A World History of Sexuality: Given Our History, Why Are so Many Afraid of Sex?

This article, I feel is a much-needed response to some rather conservative comments about sexuality that have been made on some racy AC content.

These comments made me question why so many people are afraid of casual sex, why those same people consider those who engage in casual sex have no self-respect and people still preach that premarital sex is taboo.

Two issues that were brought up were the risks involved in unprotected sex. Are STDs and unintended pregnancies an issue? Yes. But one-night-stands or not (one of my recent AC content favorites), unprotected sex even between the committed can result in a disease or pregnancy. More often than not, surprise pregnancies happen to monogamous couples. And STDs can oftentimes take months or even years to show symptoms and therefore, someone who loses his or her virginity to someone they trust could still contract an STD. The partner who has the STD may not even now they were infected.

Now that I covered those two points, let me delve into the real meat of my article. I will look back into the history of human sexuality on a global basis and examine that casual sex is something that was not always criticized.

It's funny how nudity is something so shameful in American society today. However, when naked bodies are shown in museums, it is classic art and looked at as educational. What baffles me is that at the time these paintings and sculptures were made, the world was so much more liberal. Students of art and culture are taught to appreciate these works, yet society looks down on openness with sexuality. That confuses the heck out of me.

(Also, please note that my opinions end here and the following are factual anecdotes. This means that I welcome discussion; however do not criticize me as the author on the following.)

Sex in Mesopotamia

According to historians, the ancient Mesopotamian society practiced sexual openness. In fact, the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar was the primary goddess of life, men and women, nature and fertility, sex, sexual power and birth.