Medieval theologists believed it was acceptable
for young girls to caress themselves as soon as
they began to think about men and sex.
Phallic objects were allowed to calm their
passions and ensure they remained chaste.
Otherwise, it was feared that girls would give
in to their baser instincts and have sexual
relations with men before they were married.
Even the oldest Babylonian texts inscribed on stone tablets
describe women’s sexual escapades, including tales of secret
or open infidelity where women were helped by their friends,
and even left their husbands.
Priestesses wrote about their preferences for same-sex
relations to avoid the risk of pregnancy, while young
girls prayed to their goddesses that their lovers would
last longer in bed and learn how to please them.
In Ancient Greece, women turned the fact that men didn’t
know about their bodies to their advantage (women were
only ever medically examined by each other).
The Greeks believed that women also had semen that
played an equal role in the conception of a child.
Female semen was only released through orgasm, so men
had to pleasure their partners if they wanted children.
Roman women didn’t like pregnancy or children.
To make sure they could still enjoy sex they
castrated their best-looking male slaves.
In the Middle Ages, women’s sexual freedom depended
on their social status. Eleanor of Aquitaine
had extra-marital affairs without her husband
(King Louis VII) unable to do anything about it.
It was the same story in later periods in history, too.
An aristocrat protected by King Louis XIV in the court
of Versailles could cheat on her husband as much as
she liked, and could even send him out to the provinces
while she indulged in her illicit affair.
The importance of
sexual satisfaction
Lives of Fair and Gallant Ladies, set in the Renaissance period, is an account of the many sexually liberated women the hero encountered. He researches female arousal by studying early pornographic images of women astride their husbands or lovers.
The images include women using objects as sex toys and caressing themselves and other women. Women were also depicted mocking their lovers who couldn’t keep up with them in bed.
According to teachings of Christian theologists in the same era and later on, women had to pleasure themselves in order to maximise their chances of becoming pregnant.
Men had to do all they could to make sure their partners climaxed, beginning again if they ejaculated too soon or caressing their partners instead.
If this wasn’t enough, women had to pleasure themselves after to make sure they got pregnant. Not doing everything they could to reproduce was considered a sin.
How’s Your Sexual Appetite?
Myths about Women’s Sexuality
These include: women aren’t hardwired for promiscuity.
That security and emotional connection are the most
important factors in women’s sexual transactions.
That, above all, sexuality in women is
constitutionally milder than in men,
rather than the result of centuries-old
social conditioning.
Tittilating from Stephanie Sellars on Vimeo.
The Anatomy of Female Desire – understand
how your body is a sexual pleasure machine.
We’re designed for exquisite pleasure.
Keep Yourself ‘Simmering’ – learn the positive
feedback loop of keeping yourself turned ‘on’
and how that leads to incredible sexual response.
Awakening Your Vagina – learn how to awaken
yourself to greater pleasure than ever before.
Posing with Sophie from klaus wegele on Vimeo.