Today I would like to talk about how human sexuality should be viewed.
Whether in the West or the East, there have been changes in sexual concepts in history, and a process from anti-sexuality to positive sexuality has been experienced. The general situation is that pre-modern society was anti-sexual abstinence, and after entering modern society, there was such an attitude change of affirmation of sex. Countries around the world have more or less gone through this process.
Let me tell you how to know sex. I think sex has seven most fundamental meanings.
01
Reproduce
The first is to reproduce. In some places and in certain times, reproduction is regarded as the only legitimate function of sex, that is, the other purposes of sex are wrong and bad, and only sex for the purpose of procreation is right and good. A Christian saint believed that sex itself is a sin, even between husband and wife, but without sex it is impossible to reproduce. So he even exclaimed, saying that he really hoped that when God created man, he would be able to create an alternative way for mankind to reproduce, so that mankind could avoid the sin of sex.
Of course, most people will not have such extreme views, especially ordinary people. All people with normal sexual desires and concepts will feel that reproduction is absolutely necessary, and it is a very important function and meaning of sex.
02
Express feelings
The second meaning of sex is to express feelings. Many people use sexual activity to express their love, their love for each other.
03 Pure physical pleasure
The third meaning of sex is pure physical pleasure, purely for sexual pleasure. Human sexual desire to satisfy the need is always there, otherwise you can't explain why the masturbation rate is so high. Survey statistics found that the masturbation rate of men is close to 100%, women also have 60% or 70%, and in some countries, such as the British women's masturbation rate is close to 90%. Masturbation is simply impossible to procreate, and it has no other meaning than to bring simple physical pleasure to a person.
Even in a country like China, which attaches great importance to the value of fertility, because of family planning, people can only have two children in their lifetime, and they cannot have more children. And as long as you have sex once in addition to having a child, then the meaning of your sexual activity can only be for the pleasure of the flesh, otherwise what are you doing there?
The purpose of sex as pure physical pleasure, the most famous in history is Ji Xiaolan. It is said that he had a wife and six concubines, and when he was sixty married a twelve-year-old girl, he was five times her age. It is said that Ji Xiaolan has a special physique, and everyone gave him a nickname called "Himi Gojiro", which is very interesting, and he treats sex as a great pleasure in enjoyment.
04
Longevity
The fourth meaning of sex is the pursuit of longevity. The ancient Chinese concept of sex particularly emphasizes this point, and the Chinese house technique is about how to strengthen the body through sexual activities and prolong life.
Ancient science is not prosperous, ancient people's sexual concepts also have no scientific basis, such as "also sperm brain supplementation" said, it is said that men in the sex to hold back do not ejaculate, semen will produce brain tonic effect. This hypothesis has no scientific basis from anatomy, but it is a concept that people believed at the time.
I've seen an MRI video of a woman's pleasure. When the female pleasure comes, you can see her brain cells come alive, and the image is at first dotted with stars, and then it lights up. You can intuitively feel that sexual pleasure is good for your health.
05
Sustaining a living
The fifth meaning of sex is to sustain livelihoods. From ancient times to the present, some people have indeed used sexual activity as a means of subsistence. You've all heard the saying that the oldest profession in the world is prostitution, and it has arisen before many professions, such as the agro-industry. For sex workers, sex is all about making ends meet.
In modern times, practitioners with this purpose are no longer limited to women, and from the statistics of the sex trade industry, about 90% of female practitioners and 10% of male practitioners. One of the reasons is that in modern society, women's economic status has increased, and women have the ability to spend money on sexual services.
Engels had an opinion on prostitution, pointing out that the bourgeois family is "two prostitutions combined into one morality". What does that mean? He is saying that the kind of family that is male and female, that is, the family in which the woman does not work at all and is raised by the man, is actually a kind of wholesale of the sex trade, and what is traded on the street is retail, and their nature is the same.
06 Maintaining interpersonal relationships
The sixth meaning of sex is to maintain interpersonal relationships and alleviate group conflicts. Animal studies have found that when bonobos clash and fight, if a female has a relationship with a male, the conflict can be alleviated.
Does the sexual conflict-relieving function only occur in animals? No. This effect has also been found in the population. I have seen some surveys about street gangs and motorcycle gangs, most of these gangs are mainly men, but there are often a small number of women in them, because there are often conflicts in the gang, or this gang fights with that gang, at this time, if women have sex with both sides of the conflict, they can alleviate the conflict and maintain the harmony of interpersonal relationships.
07
Expression of power
The seventh meaning of sex is the expression of power. Animal studies have found that primates sometimes have same-sex sexual behavior. Its purpose and function are mostly not for sexual pleasure, but to express power and compete for status. The motivation of a more powerful male to show its status through sexual behavior is very primitive.
Doesn't human sex have this motivation and function? Yes, there is. For example, between the masters and slaves of ancient Greece, between the emperors and male pets of ancient China, the use of sex to express the power relationship is also quite heavy. There is also a custom in some places that the lord has the right to the first night of the people under his jurisdiction. The first night is a newlywed couple, and the wife's first night is to give to the lord, which is also an expression of power.
In the expression of power, the most important factor is "active and passive". We have said before that in ancient Greece, same-sex sexuality was a common social practice, and sexual intercourse between men and women occurred in large quantities, but no one would say that the owner was homosexual. That is to say, in ancient Greece, when a male owner had sex with a male slave, people would not think that they were engaged in homosexuality. What people value is not whether your catharsis is male or female, but whether your role is active or passive, the master must be active, the slave is passive, and it expresses a power relationship. In other words, if a male master has sex with a male slave, no one will think that this is a deviant act; but if a master becomes a passive role in a sexual act, it is a very serious deviant act, because the master must be active. Sex in this act is not only to vent sexual desire, but also to express the power relationship between the two people.
This can also be encountered in real life. For example, sexual harassment of subordinates by superiors in the workplace, and sexual harassment of students by professors in colleges and universities. Hollywood's high-powered male producer was accused of sexual assault by a group of female stars and female staff. In this case, the harassing party and the harassed party have a power relationship, and the male producer can control the future of these actresses, as does the relationship between superiors and subordinates, bosses and employees, teachers and students, guards and prisoners. Those who have power in their hands use the power in their hands to threaten their subordinates, take advantage of the oil, and bully people.
To sum up, we know that sex has so many meanings, it expresses different meanings and functions in different societies, different customs, and different interpersonal relationships. I think there really doesn't make sense for anti-sexual abstinence in general, why would you want to go against such a natural need? Man's sexual desire is an innate desire and ability of man, which is deeply rooted in human nature, and all the denial of it and the suppression of it are unreasonable. Sex is the deepest desire of human beings. When we look at human nature, the sexual perspective is indispensable, but also the clearest and most profound.
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