British Society for the Study of Sex Psychology

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The British Society for the Study of Sex Psychology (BSSSP) was founded in 1913, "to advance a particularly radical agenda in the field of sex reform, based on the writings of gurus such as [Edward] Carpenter and [Havelock] Ellis." [1] Magnus Hirschfeld, the famous German-Jewish sexologist, was also a co-founder. [2] In 1931, the Society was renamed the British Sexological Society. [3] It seems to have continued until some point in the 1940s.

Contents

The society was particularly concerned with homosexuality, aiming to combat legal discrimination against homosexuality with scientific understanding. Members included George Cecil Ives, [3] Edward Carpenter, Montague Summers, Stella Browne (a founder of the Abortion Law Reform Association), Laurence Housman, Havelock Ellis, Bernard Shaw, and Ernest Jones. [4]

The society had established a number of contacts in the United States, including Margaret Sanger, who gave a speech to the group on the issue of sexual continence. [5] The BSSSP had planned to form an American branch. [6]

Publications of the BSSSP

The Society published a series of pamphlets:

See also

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References

  1. Lesley A. Hall, '"Disinterested Enthusiasm for Sexual Misconduct": The British Society for the Study of Sex Psychology, 1913-47', Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 30, No. 4 (Oct. 1995), pp.665-686
  2. British Sexological Society: An Inventory of Its Records at the Harry Ransom Center
  3. 1 2 George Cecil Ives: An Inventory of His Papers Archived 12 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
  4. David C. Weigle, 'Psychology and homosexuality: The British Sexological Society', Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences 31:2 (April 1995), p.137-148
  5. Craig, Layne Parish (1 November 2013). When Sex Changed: Birth Control Politics and Literature between the World Wars. Rutgers University Press. p. 63. ISBN   978-0-8135-6212-4.
  6. Lauritsen, John; Thorstad, David (1974). The Early Homosexual Rights Movement (1864–1935) . New York: Times Change Press. p. 34. ISBN   0-87810-027-X.