William Acton

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William Acton (* 1813 or 1814 in Shillingstone , Dorset ; † 1875 ) was an English sexologist in the Victorian era .

Life

Acton was born the second child of a clergyman.

Acton's image of sexuality seems downright grotesque today. Acton started from the idea that masturbation leads to slackness, illness and death in men. Acton says women seldom desire sexual gratification for themselves; rather, women would only submit to their husbands for pleasure, which they would most like to be freed from if the mother-wish did not exist. Home, children and housework are the only passions of women.

Fonts

  • The Functions and Disorders of the Reproductive Organs (1857)
  • Prostitution (1858)

Literature on Acton

  • Jeanne Peterson: Dr Acton's Enemy, in: P. Brantlinger (ed.): Energy & Entropy. Science and Culture in Victorian Britain. Bloomington 1989, pp. 248-269.