Page 388 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol IV

sex and sexuality 1689

The Kama Sutra on
Being a Virtuous Woman

The Kama Sutra is an ancient Indian guide to the
art of love. Known as a frank guide to sexual mat- important part of Western philosophy. In Aristotle the
ters, it also presents much in the way of practical mind/body split is reflected in the process of procreation
advice as in the excerpt below. (what he termed “generation”), with the male providing
the “active principle” and the female simply the “material.”
A virtuous woman, who has affection for her
In classical Athens, a hierarchical sexual and tutorial
husband, should act in conformity with his
relationship with an older man—who was most likely
wishes as if he were a divine being, and with his
married—was part of the expected training in adult-
consent should take upon herself the whole
hood for adolescent citizens. (Only men could be citizens
care of his family. She should keep the whole
in Athens.) The older man was the “active,” or penetrat-
house well cleaned, and arrange flowers of var-
ing partner, while the younger took the “passive” role.
ious kinds in different parts of it, and make the
These relations between adolescent and adult men were
floor smooth and polished so as to give the
celebrated in literature and art, in part because the Athe-
whole a neat and becoming appearance. She
nians regarded perfection as possible only in the male.
should surround the house with a garden, and
The perfect body was that of the young male, and perfect
place ready in it all the materials required for
love that between an adolescent and an older man, not
the morning, noon and evening sacrifices. More-
that between a man and an imperfect woman; this love
over she should herself revere the sanctuary of
was supposed to become intellectualized and “platonic”
the Household Gods, for says Gonardiya,“noth-
once the adolescent became an adult. How often actual
ing so much attracts the heart of a householder
sexual relations approached the ideal in Athens is very
to his wife as a careful observance of the things
difficult to say, as most sources are prescriptive, idealized,
mentioned above.”
or fictional.
Towards the parents, relations, friends, sisters,
In ancient China as well, the idea of a lifelong sexual
and servants of her husband she should behave
identity based on the gender of one’s sexual partners was
as they deserve. In the garden she should plant
not well established, though at certain times there were
beds of green vegetables, bunches of the sugar
male homosexual subcultures in which men participated
cane, and clumps of the fig tree, the mustard
throughout their lives. The best studied of these is one
plant, the parsley plant,... clusters of various
which developed among imperial officials, intellectuals,
flowers such as the... jasmine,... .the yellow
and actors in the Song dynasty (960–1279), and male
amaranth, the wild jasmine,... the china rose
homosexuality was not prohibited until the beginning of
and others... .She should also have seats and
the Qing dynasty in 1644.
arbours made in the garden, in the middle of
Sexual activity that could lead to children was clearly
which a well, tank, or pool should be dug.
a matter of state concern, however. During the Neo-
Source: Vatsyayana, (1883). The Kama Sutra (R. Burton & F. F.Arbuthnot,Trans., Confucian movement of the Song dynasty, educated offi-
Part 4, Chap. 1). London: The Kama Shastra Society.
cials put great emphasis on the disruptive power of
heterosexual attraction, viewing it as so strong that indi-
viduals alone could not control it; walls, laws, and strong
men’s; Plato described the womb as an “animal” that social sanctions were needed to keep men and women
wandered freely around the body, causing physical and apart and to preserve order within the family. In many
mental problems. (This is why the words hysteria and parts of China, women of the middle and upper classes
hysterectomy both have the same Greek root.) The mind/ were increasingly secluded, and even peasant houses
body split did not originate with Plato, but his acceptance were walled; boys and girls were cheap to hire as servants
and elaboration of it helped to make this concept an for tasks that needed to be done outside the walls.