Archive for Sexology
23 Nov./ 32
24, Holmdene Avenue,
Herne Hill,
London, S.E. 24
Dear Dr. Harry Benjamin,
Thank you for your kind letter. I am familiar with your name & know something of your work. I am sorry if I neglected to thank you for your reprints, though I fear that often happens as there are so many demands on my time, & at my age the energy to deal with them diminishes.
I hope you may find it possible to accept the congress in Chicago next year. By that time it is probable that conditions will have improved. You certainly need to be fairly asssured of improvement. I should feel honored if my name appears as an Honorary President, but I could not undertake any duties, and am not sure I could send a paper.
There is a certain amount of flexibility about the principles of the League, & your formulation seems to cover all the main points, & I entirely agree with your phrasing of most of them. But I am inclined to criticise 2. 7. & 8. Not that I personally object, but looking at the matter impersonally: In 2 I would not use the word "tyranny", and I think you overlook that while it is not the business of the State to control sexual relationships, the State is concerned with procreation, for that means the introduction of a (perhaps unwanted) new member into the community. We need more, rather than less, control of procreation, which cannot easily be accomplished except through marriage. In 7 I would write: "To promote a healthy attitude towards sex, including the knowledge of sane sex living, and to further educational instruction in the elements of biology with special reference to the facts of sex." We have already too much bad propaganda under the head of your first sentence in 7, & as to "sin", science has nothing to do with it and it should not be brought in. It concerns Religion, & should be left to Religion. I am a little doubtful about 8, as it could be interpreted in many ways, & there may be differences of opinion. I do not myself feel at all sure that to sell sex favors is to perform a valuable social service.
With best regards,
Sincerely Yours
Havelock Ellis