Sanitary and moral Prophylaxis Prince A. Morrow, M. D., Founder OFFICERS PRESIDENT 109 East 34th Street VICE-PRESIDENTS Stephen Smith, M.D. Francis L. Stetson, Esq. · SECRETARY 150 West 47th Street TREASURER 133 East 57th Street EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Marshall C. Allaben, Chairman Prof. Maurice A. Bigelow Rosalie S. Morton, M.D. Raymond P. Kaighn James Pedersen, M.D. ADVISORY COMMITTEE L. Bolton Bangs, M.D. Byron W. Holt Sidney C. Borg Edward L. Keyes, M.D. H. Blanchard Dominick William M. Kingsley Arthur B. Farquhar Edward J. McGuire, Esq. Irving Fisher Frank Moss, Esq. Homer Folks James B. Reynolds, Esq. Robert W. Hebberd Isaac N. Seligman COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATION Frances L. Stetson, Esq. Homer Folks Edward J. McGuire, Esq. Robert W. Hebberd Frederick H. Whitin COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION Col. Robert L. Harrison, Chairman Thomas M. Balliet, Ph.D. Rev. Charles K. Gilbert Mrs. James P. Cahen Max J. Exner, M.D. Margaret A. Cleaves, M.D. Mrs. John P. Peters Eugene L. Swan, M.D. Entered as Second Class Mail Matter at Lyons, N. Y. THE SOCIETY OF SANITARY AND MORAL PROPHYLAXIS VOL. V. APRIL, 1914 NO. 2. A REGULAR MEETING OF THE SOCIETY OF SANITARY AND MORAL PROPHYLAXIS WAS HELD AT THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE, 17 WEST 430 STREET, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1913. THE FOLLOWING PAPERS WERE READ: THE DRAMA AS AN INSTRUMENT OF SEX EDUCATION Joyce Kilmer Jules Eckert Goodman 55 DISCUSSION Rev. Charles K. Gilbert Rabbi Maurice H. Harris Mrs. Charles H. Israels Miss Marguerite Merington Mr. Hans von Kaltenborn A REGULAR MEETING OF THE SOCIETY OF SANITARY AND MORAL PROPHYLAXIS WAS HELD AT THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF MEDICINE, 17 WEST 430 STREET, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1914. THE FOLLOWING PAPERS WERE READ: THE AMERICAN SOCIAL HYGIENE AssociATION; AN EXPERIMENT IN PREVENTIVE MEDICINE AND “CURATIVE” MORALS 79 William F. Snow, M.D. 92 SEX EDUCATION IN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES Max J. Exner, M.D. DISCUSSION Prof. Maurice A. Bigelow Prof. Frank D. Watson George L. Meylan, M.D. THE DRAMA AS AN INSTRUMENT OF SEX EDUCATION JOYCE KILMER “Vice is a monster of so frightful mien, a This, ladies and gentlemen, is platitude. That is, it is a perfect expression of a universal and eternal truth. And it is the expression of a truth which has direct bearing on the subject now under discussion. For the main charge against the plays which have recently been held up to our admiration, as instruments of sex education, seems to me to be that they make sexual immorality and the evils which accompany and follow it, things not hideous and terrible but tawdry, commonplace—as unreal and contemptible as any of the ordinary phenomena of the theatre. This is only one of the counts against the modern play dealing with morbid sex relationship. But it is the chief positive charge. Before considering it in detail, it may be well to look at the negative side of the question. Let us recall the wording of the subject of tonight's discussion. It is “The Drama as a Factor in Sex Education.” Now education is defined by the Standard Dictionary as “the systematic development and cultivation of the normal powers of intellect, feeling and conduct, so as to render them efficient in some particular form of living or for life in general.” Can anyone here present honestly say that Mr. Scarborough's forceful drama “The Lure” or Mr. Bayard Veiller's “The Fight” or M. Brieux's “Damaged Goods” has really developed and cultivated his powers of intellect, feeling and conduct in regard to sexual matters? Can anyone even say that all these three plays together and the two white slave moving picture shows thrown in have really given him a single item of information on sexual matters that he did not possess before? I doubt it. I doubt very much that any blithe young libertine tripped gayly into the Fulton Theatre and learned to his consternation that certain painful and disgusting diseases were frequently the result of sexual immorality. I doubt if anyone learned for the first time from “The Lure” or “The Fight” that the life of a daughter of 50 |
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