II. Of the causes which operate first upon the male factor, (1) _the double standard of sexual morals_ is most important. It prompts men to employ the prostitute. They demand her as a masculine right. (2) _Deferred marriage_ is another element. The causes of deferred marriage are largely economic, and rest upon the disproportion between wages and the cost of living. The wage-earning class is mulcted of most of the material wealth it produces. Men are paid neither their just wage nor enough to warrant assuming the responsibilities of marriage. The social system which bestows upon the non-producing class most of the wealth produced by labor is guilty of withholding from the man the bride to whom his industry entitles him. (3) _The inability to regulate satisfactorily the number of offspring_ is also a potent factor. This, coupled with the superstition against copulation during pregnancy and lactation, drives married men out of the home to seek sexual gratification.
(4) The widespread belief among men in the need of sexual exercise as a preservative of health is a strong influence in the promotion of prostitution. The idea of the _sexual necessity_ for men has been refuted by many students of these problems; but those who want to believe in it continue in the majority. Still it is not difficult to show that more men have their health damaged by prostitutes than have received benefit from their administrations.
(5) _Alcohol_ is the great promoter of sexual lust. Investigators who have questioned many men upon this subject have found that a large proportion of them made their first sexual mistakes while under the influence of alcohol. Young men are especially prone to seduction when intoxicated. Alcohol inhibits the action of the will, benumbs the moral sense, and stimulates the sexual passions. No other poison plays so strong a rôle in the promotion of sex immorality.
(6) The _absence of good feminine society_ in the circles of youth is a factor. Social contact with high-minded women satisfies the craving for feminine society and deters young men from seeking the society of the opposite type of women. A boy who has friendships among good women is apt to be ashamed to go among the lewd.