Book contents
- The Cambridge World History of Sexualities
- The Cambridge World History of Sexualities
- The Cambridge World History of Sexualities
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures in Volume I
- Contributors to Volume I
- Editors’ Preface to the Series
- 1 The History of the History of Sexuality
- 2 The History of Sexuality and Anthropology
- 3 The History of Sexuality and Women’s History
- 4 The History of Sexuality and LGBTQ+ History
- 5 The Impact of Sigmund Freud on the History of Sexuality
- 6 Michel Foucault’s Influence on the History of Sexuality
- 7 Queer Theory and the History of Sexuality
- 8 The Sexual Body in History
- 9 Marriage and Families in the History of Sexuality
- 10 Class in the History of Sexuality
- 11 Sexuality and Race: Representations, Regulations, and Sentiments
- 12 Male Homoerotic Relations in History
- 13 Desire, Love, and Sex between Women in Global History
- 14 Trans and Gender Variant Sexualities in History
- 15 The Sale of Sex in History
- 16 Sexual Violence in History
- 17 Sexual Science in History
- 18 Sexuality and Emotion
- 19 Erotic Art in World History
- 20 Erotic Literature in History
- 21 The Material Culture of the History of Sexuality
- 22 Public History and Sexuality
- Index
- CONTENTS TO VOLUMES II, III, AND IV
- References
8 - The Sexual Body in History
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 April 2024
Book contents
- The Cambridge World History of Sexualities
- The Cambridge World History of Sexualities
- The Cambridge World History of Sexualities
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures in Volume I
- Contributors to Volume I
- Editors’ Preface to the Series
- 1 The History of the History of Sexuality
- 2 The History of Sexuality and Anthropology
- 3 The History of Sexuality and Women’s History
- 4 The History of Sexuality and LGBTQ+ History
- 5 The Impact of Sigmund Freud on the History of Sexuality
- 6 Michel Foucault’s Influence on the History of Sexuality
- 7 Queer Theory and the History of Sexuality
- 8 The Sexual Body in History
- 9 Marriage and Families in the History of Sexuality
- 10 Class in the History of Sexuality
- 11 Sexuality and Race: Representations, Regulations, and Sentiments
- 12 Male Homoerotic Relations in History
- 13 Desire, Love, and Sex between Women in Global History
- 14 Trans and Gender Variant Sexualities in History
- 15 The Sale of Sex in History
- 16 Sexual Violence in History
- 17 Sexual Science in History
- 18 Sexuality and Emotion
- 19 Erotic Art in World History
- 20 Erotic Literature in History
- 21 The Material Culture of the History of Sexuality
- 22 Public History and Sexuality
- Index
- CONTENTS TO VOLUMES II, III, AND IV
- References
Summary
The ‘sexual body’ is at once the sexed body identified as male, female, or non-binary, and the body that engages in sexual acts, experiences desire, and is perceived as an erotic object. This chapter explores a wide range of ideas about and experiences of the sexual body in pre-modern European, Native American, Chinese, Islamic, Jewish, Pacific, Māori, and West African cultures. It argues that to take a global historical perspective on sexual bodies it is necessary to consider a wide range of discourses and representations. It begins with sexual bodies in mythology: narratives of human origin from ancient Greek, Native American, Judeo-Christian and Islamic, Chinese, Māori, and West African cultures. Creation stories purvey ideas about sexual difference, desire, beauty, and gender relations that reflect a culture’s deepest belief-systems. Second, it examines sexual bodies in the medical discourses of Western and Chinese history, summarising ancient Western concepts of sex difference as a matter of moisture, heat, and anatomy, and ancient Chinese theories of qi, yinyang, and beauty. Third, it examines sexual embodiment in lived experiences of gender roles and puberty rites, showing that many Indigenous cultures historically accepted people of nonbinary gender.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge World History of Sexualities , pp. 159 - 182Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024
References
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