MadAvAdMen-Betty

THE MENKEN INSTITUTE FOR FEMALE PHYSICO-PSYCHOTHERAPY

Reprints of Classic Papers in Female Physico-Psychotherapy

A paper by Isaac Baker Brown, M.Chiur.B., M.D.

privately printed and circulated circa 1870

A TREATISE ON THE TREATMENT OF DISORDERS OF FEMALE AFFECT

NUMBER V: THE USE OF THE CANE ON THE MATURE FEMALE

Warning: Considering the considerable agitation and notoriety occasioned by my recent writings concerning the “cutting of the rose”, a procedure much in favor in the new and experimental field of gynecology, I am circulating this treatise privately and would appreciate if its distribution is restricted those with the discretion to read it objectively.

Premise: by anatomy and psyche, the average mature female benefits from forceful and regular application of the cane of rattan to her buttocks and thighs.

The Psyche:  As discussed in previous number I, the advance of modern civilization within the last hundred years has resulted in a situation wherein women are having fewer children, suckling has decreased and the pain and terrors of childbirth have become ameliorated by anesthesia and modern obstetrics.  It is my prediction that women will become less happy, rather than more happy, under this regimen because at a not conscious level their inner needs for pain are not being met.  Throughout the history of humanity women have lived in a sea of pregnancy, partuitition and suckling which has charged their nervous system to expect and accommodate to particular kinds of pain.  In the absence of this pain they will be disordered resulting in hysteria, depression and seeking to be like men.

The Therapy: As presented in previous numbers, disorders of the female mind can be prevented or even cured by either the removal of certain organs, unique to the female upon which descend the stimuli that ultimately disorder the female psyche.  Alternatively, similar effects can be obtained by physical effects upon the female which mimic the pains specific to the female aspects of reproduction and child rearing.  As presented and discussed in issues II to IV,  physical stimulation of the pain transmitting nerves of the nipple and areola, clitoris, labia minora, labia majora, and mons veneris can achieve the same calming effect as pregnancy, delivery, and nursing a dozen children over the reproductive life of a woman from menarche to menopause.  As explicated and exemplified from my practice this can be accomplished as readily by the application of noxious stimuli to the female organs as varied as impact trauma, pressure or thermal extremes as by the removal of the female organs so recently reviled by a vocal but influential minority.  What this section reveals is that application of the instruments of chastisement to parts of the female other than those usually considered to be part of the sexually related apparatus accomplishes the therapeutic task to a degree never before documented in a scientific way.  To state the thesis forthwith in its most practical and optimal form - repeatedly, regularly and forcefully striking the female buttocks and posterior surfaces of the thighs with a rattan cane prevents or ameliorates melancholy, hysteria, nagging, alienation of affection, flirtatious behaviour, sulking and the host of ills of the psyche to which the female is so prone.   The rattan is the cure for the ills of femininity.

The Anatomical Basis of Flagello-Therapy.  As the female transforms from a girl to a woman not only are their changes in the organs related to reproducing and sustaining the human race but there is a miraculous transformation of the subcutis, namely the accumulation of fat.  It may be, as some have suggested that this subcutaneous lipid deposition is to act as a store in preparation for pregnancy much as the bear gets fat in anticipation of winter.  But regardless, the enhanced appearance of breasts, buttocks and thighs so pleasing to the eye when occurring in moderation results in a decided cutaneous difference between the average male and female.  The skin of women is smooth and has a decided bounce to it.  The skin of men is harder, drier, and is more tightly drawn over the underlying bone and muscle.  This anatomical difference is placed here by God to aid in establishing equilibrium in the female psyche.

Any physician or surgeon is familiar with the consequences of this action.  Although striking the skin of men or women results in the familiar wheal reaction the skin of women tends to bruise at a force that will break the skin of men.  The anatomic reason for this lies in the subcutaneous layer of fat underlying the skin in areas of the body liable to striking blows.  Anyone with experience in penal institutions knows that men are best punished by whipping the back with a cat while women are best caned on the buttocks.  Furthermore, an experienced husband and father knows empirically, that nothing quite so improves the temperament of a wife or adolescent daughter as periodic punishment.  Here-upon lies the first scientific explication of the real physical reason why beating the posterior portion below the waist of the female produces such docile wives and daughters.  Previous scientists of the female have ascribed the effect to simple aversive therapy wherein displeasing the male results in punishment of the female whereby the female avoids punishment.  But all with knowledge of the female know the fallacy of this reasoning.  First of all, females consciously do whatever they want regardless of any rational expectation of gain or loss, also called the “Cosi Fan Tuti” maxim.  Second, the most efficacious application of the stick to the backside of the female is one that is regular rather than episodic, and uniformly severe rather than inconstant in force.  We herein propose that the efficacy of flagello-therapy is based on anatomy and physiology rather than psyche.

Consider the anatomic relationships of the female pelvis.  The abdominal floor of the female pelvis is the location of one of the most complex nets of nerves anywhere in the body.  And few areas of the cutaneous surface of the body are more amply invervated than the area beginning on the mons veneris past the clitoral hood through the clitoris, encompassing the labia minora and majora and ending in the peri-anal ring.  These cutaneous nerves connect with the multiple plexuses in the pelvic floor in a combined sensory and autonomic net with far reaching ramifications.  Thus the quickest way to alter the psyche of the female is though applications focusing on what I have termed the perineal path from mons to anus, a concept now accepted by all gynecologists.  But consider now the anatomy of the female bent over acutely at the waist.  The most direct path from the external universe to the nerve net on the floor of the pelvis is not through the perineal path which is tucked away between the thighs.  It is instead though the buttocks and posterior of the upper thighs.  Thus striking the buttocks will transmit waves of shock to the pelvic nerve net most directly.  Considering again that in the average mature woman the buttocks and upper thighs are richly provided with a fatty cushion it should be intuitively obvious that God has designed a system for delivering a signal to the center of the female psyche.  Beat the buttocks and you will activate the core of the female nervous system!  I claim to be the first scientist of human physiology to explicate this connection as an explanation for what so many of us have observed in vivo.

Execution of Flagello-Therapy  Drawing from these novel scientific revelations I propose the following practical applications which I have increasingly empirically tested in my gynecological practice in recent years.   In other parts of my series I will give more detailed and extensive instruction and exemplification but first I will lay out my premise in sufficient detail such that one experienced in the arts can adopt and profit without further embellishments.  There are detailed reasons for the exact procedures that I recommend but one need not understand the detailed subtleties to practice the art.  As a final caveat I should add that these procedures have only been tested on females between menarche (which in my experience occurs between fifteen and seventeen years of age) and menopause whose onset occurs over a wide range of ages from as early as thirty-five to as late as forty five.  It is my impression that these procedures may work for younger and older females but my experiences at the wider margins of life is too slim for me to be pedantic.

First is exposure and restraint.  The female, whether a blushing maiden or a haughty matron should disrobe completely, excepting perhaps her stockings and slippers.  Once stripped she should be bound to a restraining device.  I know that historically the stocks have been a standard device for bondage but they fit only awkwardly into the sort of room that is standard in medical practice.  I have found it practical to employ a wooden “horse” similar to that used by carpenters but the crossbeam need scarcely two feet.  However, unlike the carpenter’s horse, the caning horse should be bound with timbers about its feet, forming a quadrangle of boards in contact with the floor.  As many females become agitated during flagello-therapy, the heavier the bottom of the apparatus, the less likely for the balance to be disturbed.  The female is generally then bent across the cross beam and her wrists and ankles secured to the legs of the horse with straps.  I prefer leather straps, used in multiples for obvious reasons.  A large leather strap should tightly bind the narrowest part of the females waist to the crossbeam.  It goes without saying that prior to restraint, the female should empty her bladder.  This may be voluntarily, if possible, but if necessary with catheter. or it is my experience, and it is a common one, that women under stress lose control of their water, particularly when bent in this position.  Lastly, although some have reported privately to me that they find it most efficacious to bind the ankles of the female together while others swear it best to spread the knees as far apart as possible.  Again some practitioners attest that the obtain the best results with the female bound along the crossbeam with her mons placed exactly over the end of the crossbeam.  I must admit that when confronted with women who have shown little lasting benefit from the conventional position, I have found a small number that show improved result when their pubic bone is tight up against a support.  I assume that this is an example that flagello-therapy is mediated by physiological rather than psychological mechanisms.

Second is the implement.  I prefer a cane of rattan between eighteen to thirty-six inches long.  Choosing the correct length appears to be entirely an empirical process and I have never found a rhyme or reason to its efficacy.  I simply advise, start with a small light one and proceed to longer heavier ones as needed.  This length is exclusive of the handle which I prefer to be light and covered with leather to facilitate the grip.  The cane should be larger than three sixteenths of and inch and no more than seven sixteenths.  Again, I tend to start thin and work my way up.  I have my canes treated with light mineral oil in order to keep them supple and prevent cracking.  With care and prudent usage I find that a good cane can deliver thousands of strokes.  If bleeding commences, as it often does after forty or so strokes, wipe off the blood after every stroke with a towel moistened with 5 to 10% aqueous carbolic acid.  Over the years I have tried a wide variety of implements other than the cane.  In general, our American colleagues despise the cane and swear by the paddle or the switch.  I find that the paddle causes too much bruising.  Switches are bothersome to obtain and break all too easily.  On the continent there seems to be a preference for the strap which I find less than effective in inducing therapeutic effect although it is quite effective in causing pain and bruising.  I think that flagello-therapy is not simply due to the production of pain but due to the propagation of shock waves though the gluteal and thigh muscles to the pelvic floor with amplification due to focusing of the waves by the subcutaneous fat.  This is borne out by the tradition in Catholic of disciplining women (particularly nuns or girls in the monastic institutions) with a scourge of ropes or leather thongs studded at intervals with overhand knots.  The scourge can inflict great pain upon the skin but transmit little in the way of impact beyond the subcutaneous fatty layer.  I have had women, who learning of the success of my therapy in relieving attacks of anxiety and behavioral difficulties, have brought their daughters or young daughters-in-law to my facilities with a well used scourge in their possession.  These supplicant’s, mostly from Ireland and France but occasionally from Italy, Spain or Bavaria, eventually become convinced that flagello-therapy is best done with the cane. Most return to their native lands with a cane in hand and leave the school’s or family’s scourge behind in my office wherein I mount the whip on the wall as a trophy of my success.   I have left for last the birch which I find to be a ludicrous implement useful for nothing other than inflicting superficial cuts on the skin.

Third and last are matters of force, numbers and frequency.  Herein lies the value of experience and the ability to evaluate the patient.  You must deliver a therapeutic dosage while avoiding more damage than necessary.  For damage you must inflict.  Just as with treatment of the perineum or breast, I have seldom seen therapeutic effect obtained without causing severe pain and significant bruising and damage to the skin of the buttocks and thighs.  I feel, however, that nothing is more unethical than to out of an erroneous softness of heart cause moderate pain to the patient while achieving negligible therapeutic relief of symptoms.  Experience is necessary the first time the female is treated to determine when to stop the caning.  Generally this occurs when the female enters a state wherein she becomes less sensible to the pain although still responsive to the impacts.  This is a distinctly different state from that wherein the female is approaching a loss of consciousness which state is to be avoided.  My practice uses what we think of as full force to wield the cane.  We generally find that between 30 to 60 strokes are necessary to achieve the state that results in therapeutic effect upon the psyche.  We adjust the type of cane to vary the amount of force administered, adjusting for our previous experience with the female.  Girls generally need only a lighter, shorter cane and fewer strokes whereas full figured matron may require fifty strokes of a long heavy cane. 

Combined Therapy, Family Therapy and other Matters.  The realization over the last few years that flagello-therapy has a role in the treatment of female affective and behavioural disorders has allowed us to extend the range and effectiveness of our therapeutic regimen.  First, there is a limit to the amount of trauma a particular system (perineum, buttocks, breasts) can endure with out sustaining severe damage. Second in many cases the amount of stimulation of the nervous net required for therapeutic effect exceeds that amount that can be produced by a given system, without extreme damage.  Third, it appears that the stimulation of the nervous next is at least additive, and in certain cases such as caning the buttocks combined with treatment of the perineum may be synergistic.  Therefore we have found that by combining therapy at different sites and utilizing a relatively short but significant temporal greater therapeutic effect can be achieve with treatments that to individual sites is well below a dose that will cause significant damage.  This is particularly under circumstances (vide infra) that amplify therapeutic effect.

 

For example we recently treated a patient who had been previously been given therapy by a well meaning but soft hearted practitioner.  This 30 year old distinguished lady was suffering from severe melancholia after the birth of her third daughter.  She had been treated with five monthly cycles of application of a strap to her mons and perineal region starting with 20 strokes at the first session and working up to 50 strokes at the last with no therapeutic effect.  In fact after the fifth cycle there was scarcely even any bruising of the labia when we saw her seven days after the last session.  We immediately admitted her to our hospital and that night administered fifty strokes with a long heavy cane which resulted in excellent bruising and superficial lacerations of the buttocks and thighs.  At 5:00 AM the next morning she was given 30 strokes to the breasts with a light cane with a dozen of the strokes focused on the nipples.  This resulted in severe lacerations of the nipples but as she had nursed none of her daughters this was of little physiological consequence.  At three o‘clock in the afternoon she strapped into a Tee Frame and forty strokes were administered with a medium cane to her perineum.  This resulted in severe bruising of her mons and labia majora and lacerations of clitoral hood and labia minora.  Within half a week she was no longer melancholy and she was discharged home.  Herein effect was obtained by treatments that each in and of their own did not cause severe damage (cuts healed within a week) but therapeutic effect was achieved!  I doubt that there was any way that perineal treatment alone would have achieved effect no matter how severe the damage inflicted.  We call this modality, combined Therapy.

Furthermore, we have come to appreciate that other factors may influence the therapeutic effect although we do not yet have any idea of the modality or mechanism operant.  As referred to above we have long suspected that complete exposure of the female and her restraint aids the induction of the therapeutic effect.  Recently we have come to identify another potential effect.  Recently we treated a 40 year old mother for melancholy and her two daughters for behavioural disorders.  Previously they had been treated for these symptoms with no effect by a practitioner who had administered two cycles involving application of a strap to the perineum for twenty strokes followed by compression of the clitoris and labia minora with forceps.  It should be noted that in all cases the patients were treated separately and at different times.  During the therapeutic sessions the females had removed only their drawers and were treated on a standard gynecological table without restraint.  We began combined therapy as soon as the females were brought to us.  On the evening of their admission to our hospital the mother received 50 strokes of a heavy cane on her backside,  the 18 year old girl received 24 strokes of the heavy cane and the 16 year old girl received 20 with the medium.  The caning was done at the same time in the same room with all of the females stripped and on adjacent caning horses.  The next morning all three were restrained in the upright position on posts and the mother was given 30 strokes to her large pendulous breasts with a medium cane.  Immediately the mother’s melancholia lifted and the daughters professed an aversion to their previously compulsive misbehaviour.  In any case the mother and daughters were given moderate perineal therapy and have been free of symptoms for six months on monthly moderate maintanence canings.  We have termed this unexpected felicitous outcome Family Therapy.  We have subsequently found other positive results with four other combinations of mothers and daughters; mother, daughter and daughter-in-law; mother, aunt, and daughter; and mother, daughter and niece.  We believe that this application offers great promise.