Chantel Edwards

Views on sex throughout history have changed greatly, but every culture has had

one common opinion. Every thriving civilization has realized that without sex, there is no

life. This observation means that either a population believed procreation was the only

benefit to sex, or a population used this to their advantage to discover many useful

things about sex and the human body. This is proven by the many sex related

documents throughout history including the Turin Erotic Papyrus from the ancient

Egyptian era, Kama Sutra written in ancient India, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male,

and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female which were both written in the modern era.

Sex has always been a curious topic that people have wanted to explore, but wasn’t

always legal to do so. In recent years, the human race has made a lot of sexual

freedom advances, especially in America. Although many people would say that there is

a vast amount of sexual openness in the United States, it has not always been that way

and that statement is not as accurate as it may seem. There have been many

civilizations before modern day America that had the same amount, if not more sexual

freedom than today. An example of such a culture is that of the ancient Egyptians

because they believed that sex and fertility were symbols of higher social status.

Sexual openness was not frowned upon in ancient Egyptian civilization and as

long as adultery wasn’t committed, then one was free to have sexual relationships with

whomever they pleased. It has also been thought that premarital sex might have been a

prerequisite for marriage. This might have been because most sexual experiences

happened at a young age, due to premature deaths at that time. Although Egypt was a

very sexual culture, this did not exactly mean the Egyptians publicized every sexual

encounter they experienced. Instead, the Egyptians drew artwork on limestone, and
inside of tombs that were coded. These codes were used in order to express what

Egyptians thought of as everyday events, without being too explicit. Other pieces of art

work that were created in the Egyptian times were statues of gods, and godesses. A lot

of the gods depicted in the statues were shown to have large phalluses, as a sign of

fertility. Although Egyptians were comfortable with these images of their gods, the

Victorians weren’t. The European Victorians lived in a time of sexual repression, and did

not approve of this material at all. When these pieces of artwork were discovered, they

were immediately locked up and hidden from the world due to embarrassment.

Phalluses were even cut off of statues in order to be displayed in Egyptian museums

during the Victorian era. The lack of respect the Victorians had in order to ruin a piece of

artwork just because it made them uncomfortable, shows how closed minded they were

when it came to sex.

Unlike the ancient Egyptians, the Victorian era Europeans had a completely

different view regarding sexuality. The Victorians felt that if a woman participated in

premarital sex, that she was “dirty”. Women could be degraded and their reputations

ruined, as well as their families’ for participating in such outrageous acts. A woman in

the Victorian era could be considered scandalous just by showing too much skin,

wearing makeup, or saying the word leg in front of a member of the opposite sex.

Sexual acts were not a common topic of conversation among people in the Victorian

era, especially not with women. Women were not even allowed to enjoy sexual acts,

without being looked down upon by their peers. This double standard would not be

tolerated in society today, because most women in the United States have great pride in

knowing they can do whatever they want with their body, and enjoy it.
 Although women nowadays can chose any partner they desire, and share any

personal information with anyone they want, there are still restrictions. After the sexual

revolution in the sixties, people felt the need to express free love, and that meant sexual

freedom. Premarital sex started becoming more common among men and women, as

well as multiple sex partners. Many religions did not like this idea of free love, because

they believed that sex was an act that should be saved until marriage, between two

people who were committed to each other. Despite the churches efforts to stop

premarital sex, sexual influences are everywhere. Sexual images and innuendo are all

around America, on the TV, in advertisements, in magazines, on the internet, and even

in children’s movies. Seeing something sexual in the media is inevitable nowadays, and

sexual influence in the world is just going to keep on expanding until there are no longer

restrictions or taboos on sex.

There have always been sexual taboos, even back in the ancient Egyptian times.

Although it was not taboo to engage in premarital sex, like in the Victorian era, adultery

was seen as a huge taboo. An Egyptian woman who was caught cheating was

sentenced to death. But, if an Egyptian man was caught being unfaithful, the most

extreme amount of punishment he got was a divorce. Another taboo in Egyptian culture

was to engage in sexual relations with underage children. The age of consent during the

ancient times was eleven years old for boys, and thirteen years old for girls.

In addition to having sex with children, another taboo in the Egyptian times was

homosexuality. Homosexual acts were also thought of as taboo especially since status

depended on fertility and the size of one’s family. There was never a lot of evidence that
showed the Egyptians participated in homosexual acts, but there were many signs that

there was prostitution in ancient Egypt.

Although prostitution was taboo in many other societies, it was actually

considered a sacred act in Egyptian times. This was because the prostitutes were

thought of as gods and goddesses who helped with fertility. Prostitutes were often

singers, dancers, or musicians that started entertaining at a very young age. Historians

don’t know if prostitute is the right name for these women, because they most likely

weren’t paid for their services, unlike prostitutes during the Victorian era.

Prostitution in the Victorian era was extremely taboo, and only women who were

considered “dirty” and had ruined reputation were prostitutes. There was even a law

created during this time that said any woman accused of being a prostitute could be

subject to an exam by military doctors, to check for diseases. Even though prostitutes

were looked down upon and called disgusting, men could still have sex with them and

not do any damage to their reputation.

Something that could damage a man’s reputation however, was homosexuality. If

a man was accused of being homosexual, or participating in homosexual acts, then he

was thought of as a pervert. Homosexuals were also considered sinners, and only men

were accused of participating in homosexual acts. This was because Queen Victoria

said that women were too good to do such a thing.

Masturbation was also another taboo during the Victorian era. It was thought of

as a disease or the cause of diseases, and sometimes resulted in clitoridectomy among

women. Boys and men who were caught masturbating were forced to wear chastity

belts, and some were very torturous.

 Unlike the Victorian era, masturbation is no longer thought of as a disease. But, it

is more thought of as a life style choice. Prostitution on the other hand, is somewhat

taboo. It is illegal in most of America, except for a couple cities in Nevada. There are

also different levels of prostitution, where some women do it as a means to make

money, and others do it because they enjoy it. Many women in the Victorian era would

not understand the concept that someone would like prostitution, but some women find

it empowering to be able to share their bodies with people. Another taboo of the modern

world is incest. Incest is illegal now, just like it was in the Victorian era, and it is not a

common occurrence like it was in ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptians used to have

incesteral relations in order to keep royal blood in the family. It is now known that incest

is the cause of serious genetic mutations, and is illegal in most countries.

Homosexuality is no longer thought of as taboo in America, but not everyone is in

agreement with the laws on homosexuality. But, before the two thousands,

homosexuality was still thought of as a disease. Many doctors thought clitoridectomy

was a cure for lesbianism, and tried to “save” them. Currently, homosexuals are trying

to prove that it isn’t just a lifestyle, but is actually biological. In the past year there has

also been big debate over the legalization of gay marriage, and the feud still continues.

Although mankind has made huge progress in terms of sexual freedom

compared to the Victorian era, there is still room for improvement. Homosexuality

should no longer be looked down upon, and gay marriage should be legalized. Sexual

double standards need to come to an end in order for the human race to thrive. Lessons

need to be learned from past experiences, so that history doesn’t repeat itself. Modern
America does not need another sexual repression. Instead, America needs to have its

own positive influences on the history of sex.