Levi Stein Carol Faulkner HST 222: History of Am.

Sexuality 23 September 2012 Flash Press and Victorian Sexual Culture Helen Lefkowtiz Horowitz, one of the contributing authors of The Flash Press: Sporting Male Weeklies in 1840s New York, said in her recent lecture at Byrd Library on September 20 that when historians hear the term Victorian Culture, many tend to recall a repressed society. The 19th century is widely regarded as prudent and subjugated by harsh moral principles. At the same time, cities like New York and Philadelphia flourished with prostitution. Establishments like The Magdalen Society were grown to suppress what many considered a growing social disorder (Reis 128). However, weekly papers like the Whip, the Rake, the Flash, and the Libertine, promoted an opposite goal: encouraging young men to embrace their dominant sexual freedom. Male sporting culture emerged from the intense growth of commercial leisure in the early to mid 1800s. To couple this growth, a dramatic population spike rattled New York City and brought an influx of a younger working-class migrant group. The men in this group would work rigorously during the day, but look forward to having fun in the citys vibrant nightlife. In lieu of the Victorian cultural standards of religion, morals, and ethics, men would seek to acquire money, sex, and power. While male sexual prowess was embraced, female sexuality remained repressed. If a woman was deemed to have engaged in premarital sex, she was, in essence, fallen and shunned from society. Since it was male sexual privilege that created the category of unchaste women, it is clear the hypocrisy about moral standards for men flourished widely

(Flash Press 9). The weekly sporting publications served not only as a guide to the New Yorks illicit night life, but promoted sporting events like boxing, dogfighting, and cockfighting. The papers, featuring distinct cartoonish mastheads, also discussed the latest plays and theatre productions. The real feature, however, was the reviews about brothels and prostitutes that frequented New York society. The Victorian sexual regime created a distinction about men as the active agents, who expended energy, while women were sedentary, storing and conserving energy. Men represented the fallen and lustful creatures, often taking advantage of the fragility of women. The flash papers reinforced male heterosexuality through a political contradiction referred to as libertine republicanism (62). A libertine is supposed to behave without moral standards, while republicanism promotes an ordered, structured society. Several of the weekly papers called for brothel regulation and looked to mold the fact that licentious women were not lost souls. According to Horrowtiz, the prostitute is the perfect partner because no responsibility is required. The goal of moral reformers was to clean up the mess and "come up to their duties in the great work of regenerating a fallen world (WASM). While prostitution held an important role in society and garnered many different views, one of the most intriguing and unspeakable atrocities was colloquially known as the solitary vice, or masturbation. Masturbation was universally viewed as detrimental to human health and it was believed it could cause mental illnesses. Masturbation had long been viewed as an immoral act as it was considered to be unnatural. This idea stuck throughout the Victorian sexual regime. The Flash paper suggested such drastic recommendations as finding a mistress if sexual urges to pleasure oneself became too overwhelming. In the article, The Solitary Vice, from the Flash, writers capitalize on the inordinate fear of masturbation.

The introduction sentence of the article touches on the misery and deteriviation of the beastial enjoyment (Flash Press 173). It seems odd that with the call to embrace male heterosexuality that masturbation was strictly off limits. The irrational paranoia probably stemmed from a previous 18th century treatise called The Heinous Sin of Self-Pollution, which spoke off about an unmanned manhood if self-pleasure occurred. The article continues with dramatic outcries, stating that if men who masturbated become parents, they would bear pale, poor, and sickly children (174). This heavily supports the Victorian delusion of masturbation; whether the authors and most readers agreed is debatable. The article feels like a strong narrative against the atrocities of masturbation and calls for men to find alternatives like marrying a promiscuous wife or engaging in occasional sex with prostitutes. Some could argue that Victorian sexual principles embraced male heterosexuality and the confines of masturbation could lie within these boundaries. The author of the article even dismisses the suggestion that men should marry very young as it would make be harmful to the population. Instead, those who masturbate should have an insight to the dreadful consequence which they must incur (174). An interesting article from The Whip is entitled Making Love in the Streets. Its interesting to note how terms have taken on a different meeting. In the preface, the authors of The Flash Press note that both females and males took part in this vivacious public display. A male would stroll by a woman on the street that has given up walking at night and instead wanders abroad in the morning (165). The authors describe the spectacle in detail, and then note at the end that they dont want to further enlighten young readers (166). This seems contradictory as the publishing themselves were a source of educating youth, minors, teenagers, middle-class, and whomever else managed to buy one on the streets. Also with women engaging in these interactions with men, it seems as though they touting their sexual prowess or flirting.

The purpose was to see who had fallen and who was chaste. Its highly likely that women may have flirted back even if they were not prostitutes. Of course the interaction is put forth by men and reiterates the idea that they had most of the sexual power. The flash papers were not without accompanying legal trouble. Many of the weeklies came under heavy fire for their obscene stories. While most of the obscene papers disappeared after the decade, reputations of the writers were not tarnished. Many went on to have successful careers. The weeklies had an important role in the newly exposed underground world and seemed to influence for better or for worse.

Works Cited Cohen, Patricia Cline., Timothy J. Gilfoyle, and Helen Lefkowitz. Horowitz. The Flash Press: Sporting Male Weeklies in 1840s New York. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2008. Print. Grimke, Sarah. "Thoughts on Miss S. M. Grimke's 'Duties of Woman,'" Advocate of Moral Reform (1838): n. pag. Women and Social Movement. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. <http://asp6new.alexanderstreet.com/was2/was2.object.details.aspx? dorpid=1000672137>.