Reverend+Sylvester+Graham

Michelle McCann ** Reverend Sylvester Graham ** ** Reverend Sylvester Graham’s Background ** Reverend Sylvester Graham was a Presbyterian minister and dietary reformer from Connecticut who was born in 1794 and died in 1851, and was kno wn to have had a troubled childhood that affected his life work. Iacobbo (2004) writes, “Early exposure to drunkenness made an impression on the boy that lasted a lifetime… He was a sickly child who suffered from bouts of illness… he was a highly sensitive and passionate person.” He was one of the earliest dietary reformers in the U.S. and today is remembered for his lectures on vegetarianism and the temperance movement. He is also most famous for inventing the graham cracker out of his pure, whole wheat “graham bread“, as part of his diet plan that supposedly rid people of their impure thoughts (Williams, 1883). His ideas about how to live have a large impact on sexual socialization history as well as setting forth ideas about how people view healthy eating. ** Graham’s Dietary Reform ** Graham believed that an unhealthy diet was the reason for excessive sexual urges, and that by having sexual desire, the body would bec ome diseased and unhealthy. His diet was vegetarian, consisting of fruit, vegetables, high fiber foods, and whole wheat bread. He claimed that by eating these foods, one would rid themselves of sexual thoughts and the desire to masturbate. Graham also advocated against alcohol consumption, as that would damage the body and cause impure thoughts as well. This was very unpopular at the time because alcohol was otherwise very common and accepted in American society. In one lecture he wrote, he noted that his ideas were “purely scientific” and that by eating meat or any animal byproducts like milk or eggs, the blood flow to the genitals would cause excess excitation which would ultimately cause damage to the nervous system and vital organs in the body. He also wrote some specific instructions for how a “good man” would eat on the Graham Diet: “He may take a greater variety of simple vegetables and fruits; but still, he had better never go beyond the vegetable kingdom and pure water, for his aliment. Yet if he will indulge in in animal food, he ought [to] limit himself to a small portion of good lean flesh” (Graham, 1838). As this example shows, followers of the Graham diet were very limited in the types of foods they could eat; Graham fully believed in simplicity and that foods should be completely pure and simply prepared. By this, he meant that even spices shouldn’t be used to flavor food because it was excessive, and in turn would only cause more “excessive” and unnecessary sexual desire.

** Grahamites ** Graham influenced a large amount of followers who were called “Grahamites.” These people followed his ways of living and diet plan. It was known that Graham was a powerful speaker and that thousands of people would attend his lectures. Grahamites followed each principle Graham held: sexual restraint, temperance, and vegetarianism. “He was able to hold his audiences spellbound. He had many disciples who also worked diligently to further the vegetarian cause“ (Burrows & Wallace, 1999). Grahamites would consume a large amount of his graham crackers because they felt it would rid them of the urge to masturbate. Grahamism was only popular from the 1860’s to the 1880’s and has lost momentum since Graham’s death (Smith, 2004). Today, graham crackers are not made how why were originally; they are now made out of refined wheat. Graham would never approve of the modern graham cracker and would say that its ingredients would be a part of an impure lifestyle. ** Impact on Sexual Communication ** Many lectures were given by Graham during his life about defying sexual urges and eating for a pure life. In the mid-1800’s, it was quite taboo to even discuss sexual topics in public, especially around women. Some texts describe women fainting at Graham’s lectures because of how “inappropriate” it was for him to talk about masturbation. He brought attention to the fact that one can change their impure thoughts by the foods they ate. Graham was very much against any sexual urges; he thought they were too excessive and that it was wrong to engage in sexual acts beyond procreation. “One of Graham's more famous works was //Lectures to Young Men on Chastity//, where he branched out into the sexual reform field and condemned masturbation, too much sex, and even the enjoyment of sex as improperly stimulating to those same vitalities affected by drink, spice, and white bread” (Hardy, 2011). Not only did Graham spark vegetarian diet movements, but his ideas revolved mostly around the idea that food affects our sexual desires. One can argue that his lectures were the start of simply talking about sex in public. Even though many opposed his ideas, he was very influential on society. Iacobbo (2004) states: “His attributes as a speaker and a thinker and his way with words, the very qualities he had been criticized for as a youth… would propel him to national prominence.” ** References ** Burrows, Edwin G. and Mike Wallace. (1999). Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Accessed at [] ). Graham, Sylvester. (1838). A lecture to young men on chastity. Fourth ed. Boston. (Accessed through Google Books). Hardy, Alexander. (2011). Better living through breakfast: health reformers and the birth of an American oddity. //San Francisco State University.// (Accessed at   [] ). Iacobbo, Karen. (2004). Vegetarian America: a history. //Praegger Publishers.// (Accessed through Google Books). Smith, Andrew F. Ed. (2004). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and drink in America. New York and Oxford: //Oxford University Press//. Williams, Howard M.A. (1883). The ethics of diet- A Catena. //International Vegetarian Union.// (Accessed at http://www.ivu.org/history/williams/graham.html).