It is good for man not to touch woman, yet for fear of fornication, let each man have his own wife and let each woman have her own husband....But I say to the unmarried and to widows, it is good for them if they remain even as I. But if they do not have self-control, let them marry, for it is better to marry than to burn.
AUSTERE and frightening, the concept of sex as a necessary
evil and abstinence as Christ-like remains basic to Christianity
and to our culture. Intercourse is publicly endorsed
only in the marital bed, where it can be justified by the need
to procreate. Our crotchety Christian conscience condemns
behavior that deviates from this ideal. Among two hundred
fifty cultures surveyed, ours is one of the three most restrictive.
(Murdock, 1960) Ritual abandonment, premarital freedom,
and postmarital options are not uncommon in the rest
of the world. One North American tribe is even said to copulate
with porcupines, "by a special technique."
What happens to children when they are allowed sexual
freedom? In some Oceanian and African societies, toddlers
explore each other's bodies, sometimes begin intercourse by
age four, and are soothed by rubbing the genitals. Children
never need to be told about sex, as they have ample opportunity
to observe adults. Sexual growth is a smooth continuum
depending for the most part on size, aggressiveness, and
glandular function. Liberal cultures, such as Polynesian
Mangaia, lend perspective to our own child-rearing techniques.
In Mangaia, virtually one hundred percent of women
achieve orgasm. In stark contrast, on the small Irish island
of Inis Beag, the female climax is unknown or thought to be
abnormal.
INIS BEAG
Inis Beag is a small Irish island investigated by John C.
Messenger. It is the most erotically barren community ever
described by anthropologists. There, three hundred and fifty
people relatively isolated from the mainland have maintained
a stable agrarian culture for two hundred years. The
standard of living is low, the birthrate high, and the family of
prime importance. There is neither electricity nor running
water, and transportation is via several ass-drawn carts.
Agricultural tools are rudimentary and barter remains common.
There is little distinction between the life style of the
wealthiest and the poorest of the islanders.
Although certain Druidic religious beliefs persist, the people
are devout Catholics. The average family has seven offspring.
Many mainlanders see the Catholicism of Inis Beag as
an ideal not attained elsewhere.
The islanders combine an overwhelming preoccupation about sin with
an obsessive drive toward salvation in the world to come. Women remain
at home except for church-associated activities or an occasional
visit to a relative. Men attend parties and dances, play
cards, and congregate at the pubs. Late marriage and celibacy
are as common in Inis Beag as on the mainland. Sex is never
discussed in the home and islanders are monumentally naive
and inexperienced. Boys learn some facts by talking to other
boys and watching animals, but girls may not even have done
that. Girls understand that they must not look directly at a
male or allow themselves to be touched.
Premarital sex is unknown, courtship almost nonexistent, and marriages are
arranged with little concern for the feelings of the young people
involved. The marital bond is primarily of economic and
childbearing importance and love between partners is
extremely rare. Most people are completely unprepared for
the wedding night. Women endure intercourse because to
refuse is a mortal sin.