Title
Sex Science
Author
Dr. Joseph H. Greer, M.D.
Image
Description
Sex Science is a 1911 self-published volume by Chicago physician Dr. Joseph H. Greer, who served as Professor of Genito-Urinary Diseases at the College of Medicine and Surgery. The book is a window into early 20th-century medical thought, blending moral rhetoric with clinical discussion on topics such as gonorrhea, prostitution, and masturbation — often referred to in-period as “onanism.”
Though positioned as a scientific manual, the book reflects deep cultural and moral anxieties about sexuality, frequently employing language that would today be considered pseudoscientific, inflammatory, or discriminatory. Greer attempts to frame sexual behavior through the lens of pathology, condemning “self-pollution,” opposing legalized sex work, and linking vice to physical ruin. It is both a relic of outdated medical ideology and a powerful reminder of how deeply medicine and morality were once entwined.
Condition
Green clothbound hardcover with gilt-stamped title. Interior pages are intact and legible. Moderate wear to edges and spine. Binding is stable. Minor foxing noted on some pages.
Gallery
Historical context
Published just prior to the U.S. Public Health Service’s expanded campaign against venereal disease and during the social hygiene movement, Sex Science represents the intersection of moral crusading and medical education. It joins a class of books aimed at reforming behavior under the guise of scientific authority.
Dr. Greer’s perspective was shared by many contemporaries who believed that suppressing sexuality and criminalizing vice were medically and morally necessary. These ideas would eventually be displaced by the rise of evidence-based sexual health and patient-centered care.
Curious Facts, Ephemera, and Trivia
Greer’s chapter “Onanism” warns that masturbation may cause children to develop anatomical defects — a belief rooted more in religious dogma than medical fact.
The book repeatedly equates prostitution with murder and rape, rhetorically elevating its moral danger.
Sex Science is one of multiple tracts Greer produced, including The Social Evil and A Physician in the House.
Excerpt
“Why not legalize any other crime, such as theft, murder or rape?” — Sex Science, Chapter VI: Legalized Prostitution
Why it is in the Cabinet
This book is preserved in the Cabinet for its historical value as an artifact of early 20th-century sex medicine — not as an endorsement of its views. It illustrates the moral pathologizing of normal human behavior and the dangers of mixing clinical authority with social control. As a cultural relic, it teaches as much about society’s past fears as it does about medical practice.
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