Roman sexuality

Former Member

I read an article in the Times Magazine today about the way the Romans treated sex in their society, and it got me thinking - was it a good thing that they were so open about their sexuality, or not?

Here are some sections from the article...

“Romans saw sex as a wonderful pleasure to be pursued.”

“Artists represented sex in many different ways, varying not only sexual positions but also picturing apparently taboo practices such as fellation and cunnilingus. The Romans, rather than considering these images ‘pornographic’ and hiding them away, usually associated them with luxury, pleasure and high status; sexual pleasure and its representation stood for positive cultural and social values.”

“The poet Ovid’s statement that erotic poetry never corrupted a person of pure heart should be taken as characteristic of elite attitudes of the time. In general, the ancient Romans had no fear that representing sex in art would corrupt morals.”

“No matter how sexually ‘open’ individuals or groups in contemporary Western society might be, the major religions of Christianisty, Judaism and Islam are highly prescriptive about sexual practices, sanctioning monogamous marriage, straight sex and sex for procreation, while condemning others.”


...what do you think? If sex weren't such a taboo subject in modern Western society, would it really corrupt our morals or would it simply allow people to enjoy sex and discuss it more freely? Should sex be a private and personal thing, or should it be everyone's business?

I'm not really asking specific questions I suppose... just wondering about people's opinions

Former Member

Ahhhh, titillation for conservative businessmen...

Former Member

Wha...?

I was actually looking for replies from people who are interested in the topic, not witty remarks

Former Member

i think everyone should be able to be more open about it. Also like the romans i think it should be ok to be more open about porn, i personally dont like it but i know that a hell of alot of people do an the fact that they try to hide the fact i think is stupid because it sometimes turns it into a big deal which it isnt.
I dont personally see why people are so sensitive about talking about sex etc, if u are having sex u should be mature enough to talk about it. and if your not religious what does it mater if u do?
hope tht makes sense.

sopy

Former Member

But wouldn't it be weird if sex were talked about in everyday situations and all round the streets and public buildings there were erotic pictures painted on the walls?

I suppose we're all conditioned to think 'sex is a bad thing' or at least to think it's something embarrassing and not to be talked about, so that's why it would be weird.

What about the effects it might have on children? Even household pots etc sometimes had naked/sexual pictures, so children would have grown up with sex all around them. Is that a good thing because nothing is 'under wraps'... hmmmm :chin:

Former Member

i think it's just more that people want it to be a private thing, that's why we don't talk about it in public. yeah in the past it was considered to be an appalling thing to mention sexuality it public but now i think it's just more than a personal thing.

White Noise

i think the whole roman view on sex and pornography is highly interesting i believe we do need to be more open about it and should not be seen as something smutty

What about the effects it might have on children?

now thats a really good point. if everybody was more forthcoming ( ) kids would latch onto sex a lot earlier, maybe wanting to give it a go. i know when i was younger i always wanted to do 'mature' things (smoke, drink, etc).

if sex and pornogaphy where a common subject such as football i'd worry about the respect people would give it.

Former Member

I think in todays society we tend to talk about sex in a kind of crude way; making fun of it and making it out to be dirty, which it isn't. It's a natural process and a very enjoyable one too!

I think the Romans had the right idea. Instead of making in out to be dirty give it the beauty it deserves. As for your argument about children seeing pictures etc I think children see sex around them today anyway. Sex sells practically anything. If we are more open about sex and change the image of sex back to a more Roman interpretation of sex thats a good thing?

Former Member

Originally posted by Sopycookie
i think everyone should be able to be more open about it. Also like the romans i think it should be ok to be more open about porn, i personally dont like it but i know that a hell of alot of people do an the fact that they try to hide the fact i think is stupid because it sometimes turns it into a big deal which it isnt.
I dont personally see why people are so sensitive about talking about sex etc, if u are having sex u should be mature enough to talk about it. and if your not religious what does it mater if u do?
hope tht makes sense.

sopy

OK - heres my porn fact; me and your BF have looked @ porn together regularly!

Former Member

Well you can't forget that girls got married a LOT earlier - you were on the shelf by about 15 years of age - so they'd be expected to have sex and get pregnant when they were really still children themselves by our standards. And young boys were also used as sexual playthings by older, often upper class Romans. I'm going on to study Classics at uni in October, and it's definitely one of the subjects with the most frequent references to sex.

However, it wasn't like pornography all over the place. The Romans still frowned on the more 'rampant' aspects of sex such as the mystery cults and so on, but yes their attitude was interesting! Ovid's poems were frowned upon and most likely got him exiled from Rome. And while nudity and phallic images did appear on the walls of houses, I don't think it was quite like pornography everywhere!

I don't like people saying that 'we need to be more open' about sex in our society and that 'you can't talk about it enough' as I always read in Cosmo. Yes, it's good if we can go and get advice when we need it, and don't have to feel ashamed about it, but nowadays sex is depressingly saturated to sell everything. I agree with Jo - sex is used in a smutty, tacky way nowadays rather than represented as a beautiful, natural and perfectly acceptable thing to do.

LSS

Former Member

It's funny how we view the act that brought us into the world as being "dirty", when it's probably the most beautiful thing two human beings can do.

I don't think we all need to go talking about it all day long; just accept that it's essential for human life (and indeed just about any lifeform really). To all those that view sex as being dirty or unwholesome - grow up and learn to enjoy the best free thing we have.

Sex is great.