The BDSM Emblem and BDSM History

The BDSM community is perhaps the most rich and diverse sexual subculture in the world. It is populated by people from all different walks of life, sexual orientations, practices, and preferences. Besides a common interest in all things kinky, there is little else that defines the community as a cohesive group. In fact, the modern BDSM community has stemmed from a marriage of two separate sexual subcultures: the gay leather bar community and the swingers sex scene. While the former had a heavy emphasis on power dynamics and protocol, the latter was all about the sensuality of a physical experience, sexual or otherwise.

After the groups came together, there was more cohesion within the community, but to this day there is still a lot of debate surrounding what is “safe” or “sane” to do. The only thing the community seems to be in whole-hearted agreement on is that consent is important in every encounter, regardless of what “role” one chooses to assume.

The BDSM Emblem, in a sense, is a summation of the similarities that most (if not all) members of the community share with each other. The three separate sections of the Emblem represent the triad of basic rules most kinksters subscribe too, “Safe, Sane, Consensual.” The arms that divide these sections are also thought to be representative of a whip in motion. Impact play (and type of activity that involves the impact of an object on a person) is one of the most popular and easily recognizable forms of kinky play. The color of the sections, black, is meant to symbolize the “dark” nature of the activity. Not only do most kinksters prefer to dress in black, but a lot of kink activity can address very personal, private issues and thus the darkness can be seen as a more of an aspect of introversion, rather than evil or deviance. Finally, the holes that are present in each of the sections recognize that there is always room for improvement. Many people who practice kink as part of their daily life are likely to believe that one can always learn more about their practice or that knowledge can never be complete.

All these images together portray the general feeling of what it means to be part of the BDSM community and perhaps what it strives to be. Due to the great desire for anonymity within and outside the community, there is sometimes a limitation on the kinship that can form. As freer communication becomes more and more accessible, however, these barrios fall and a more complete community forms.

Sources:

http://emblemproject.sagcs.net/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bdsm#Origins

The History of Pornography

The History of Pornography

The making and watching of pornography is a controversial issue in the world today as it has been for hundreds of years. This is especially prevalent because in the age of technology porn is becoming more and more readily accessible. In a 2008 Study that was published in the Journal of Adolescent research it was found that out of 813 American University students 87% of men and 31% or women had at one point used porn for sexual stimulation. This brings up some questions that I will attempt to answer in this post:

1.     What is the importance and role of porn in society?

2.     What is the history of porn?

3.     Was it ever considered acceptable?

4.     Why is it so taboo in the world today even though it is so commonly used?

5.     Can it in fact be harmful?

So why is porn so tempting for us as humans. Evolutionarily it makes sense in terms of reproduction and the ability to pass down our genes from generation to generation. If we are attracted to the naked form of the opposite species then we are much more likely to have sexual intercourse and produce a child with them.

Porn dates back till the beginning of civilization. Archeologists have found sculptures of nude figures that date back 30,000 years. However it is unknown if these were used for sexual purposes or it they were idols of goddesses used primarily for religious purposes.

Later on in history the ancient Greeks and Romans created public sculptures and frescos depicting sexually explicit material such as heterosexual and homosexual intercourse, threesomes, fellatio and cunnilingus.

Some of the earliest publications which documented pornographic images where sex manuals which were popular in the Orient. The most well known example of this was the Kama Sutra, which is believed to be created sometime in the 2^nd century. This book is half sex manual and half relationship handbook. The Ancient Indians also feared that these paper manuals would not survive the pressures of time so they built large sculptures on temple walls of numerous people having sex.

Some other examples of early pornography are the sexual images painted on ceramic pottery by the people of ancient Puru and the erotic woodblock prints that aristocrats in 16th century Japan created.

In the Western world pornography was banned by Christian beliefs as they were expected to only depict saints. Despite of this porn was actually quite popular throughout the Renaissance. An interesting example of porn in this time period is the work of Rafaels apprentice Julio Romano who due to a disagreement with the pope painted an entire hall of the Vatican with sexual images. This of course sparked heated controversy and debate and was eventually removed

In the 18^th century France was the leading forerunner in the production and spread of pornographic images. Images of nude bodies in compromising sexual positions were spread on playing cards, posters, post cards and so on. Interestingly the French also used porn for political means, French revolutionaries used it as a way to satirize the aristocracy.

The 1800s marked the point in time when pornography began to be perceived as bad because it was created for the sole reason of sexual stimulation. In the western world, people caught spreading porn where arrested and/or forced to pay fines.  Even though erotic novels had been in print since the 1600s in France (the authors had to keep their identity a secret for their own safety) the first full-length English pornographic novel called “Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure” AKA “Fanny Hill” wasn’t published until 1748. The novel by John Cleland portrayed, bisexualism, voyeurism, group sex , sadomasochism and several other sexual acts that were perceived to be outside of the norm. The novel became infamous as it is one of the most banned books in history and the authors were accused of “corrupting the King’s subjects”.

Innovations in technology lead to new and easily accessible means of depicting pornography. In 1839 the first camera called the daguerreotype was able to create the first primitive photographs. Not surprisingly this was immediately take up by the pornography industry. The oldest found daguerreotype dated back to 1846 and depicted “a rather solemn man gingerly inserting his penis into the vagina of an equally solemn and middle aged woman”.

With the creation of film the porn industry began and really took off.  French silent films depicting clips like “Le Coucher de la Marie” in which a women performs a strip tease were popularized around 1839. However hard-core pornography did not start until after 1900 and this porn was nothing like the porn so easily found on the Internet today. One researcher commented, “They look like your Grandparents having sex. They were quint, but it was real intercourse”. These stage filme were also only viewed in all male gatherings at erotic cinemas.

With new technologies such as the digital camera and the Internet pornography became increasingly more common and available. Now porn could be downloaded or bought and watched in the privacy of ones own home. This meant that men especially became more likely to watch films that depicted sex acts there were out of the norm. in 1994 Carniege Mellon did a study of early porn on computer Bulletin Board systems (old World Wide Web). He found that 48% of downloads were considered to be fetish films and depicted sex acts such as bestiality, pedophilia and incest. Only approximately 5% had traditional vaginal sex. Another notable study published in 2008 by professor Chyng Sun analyzed best selling porn films. Sun found that physical and verbal aggression towards women were found in 90% of films. Even more surprisingly the films directed by women contained just as much aggression as the ones directed by men.

This brings up questions related to the harmfulness of pornography on real life sexual relationships:

1.     Is sex leading to unhealthy body images especially for women?

2.     Does the presence of physical and verbal aggression in porn have any affect on relationships?

3.     Should porn be considered good or bad? Should there be laws regulating it?

What do you think?

-Indigo M

Sources
http://www.livescience.com/8748-history-pornography-prudish-present.html
http://english.pravda.ru/society/sex/11-07-2007/94805-pornography-0/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pornography

The Tantric Experience

            Last winter, I took a wonderful course with Dr. Shreena Gandhi titled “Intro to Hindu Traditions.”  The class discussed different aspects of life as a Hindu in terms of holidays and festivals, history of the religion, daily rituals, the different gods and deities, and the role of sex in Hinduism as a more fulfilling way to worship the gods.  One of the more prevalent texts in the class was a book called “The Hindus” by Wendy Doniger, who tends to be quite elaborative and graphic in her writing.  The idea for me to write about sex from a different religious background was interesting to me not just because it gives offers new knowledge and a different insight on a particular subject, but it also provides a common ground in that people discover similarities and appreciation on a new point of view.  “Tantra,” or achieving the “Tantric experience” was resurrected in my mind when I pondered different topics for this blog post.  Like the start of most research, I Googled “sex throughout history” (the focus for our group’s blog) and I had come across the practice of Tantra yoga.

            Tantra, estimated to be thousands of years old, is, arguably, a Hindu practice.  The Tantric text is one of the oldest, well-preserved, sacred texts about sexuality.  For some, Tantra is a form of yoga that encourages oneness with everything around you, and for others, it is guide to mind-blowing sex. But no matter which way you interpret it, the bottom line is that Tantra is all about oneness.

Tantra derives from Sanskrit and it has two parts.  “Tan” means “to expand, join or weave” and “tra” means “tool” giving Tantra its two-fold meaning “a tool to unite.”  Tantra Yoga accepts and embraces desires as natural and that as long as were are personified, we will experience desires through each of our senses that serve as windows for them to enter.  Tantra yoga acknowledges desires as the driving force of the universe; therefore it does not ask one to renounce their desires.

Passages from Doniger’s “The Hindus,” chapter 15 goes beyond the demonstration of sexual positions and more into the rituals that bring forth the Tantric experience: “Tantra in its earliest documented stage, a ritual in which…”precious bodily fluids” were swallowed as transformative “power substances”” (Page 425).

“For the Tantras do say things like “The body of every living creature is made of semen and blood.  The [deities] who are fond of sexual pleasure drink semen and blood.”  Drinking blood and seed together is a very Tantric thing to do” (Page 425).

“But it is not semen-blood but female blood…that plays the central role in the Tantras.  The menstrual blood of the female participant is connected to the polluting but life-giving blood of her animal victims, decapitated and offered in sacrifice” (Page 426).

            Hinduism has never really been popular for its oral history; most traditions have either been passed down orally or through various personal lessons.  The purest form of Tantra has never been recorded, but people have created many forms.  The most common form of Tantra is preserved in such writings as the Kama Sutra, which is more commercialized and made out to be more directly about sex.

Sources:

“The Hindus” by Wendy Doniger

http://www.sanatansociety.org/yoga_and_meditation/tantra_yoga.htm

http://www.spiritualtantra.net/history-of-sacred-sexuality

Picture: http://www.tantra.us/

 

 

 

                                       

The Hottentot Venus: The Iconography of Black Female Sexuality

theblcklst.blogspot.com

          When Sarah Baartman was born to her Khoisan family in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, no one knew that she would be made into the face of black female sexuality in the late 19th century. Sarah Baartman was a Khoikhoi woman who was most famous for being exhibited as a freak show attraction under the name Hottentot Venus-- "Hottentot" as the then-current name for the Khoi people and "Venus" in reference to the Roman goddess of love.

          Baartman's story begins when she was a slave for a Dutch farmer near Cape Town and a friend of her slave owner was enticed by her highly unusual bodily features so much that he wanted to take her to Europe to be exhibited. Baartman's body featured a large buttocks and an elongated labia. Her physique, particularly her buttocks, became the object of popular fascination when Baartman was first exhibited in London in 1810, at the tender age of twenty.


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          In 1814, Baartman was taken to France, and became the object of scientific and medical research that formed the bedrock of European ideas about black female sexuality. J.J. Virey, the author of the study of race standard in the early 19th century, blamed the "primitive sexual appetite" of black females on their "volumptuousness" and most of all, their "primitive genitalia". He continued on to cite that Sarah Baartman was the epitome of this sexual lasciviousness. If their sexual parts could be shown to be inherently different, this would be a sufficient sign that the blacks were a separate (and, needless to say, lower) race, as different from the European as the proverbial orangutan.
 
          In 1815, Sarah Baartman passed away unexpectedly at the age of twenty-five in Paris, France. An autopsy was conducted, but the sole purpose was not to find out her cause of death but to get the chance to examine her sexual organs. Her skeleton, preserved genitals, and brain were placed on display in Paris' Musee de l'Homme until 1974, when they were removed from public view. In August 2002, Baartman's body was returned to her homeland of South Africa nearly 200 years after her birth.

Sources:

http://icarusfilms.com/new99/hottento.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Baartman

http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Exhibition.html

Gilman, Sander L. "Black Bodies, White Bodies: Toward an Iconography of Female Sexuality in Late Nineteenth-Century Art, Medicine, and Literature." Race, Writing and Difference. Ed. Henry Louis Gates Jr. Chicago, 1986.

Electric Feel: The History and Future of the Vibrator

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