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I have been thinking that most cultures before roughly the 18th century were not puritan at all, at least in some shape or form. For instance I have been readin

by prox 3y ago

I have been thinking that most cultures before roughly the 18th century were not puritan at all, at least in some shape or form. For instance I have been reading muslim poets who made fairly erotic poems, same for India. Now America is an outlier here, it’s actually the place were puritans went. It was only in the age of full on colonization that you see the puritan groups forming (Salafists for instance rise in the 19th century) and it’s a similar mechanism at work in India. Not sure the background on that, would love to have more insight how the history of morals developed. Maybe at some point it became a tool to keep people in check?

ElFitz 3y ago
Perhaps. The factors and morals seem to vary significantly, depending on both historical periods and cultural contexts. Take, for example, Japan during the Meiji restoration [1]. In their quest to dispel behaviours deemed immoral or indecent by Western societies, they largely eliminated mixed onsen ("konyokuburo"), in an attempt to transform into a "modern", "civilised" nation, worthy of international respect rather than colonisation. Medieval Europe is also interesting. Despite the church's portrayal of sexuality as sinful and degrading, many nobles maintained mistresses, and even certain popes (Alexander Borgia comes to mind) fathered children out of wedlock. Finally, both ancient Romans [2] and Greeks [3] held perspectives we would find surprising today, if not ambivalent. I still my surprise when noticing a dozen boxes of very explicitly shaped cakes in a remote Japanese mountain trail souvenir shop. I guess we could call that culture shock. [1]: https://www.bathclin.co.jp/en/happybath/did-you-know/a-brief-history-of-japanese-bathing-culture/ https://www.bathclin.co.jp/en/happybath/did-you-know/a-brief... [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexuality_in_ancient_Rome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexuality_in_ancient_Rome [3]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/03/21/sex-and-the-constitution-the-ancient-greeks/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/201...

by prox 3y ago

ElFitz 3y ago

Perhaps. The factors and morals seem to vary significantly, depending on both historical periods and cultural contexts. Take, for example, Japan during the Meiji restoration [1]. In their quest to dispel behaviours deemed immoral or indecent by Western societies, they largely eliminated mixed onsen ("konyokuburo"), in an attempt to transform into a "modern", "civilised" nation, worthy of international respect rather than colonisation. Medieval Europe is also interesting. Despite the church's portrayal of sexuality as sinful and degrading, many nobles maintained mistresses, and even certain popes (Alexander Borgia comes to mind) fathered children out of wedlock. Finally, both ancient Romans [2] and Greeks [3] held perspectives we would find surprising today, if not ambivalent. I still my surprise when noticing a dozen boxes of very explicitly shaped cakes in a remote Japanese mountain trail souvenir shop. I guess we could call that culture shock. [1]: https://www.bathclin.co.jp/en/happybath/did-you-know/a-brief-history-of-japanese-bathing-culture/ https://www.bathclin.co.jp/en/happybath/did-you-know/a-brief... [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexuality_in_ancient_Rome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexuality_in_ancient_Rome [3]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/03/21/sex-and-the-constitution-the-ancient-greeks/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/201...