Eroticism in the culture of nations - encyclopedia part II
Greek eroticism
Greek culture, especially philosophy and art, creating the ideal of the beauty of the body, Apollonian attitude to life, archetypes of gender roles or sexual behaviors influenced the mentality of the West until the twentieth century. Greek mythology contains a pantheon of deities of both sexes.
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Courtesan
In Polish, the term has two meanings:
a / a woman of light customs, often very intelligent and educated, living in ancient Greece;
b / woman nagging, tongue, megiera
Hindu eroticism
Hinduism includes many currents of thought, six major philosophical systems - so there are diverse attitudes towards sexuality and eroticism. In mythology there are numerous connections with sexuality and sex, eg one of the mythology about creation speaks of the birth of the world from the female element (Soma - mother water) and male (Agni - a man personifies fiery energy); the germ of life arose from the water and from it a cosmic tree grows. In another version, two trees are mentioned: male and female, and the gods are like branches in it.
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Japanese eroticism
In Japan, various traditions overlap: mythology, Shintoism and Buddhism. Shintoism is the eternal religion of the Japanese; the greatest good according to this religion is life, and everything is created by attracting sex. Erotic content can be found in many legends, for example about the creation of the world or about an invisible lover in the form of a snake, the pregnancies of virgins, relationships of deities with people.
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Klitoridektomia
Removal of the clitoris, less of the labia. In some cultures it is used today. It is estimated that in Africa, it affects over 20 million women. The clitoral removal treatment has different meanings depending on the culture, e.g. facilitation of sexual intercourse, births, as a symbol of entering into adulthood, a testimony to adulthood, blood binding the world of the living with the world of the dead. Although there is growing opposition to this brutal, mutilating treatment for life, it is still used in many cultures.
koro
Anxiety syndrome found in Chinese people in Southeast Asia, involving the feeling of pulling a member into the abdominal cavity; it is accompanied by panic.
Kuvada
A phenomenon known in many different cultures - a male variant of pregnancy. Reports of the Kuvad syndrome are known from China, India, mythology of the Irish, Celts and Basques. Based on the descriptions, three forms of this team can be distinguished.
Culture and sexuality
Cultural determinants of human sexuality turn out to be a mosaic of various traditions, customs and separateness. The research on transcultural sexology shows that the sexual needs and behaviors of people are to a large extent conditioned by the cultural system. It affects family behavior, from birth, through the influence of the peer community, gender identification and gender roles, norms and principles, ending with morality and the legal system.
Culture also determines self-esteem in male and female roles, gender relations, verbal and non-verbal communication, courtship ritual, attitudes towards the body, sexual intercourse. It creates norms and boundaries between what is "normal" and "abnormal". It also influences the concepts of love and the forms of expressing it through sexual activity.
One can distinguish several types of sexual cultures: Apollo (Apollo), liberal, orgiastic, mystical, repressive, puritanical, neurotic, etc. Each of them creates different models of sexual life.
There are also many similarities in the treatment of sex and sex in different cultures of the world.For example, it turns out that the criteria for partner selection are quite similar. This fact means that, despite cultural diversity, there are also universal needs and attitudes. It turns out that men value the most: the younger age of the partner, physical attractiveness, economy and the lack of previous sexual experiences. The requirements of women are greater; they include good financial perspectives of the partner, maturity, intelligence, ambition, entrepreneurship, similar level of education, high social position, the same denomination and older age.
Latah
Sexual disorder of women in Java, Burma, Thailand, the Philippines, Siberia, Japan, Canada, Tibet, Mongolia and Madagascar, involving the appearance of specific seizures lasting from several minutes to several hours. It is characterized by the following symptoms: panic fear, a series of vulgar pronouncements, changes in facial expressions, excitement, chaotic escape from each other.
Sexual mythologies
Legendary content persisted in the social consciousness of many generations, creating gender-specific attitudes specific to a given culture.
False but widespread belief about masculinity or femininity, shaping specific, often pathological sexual attitudes. Examples of typical myths in our culture: "a man should always have an erection" or "a woman can always have sex," "have an orgasm at the same time", "the size of a member decides on the sexual experiences of a woman", "the man is responsible for sex life "and many more (all statements are false).
Roman eroticism
The ancient Romans treated sexuality as a natural sphere of life and gave it to the gods. The cult of the phallus was common, eg according to the old Roman wedding ritual of the fiancé, before her body had a husband, she had to sit on the phallus of an idol responsible for fertility; the worship of Priap - idol with an erection member was renewed and phallus shaped amulets were worn. Gradually, erotica took on various features of sadism, it was known for zoophilia, there were also numerous auxiliary forms in achieving pleasure and aphrodisiacs of various types. Of the contraceptive methods, vaginal lavage and condoms were practiced. Mysteries were orgiastic. Co-existence took place in the temple, in public, as a symbol of creation and fertility. Sexuality was treated more and more physiologically. From this period comes the famous "Art of Loving" by Ovid (1st century BC - 1st century AD). The work is devoted primarily to strategy descriptions and tactics of seduction, love games, hygienic and cosmetic recommendations.
Erotic dance
Dance that evokes associations and even sexual arousal in dancing people or observers. These dances include: tango and Latin American dances, in other cultures, e.g. belly dances. Dance can become part of the foreplay and even ars amandi.
Vaginas cult
Vaginal culture - occurred in those cultures in which high importance was attributed to the gods, as well as demons responsible for fertilization, childbirth, protection of mother and child. When the images of gods were impersonated, they were given exaggerated sexual features, such as a large vulval or labia.
The slogans were prepared on the basis of: Zbigniew Lew-Starowicz: Love and Sex. Encyclopedic dictionary. Wroclaw 1999
