The masturbation belt, an expression of hysterical opposition to selfish pleasure

Many measures were tried to stop boys (and men) as masturbators. Where pious exhortation failed sterner tactics had to be adopted. The most trivial of these were to ensure that boys slept with their hands tied, even adults were counselled by William Acton to adopt the "common practice" of sleeping with the hands tied. Milton suggested a chastity belt. S. G. Vogel had advocated infibulation, i.e. inserting a silver wire through the foreskin, in his "Unterricht fur Eltern" (1786): such a practice was in fact adopted. Comfort has quoted a paper by Yellowlees - "I was struck by the conscience-stricken way in which they submitted to the operation on their penises. I mean to try it on a large scale, and go on wiring all masturbators..." If a recalcitrant mental patient tore out the wire, he should simply be tied up. Milton also suggested blistering the penis with red mercury ointment; and cauterisation of the spine and genitals were recommended as late as 1905. The most severe cure for masturbation of a man was surely the penile amputation inflicted on a Texan towards the end of the nineteenth century (R. D. Potts, "Texas Medical Practitioner," 1897-8, Vol. 2 p 7).