Historical curiosities about sexuality - LA GACETA Salta

KAMASUTRA

The definite guide to life

Sex isn't everything, but it helps! Faced with daily demands, many times sexual encounters with our partner are one of the few moments of enjoyment that we have. For this reason, you have to find a way to prevent them from being robotic and tedium from taking over the bedroom.

That is what leads us to the Kamasutra: a book of Indian origin renowned for describing (without depriving itself of illustrations) erotic art and human behavior.

There are several ancient cultures that believed that the effects of sex varied according to the position used, but we must clarify that this manual goes beyond Twister's attempt to locate our body in the correct place.

It consists of 36 chapters and each one deals with a different topic related to cohabitation and marriage. There are seduction tips, wives' etiquette guidelines, and tips on how to kiss, use sexual accessories, and have threesomes.

On other pages, on the other hand, the help is given to decoration tips to accommodate the furniture (very similar to those of the guru of order Marie Kondo). There is even a section to take a deep breath and process jealousy and another with recipes for homemade invigorators (dubious potions, with additions of rancid eggs).

Meanwhile lifestyle, the positions -known as “arts”- represent just a mere section; and yet those instructions continue to be reinvented today. Was the universal key to pleasure found more than 2,000 years ago?

“Today, with the lens of the gender perspective, the Kamasutra cannot be taken as a model to build a couple or equitable relationships. Since the kamasutra is a complete guide on how a woman should be and how she should act to achieve her spiritual / sexual fulfillment ”, explains the sexologist Mileva Pavicich, along with the new contracts and limits in relationships. The good thing is that at least reading it serves to make us smile with the translation of some positions such as the sleepy one, the hammock, the windmill blades, the super hug, possession and the dragonfly. PS: the doubts of the step by step, are googled separately.

LINGERIE

A mystery behind the canvas

With pieces of regular straps, babydolls, lace sets and transparencies, the lingerie represents by itself a detonator of sensuality. But first of all, it fulfills a crucial function for sexual health: protecting our genitals from contact with pathogens in the environment.

@thursnxt so it's better for preservation too 👌😀 sis can u show me how to cut cabbage n radishes in it. Want to the shape n size pls.

— flower Thu Nov 03 05:35:05 +0000 2016

When looking at women's underwear, you can see that there is a double lining, sewn only at one end and it looks like a pocket. "That patch is strategically located in the most vulnerable part," explains sexologist Constanza Escalante. The reinforcement of the seams prevents direct friction with the rest of the panties and the garment that we have on top. Whether it's pants, a skirt or shorts”.

The specialist explains that the design of lingerie was conceived in this way, starting in 1950, so that the textile absorbs moisture and does not alter the bacterial composition of the vaginal flora. “Although it seems like a lot, we have to renew our underwear once a year to maximize care. The best alternative is to wear cotton panties or natural fabrics daily because lycra and lace increase the susceptibility to infections, ”he warns.

When you think about it, the sacrifice of investing annually in your wardrobe is small relative to other practices related to lingerie. “There are researchers who recall the image of the noble ladies of the Victorian era who wore very tight metal corsets. To such an extent that they could generate the deformation of the body or suffocation. In addition to passing through a cultural and aesthetic issue of the period, these accessories were used to lose weight and control appetite. Such was the effort to eat that women ate little food in the presence of someone else”, adds Escalante, drawing an image of the European courts of the 17th century.

With postmodernity, the airs of the 70s brought a novelty more akin to gluttony: edible lingerie. In its bra, boxer or less version, this alternative is made with candies or sugared gum that degrades with saliva.

And there is no shortage of vibrating panties (as a sextoy), hydrodegradable underwear (disappears with water) and anti-period garments, which appeared four years ago and allow up to two tampons to be absorbed.

The first “ohh” and the australopithecus of dildos

Although currently sold in sex shops, products with phallic silhouettes already appeared prominently in Ancient Egyptian paintings and in Greek or Roman papyri. “The oldest find is 28,000 years old.

There are also records that during the 15th century women used lacquered wood with textured surfaces for stimulation,” says sexologist Mileva Pavicich, president of the Foundation for Sexual Health. However, the history of the first dildos was not so pleasant. “In Victorian times, back in England in the 1880s, many patients were diagnosed with a disease known as hysteria. The symptoms were diverse and included body pain, fits of crying or laughing, abdominal heaviness and insomnia”, he details. In other women the matter worsened with fainting, muscle spasms, paralysis and even blindness. But what does one thing have to do with the other? The key is in the treatment to alleviate this "regret" exclusive to female bodies. "The doctors (assisted by a midwife) applied a special oil to their fingers to stimulate the genital area of ​​the 'hysterical' until they reached climax. The action caused a hysterical paroxysm, which was nothing more than an orgasm”, explains Pavicich. Sometimes the pelvic massage task took hours and was exhausting. In 1880, the physician Joseph Mortimer Granville invented an electrical (phallic-shaped) machine. And voila... that's how the first vibrator was born.

In 1952, the American Psychiatric Association declared female hysteria an outdated myth and the dildo became an adult toy. Fun, and more decorous. "In the context of sexual therapies, we usually recommend it for the treatment of anorgasmia (inability to reach climax) and they have a high therapeutic success," adds the sexologist. Regarding the composition of the first “dildos”, they were made of stone, skin, wood and leather; to then move on to silicones and sextoys suitable for vegans.

The last break in boldness occurred in 2014 and -unlike the currents of sexual revolution- it occurred in the world of design. With its lustrous curves and metal plating, “Ora” (an oral sex simulator) was the world's first erotic product to be recognized with a Golden Lion in the innovation category. From bed to fame.