RWA WORKSHOP :: SEX THROUGHOUT HISTORY

SEX THROUGHOUT HISTORY with Delilah Marvelle

I bet you didn’t see this in history class!

EGYPT :: Even Egyptian gods masturbated. Ra masturbated his children into existence. Egyptians believed in sex after life, so mummies have been found with artificial penises and women had large, ornate fake nipples.

GREECE :: Used sexuality to titillate and intimidate. The ultimate punishment for an adult male was to be sexually assaulted. If a man learned his wife was cheating, he had the right to bugger the man committing adultery with her.

KAMA SUTRA :: Young women were taught as part of preparation for marriage. Men were expected to honor and live by them. Includes how to relate to your partner, not just sexually.

1st English version published in 1883 by Sir Richard Burton, when he formed the Kama Sutra society

AMERICA :: Cornflakes were created as a anti-masturbatory tool. John Harvey Kellogg was a doctor specializing in rehabilitating masturbators. Men & boys were circumcised to lessen the sexual experience. He would apply carbic acid to the clitoris so a woman would never be able to experience orgasm.

EUROPE :: Hysteria – a woman’s clitoris was massaged by a physician until orgasm, and then given a dildo for further treatment at home.
In the 1600, they started dressing up the condom with ribbons. Condoms were made from linen or intestine, and moistened by soaking in water or milk…and then cleaned and reused! Goodyear invented the rubber condom in 1844.

In the middle ages, women got their first period around 20. In the Victorian era, women were closer to 17. Women are so well nourished now, periods are starting considerably earlier.
Quality control in the Georgian period? They would blow up the condom to check for holes!

Merkin – decorative patch of hair. First reference in 1450. Lice was prevalent, so prostitutes shaved the pubic area, and took mercury for syphilis her pubic hair would fall out. A merkin would cover up the fact that they were diseased.

Harris’s List – Samuel Derrick was a struggling author who was frustrated that no one appreciated his genius, so he went to a bar for a drink. He watched a man go up to another man and describe what kind of prostitute he wanted. Jack Harris told him where to go, for a fee!

Jack Harris would test out every single lady and write a review (Covent-Garden Ladies). Samuel Derrick expanded on the idea, had the ladies pay to be listed, and published it annually!

Misconceptions of chastity belts – not just for women! Men had them to prevent masturbation. Mentions during the renaissance, not really mideivel. Created for conversation pieces, not actually used. Victorians used the chastity belt.

The practice of hiving – applying honey to your nether regions, bees are released. Sharp stings are thought to receive pleasure while maintaining chastity.

In history, men celebrated for their sexuality. Women were villified.

LORD BYRON :: The Brad Pitt of his day. People were fascinated. Said to have sex with over 300 women, on being his half-sister. Though that because of his sexual prowess, he must be eccentric to the point of insanity.

MARQUIS DE SADE:: Believed in extreme freedom – no censure of sexuality, religion, politics. He did a lot of writing while jailed or in an insane asylum. Justine & Juliette – two sisters, one who did everything right morally but is unhappy, and the one who had torrid escapades and was happy. Napoleon ordered his arrest after reading it.  Loved food, was a good husband and father. Many of his escapades were fictionalized.

CASANOVA :: Sex addict. Loved women, but wasn’t adverse to experiences with men. Secretary, soldier, lottery director, chemist, spy, librarian…hung out with Mozart and Voltaire. Not a very good looking guy, but he genuinely listened to women and seemed to want to understand them, which was his main attractive pull. Suffered from dozens of venereal diseases.

HENRY SPENCER ASHBEE :: Author of My Secret Life – a log of his sexual experiences with women.

MARIE ANTOINETTE :: A victim of her era, simply for being a woman. Princess de Lamballe was her best friend. When Marie Antoinette was seized and held captive, Princess de Lamballe came to her aid. Pamphlets were created claiming they were lesbians, going into wild detail about dildos. 9/3/1792 – her home was stormed. She was raped repeatedly, hit with hammers until she passed out, her breasts and pubic regions were sliced off, she was disemboweled and her head was put on a spike. They took the head to Marie Antoinette’s cell and forced her to it.