Western societies are not the first to attempt regulating sexuality, though previous cultures, especially pre-Christian ones, embraced sex as homeopathic-- fertility in the family or on the farm was celebrated by fertility among the people. But virginity, for example, was practiced by the Roman Vestal Virgins.
Unfortunately, insisting that repressing sexual impulses is bad for us doesn't cut it with most latter-day Puritans because they equate sex with sin. Just as you cannot condone the "naturalness" of murder or rape, you can't condone it in the bedroom, or (God forbid) among members of the same gender having sex.
That humans have remained fascinated with and enjoyed sex throughout recorded history (and likely before) is really something we should expect. Humans have gambled and consumed alcohol despite efforts to control gaming or drunkenness, and even during the so-called Victorian era, people enjoyed sex without talking about it in public. Primers from the period for young marrieds do not demonize sex, but celebrate it as part of the conjugal pleasures that accrue to couples joined in "holy matrimony."
Awesome. Thank you! May I link to your site?
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