Blinky the Tree Frog ([info]blinkytreefrog) wrote,
2005-04-28 16:01:00
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On Becoming a Woman - A tale of many unspeakable dangers.

I came across this in a box of stuff from a friend of my mothers. Mum told me I could grab anything I wanted before everything went to the local charity shop, so I fished around. I discovered a book by the name of "On Becoming a Woman". It's a book that you'd give to teenagers to show them the 'facts of life'. Kind of like "Where do I come from" and sequels, but instead of cartoons there is full blown horror.

This book, you see, is a few generations old. This is the kind of information your moms and grandparents got. This is the scariest bloody thing I have read all year.

Behind this cut are several scans. They mention sex, though not in any positive way. You have been warned.



First of all I have to mention that I have no idea from what time period this book comes. There's no date in the book itself, but from the inside cover picture...



...I'm guessing around the fifties. ETA: 1951! Hooray for the internet! That's about 50 years ago. Remember this, as you read the tome of information known only as:



Written by Harold Shryock, M.A, M.D. And you know, I'm not certain, but I'm pretty sure he's not a chick.



So, it starts off mildly enough, with an introduction. We look to the future, and the joys of backbreaking labour that await you as a homemaker.



And here we have the book's rationale. I actually did wonder about the level of detail the author was willing to go into, but here we see the idea behind it all. It's for wholesomeness! Whew!



So, we have a little bit about the importance of decision making before you are pressed into your god-given role.



Then we get to the good bits!



Well, so you'd think. In actual fact the whole thing is written in much the same way as a medical textbook. There are all the proper parts and their functions in intricate detail, and it's all kind of simultaneously enlightening and baffling.

Until we reach the end of the chapter, in which we learn that teenage boys are slaves to their penises and can only be saved by the calm, rational teenage girls. Well, thank goodness for that.







So the next chapter, personal problems. It's starts off innocently enough, with more musing on the wonderfulness of serving men:



It came as rather a surprise to me then, to learn the actual theme of the chapter.

Masturbation.

Or, more specifically, how masturbation is so evil, it sucks away your life force and makes you become stupid! OhmygodARRRgh!!



You think that's bad? This is plain disgusting:



Yes, that's right. Female circumcision is not at all hazardous. Jesus.

Now that masturbation's out of the way, we have actual sex. Of course it's evil, but it shouldn't be a problem to stop it, because woman only enjoy it because they're giving a man pleasure. Of course.



So, apparently sex is out, masturbation is out, dreaming of a future as anything other than a housewife is out. Can we have any fun at all, you ask?

And the answer is:



Nope.



But wait, what's this?



We can toast marshmallows next to a wholesome fire! Yay!



And that's becoming a woman, in a nutshell. Are you as depressed as I am? No wait, I'm moreso, having read the chapters on homosexuality.

Just remember:



We've come a long way, baby.

ETA: Okay, okay :-). Here's a chapter on homosexuality. It's appalling. Don't say I didn't warn you!

ETA (again): People have asked lots of questions. I therefore proudly present the FAQ. Read and be enlightened.


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[info]airawyn

April 28 2005, 06:46:12 UTC 7 years ago

Circumcision?!

Anonymous

May 17 2005, 00:57:39 UTC 7 years ago

FGM (http://www.rotten.com/library/sex/circumcision/female/) (aka female "circumcision")

[info]airawyn

7 years ago

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[info]pokeyturtle

7 years ago

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[info]the_99th_aisle

7 years ago

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[info]pokeyturtle

7 years ago

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[info]the_99th_aisle

7 years ago

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[info]guttaperk

7 years ago

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[info]dolmena

7 years ago

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[info]autarchex

7 years ago

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[info]pokeyturtle

7 years ago

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[info]autarchex

7 years ago

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[info]bestekeni

7 years ago

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[info]sarawr

5 years ago

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Anonymous

5 years ago

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[info]sarawr

5 years ago

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[info]t_guy

3 years ago

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Anonymous

7 years ago

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[info]sadescha

7 years ago

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[info]dolmena

7 years ago

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[info]sadescha

7 years ago

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Anonymous

7 years ago

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[info]popesnarky

7 years ago

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Anonymous

7 years ago

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[info]sara_wolfe

6 years ago

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[info]indriya

April 28 2005, 07:53:49 UTC 7 years ago

Bride, housewife, AND mother? Wow, that's a whole lot of stuff that isn't even on my things-to-do list, nevermind my cherished-dreams list. Oh dear, my bad.

hi, was directed here by [info]apathocles :))

[info]odycee

April 28 2005, 08:24:02 UTC 7 years ago

Oh. My. God. That is horrendous. Circumcision?! I dread to think what it says about homosexuality...

[info]phona

April 28 2005, 10:36:38 UTC 7 years ago

0.0

[info]crazy_alexy

May 18 2005, 17:35:34 UTC 7 years ago

It's scary.

[info]andrastewhite

April 28 2005, 11:45:00 UTC 7 years ago

OK, now you have to tell us what it says about homosexuality. Don't leave us in blissful ignorance when you could be sharing the pain!

[info]jaseroque

April 28 2005, 17:02:09 UTC 7 years ago

I second this, in a bug-eyed, horrified kind of way.

[info]dariushethcox

3 years ago

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[info]innle

April 28 2005, 13:52:24 UTC 7 years ago

You know, I was laughing...for the first couple of pages. And then I stopped.

I've been reading cases on sexual harassment/discrimination, and struggling to understand certain of the implications that the (predominantly male) judges are making, but I think it makes more sense now. Jesus.

[info]blinkytreefrog

April 28 2005, 17:37:15 UTC 7 years ago

That's pretty much what I thought. That's just screwed up.

[info]doroc_sabah

April 28 2005, 17:26:24 UTC 7 years ago

I want to destroy something.

[info]blinkytreefrog

April 28 2005, 17:36:02 UTC 7 years ago

Now, that's not very womanly :-).

[info]doroc_sabah

7 years ago

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[info]blinkytreefrog

7 years ago

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[info]_inbetween_

7 years ago

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[info]ed_dirt

7 years ago

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[info]cyglet

7 years ago

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[info]popesnarky

7 years ago

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[info]ex_zombieham605

April 28 2005, 18:51:04 UTC 7 years ago

I'm going to go masturbate then call up my boyfriend for a few rounds of premarital sex. And then I'm going to yank out my uterus and mail it to this asshole's descendents.

[info]wikdsushi

May 16 2005, 18:23:15 UTC 7 years ago

Actually, he just died last year at age 98. You might be able to get it into the cemetery if you disguise it as a lovely vase.

[info]dejaspirit

7 years ago

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[info]poutine_102

7 years ago

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Anonymous

4 years ago

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[info]morpheus814

April 28 2005, 19:46:29 UTC 7 years ago

Um...WOW! 0.0

Um...I...am...completely...speehless!

I hope you don't mind if I like this to my memories.

Um...I am going to find myself a good woman, now, who has read this book and we are going to live the life of Ozzy and Harriet and have two strapping drug addicts sons.


Is it any wonder that 50s housewives were addicted to Valium and drank like fish?

[info]offdutydane

April 28 2005, 19:49:11 UTC 7 years ago

Okay. Let me be frank and personal for a moment ( maybe it'll lead to discussion ). I personally do not get pleasure from masturbation, but it helped me get over some sexual frustration that was really affecting me. Sounds stupid, but I used to have reoccuring dreams in which I'd have sex with a friend ( with whom I have no romantic or sexual interest in ) and it really shook me up. Masturbation stopped those dreams. This goes to prove that masturbation doesn't drain you - in fact, it made me less 'down' and more cheery, because it's really awkward facing the person you just sex up in your dream XD So up yours, Harold Shryock.

[info]branwen

May 20 2005, 00:12:56 UTC 7 years ago

I agree! Masturbation helps ease frustration on so many levels.

[info]issachayer

3 years ago

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[info]co1dpaws

April 28 2005, 19:49:56 UTC 7 years ago

i find this highly ammusing and almost horrifying. I'm glad we've come a long way. I would also like to point out to some of the commentors that although female circumsision is frowned upon in western countries for social reasons, it is a tradition that is still practiced by a large portion of the world's population. However, because of health risks the practice is slowly becoming less common.

[info]pokeyturtle

May 18 2005, 12:58:04 UTC 7 years ago

Some traditions are better off abandoned. There are more than just health reasons for doing so.

Anonymous

5 years ago

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[info]rebeccahealey

3 years ago

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[info]khieri

April 28 2005, 20:22:29 UTC 7 years ago

Oh. My. God. This is horrifyingly, sickeningly grotesque. Female circumcision for feeling horny? And, wow, I don't even want to get started on the homesexuality chapter.
That's just...
I...
uh...
Jesus.

Deleted comment

[info]ehartsay

June 13 2005, 18:28:10 UTC 6 years ago

Mommy, I want to be a preistess of Kali when I grow up. *wicked grin*

If you wanted to go with Sekhmet I could teach you how ;D

[info]caiusmajor

April 28 2005, 22:59:52 UTC 7 years ago

*is appropriately horrified. And slightly amused*

...and then I looked up the guy on Worldcat (newfirstsearch.oclc.org, which it looks like your library needs to have a membership to view), and my goodness, he's written others!

Happiness for husbands and wives (1949)
On becoming a man: a book for teenage boys (companion volume! also 1951)
You and your health (1970, with Hubert Oscar Swartout; 1978, solo; 1985, with Mervyn G. Hardinge)
Modern medical guide (1979)
Mind if I smoke? (1959; 1963; 1965; 1970)
Your medical guide (1983)
Family medical guide to health & fitness (1991, with Mervyn G. Hardinge and "28 leading medical specialists")

Also, as far as I can tell from the listings, both On becoming a man and On becoming a woman were translated into Vietnamese (!) as Tuoi cài trâm: sách giáo duc thieu nu’ trong tuoi day thì (1990) and Tru’o’c tuoi thành nhân (ngu’o’i con trai) (1983) respectively.

...and this isn't all of it.

[info]leorising1959

April 29 2005, 00:16:58 UTC 7 years ago

Priceless! I actually collect crap like this, although my collection is somewhat small right now.

I have Our Home, published in 1899, written almost reasonably by Charles E. Sargent, M.A. Here's a fabulous quote from the chapter "Education of Our Girls":

We hope the world has heard the last of that sickly sentiment concerning "woman's sphere," "the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world," etc. If that hand were permitted to take hold of the world a little more directly, it would not at all interfere with its ability to rock the cradle...We would see the little sister and brother hand in hand enter the primary school...[through University graduating exercises...]

Then there is "Heart Throbs, The Best of DC Romance Comics," which darling [info]darkpoole gave me. Someday I'll procure a scanner and give you all an eyeful. The cover shows a couple kissing, the woman starting to cry and thinking, "If we don't stop now -- we'll be living a lie!" It's fabulous, simply fabulous.

I would gladly buy this book from you, blinky, to add to my collection. Will you sell?

You've made me a happy girl today. ♥ ♥ ♥

[info]blinkytreefrog

May 5 2005, 09:30:13 UTC 7 years ago

I'm afraid I want to hold onto it - I'm a teacher, and some of the less explicit sections will be wonderful for the Women's Studies course that I'm subbing in for for a few weeks :-). Sorry!

[info]wyndie

7 years ago

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[info]leorising1959

7 years ago

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[info]wyzeguy

April 29 2005, 00:34:40 UTC 7 years ago

Okay, the author is obviously fond of using the word, "wholesome" in as many sentences as possible.

[info]wrathchild

April 29 2005, 06:02:03 UTC 7 years ago

Jesus tapdancing Christ...

I am disgusted that this was considered fit to print in any decade after the Middle Ages.

What's even more despicable is that this is just *one* example of the sort of bullshit that 'sixties and 'seventies feminists had to fight against, and the battle is still a long way from over.

Gender stereotypes for either sex are offensive and irrelevant, bud sadly there are still plenty of conservative morons out there who believe this crap and think they're doing their children a favour by passing it on to them. Ye gods...

And if it's not desirable to live in a world of make believe by reading and creating fiction, what the gobsmacking f**k else am I supposed to do to be happy?

(Yes I know I'm a bloke, but the question applies to everyone who enjoys reading and writing, regardless of what they keep stashed away in their pants.)

W

[info]blinkytreefrog

April 29 2005, 06:19:06 UTC 7 years ago

Re: Jesus tapdancing Christ...

Toasting marshmallows, obviously!! Silly boy :-).

[info]wrathchild

7 years ago

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Anonymous

7 years ago

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[info]mametsuki

4 years ago

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[info]_bounce_

April 29 2005, 07:37:07 UTC 7 years ago

Oh fuck. That's just. Sickening.

[info]laurelly

April 29 2005, 20:46:13 UTC 7 years ago

Oh my god I love that. It's wonderful!

[info]carenejeans

April 29 2005, 23:15:00 UTC 7 years ago

Ack. I remember books like this from the early 60s that were almost as bad. I don't recall anything about female circumcision, though. Gah.

Strangely enough, I'm reading some "household" books and treatises on womanhood from the nineteenth century that were more progressive than this book.

But what I really wanted to say was -- all the Elizabeth Taylor clones in that first picture are scary. *g*

[info]msminlr

May 18 2005, 01:16:06 UTC 7 years ago

That was my first impression.
That dress reminded me INSTANTLY of the original "Father of the Bride" movie, wherein L.T. played The Bride.
I'm pretty sure her dress had a longer train, though.

[info]mistressrenet

7 years ago

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[info]lazar_grrl

April 30 2005, 03:59:18 UTC 7 years ago

Wow. I sort of wish my grandmothers were around to read this; they'd rupture something laughing. On the other hand, maybe not. Considering that they were both health professionals and the ones who explained birth control, homosexuality, and masturbation to me in what I've since learned was an unbelievably level-headed, explicit, and accurate manner, they'd probably feel the need to hunt this guy down and do a little "education" of their own. Glad my parents, aunts, and uncles grew up with them instead of this jackass. Circumcision? Let's amputate the first few inches off of his dick and see how he likes it. It would probably do wonders for controlling his urges.

[info]eska_rina

April 30 2005, 13:37:28 UTC 7 years ago

Icon love.


About the post - I think I need to kill someone. Right now.

[info]lazar_grrl

7 years ago

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[info]four_thorns

7 years ago

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[info]popesnarky

7 years ago

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[info]four_thorns

7 years ago

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[info]popesnarky

7 years ago

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[info]celestialblendr

7 years ago

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[info]realinterrobang

7 years ago

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[info]phoenix_starr

April 30 2005, 21:20:59 UTC 7 years ago

Circumcision?! ::reels in shock:: I know that they though females were not to have any fun 50 years ago but to ADVOCATE THAT?!?!?

[info]ex_zutto

May 16 2005, 00:56:49 UTC 7 years ago

queen serenity?!

[info]cosmicastaway

May 4 2005, 08:03:05 UTC 7 years ago

Ooooooooookay.

*insert sarcasm* Such a keen book. Everyone should have one.

[info]justicevoles

May 4 2005, 14:57:48 UTC 7 years ago

Would you mind terribly if I linked these to childfree ?

I think there are a lot of people there who would get a kick out of them.

[info]blinkytreefrog

May 5 2005, 09:25:30 UTC 7 years ago

Go right ahead! I don't mind sharing the horror :-).

[info]flemco

7 years ago

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[info]hexennacht

7 years ago

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[info]popesnarky

7 years ago

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[info]hexennacht

7 years ago

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[info]popesnarky

7 years ago

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[info]nimmy_

May 6 2005, 19:36:10 UTC 7 years ago

I salute this guy with my vibrator! Many happy returns to him, wherever the fuck he's buried.
But yeah, I had to add this to my memories - classic stuff!
Female circumcision?! WHHYY?! That's TOO horrible!! It's dangeous and horrible, and plus - if I ever lost my bean I'd weep. I love my bean.
I've heard of FC as FGM (female genital mutilation) and it's standard practise in some under-developed and highly religious countries in Africa and similar places. I watched a doc on it and it can cause all sorts of problems - some girls actually died from the infections that ensued. And this twat is saying it's a healthy, risk-free procedure?! ARGH!

But all-in-all, very entertaining! Thank you so much for scanning in all those pages! (I arrived here via Narissah ^_^)

[info]sadescha

May 18 2005, 16:07:47 UTC 7 years ago

He could mean *just* the removal of the clit hood.

Or he could mean the whole thing.

Either way he's a bastard for even suggesting it.

[info]talsine

7 years ago

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[info]honor_and_obey

7 years ago

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Anonymous

7 years ago

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