The Power of Sex and should it be harnessed?

[TJ73]

having read so many posts about homosexuality, incest, rape and all matters about sex I would like to share and receive opinions about the power of human sexuality.
I personally believe sex to be the greatest motivator/power second or on par only with "money" ( material possession)
I find a lot of debate concerning the right or wrong of this kind and that kind, the potential harm to children to society to the individual engaged in any sex outside of male/female marriage contract.
I see a lot controversy as to what is said in scripture... what is permitted , how or if people should be punished.
Does anyone agree that sex is the most intimate part of human nature outside of maybe child birth?
IMHO, we take it all so casualy when really it is an exchange of bodily fluid and involves, in many cases the insertion, in part, of one person into another human being. How much more personal can you get?
I can not help but think that sex should be kept private. I think we deny the fact that looking at and talking about it, clinically speaking aside, can lead to arousal which can lead to fantasy and seeking out fulfillment. It can be a hasty decision that leaves the person, in the end feeling bad and sometimes even sickened. This is , of course not always the case.
I reserve my opinion on anyone's specific tastes, because that is not my question. I want to know do you think it is better to keep it private ?
And I am not saying from a legal standpoint like outlawing things, just do you think all the blatant displays of sexuality would be better curtailed?

 

[linwood]

And I am not saying from a legal standpoint like outlawing things, just do you think all the blatant displays of sexuality would be better curtailed?

Define "blatant displays of sexuality".

Exactly what should be kept private?

 

[TJ73]

Oops. I knew I'd get stuck. It is rather a personal definition as to what is blatant.
Like PDA's, some might not like holding hands some would say deep kissing. There is a whole lot a naked/commercialism. I know it really doesn't offend most people and I am not making an issue of offense, but do you think it can be harmful ?

 

[Thief]

having read so many posts about homosexuality, incest, rape and all matters about sex I would like to share and receive opinions about the power of human sexuality.
I personally believe sex to be the greatest motivator/power second or on par only with "money" ( material possession)
I find a lot of debate concerning the right or wrong of this kind and that kind, the potential harm to children to society to the individual engaged in any sex outside of male/female marriage contract.
I see a lot controversy as to what is said in scripture... what is permitted , how or if people should be punished.
Does anyone agree that sex is the most intimate part of human nature outside of maybe child birth?
IMHO, we take it all so casualy when really it is an exchange of bodily fluid and involves, in many cases the insertion, in part, of one person into another human being. How much more personal can you get?
I can not help but think that sex should be kept private. I think we deny the fact that looking at and talking about it, clinically speaking aside, can lead to arousal which can lead to fantasy and seeking out fulfillment. It can be a hasty decision that leaves the person, in the end feeling bad and sometimes even sickened. This is , of course not always the case.
I reserve my opinion on anyone's specific tastes, because that is not my question. I want to know do you think it is better to keep it private ?
And I am not saying from a legal standpoint like outlawing things, just do you think all the blatant displays of sexuality would be better curtailed?

So were you going to discuss this from...
spiritual, social, practical, or personal levels?

All of the above?

 

[TJ73]

What ever level one is on.any, all, Does it have any significance to you... is it an issue on any level?

 

[linwood]

Oops. I knew I'd get stuck. It is rather a personal definition as to what is blatant.
Like PDA's, some might not like holding hands some would say deep kissing. There is a whole lot a naked/commercialism. I know it really doesn't offend most people and I am not making an issue of offense, but do you think it can be harmful ?

No, I`m not one who is easily offended and I don`t see how sexual expression can be harmful in whatever form it takes whether I find it distasteful or not.

On the other hand sexual repression is evidenced to be harmful so I`d rather err on the side of the evidence.

 

[TJ73]

Thanks for your input.i am just curious about what people think. May I ask, what is sexual repression? Would that mean restraint? How is it harmful?
And please note, I don't intend to sound sarcastic. I just hear things repeated so often I stop and think what exactly does this mean, so that is the context of my question.

 

[linwood]

Thanks for your input.i am just curious about what people think. May I ask, what is sexual repression? Would that mean restraint? How is it harmful?
And please note, I don't intend to sound sarcastic. I just hear things repeated so often I stop and think what exactly does this mean, so that is the context of my question.

Repression is the actual hiding/disenfranchising of sexual expression.
Setting rules and constraints on what is and is not acceptable in any social environment.

How it is harmful can be evidenced by many different scenarios.

The high rate of suicide among homosexual teens.
The taunting and bullying of homosexual teens.
The inequity of civil rights for homosexual people.
The social ostracizing of people who don`t fit neatly into a cultures "acceptable sexual practices" box.
The high rate of sexual deviancy among clergy in heavily sexually repressive theologies.

I could go on and on....

 

[TJ73]

So could any of that be helped by keeping it private?
I certainly feel for people that feel ostracized, humiliated, marginalized, discriminated against to the point even of suicide.
If there was not so much reference to sex could people go on about their lives without constantly feeling the need to emphasize their sexuality? And I am not referring to just homosexual people. I am also referring to straight people for example that like have multiple partners, the competition amongst women to enhance themselves and dress as naked as possible to attract men.
Could less emphasis have a positive effect ?
Is it repression if you can fearlessly ( as far as law is concerned ) engage how you like( between consenting adults) in private?

 

[Thief]

So could any of that be helped by keeping it private?
I certainly feel for people that feel ostracized, humiliated, marginalized, discriminated against to the point even of suicide.
If there was not so much reference to sex could people go on about their lives without constantly feeling the need to emphasize their sexuality? And I am not referring to just homosexual people. I am also referring to straight people for example that like have multiple partners, the competition amongst women to enhance themselves and dress as naked as possible to attract men.
Could less emphasis have a positive effect ?
Is it repression if you can fearlessly ( as far as law is concerned ) engage how you like( between consenting adults) in private?

I don't think hiding a bad episode reduces the harm.
Most forms of crime....happen in private.

If your desire was brought into the light?...would you persist?

And in the eye of the public....outcry... would dominate behavior.

Still...we humans prefer privacy when our desires come up.
But are we then to denounce...privacy?

As for public display....each culture to it's own.
There are far too many cultures to draw them all under one belief.

 

[Erebus]

Personally I think society should have more sex and sexual content than it already does. In my opinion sex is something to be celebrated, not hidden. If society accepted sex as something natural, rather than something taboo, we would probably live in a far more relaxed, tolerant world.

 

[Valjean]

WHAT!? Curtail sex? You'd crash the economy. Nobody would buy anything.

 

[TJ73]

WHAT!? Curtail sex? You'd crash the economy. Nobody would buy anything.

That's the truth. We would have to resot to things like honesty, reputation and making good products and providing good service

 

[TJ73]

Personally I think society should have more sex and sexual content than it already does. In my opinion sex is something to be celebrated, not hidden. If society accepted sex as something natural, rather than something taboo, we would probably live in a far more relaxed, tolerant world.

Sex is great, agreed. And I am not saying make further taboo's just keep it between the parties involved. Do you think society sees it as un- natural?
Doesn't sex related content bring out some of our most animal like behavior? It wouldn't be of any benefit to keep it private?
I know I'm poking but I never thought like this before, my life before I was all about it and I am just questioning the thinking, I am not trying to provoke an anger.:rainbow1:

 

[linwood]

So could any of that be helped by keeping it private?

I don`t think so, the stigma attached to these things is already caused by the "hiding" or inability/failure to hide sexuality to some extent.

If there was not so much reference to sex could people go on about their lives without constantly feeling the need to emphasize their sexuality? And I am not referring to just homosexual people. I am also referring to straight people for example that like have multiple partners, the competition amongst women to enhance themselves and dress as naked as possible to attract men.
Could less emphasis have a positive effect ?

Yes, less emphasis on the importance of sexuality in characterizing a person.
Less emphasis on the cultural stigma of certain victimless preferences in sexuality.
Less emphasis on sex in general would make any society more cohesive I would think.

However the cultures that tend to contain less emphasis on sex seem to be the ones that are more open about sexual mores and norms.
The society`s that place a heavier emphasis on sex seem to be the ones with all of these stigmas and repercussions .

I guess what I`m trying to say is that the more a culture tries to "Curtail" peoples sexuality the more emphasis that society places on sexuality.
It`s a self defeating strategy.

The only way sexuality becomes less important is by making it "no big deal" in general.

Is it repression if you can fearlessly ( as far as law is concerned ) engage how you like( between consenting adults) in private?

I`m not claiming there is political repression causing the problems with sexuality in western cultures (I`m not claiming there is no political repression either).
Politics actually plays off the societal mores instead of establishing them.

I`m claiming this repression is brought on by societal mores that have nothing directly in common with the laws of the land and in fact often seem to go against the laws of the land.

Most of those current societal mores concerning sexuality can find their origins in religious dogma of one sort or another.

 

[TJ73]

Most of those current societal mores concerning sexuality can find their origins in religious dogma of one sort or another. __________________

I have pondered that may be religion is not really the origin. I have seen people realy get upset by sexual things without religious bias. Like strippers getting ripped by other women and guys just hating gay men. I come from a religious outlook as so in that context I have noticed a call for people to "guard their modesty" and it makes sense to me.
I used to dress very sexy. It would, by most American standards be considered in good taste, but I know the attention I got. I also had an experience with a girl who wore her tee-shirt with no bra around her step father and was molested.
Now I am by no means saying that showing your sexuality justifys harassment or rape, but I see now a difference. It's like when I tell my daughter to be careful driving not because she is reckless but she's not the only one on the road.
So I, now, see religion as more of a protection from is already a natural problem.

 

[Erebus]

Sex is great, agreed. And I am not saying make further taboo's just keep it between the parties involved. Do you think society sees it as un- natural?
Doesn't sex related content bring out some of our most animal like behavior? It wouldn't be of any benefit to keep it private?
I know I'm poking but I never thought like this before, my life before I was all about it and I am just questioning the thinking, I am not trying to provoke an anger.:rainbow1:

Don't worry, genuine curiosity doesn't annoy me in the slightest

I agree that sex should be kept private to the extent that people ******* in the street would be too much really (mostly because it would be irritating constantly navigating past little piles of people really ), but other than that I see no problem with a more sexual society.
It's true that sex is animalistic and the thought of sex brings out our bestial side, but ultimately humans are animals and acting like it isn't always a bad thing. In my opinion we should celebrate the positive sides of our nature (sexuality being one of them) more publically than we currently do. At the minute, communities alienate one another, people are paranoid of each other and sexual promiscuity (especially in women) is frowned upon. My thinking is that by easing up on sex, we give society one less thing to be uptight about and thus get a more relaxed society in general.
I've no illusions about this, I know it's unlikely to happen anytime soon and that even if it does it won't solve all the world's problems. I just thing a more mature attitude to sex and less taboo thinking would be to everybody's benefit. Currently, despite society gradually growing more tolerant of sex, it's still thought of as somewhat forbidden. Sexual content in films gains a higher age certificate than violent content (which is completely backward in my opinion) pornography is considered somewhat shameful, fetishes are considered dirty and being promiscuous or polygamous is considered "slutty".

 

[linwood]

Most of those current societal mores concerning sexuality can find their origins in religious dogma of one sort or another. __________________

I have pondered that may be religion is not really the origin. I have seen people realy get upset by sexual things without religious bias. Like strippers getting ripped by other women and guys just hating gay men.

I`m not saying religion is the sole foundation for these biases.
I`m not saying religion always "directly" plays a role in these biases.

But, some of the biases have their roots in religiosity.

Women ripping strippers is an excellent example.
Why do most "culturally average"(sexually conservative) women tend to despise women who are open about their sexuality?

The western sexual taboo of "The Whore".
Because they are selling their sex they hold the label "Whore".

You can see no religious parallel for this situation?
The negativity attached to the term "whore" has no root in religiosity?
It has nothing to do with the patriarchy we live in that was established by religion?

I come from a religious outlook as so in that context I have noticed a call for people to "guard their modesty" and it makes sense to me.....

People or groups of people can "call for" whatever they wish and they may even have the influence to sway those cultural norms and that`s fine.
That`s the way it works, that`s usually how cultural change grows.
But those groups run the risk of ostracizing themselves if their mores don`t agree with what society will accept.
(See the Mormon and Islamic faiths place in American culture for evidence of this phenomenon.)
And that`s fine too, that`s the way it works.

Now I am by no means saying that showing your sexuality justifys harassment or rape, but I see now a difference. It's like when I tell my daughter to be careful driving not because she is reckless but she's not the only one on the road.

Oh yes, I give my daughter the same warnings for the same reasons.
I just believe there would be fewer reasons to need warning if sexuality wasn`t such a "big deal" in the first place.

So I, now, see religion as more of a protection from is already a natural problem.

This is where we disagree of course.

 

[Guitar's Cry]

I suspect that sex cannot be kept private forever. It is such a basic part of humanity it will always bubble to surface. I don't think this is a negative thing. It is powerful, and does an excellent job at keeping humanity dynamic.

 

[Penumbra]

Society already places an unnecessary taboo on sexuality. By covering it up, considering aspects of it (or the whole thing) to be shameful, and attempting to repress it, one only makes the situation worse.

having read so many posts about homosexuality, incest, rape and all matters about sex I would like to share and receive opinions about the power of human sexuality.
I personally believe sex to be the greatest motivator/power second or on par only with "money" ( material possession)
I find a lot of debate concerning the right or wrong of this kind and that kind, the potential harm to children to society to the individual engaged in any sex outside of male/female marriage contract.
I see a lot controversy as to what is said in scripture... what is permitted , how or if people should be punished.
Does anyone agree that sex is the most intimate part of human nature outside of maybe child birth?
IMHO, we take it all so casualy when really it is an exchange of bodily fluid and involves, in many cases the insertion, in part, of one person into another human being. How much more personal can you get?
I can not help but think that sex should be kept private. I think we deny the fact that looking at and talking about it, clinically speaking aside, can lead to arousal which can lead to fantasy and seeking out fulfillment. It can be a hasty decision that leaves the person, in the end feeling bad and sometimes even sickened. This is , of course not always the case.
I reserve my opinion on anyone's specific tastes, because that is not my question. I want to know do you think it is better to keep it private ?
And I am not saying from a legal standpoint like outlawing things, just do you think all the blatant displays of sexuality would be better curtailed?

No, I don't think it should be kept any more private than it already is. I think the opposite actually; that people should be more open about it and not keep it so locked up. From an early age, people are filled with the wrong ideas about it. Children often don't even learn the appropriate names for their genitals until they figure them out for themselves, because even the words associated with certain body parts are taboo. And they are often lied to about how babies are made.

What is the problem with things leading to arousal, fantasy, and fulfilling that fantasy? If it's not inherently harmful to oneself or to others, then there is no reason to restrict it or to avoid it. And if someone has a fantasy that involves something harmful, it's probably better to address it and figure out why they have it then to repress it and avoid it.

If it is taught that sex is normal, good, appropriate, and to be respected, then I think societal sexual problems would be reduced. A sexually repressed society is not a healthy society.