Havelock Ellis
Sex Researchers:
Background
Havelock Ellis was born in 1859. He studied at numerous schools throughout Europe during his childhood before traveling to Australia where he worked as a schoolteacher (Allen, n.d.). In 1889 he graduate from medical school and began to practice midwifery. Throughout his life Ellis married three times and divorced his first wife who is reported to have been a lesbian. Ellis died in 1839 after suffering for several years from a mysterious illness.
During his life Ellis published many articles and books. He began his writing career through published articles on philosophical questions, which built his notoriety in the scholarly world (Allen, n.d.). He later moved to the topic of sexuality for which he is best known.
Havelock Ellis was a supporter of sexual liberation and began to write on sexuality in the late 1890’s (Allen, n.d.). These liberal views were present throughout his writings, which covered topics from homosexuality to the sexual pleasure of women. In 1897 he began a series of books titled Studies in the Psychology of Sex.
One of Ellis’ first books, Sexual Inversion, examined homosexuality as an innate condition or characteristics (Allen, n.d.). This perspective differed greatly from the current view, which treated homosexuality as a pathological disorder. One key point that was addressed by Ellis was the need for tolerance instead of rejection (Wikhom, 1999).
In regards to women, Ellis argued that women were also sexual beings and that they too should gain enjoyment from the sexual intercourse (McLaren, 1999). In addition, Ellis favored birth control for women to allow them control over their body and sexual activities. Although he was liberal in many ways, one contradicting viewpoint that was presented towards women was the belief that they were happiness in the role of motherhood (Allen, n.d.).
Ellis also addressed sexuality in men in terms of normal and healthy behaviors such as arousal and sexual drive (Allen, n.d.). At this time sexuality was typically addressed only in abnormal or deviant research. Ellis further extended the scope of normal behavior in males to encompass fetishes and mild aggression towards their partners (McLaren, 1999).
One other area of sexuality that was briefly addressed by Ellis was childhood exploration such as masturbation (McLarern, 1999). While Freud viewed this as a phallic fixation, Ellis felt that toddlers explored their genitals in the same manner that they explored other body parts. Only in extreme situations did Ellis view sexual exploration as abnormal in childhood.
Through his research and books, Ellis is trying to communicate that sexual deviations in society are normal. He wanted to collect information and be as impartial as possible, not making judgments on groups of people found to be immoral or the like by society (Hyde & DeLamater, 2003). He tackled the taboo subjects of homosexuality, masturbation, and female sexuality in his published books such as Sexual Inversion and Studies in the Psychology of Sex during a time when Victorian morals were very strict.
His publishing Sexual Inversion was one that looked at homosexuality sympathetically, something that had not been done before during his time (Grosskurth, 1980). Ellis argued that homosexuality was not a disease or crime and that it was even evident in nature among many species. In his book, he pointed out that homosexuals were not the deviants society labeled them as and in fact, they were scattered in society with the "normal" people. The information presented in Sexual Inversion is based on case-studies performed by Ellis himself. The actual questions he asked to get information were never revealed but the book itself contains clues as to what was asked. Such questions covered topics of background information on parents and family, sexual activity and preference, masturbation, the subject's fantasies and dreams, and how the subject felt about the opposite sex. Ellis believed these case studies illustrated that heredity was the basis of homosexuality. Havelock Ellis believed female inversion was common as well, just not talked about as much or not viewed as condemning because men found it amusing (Grosskurth, 1980).
He rejected Freud's view that homosexuality was due to lack of sexual development through certain stages and also disagreed that homosexuality could be cured or corrected by psychoanalysis.
Havelock Ellis helped set the standards for further investigation and studies of sexology by not viewing homosexuality as a crime but as a normal deviation from society. Ellis set out to produce answers in the subject of sex but the field was so vast that all he figured out is what questions he should be asking (Allen, n.d.). Also, by openly researching these behaviors from a scientific point of view, he placed focus on the variety of sexual behavior that existed and made it possible for future researchers to study it as well. Havelock Ellis strongly influenced public attitude about sex.
Commentary
Although Havelock Ellis had performed extensive research and published many books, there were criticisms of his findings and views. His research did not represent a sampling of the cross-section of society, most of his case study subjects were upper middle class citizens (Grosskurth, 1980). Ellis argued that if he had enough case histories this would override the fact that it was not a cross-section, simply by showing the facts. It should be understood that the ethics of research that exist today were not employed during his time. This was a time where research in sexual matters was just beginning and Ellis was eager to collect data and see what that would produce. Even though it lacked a true representative sample, Ellis' contribution to paving the way for further research still looms great.Another criticism of Ellis' findings was the percentages he stated for incidence of homosexuality. The numbers were not based on statistical data but just from the case studies he performed while writing his books. Recently, the research of Ellis has been criticized because of his stance on women and their sexuality. He would sometimes state that women were just as much sexual creatures as men were and that any ideas that stated otherwise were not true but then he would contradict himself and state that women's greatest fulfillment came from being mothers (Allen, n.d.).
References
Allen, R. (n.d.). Henry Havelock Ellis (1859-1939). Retrieved September 10, 2004, from http://www.modjourn.brown.edu/Grosskurth, P. (1980). Havelock Ellis: A biography. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Hyde, J. S., & DeLamater, J. D. (2003). Understanding Human Sexuality. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Allen, R. (n.d.) Henry Havelock Ellis 1859-1939: Part-time midwife, literary critic,
sexologist, psychologist, letter-writer.
Retrieved September 12, 2004 from
http://www.modjourn.brown.edu/mjp/Bios/Ellis.htm
Wikhom, A. (1999). Bio: Havelock Ellis. Retrieved September 12, 2004 from http://www.gayhistory.com/rev2/factfiles/ffellis.htm
McLaren, A. (1999). Twentieth-century sexuality: A history. Blackwell Publishers:
Malden, MA.