11 anecdotes for culture:

1. In the United States, "petting parties" were very popular in the 1920s.

Many young women of the 1920s rejected their parents' prudish, Victorian model of propriety and preferred to go to specially organized "petting parties" for the stated purpose of finding boys, kissing, cuddling and touching, with a little activity under the corset. They did not, however, have full-on sex: times had not changed that much.

2. The same goes for pornography.

The common misconception that people were stuck 100 years ago is wrong. Almost immediately after the first cameras were invented, people started taking nude photos like these and selling them as postcards (discreetly, of course). Many of them also showed penetrative sex, as well as “non-standard” sexual practices like lesbianism.

3. Victorian doctors masturbated their female patients.

Female “hysteria” (i.e. anxiety, irritability, anger, and other symptoms associated with being a woman with few rights in a restrictive patriarchal society) was seen as a serious problem during the Victorian era. But doctors discovered that these symptoms could be temporarily relieved by “vulvar massage” (meh) which, if done correctly, could induce a “hysterical paroxysm.” Okay.

4. British King Edward VII spent a lot of time in a French brothel.

The house was called Le Chabanais, and was one of the most exclusive in Paris. In the 1880s it was a favourite haunt of 'Bertie', who was (at the time) Prince of Wales, and later King Edward VII, the present Queen's great-grandfather. He spent so much time there that a special love seat was made for him, which supported his considerable weight while he screwed French courtesans.

5. In the 18th century, Empress Catherine II of Russia is said to have employed "foot ticklers" to arouse her.

Catherine II of Russia reportedly employed girls and eunuchs as full-time foot ticklers to keep her sexually aroused. If only it were still a career option.

6. You could buy tourist guides about sex in 18th century London.

Prostitution was rife in the British capital, and guides were published and updated annually to help men find the right person for them. These guides included rates, ages, appearance, techniques, reviews and the activities each woman was willing to do (with details). It was a bit like a sex version of Tripadvisor.

7. By the year 300, Rome had 45 brothels, and they were so popular that they had to remain closed until late afternoon.

Prostitution was fully accepted in Rome, and men also offered their services. Moreover, in Pompeii, there are still many representations of penises sculpted on the paving stones of the streets, on the walls or outside the shops.

8. In Rome, coins depicting sexual positions have been unearthed.

One hypothesis is that these coins, which displayed a whole series of activities and positions, were used to pay for sexual services. According to a fanciful theory, these tokens (called Spintriae) could even have had a different value depending on the act illustrated. The soldiers would then have only had to indicate the position and pay. Clever, but it is also quite possible that these coins only had an artistic value.

9. Erotic poems were common in medieval France.

Before Pornhub, people entertained themselves by listening to traveling musicians declaim comic and obscene poems called fabliaux, with titles like The Young Lady Who Couldn't Hear About Fucking, The Knight Who Made the Idiots Speak, and Bérenger with the Long Ass. Maybe HBO should take notes.

10. Medieval women cheated on “virginity tests.”

"Pure and virtuous" women in the Middle Ages were expected to be virgins on their wedding night. However, women had access to under-the-table (practical) guides to feigning their virginity. One such book explains: "On the eve of the wedding, let her carefully place a leech on her labia majora, and a small scab will form there... by having sexual intercourse, the false virgin will (bleed and) deceive the man."

11. And impotence trials existed in medieval France.

There were few options for women to divorce their husbands in 16th-century France, but they did have the right to have their marriage annulled if they could prove that their husbands were unable to honour them. These tests were held in a courtroom. A man had to ejaculate in front of a jury (no mean feat), and sometimes also have sexual intercourse with his wife.

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BuzzFeed

by : Hilary Mitchell