History of human sexuality
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The social construction of human sexual behavior—its taboos, regulation and social and political impact—has had a profound effect on the various cultures of the world since prehistoric times.
Sources
Sexual speech - and by extension, writing - has been subject to varying standards of decorum since the beginning of history. The resulting self-censorship and euphemistic forms translate today into a dearth of explicit and accurate evidence on which to base a history. There are a number of sources that can be collected across a wide variety of times and cultures, including the following:
- Records of legislation indicating either encouragement or prohibition
- Religious and philosophical texts recommending, condemning or debating the topic
- Literary sources unpublished during their authors' lifetimes, including diaries and personal correspondence
- Medical textbooks treating various forms as a pathological condition
- Linguistic developments, particularly in slang.
- More recently, studies of sexuality
Reproduction and cultural gender roles
The biological phenomenon that women become pregnant and give birth instead of men has shaped the formation of gender roles in world cultures. A single male can impregnate any number of females at once, while a single female is usually only impregnated by one male at a time. Even if there were only one man left on Earth, humankind could probably recover, depending on the man's health and fertility. The gene pool of the species would be somewhat impoverished, however, so the species would be less able to adapt to changes in its environment. On the other hand, if all but one female were wiped out, it is doubtful humanity could recover.
In fact, it appears that even in early historical times, it was not clear that there was any male role in reproduction - there is no immediate correlation between sex and reproduction due to the delay in the obvious signs of pregnancy. However, all civilizations hit upon the concept of male reproduction and, even more importantly, paternity, most likely from the correlation seen during the development of animal husbandry. The discovery of paternity led to concepts such as fathership of children, the importance of ensuring fidelity, the role of marriage as prima facie proof of paternity, and holding individual males responsible for the support of their offspring.
Another school of thought (e.g. Jared Diamond in Why is Sex Fun? The Evolution of Human Sexuality) holds that the reasons behind the development of these concepts is biological, a result of a variety of unique elements of human sexuality (Sex for pleasure, hidden ovulation, etc.). Natural selection ensures that men that are able to be more certain of the parentage of the children they care for will be more likely to pass on their genes.
This division has shaped many of the gender roles that survive to modern times. As humans have gained increased mastery of the environment, these divisions become less and less relevant, but change, while it is taking place, happens gradually.
Sex in various cultures
India
Mesopotamia
China
Japan
Greece
Etruria
Rome
The sexual revolution
The sexual revolution was a substantial change in sexual morality and sexual behaviour throughout the West in the late 1960s and early 1970s. One factor in the change of values pertaining to sexual activities was the improvement of the technologies used for the control of fertility. Prime among them, at that time, was the first birth control pill.
Psychology and sex
Especially before the development of dependable methods of contraception, the control of sexual behavior was of extreme practical importance to parents in some societies. The methodologies employed by parents to try to prevent their children from prematurely becoming parents themselves could have a profound effect on the minds of those children. In some societies, guilt was inculcated in an attempt to prevent premarital sexual activity, and the guilt could contaminate the entire self image of the individuals who, after all, were biologically predetermined to have the "guilty" sexual impulses that their families (and, usually, their religions) were trying to head off. In other societies, shaming was done with the same goals and with similar psychological damage possible.
The ability to function sexually depends a great deal on activities that occur not in the sexual organs but in the brain. When the individual has been psychologically traumatized by abusive practices intended to control premarital sexual activities, he or she may be unable to perform well even after marriage has presumably legitimized sexual intercourse. Dysfunctions for males may include: inability to achieve an erection, penile insensitivity, premature ejaculation, etc. For the female they may include: frigidity, inability to achieve orgasm, vaginismus, etc. These problems may lead to secondary problems if, for instance, affected individuals self medicate with alcohol, marijuana (in the case of premature ejaculation), or even more dangerous drugs.
The treatment of sexual dysfunctions and the problems of low self esteem, guilt, self-destructive impulses, etc., has been one of the main activities of helping professions such as psychiatry, clinical psychology, etc.
Same-sex relations in various cultures
Religion and sex
Although not the case in every culture, most religious practices contain taboos in regard to sex, sex organs and the reproductive process.
Politics of sex
With the rise of government and laws, personal behaviors, including sex, became increasingly politicized.
The politics (and, therefore, laws) in regards to sex vary widely. In several countries (and different states of countries) there are or were, laws, both civil and religious, forbidding some sexual practices or to forbid sexual intercourse between partners of difference races. Laws that forbid to have sex with a person younger than a fixed age are very common.
The laws generally fit into the following types.
- Partner laws regulate the choice of the partner on the following attributes: specie, state, sex, age, number, group, time.
- Species (human/non-human): Permitted: a human partner. Not permitted: a non-human partner. e. g. sex with animals (zoophilia) is not permitted.
- State (living/dead): Permitted: a living human. Not permitted: a dead one e. g. sex with the dead (necrophilia) is not permitted.
- Sex (opposite/same): Permitted: a living human of the opposite sex. Not permitted: a living human of the same sex e. g. sex with the members of one's own sex Homosexual sex) is not permitted.
- Age: Permitted: a partner with a certain age. Not permitted: a partner with an age less than a certain age. These restrictions are of two types.
- Absolute age: Permitted: a partner with the age greater than or equal to the age of consent as determined by the applicable law. Not permitted: a partner with the age less than the age of consent. The value of Age of consent ranges from 9 to 21.
- Relative age: Permitted: a partner with the age greater (or less) than one's own age. Not permitted: a partner with the age less (or greater) than one's own age. E. g. a law that prohibits the woman being elder to the man.
- Number (one/many): Number of partners for sexual activity.
- At a single sexual encounter: e. g. monogamy (monandry, monogyny) and polygamy (polyandry, polygyny)).
- At any given time in life: e. g. monogamy (monandry, monogyny) and polygamy (polyandry, polygyny)).
- At different times in life: Permitted: only one partner at a time e. g. serial monogamy. Not permitted: polygamy (polyandry, polygyny)).
- Group: Permitted: a partner from one's own race, religion, caste, creed, community and/or group. Not permitted: a partner outside one's own race, religion, caste, creed, community and/or group. These are of two types.
- Same: Permitted: a partner from the same group. Not permitted: a partner from a different group.
- Different: Permitted: a partner from a different group. Not permitted: a partner from the same group. E. g. sex with one's blood-relatives (incest), sex with the members of one's own sex (homosexual sex) are prohibited.
- Time: The time in the life of the partner e. g. a law that prohibits the woman from engaging in sexual activity while she menstruates.
- Activity laws regulate the choice of the sexual activity e. g. a law that prohibits genital-genital intercourse. Activity laws are of the following types.
The laws sorted in the decreasing order of perceived severity for a single (number) living (state) adult (absolute age) human (specie) being:
- Legend
AT = Attribute Type = [ A: Absolute | R: Relative ]
A relative attribute takes its value relative to a single living human being.
PT = Permission Type = [ Same | Opposite ]
A permission type takes the value 'Same' if and only if the permitted matches with a single living adult human being in either the specie or the state or the absolute age or the number.
| Type | Attribute | Sub-attribute | AT | PT | Permitted | Not Permitted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partner | Specie | R | Same | Human | Non-human. Sex with animals i. e. zoophilia | |
| __State | R | Same | Living | Dead. Sex with the dead i. e. necrophilia | ||
| ____Group | Sex | R | Opposite | A partner with a sex different from one's own. Sex with a partner with a sex different from one's own i. e. heterosexual sex. | A partner from one's own sex. Sex with a partner from one's own sex i. e. homosexual sex | |
| ____Group | Family | R | Opposite | A partner from one's own family. Sex with a partner from one's own family i. e. incest | ||
| ____Age | Adulthood with respect to the age of consent | R | Same | A partner with age >= the age of consent | A partner with age < the age of consent. Sex with a partner with age < the age of consent i. e. pedophilia | |
| ____Group | Race, religion, caste, creed, community, etc. | R | Same | A partner from a group same as one's own | A partner from a group different from one's own | |
| ____Number | At a single sexual encounter | R | Same | One | Opposite i. e. many | |
| ____Number | In a particular period in life | R | Same | One i. e. monogamy (monandry, monogyny) or many i. e. polygamy (polyandry, polygyny)) | Many i. e. polygamy (polyandry, polygyny)) | |
| ____Number | In different periods in life | R | Same | One i. e. serial monogamy (monandry, monogyny) or many i. e. polygamy (polyandry, polygyny)) | Many polygamy (polyandry, polygyny)) | |
| ____Age | Relative | R | E. g. a woman elder than a man. | |||
| ____Time | E. g. a menstruating woman | |||||
| Activity | Genital-genital intercourse |
The value of Age of consent ranges from 9 to 21.
Technology and sex
Scientific and technological advances have significantly affected the enjoyment and outcomes of sex, especially in recent history.
Recreational uses
Sex toys such as vibrators were introduced to the market in the late 1880s, some 10 years before domestic vacuum cleaners [1]. More recently, Internet sites dealing in sexual images developed the infrastructure for Internet commerce well in advance of most other sectors.
Birth control
Withdrawal, various herbal contraceptives and abortifacients, as well as crude pessaries, were available to cultures in ancient times. The invention of vulcanized rubber in the nineteenth century, and the promotion of condoms made from that rubber, began the modern birth control movement. A large number of birth control options are now available.
Technology and infertility
In the mid 20th century advances in medical science and modern understanding of the menstrual cycle led to observational, surgical, chemical and laboratory techniques to allow diagnosis and treatments many forms of infertility.
Pederasty
Many cultures normalized or promoted adult males and male youths, usually teenagers, entering into pedagogic friendships or love affairs that also had an erotic dimension. These were usually sexually expressed, but chaste ones were not infrequent. If sexual, that phase of the relationship lasted until the youth was ready for adulthood and marriage. Other cultures saw such relationships as inimical to their interests – often on religious grounds – and tried to stamp them out.
See Pederasty, Shudo, Pederasty in ancient Greece, Historical pederastic couples
Zoosexuality
Prior to and outside the influence of the major Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), sex with animals (also known as zoophilia, or bestiality) was sometimes forbidden, and sometimes accepted. Occasionally it was incorporated into religious ritual. The Abrahamic religions by and large forbid it, and make it a sin against God, and during the Middle Ages in Europe people and animals were often executed if found guilty. With the age of enlightenment, bestiality became subsumed into sodomy and a civil rather than religious offence.
Since the 1980s, many alternative sexualities have formed social networks, and zoosexuality (a more modern name for the spectrum of affinity and attraction to animals) is no exception to this. Although society in general is hostile, several decades of research seem to form a consensus that it is commonly misunderstood and mistaken for zoosadism. Regardless, although there are signs of slow attitude change over decades, it is usually considered a crime against nature in public, and illegal in most countries, and for that reason it is not much evidenced other than online, in private, and in the light of prosecution.
See main articles: Zoophilia, Historical and cultural perspectives on zoophilia
Prostitution
Prostitution is the sale of sexual services, such as oral sex or sexual intercourse. Prostitution has been described as the "world's oldest profession". Men, women and transgender people may engage in prostitution, although the majority of prostitutes in history have been women.
In some cultures, prostitution has been an element of religious practises. Religious prostitution is well documented in the ancient cultures of the near East, such as Sumer, Babylon, ancient Greece and Israel, where prostitutes appear in the Bible. In Greece the hetaerae were often women of high social class, whereas in Rome the meretrices were of lower social order. The Devadasi, prostitutes of Hindu temples in south India, were made illegal by the Indian government in 1988.
Abortion
Abortion is a means of ending a pregnancy, practiced since antiquity. Its legality has varied from country to country. At the present time it is, particularly in the US, the subject of vigorous debate in political and religious circles due to claimed conflicts with the definition of life, issues of personal freedom, and other beliefs.
Sexually transmitted diseases
For much of human history, sexually transmitted diseases have been the scourge of humanity. They raged unchecked through society until the discovery of antibiotics. For a period of about thirty years (in the second half of the twentieth century) their threat subsided. However, due to the free movement of people and the lack of sexual hygiene in certain groups, new diseases resistant to antibiotics quickly spread and at the present time pose a threat to people who are sexually active.
AIDS
AIDS has profoundly changed modern sexuality. It was first noticed (although many historians feel that the first case was in 1959) spreading among gay men and intravenous drug users in the 1970s and 1980s. Today, the majority of victims are heterosexual women, men, and children in developing countries. In most developing countries, fear of epidemic has drastically changed many aspects of twentieth century human sexuality. Fear of contracting AIDS has driven a revolution in sex education, which now centers far more the use of protection and abstinence, and spends much more time discussing sexually transmitted diseases.
Further effects of this disease run deep, radically impacting the average lifespan of afflicted countries. So stark is the difference that BBC News reports: "It is falling in many African countries - a girl born today in Sierra Leone could expect only to live to 36, in contrast to Japan, where today's newborn girl might reach 85 on average." [2]
See also
- History of feminism
- The History of Sexuality (book series)
- Ephebophilia
- Kamashastra
- Paraphilia
- Pederasty
- Pedophilia
- Polyamory
- Pornocracy
Sexual orientation
See also
- Geneanthropeia
- Psychopathia Sexualis
- The History of Sexuality by Michel Foucault
- Sex in History by Gordon Rattray Taylor
