Tuesday 19 May 2009

monkey sex

Edward Bliss Foote was a very important voice in 19th c. birth control in the USA. He invented a sort of condom made of fish bladders, a penis cap, a 'womb veil' and a device which he claimed would prevent conception by altering the woman's 'electrical conditions' during intercourse (see here).

He also wrote Sponsie, the Troublesome Monkey, an extremely graphic children's book teaching the facts of life via a story involving the twelve year old son of some freed slaves, and Sponsie, a monkey. Among the highlights: Sammy the black boy kisses a white daughter of cotton riches and the Foote figure shouts to someone who is protesting that, 'White men are constantly decrying miscegenation, miscegenation!—while they are the only ones that want to miscegenate...'; Sponsie is shot in the rectum so Foote can explain incontinence; he gets addicted to alcohol and tries to commit suicide so that Foote can discuss the perils of addiction. It sounds amazing. More details, and some pictures, here.

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