A History of Doing It

Another old article from my original blogging days: October 2007:

Been wondering about the different sexual expressions of ethnic cultures. Latin-American culture seems to be more comfortable with sex, as does African. From the way we move, to the way we dress, to how we discuss sex, these two ethnic cultures seem more comfortable.

Sex History 101

North American cultures are highly influenced by European culture as a result of colonialism in the middle ages through the 1800’s . As a result, the North American sexual ethic has been influenced by Euro, Puritan and Victorian values and beliefs. An ethic that has been hard for North America to shake. When North America was colonized in the 1500’s, Native Americans mixed their sexual ethic with Puritan views of sex. As Africans were enslaved and brought to the north in the 1800’s, they held to strong values of family and child rearing, but exchanged their native sexual ethic for a Victorian view.

In the 1800’s, the European’s were highly influenced by Queen Victoria who seemed to model conservative, romantic views of sexuality and marriage. Native American and African culture had more liberal expressions of sex and even marriage, but couldn’t compete against the cultural influences of the Puritan and Victorian eras. Victorians were good at moralism, still influenced by Christian and Puritan thought. The sexual ethic of those colonized and enslaved was considered nothing less than savage and immoral. All the Victorian moralism led to all sorts of secret societal sexual issues, including increase in accepted prostitution, accepted infidelity, and rampant STDs.

How the Tribes did “It.”

* Some Native American tribes believed that marriage was not the primary relationship for intimacy. Spouses were often more intimate with friends. This was acceptable.

* In some African tribes, women who had more or equal power to men, took for themselves a wife and a husband.

* In both Native American and African tribes, sex was seen as something for social and physical pleasure.

* African tribes would sing songs about sex, dance provocatively, share sexual practices with one another, and enact sexual body movements to teach their youth about the art of having good sex.

Our sexual ethic today is a result of Puritan and Victorian thinking. We tend to hold up this sexual ethic over and against other ethnic sexual ethics frequently judging all others as immoral or evil. The prevailing sexual ethic also favors a very conservative Christian value and belief system, which defends sexual practice in heterosexual married relationships. Cultural discussions over homosexuality, sexual education, AIDS, etc. become hotbeds that threaten to altar the strong values and beliefs on sex in North America. Meanwhile, much like the Victorian culture, our own culture wrestles with its own societal sexual issues.

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