. In fact, Ellis was careful when presenting his case studies to point out that most gay men are not effeminate, and most lesbians are not particularly masculine. Secondly, and more importantly, Ellis broke with tradition and refused to classify homosexuality as an abnormal condition or a diseased state - he believed that sexuality represents a spectrum that includes varying degrees of heterosexuality, bisexuality, and homosexuality. Thus, according to Ellis, homosexuality is simply a normal variation, instead of a deviation from the norm. He theorized that almost all homosexuality is congenital and unchangeable (as opposed to some of his colleagues who proposed methods of treatment to "cure" homosexuality). Ellis preached tolerance, and together with his wife, continued a life-long crusade to decriminalize homosexuality.
Ellis Today
Contemporary reaction to the work of Havelock Ellis is mixed. Sexologists and psychologists generally regard Ellis as a groundbreaking pioneer whose theories were correct in the grosser sense, but perhaps were a little confused when viewed in detail. He is lauded for his attempts to study sexuality outside of a strictly moral context, as well as for being the first sexologist to study normal sexuality in addition to sexual deviation. Although the integrity of his scientific method is questionable, Ellis is often listed in the unofficial "who's who" list of modern sexology, along with Alfred Kinsey and Masters and Johnson.
Sources:
Browne, Stella. "Havelock Ellis: His Views of Women's Nature and Position." The Birth Control Review, III, February 1910.
Ellis, Havelock. On Life and Sex: Essays of Love and Virtue. New York: Garden City Publishing Company. 1937.
"The King and I: Sanger Remembers Havelock Ellis." Margaret Sanger Papers Project Newsletter, #24, Spring 2000.
Rathus, Spencer, et al. Human Sexuality in a World of Diversity. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. 2002.
Sawyer, Robin. Lecture notes for HLTH377: Human Sexuality. University of Maryland, College Park.
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