HF02-10 SEXOLOGY AND SEXUAL RESEARCH: TRUE BEGINNINGS WITH PAOLO MANTEGAZZA, M.D.

Abstract

You have accessJournal of UrologyHistory of Urology Forum II (HF02)1 Sep 2021HF02-10 SEXOLOGY AND SEXUAL RESEARCH: TRUE BEGINNINGS WITH PAOLO MANTEGAZZA, M.D. Michael McKeighen, and Michael Moran Michael McKeighenMichael McKeighen More articles by this author , and Michael MoranMichael Moran More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000001993.10AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Almost no one recalls or remembers the esoteric works of Italian physician, anthropologist, pathologist and physiologist who wrote about sexual exploits of aboriginal humans in the mid to late 19th century. His work was highly influential to many who followed in his vast wake, including Charles Darwin and we will review Dr. Mantegazza's contributions to sexology. METHODS: A review of the literature of all aspects of the works and writings of Paolo Mantegazza as well as articles by and about him were scrutinized. His primary writings are the foundations of this abstract including his popular fiction novels. RESULTS: Paolo Mantegazza was born on October 31, 1831 in Monza, Italy (the Lombardia region) to Giovan Battista Mantegazza and his wife Laura Solera Mantegazza and was well educated. He attended the famed ancient medical schools of Pisa and Pavia where he finished with honors in 1854 at the age of 19. Imbued with academia he also travelled initially to South America where his interests were in the anthropology of primitive cultures and tribes. He returned to Pavia in 1860 and became the first chair of experimental pathology in Europe. By 1870 after prolific outpouring of textbooks, he moved to the first Italian chair of Anthropology in Florence. Some of his famed works included Physiology of Pleasure, Physiology of Love, Love in Humanity, The Art of Taking a Wife, and most important to this writing Anthropological Studies in the Sexual Relations of Mankind. This printing of an anthropological work was so contentious that it literally was translated into many languages and profoundly influenced Freud. CONCLUSIONS: Way before the investigations of William H. Masters, Virginia E. Johnson, and Alfred C. Kinsey there was Paolo Mantegazza, M.D. He preceded and influenced the likes of Krafft-Ebing, Tardieu, Albert Moll, Havelock Ellis, Iwan Bloch and Magnus Hirschfeld. He began Sexual Relations with following statement- “I have conceived love to be the most powerful and at the same time the least studied of human affections. Surrounded by a triple forest of prejudice, mystery and hypocrisy, civilized men know it too often only through stealth and shame.” The same holds true today, though helped somewhat by the magisterial writings of Foucoult. It should come as no great surprise from such a devout Darwinist. Source of Funding: None © 2021 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 206Issue Supplement 3September 2021Page: e240-e240 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2021 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Michael McKeighen More articles by this author Michael Moran More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement Loading ...