Sex and History: An Introduction to Sexual History Tour

Colour woodcut, ca. 1830. Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images http://wellcomeimages.org

I have a thing for research. Not just a simple search engine pass over something, I mean I dig into every bit of thick minutia until I’m rolling in so much knowledge I can barely contain myself. I love large heaps of information; deeply descriptive documentaries, epically explained examinations, audio books, magazine articles, not just Google search but every kind of search engine (yes, I’ve been known to Bing). My dedication to research often knows no bounds so just trying to find out the best deal on a new fridge, the best brand of running shoes or even does a high quality body safe silicone ejaculating dildo exist will become hours of leaving no stone unturned. I find learning everything from the results of archeological investigations into the building techniques of the Sphinx to when was the first brassiere developed can lead us to think about the past differently. It can make us look at our lives right now differently too.

When I started writing about sexuality years ago I found myself writing an article detailing how we’ve changed as a culture when it comes to sexual repression and sexual freedom. Dealing with conservative wing nuts that want to take control of our sexuality is not surprising. I know that people think our evolution should be farther along when it comes to sexual expression but it really hasn’t been that long of a journey for us and we’ve gone back and forth many times. I reminded people that we’ve had times that were more open (Hellenistic Era, Renaissance Era, Post-Revolutionary France, Jazz Age, the 1960s) and times where repression ruled (Late Middle Ages, Puritanical Colonial Era, Victorian Era, the 1950s). It’s been a tug of war across the ages, a pendulum swing, an ebb and flow.

It’s always surprising how little people know about history. There is an astonishing amount of misinformation and misconceptions that have accumulated over time. I enjoy shining a light on inaccuracies. I also love comparing current events to events of the past, connecting the dots from ancient times to the present, especially when they show just how non-linear our timeline is. In the past, we’ve had incredible forward thinking innovation punctuated by really wacked ideas, times when people were open minded and times when people just lost their minds. Often we experience this dichotomy within our own lifetime.

Researching history is the closest one can come to being a time lord. I may not be a mad man in a box but I’d like to take you on a trip through time. We will look at sex, sexuality and gender from a variety of perspectives. By looking at where we’ve been we can better understand where we are now and where we are going.

Last modified: May 2, 2016