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                          MAGNETATION METHODS
                                   OF
                             BIRTH CONTROL


                                   BY

                          MARGARET H. SANGER.

------------------------------------------------------------------------




                             INTRODUCTION.


In the previous pamphlets, “English Methods of Birth Control” and “Dutch
Methods of Birth Control,” one finds a duplication of the methods given
in the first pamphlet, “Family Limitation.” The French methods of Birth
Control are so nearly the same that I have decided not to duplicate
these again, but to give instead a list of the books and pamphlets
issued by the French League, and also cuts or pictures of some of the
articles they have for sale at their headquarters, 27 Rue de la Duée,
Paris. These will be found at the end of this pamphlet.

I also find that the methods used to control births in Germany, Italy,
Spain, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, India, Russia, and Japan have all been
greatly influenced by the English and Dutch Neo-Malthusian Leagues (the
two oldest Leagues). To give further national methods would be only a
waste of time and material, and would add nothing to what has already
been given. This does not mean that there are not many other mechanical
devices. There are numerous ones; but I still find that there is nothing
better, safer, cheaper, or more convenient than the pessary mentioned in
“Family Limitation.”

In France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, and Sweden there are strong
Neo-Malthusian movements advancing the Birth Control theories by
lectures, literature, and practical means. In Russia, Japan, India, and
United States there have been recently feeble attempts to establish
Birth Control movements; but as yet they have remained embryonic.

I have decided to close this series of pamphlets with the following
explanation of the Magnetation method, and feel that I have said all
that I can say of interest on Birth Control methods. I have gladly
donated my mite toward what I consider essential to woman’s economic,
social, and sexual freedom.




                  Magnetation Method of Birth Control.


Before closing this series of pamphlets on the practical methods of
Birth Control, I feel in justice to the many readers and subscribers of
the _Woman Rebel_ who inquired about the theories of Magnetation, Male
Continence, Sedular Absorption, Karezza, and Zugassent’s Discovery, that
this series would not be complete without giving at least a general idea
of these theories and their practice.

It is interesting to note that the magnetation theory had its best and
longest practice, as well as its beginning, in America, under the title
Male Continence. This method was practised for over forty years by a
group averaging 130 men and 150 women known as the Oneida Community.
They occupied a part of the old reservation of the Oneida Indians in New
York State, and lived in a harmonious and prosperous form of Communistic
society. John Humphrey Noyes was the head and founder of the group.
Through personal experience and prolonged study, he discovered the
theory of male continence. Since that time many others have come forward
with the _same theory_ under various names. Almost without exception,
each advocate has injected some kind of religion into it. The Oneida
Community was particularly a religious sect, and Alice B. Stockham, the
author of Karezza, was a fervent religionist. However, aside from this,
there are fundamental truths in the theory which bear thinking about and
should not be discarded without some consideration. In view of the
thousands of testimonials of the healthful results of the practice of
these theories, I present these methods like that of the others, and for
convenience shall classify them all under one head, “Magnetation.”

There are thousands of men and women who object to the practical and
mechanical means of Birth Control, who feel that the pessary, condom,
and douche are gross and sordid, and take away the artistic and
spiritual beauty of the act. It is those whom the magnetation method
will interest most. There are others who will claim that this method is
“not satisfying,” and can find no enjoyment in its practice. But so are
there thousands of men and women who can pass a beautiful painting and
receive no inspiration from it, or listen to a charming selection on a
musical instrument and receive no emotion from it. So are there many
whose natures are not so constructed that they can enjoy or benefit by
this method. There is no doubt that the successful attainment of this
method is dependable upon a fine spiritual bond between the two who
enjoy its practice.


                              THE THEORY.

The advocates of the magnetation method ask you to first analyse sexual
intercourse. They claim that you will recognise in it two distinct acts,
_i.e._, the social (or amative) and the propagative. Those who practise
the magnetation method content themselves with and prefer the social
act, unless the procreative act is desired. It is usually held that the
sexual organs have _two_ distinct functions, viz., the urinary and the
propagative. The advocates of the magnetation theory claim that the
sexual organs have _three_ distinct functions, viz., urinary,
propagative, and amative—_i.e._, they are conductors firstly of urine,
secondly of semen, and thirdly of social magnetism. Each one separate
and distinct in itself.

The organs of propagation are physiologically distinct from the organs
of union in both sexes. The testicles are the principal organs of
reproduction in the male, and the uterus in the female. Sexual
conjunction of male and female no more involves the discharge of semen
than of the urine. The discharge of semen, instead of being the main act
of sexual intercourse, is really the sequel and termination of it.
Sexual intercourse pure and simple is the conjunction of the organs of
union, and the interchange and flow of magnetic influences through that
conjunction. The seminal discharge can be voluntarily withheld in sexual
intercourse, or it can be produced without sexual intercourse, as in
masturbation, which demonstrates the fact that the discharge of the
semen, and the pleasure associated with its discharge, is not social,
since it can be produced in solitude: it is a personal and not a social
act.

The physiological analysis of the procreative act shows that the
pleasure of the act is not produced by contact and interchange of life
with the female, but by the action of the seminal fluid on the internal
nerves of the male organ. The desire and that which satisfies it are
both within the man, and may be obtained without sexual intercourse. The
amative function, or the simple union of two persons, is a distinct and
independent function, giving a medium of magnetic interchange superior
to that gained through the reproductive function. It is the presence of
the seed and not the absence of it that makes the bull superior to the
ox, and it is the stimulating, retaining, and absorbing the semen in the
man, and directing it into other creative channels, which make the
amative act of greater benefit and more healthful and vitalising than
the procreative act.

Most of us know that creative energy expressed through the sexual nature
is an instinct to perpetuate life; that it has its origin in and is
co-existent with life itself; that it is the power back of all purposes
and plans; that it is the self-pushing force that gives the individual
the ability and desire to do and to perform; that it is the impelling
factor and inventive genius in all man’s handiwork. That this force
operates in the multiplication of atoms and molecules, in the attraction
of germ to sperm cells. The process of growth and fulfilment of
functions is propelled by this energy, which is operative throughout all
Nature. It is the force back of and expresses itself through the
physical life of man and animal.

Atoms, cells, and plants are unconscious of this force, and animals are
conscious of it only in a slight degree. But man is conscious of this
energy, and is capable of developing a greater consciousness of it and
of its operation and utilisation to a remarkable degree. Like the
engineer who masters the engine by his knowledge of its construction and
the force that runs it, so can man master this creative energy and
direct it where he wills. Creative life can be expressed in other ways
beside parenthood.

Emerson says, “Work your passion up into poetry.” Passion is the sign of
creative power; it is the voice of creative life. If it were understood
and its powers realised, it would be elevated and worshipped instead of
lowered and debased, as the Comstocks would have us do. As creative
energy becomes understood and applied, men and women will grow in
strength of character and in strength of love, and will naturally devote
these powers to the interests and development of the human race.


                             THE PRACTICE.

Each of these theories involves sedular absorption through intercourse
without culmination. No discharge is allowed, but by a superior control
is retained, thereby making the act an amative (love) act, and uplifting
it from an exhaustive, abrupt fertilising function into a quiet magnetic
charm, producing health and increased happiness.

The act of sexual intercourse has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Its
beginning or first stage is simply the presence of the male organ in the
female. The middle or second stage is a series of reciprocal motions.
The end or third stage is the ejaculatory crisis, or the termination of
the act. The advocates of male continence, Zugassent’s discovery,
sedular absorption, and magnetation claim that the whole process up to
the third stage is entirely voluntary and can be stopped at any point.
It is compared to a stream in the three conditions of a fall, a course
of rapids above the fall, and still water above the rapids. The boatman
may decide if he will remain in still water or venture down the rapids,
or run his boat over the fall. They contend that experience will teach
him the wisdom of remaining where the rowing is easy, unless the object
is worthy of going over the falls. Karezza advises to content oneself
with simple presence in the first stage until the magnetic thrill passes
off. They are all similar and all aim at the same result. I head them
under one method—“magnetation.”

Those who practise it claim the highest possible enjoyment, with no loss
of vitality and a perfect control of the fecundating power. Its practice
greatly involves the art of love by a prolonged intercourse preventing
that which puts an end to intercourse—the ejaculation. The seminal
fluid, it is claimed, has an immense immanent value; and if kept in the
system and magnetised, and reabsorbed by the blood, adds enormously to a
man’s mental and magnetic force, which through the ordinary sexual act
is constantly being expended. That its practice by some men will be
difficult there can be no doubt; but it can be no more difficult or need
a greater power of control than that required of the man in the act of
“coitus interruptus” (withdrawal). Those who practise magnetation claim
that it is far removed from “repelling asceticism”; that it gives ample
exercise to the affections, and opportunity for the exchange of sexual
magnetism; but that its greatest benefit is that its practice conduces
to a higher love development. It is the attainment of this control that
raises the sexual passion in man and woman to its proper place by the
side of music and poetry.

The strongest objection which is put forth against its practice is that
it is “unnatural”; that it is unauthorised by the examples of other
creatures of the animal kingdom, and therefore must be wrong. But the
answer comes that cooking, wearing clothes, and all modern life is far
removed from natural living; and were we to remain in close adherence to
Nature, we would go on all fours and remain dumb.

When we realise we are living in an age when nearly all departments of
life have been greatly modified and advanced by recent discoveries of
steam, electricity, the telephone, telegraphy, the microscope, and other
agents of enlightenment, is it not surprising that there has been almost
no discovery or improvement in the vital department of the sex
relations? The explorer, the pioneer, the discoverer may pursue his way
into every department of life, and return to lay his riches at the feet
of Science, Art, or Invention; but woe to him who dares to explore that
shaded valley of sex. No matter how pure the motive, or what agony and
miseries one sought to alleviate, dungeons, persecutions, slanders, and
jails await him who ventures to bring treasures from its hidden depths.
Yet there is no other department of life which needs so much instruction
and education as the sex department.

A healthful sexual stimulation has a beneficial effect on both men and
women, especially when the loved one is accessible and some
demonstration of sexual feeling allowed, as in the restrained yet ardent
caresses of an affianced pair. Here we often see not only the happiest
but the most productive and healthful period of a man’s life. It is said
this is particularly true of man’s intellectual activities.

We see a year later this same happy pair experience a great falling off
in their affection. Women have experienced this so often that they begin
to hate the sexual relation, and look upon the act either with fear of
pregnancy or with an unconquerable loathing. Of course, a great deal of
this aversion which women experience is the result of their former
training. The girl is taught before marriage that the act is a most
degrading thing, and is told that it is the accomplishment of this one
thing for which man desires her before marriage. Afterwards all is
supposed to be changed. She is expected to have an entirely new
philosophy as soon as the marriage certificate is in her hands. The
average young man knows little of the art of love, and is consequently
unable to beautify their relations or to teach her a new psychology. The
first year is spent in secret misery on her side, and ruptures and
misunderstandings between them both. The average woman will tell you she
loves to be caressed and to express her affection for her husband, but
could be quite satisfied without intercourse. This is especially true of
the intellectual woman, who is acknowledging her lessening interest in
the sex relation, and even repulses affectionate demonstration, fearing
it must terminate in sexual intercourse (mainly the fear of pregnancy).

Surely this is something to be squarely faced by every intelligent man
and woman, and serious enough to deserve our untiring interest.
Something must be wrong. What is it? Does this theory offer a solution
to any? It may. Nearly all women who practise it testify to its
benefits, while few men complain of it. Those who do, say that to
control the ejaculation to-day means a seminal loss later during sleep.
The advocates, however, say this will occur at first, but after the
organs become accustomed to their new function this will wear off, and
there will be no seminal loss.

All men in the Oneida community realised that this control was a
necessary attainment if they would be regarded with favor by the women
in the group. Its accomplishment was necessary to their mutual
happiness, and they had to learn it. If there is a method which in
practice expresses the highest mutual affection and reveals one’s own
strength and power, then by all means let mankind know it.

There is no earthly reason why men and women should not study the laws
of sex expression as any other science is studied, and it should be a
study not only intellectual, but of experience and adjustment. If, as is
claimed, the experience of this method must be practised on a higher
plane of thought than the purely physical, then certainly it must tend
toward a finer companionship and understanding between men and women
than the fleeting physical gratification prevailing at present. If there
is anything which controverts the traditional uncleanliness previously
attached to the sex relation, if there is anything which brings a
blending of body and spirit or an ennoblement of the character of the
individual, then by all means let us have it in its fullest detail, and
let this revolting ignorance and prudery holding sway over men and
women’s minds so long be swept away for all time. Let us have light,
through discussion, experience, and adjustment.

There are few men who desire to expose the object of their affection to
the burden of bearing children faster than her health will permit. They
realise a woman’s strength is greatly undermined and her beauty and
grace fast ebbing away; but ignorance and tradition have him in their
grip. He knows nothing about the means to prevent it, and allows the one
he loves best to wither and fade before his eyes.

It is especially necessary for the woman to be free from the mental
dread of pregnancy. There is nothing so productive of nervous disorders
or so likely to decrease the sexual attraction or magnetation as fear
and anxious thought. Perfect confidence in the man’s ability to control
himself is essential to the perfection and desired results of these
methods. Just as one begins, so can one develop. Young men and women
about to enter alliances and desirous to establish a lasting affection
and higher bond between themselves can easily put this method into
practice and control the sex functions. The more magnetic the
individual, the greater the sex attractions between those who love, and
the stronger the bond will grow between them, through this “magnetation”
method.

The expression and adjustment of all theories is so largely personal
that special regulations can scarcely be given. The road to science and
the great natural laws are discovered through experience: there is no
education but that of experience.




                 TESTED THEORIES AND PRACTICAL TRUTHS.


               FROM THOSE WHO HAVE PRACTISED THIS METHOD.

I am a young man twenty-four years of age, enjoying the most vigorous
health. For two years after becoming engaged I delayed marriage, simply
because I did not think my income sufficient to support a wife and the
children which I regarded as an inevitable consequence. Happily for me,
a friend who knew my circumstances wrote me about male continence. The
ideas contained in this discovery were so different from all my
preconceived ideas of what constituted marital happiness that I was
inclined to reject them as utterly impracticable and absurd. But the
more I thought of the matter, the more clearly I saw that if there was a
possibility of these new ideas being true, they were exactly adapted to
a man in my circumstances, and that they made my marriage immediately
practicable.

The wholly new thought, that retaining the vital seminal secretion in
the body, instead of spending it recklessly, might make a man stronger,
cleaner, and better, also seemed to me not irrational. With some
misgivings, therefore, I ventured upon marriage; and, thanks to this
practice, it has been found a complete success. I have had a continuous
honeymoon for four years, besides having the daily use of my wife’s
invaluable services in my business, and have never been conscious of any
irksome constraint or asceticism in my sexual experience, and my
self-control and strength, mental and physical, have greatly increased
since my marriage. In the light of my own experience, I regard the idea
that the seminal fluid is a secretion that must be got rid of as being
the most pernicious and fatal one that can possibly be taught to young
people.

                                                                   F. G.


                         FROM A MAN OF SEVENTY.

My age is seventy years, and, thanks to male continence, my health is
good and I am as vigorous sexually as I ever was. My only regret is that
I was not informed of it earlier in life. It is not only a splendid
sanitary measure, but is a promoter of pleasure and the greatest
harmoniser of domestic life that I know. It is my decided opinion that
where this practice is adhered to, except where reproduction is desired,
strife and contention, separation and divorce would never occur. It
seems to me that no one who is seeking improvement would, after
experiencing this practice, ever wish to go back to the crude sensual
practice in whose wake follow satiety, exhaustion, disgust, and remorse.

The waste of vital and nerve force attending the usual custom of
intercourse is, in my opinion, a leading cause of the craving for
alcohol and tobacco; while in this new practice both parties, if
magnetism exists, experience a renewal of life force that is in the
highest degree wholesome. If young men would abide by this practice they
would find that their self-control would be immensely enhanced in every
department of life, and that they would retain the vigor and enjoyment
of their sexual nature long after the generality of men have become
impotent.

                                                                W. S. F.


                             FROM A WOMAN.

Since my husband became acquainted with this new theory he has endeared
himself to me a hundredfold; and although our so-called “honeymoon” was
passed five years ago, it was no more real and far less lasting than the
ecstatic, the unspeakable happiness which is now continually mine. My
prosaic and sometimes indifferent husband has changed by a heavenly
magic into an ardent and entrancing lover, for whose coming I watch with
all the tender raptures of a schoolgirl. His very step sends a thrill
through me, for I know that my beloved will clasp me in his arms and
cover me with kisses, such as only the most enthusiastic lover could
give. And though the years lapse, I cannot see or feel any change in the
way he cherishes me. To each other we are continually objects of the
deepest reverence and the most sacred mystery. Our affection deepens,
our romance seems as sure and as enduring as the stars. I date my
marriage from the time that he became a student of Zugassent, for that
was the beginning of our assured happiness.

But it is not alone as a cherishing lover that my husband has become the
crown of my happiness. He has grown perceptibly nobler in character, in
purpose, and in strength; so that besides a lover I have a strong
friend, a wise councillor, and my happiness is complete.

                                                                L. S. T.


                      A HUSBAND OF FIFTEEN YEARS.

It gives me happiness to testify to the beneficial effects of this
method, because I am earnestly convinced that no other discovery in
physical science has ever been made which is of such importance to the
welfare of the human race. In proportion as I have followed this method
life has become wholesome and happy. It avoids the opposite evils of
asceticism and self-indulgence, and does more than _any other single
thing_ to make the marriage relation a perpetual courtship. I am a
husband of fifteen years, and speak of matters that I know.

                                                                      F.


                        A LETTER TO J. H. NOYES.

This Yankee nation claims to be a nation of inventors, but the discovery
of male continence puts you, in my mind, at the head of all inventors.
There has been no higher conservation of force than that realised by
this method, and I am confident that the blessings which will flow from
it cannot be measured by those which have followed the steam engine and
the electric telegraph.

                                                      Yours truly, —— ——


                               A FRIEND.

A school friend of mine who lived in a large manufacturing town in New
York State, and has been married five years, had learned during the
first months of marriage this method of birth control. She was radiant
with happiness; did not desire a child until they had made provision for
the future. Husband worked ten hours in the electrical works, after
which he played a cornet in a concert, which kept him until after
midnight every night. Such long hours of labor would deplete and exhaust
the average man, but this fellow was as radiant and strong as one could
picture. Both claimed it is the practice of this method to which they
owe their health, strength, and happiness.


                             A GRANDMOTHER.

A grandmother came from San Francisco to assist at the birth of a
grandchild. Had been married thirty-five years, but looked like a girl
of twenty-eight in figure and color. I was amazed at the vivacity and
eagerness and joyous health of this woman. Every day she received one or
two letters from her husband, who had remained in San Francisco; and
from part of them which she read to me one would think he was some
ardent and forlorn lover of eighteen. She claimed she had always
practised this method, and knew of a few others who practised it, and
found its practice superior to any other. She was the most beautiful
sexually alive woman I have ever known, and the most modest. “True
modesty is a sentiment which springs, not from indifference or aversion
to the sexual offices, but from a delicate and reverent appreciation of
their value.”


 The articles advertised on this and the following pages can be obtained
         at the offices of the League, 27 Rue de la Duée, Paris.


                          Pessaire Ordinaire.

[Illustration: Prix: 1 fr.]


                           Pessaire Mensinga.

[Illustration: Prix: 1 fr. 25 c.]

                          Pessaire Matrisalus.

[Illustration: Prix: 2 fr. 50 c.]


                         Seringue Pneumatique.

[Illustration: Prix: Ordinaire, 1 fr. 50 c.]


                     Dilatateur vaginal de Kroning.

[Illustration: Appareil ferme avant l’introduction.]

[Illustration: Appareil ouvert apres l’introduction.]


                   Irrigateur a jet rotatif “Marvel.”

[Illustration: Prix: L’appareil complet, en boite, 18 fr.]


                         Douche interne Dumez.

[Illustration: Prix: Complet, en boite, 2 fr. 75 c.]




                        CATALOGUE DE LIBRAIRIE.


                       EUGENE HUMBERT, DIRECTEUR.

                       27 Rue de la Duée, Paris.


                               BROCHURES.

         (1 fr. = 20 cents; 10 c. = 2 cents. Postage is extra.)

=Essai sur la vasectomie= (_Sterilisation de l’homme_), par G. HARDY.—0
fr. 10 c.

=Le mal de vivre=, par MARIE HUOT.—0 fr. 10 c.

=Le mariage, l’amour libre et la libre maternite=, par JEAN MARESTAN.—0
fr. 10 c.

=La societe mourante et le neo-malthusisme=, par FERNAND KOLNEY.—0 fr.
10 c.

=La greve des ventres=, par FERNAND KOLNEY.—0 fr. 10 c.

=La chair a canon=, par MANUEL DEVALDES.—0 fr. 15 c.

=Le probleme de la population=, allocution de Mme. NELLY ROUSSEL et
conference faite par SEBASTIEN FAURE.—0 fr. 15 c.

=Le probleme sexuel=, par VICTOR MERIC.—0 fr. 15 c.

=Entre proletaires=, par DIXELLES.—0 fr. 15 c.

=Le neo-malthusisme est-il moral?=—0 fr. 20 c.

=Defendons-nous!= _Pour le neo-malthusisme; contre l’immoralite des
moralistes._—0 fr. 20 c.

=Neo-malthusisme et socialisme=, par ALFRED NAQUET et G. HARDY.—0 fr. 20
c.

=La grande utopie=: _l’impuissance de la repopulation_, par EUGENE
LERICOLAIS.—0 fr. 25 c.

=Socialisme et population=, par LEON MARINONT.—0 fr. 40 c.

=Socialisme et malthusisme=, par VICTOR ERNEST.—0 fr. 60 c.

=Malthus et ses disciples=, par G. HARDY.—0 fr. 50 c.

=La loi de Malthus=, par G. HARDY.—0 fr. 75 c.

=Population et subsistances=, par G. GIROUD.—1 fr.

=Aux jeunes hommes, aux jeunes filles. Ce qu’ils doivent apprendre sur
la vie sexuelle=, par VALENTIN GRANDJEAN.—1 fr.

=Valeur scientifique du malthusianisme=, par le Dr. GOTTSCHALK. Deux
brochures (1re et 2e parties). Ensemble, 1 fr. 50 c.


                      _POUR EVITER LA CONCEPTION._

=Ayons peu d’enfans! Pourquoi? Comment?= par EMILE CHAPELIER.—0 fr. 20
c.

=Moyens d’eviter les grandes familles=, par les docteurs J. RUTGERS et
F. MASCAUX.—0 fr. 30 c.

=Generation consciente=, par FRANCK SUTOR.—0 fr. 75 c.


                                VOLUMES.

=Moyens d’eviter la grossesse=, par G. HARDY.—1 fr. 25 c.

=L’education sexuelle=, par JEAN MARESTAN.—2 fr. 50 c.

=Peu d’enfants. Pourquoi? Comment?= par EUGENE LERICOLAIS.—3 fr.

=Le breviaire de la femme enceinte.=—4 fr.

=La pauvrete=, sa seule cause, son seule remede, par le Dr. GEORGE
DRYSDALE.—1 fr.

=La procreation volontaire=, par le Dr. KLOTZ-FOREST.—2 fr.

=Elements de science sociale=, par le Dr. G. DRYSDALE.—3 fr.

=L’initiation sexuelle=, par G. BESSEDE.—3 fr.

=La vie sexuelle et ses lois=, par le Dr. ANTON NYSTROM.—6 fr.

=Notions d’hygiene feminine populaire: l’Adolescente=, par le Dr. RENE
MARTIAL.—2 fr.

=La fonction sexuelle=, par le Dr. SICARD DE PLAUZOLES.—6 fr.

=La generation humaine=, par le Dr. G.-J. WITKOWSKI.—8 fr.

=La question sexuelle=, par AUGUSTE FOREL.—10 fr.

=De l’avortement. Est-ce un crime?= par le Dr. KLOTZ-FOREST.—3 fr. 50 c.

=De l’amour physique=, par CAMILLE MAUCLAIR.—3 fr.

=La physique de l’amour=, par REMY DE GOURMONT.—3 fr.


                         Generation Consciente.

   Organe de propagande pour la limitation volontaire des naissances.
                      Neo-malthusisme. Eugenisme.


                       EUGENE HUMBERT, Directeur.


            ADMINISTRATION: 27 rue de la Duée, Paris (XX.).

------------------------------------------------------------------------




                          TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES


 1. Silently corrected typographical errors and variations in spelling.
 2. Anachronistic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings retained as
      printed.
 3. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_.
 4. Enclosed bold font in =equals=.