Sex manual
Encyclopedia
Sex manuals are book
s which explain how to perform sexual intercourse
and other sexual practices. They often also feature advice on birth control
, and sometimes safe sex
, as well as advice on sexual relationships.
(2697–2598 BCE). It is also believed that the Tao of Love Coupling originated from Huang-ti. A book entitled Su-Nui Ching, became the sexual bible and medical guidebook for many generations.
The Kama Sutra
of Vatsyayana
, believed to have been written in the 1st to 6th centuries, has a notorious reputation as a sex manual, although only a small part of its text is devoted to sex. It was compiled by the Indian sage Vatsyayana sometime between the second and fourth centuries CE. His work was based on earlier Kamashastra
s or Rules of Love going back to at least the seventh century BCE, and is a compendium of the social norms and love-customs of patriarchal Northern India around the time he lived. Vatsyayana's Kama Sutra is valuable today for his psychological insights into the interactions and scenarios of love, and for his structured approach to the many diverse situations he describes. He defines different types of men and women, matching what he terms "equal" unions, and gives detailed descriptions of many love-postures.
The Kama Sutra was written for the wealthy male city-dweller. It is not, and was never intended to be, a lover's guide for the masses, nor is it a "Tantric love-manual". About three hundred years after the Kama Sutra became popular, some of the love-making positions described in it were reinterpreted in a Tantric way. Since Tantra is an all-encompassing sensual science, love-making positions are relevant to spiritual practice.
In the Graeco-Roman area, a sex manual was written by Philaenis of Samos
, possibly a hetaira
(courtesan
) of the Hellenistic period
(3rd–1st century BCE). Preserved by a series of fragmentary papyrus
es which attest its popularity, it served as a source of inspiration for Ovid
's Ars Amatoria
, written around 3 BCE, which is partially a sex manual, and partially a burlesque on the art of love.
Medieval sex manuals include the lost works of Elephantis
, by Constantine the African
; Ananga Ranga
, a 12th century collection of Hindu
erotic works; and
The Perfumed Garden for the Soul's Recreation
, a 16th century Arabic
work by Sheikh Nefzaoui. The fifteenth-century Speculum al foderi, or The Mirror of Coitus, is the first western work to discuss sexual positions. Constantine the African also penned a medical treatise on sexuality, known as Liber de coitu.
or medical books, which generally discussed either sexual physiology or sexual disorders. The authors of medical works went so far as to write the most sexually explicit parts of their texts in Latin
, so as to make them inaccessible to the general public. (See Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis
as an example).
A few translations of the ancient works were circulated privately, such as The Perfumed Garden....
In the late 19th Century, Ida Craddock
wrote many serious instructional tracts on human sexuality and appropriate, respectful sexual relations between married couples. Among her works were The Wedding Night and Right Marital Living. In 1918 Marie Stopes
published Married Love
, considered groundbreaking despite its limitations in details used to discuss sex acts.
Theodoor Hendrik van de Velde
's book Het volkomen huwelijk (The Perfect Marriage), published in 1926 was well known in Netherlands
, Germany
, Sweden
and Estonia
. In Germany Die vollkommene Ehe reached its 42nd printing in 1932 despite its being placed on the list of forbidden books, Index Librorum Prohibitorum
by the Roman Catholic Church. In Sweden, Det fulländade äktenskapet was widely known although regarded as pornographic and unsuitable for young readers long into the 1960s. In English, Ideal Marriage: Its Physiology and Technique
has 42 printings in its original 1930 edition, and was republished in new editions in 1965 and 2000.
David Reuben, M. D.'s book Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask)
, published in 1969 was one of the first sex manuals that entered mainstream culture in the 1960s. Although it did not feature explicit images of sex acts, its descriptions of sex acts were unprecedentedly detailed, addressing common questions and misunderstandings Reuben had heard from his own patients. Most notably, Reuben dismissed popular medical-psychiatric notions of "vaginal" vs. "clitoral" orgasm, explaining exactly how female physiology works.
The Joy of Sex
by Dr. Alex Comfort
was the first visually explicit sex manual to be published by a mainstream publisher. Its appearance in public bookstores in the 1970s opened the way to the widespread publication of sex manuals in the West. As a result, hundreds of sex manuals are now available in print.
One of the currently most well known in America is The Guide to Getting it On
by Paul Joannides. The Guide to Getting it On, now in its sixth edition, has won several prestigious awards and has been translated into 12 foreign languages since it first appeared in 1996.
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s which explain how to perform sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
and other sexual practices. They often also feature advice on birth control
Birth control
Birth control is an umbrella term for several techniques and methods used to prevent fertilization or to interrupt pregnancy at various stages. Birth control techniques and methods include contraception , contragestion and abortion...
, and sometimes safe sex
Safe sex
Safe sex is sexual activity engaged in by people who have taken precautions to protect themselves against sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS. It is also referred to as safer sex or protected sex, while unsafe or unprotected sex is sexual activity engaged in without precautions...
, as well as advice on sexual relationships.
Early sex manuals
The oldest sex manuals come from Asia. The oldest sex manual in the world is the Chinese Handbooks of Sex written 5,000 years ago by Emperor Huang-TiYellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor or Huangdi1 is a legendary Chinese sovereign and culture hero, included among the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he reigned from 2697–2597 or 2696–2598 BC...
(2697–2598 BCE). It is also believed that the Tao of Love Coupling originated from Huang-ti. A book entitled Su-Nui Ching, became the sexual bible and medical guidebook for many generations.
Kama Sutra
The Kama Sutra is an ancient Indian Hindu text widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behavior in Sanskrit literature written by Vātsyāyana. A portion of the work consists of practical advice on sexual intercourse. It is largely in prose, with many inserted anustubh poetry verses...
of Vatsyayana
Vatsyayana
Vātsyāyana is the name of a Hindu philosopher in the Vedic tradition who is believed to have lived during time of the Gupta Empire in India...
, believed to have been written in the 1st to 6th centuries, has a notorious reputation as a sex manual, although only a small part of its text is devoted to sex. It was compiled by the Indian sage Vatsyayana sometime between the second and fourth centuries CE. His work was based on earlier Kamashastra
Kamashastra
In Indian literature, Kāmashastra refers to the tradition of works on Kāma: love, erotics, or sensual pleasures. It therefore has a practical orientation, similar to that of Arthashastra, the tradition of texts on politics and government...
s or Rules of Love going back to at least the seventh century BCE, and is a compendium of the social norms and love-customs of patriarchal Northern India around the time he lived. Vatsyayana's Kama Sutra is valuable today for his psychological insights into the interactions and scenarios of love, and for his structured approach to the many diverse situations he describes. He defines different types of men and women, matching what he terms "equal" unions, and gives detailed descriptions of many love-postures.
The Kama Sutra was written for the wealthy male city-dweller. It is not, and was never intended to be, a lover's guide for the masses, nor is it a "Tantric love-manual". About three hundred years after the Kama Sutra became popular, some of the love-making positions described in it were reinterpreted in a Tantric way. Since Tantra is an all-encompassing sensual science, love-making positions are relevant to spiritual practice.
In the Graeco-Roman area, a sex manual was written by Philaenis of Samos
Philaenis
Philaenis of Samos was apparently a Greek courtesan of the 4th or 3rd centuries BC. She was commonly said to be the author of a manual on courtship and sex...
, possibly a hetaira
Hetaira
Hetaira is a genus of bush cricket in family Tettigoniidae subfamily Phaneropterinae....
(courtesan
Courtesan
A courtesan was originally a female courtier, which means a person who attends the court of a monarch or other powerful person.In feudal society, the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
) of the Hellenistic period
Hellenistic period
The Hellenistic period or Hellenistic era describes the time which followed the conquests of Alexander the Great. It was so named by the historian J. G. Droysen. During this time, Greek cultural influence and power was at its zenith in Europe and Asia...
(3rd–1st century BCE). Preserved by a series of fragmentary papyrus
Papyrus
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
es which attest its popularity, it served as a source of inspiration for Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
's Ars Amatoria
Ars Amatoria
The Ars amatoria is an instructional love elegy in three books by the Roman poet Ovid, penned around 2 CE. It claims to provide teaching in three areas of general preoccupation: how and where to find women in Rome, how to seduce them, and how to prevent others from stealing them.-Background:After...
, written around 3 BCE, which is partially a sex manual, and partially a burlesque on the art of love.
Medieval sex manuals include the lost works of Elephantis
Elephantis
Elephantis was a Greek poetess apparently renowned in the classical world as the author of a notorious sex manual. Her works have not survived.-Works:...
, by Constantine the African
Constantine the African
Constantine the African was a Tunisian doctor of the eleventh century. The first part of his life was spent in Tunisia and the rest in Italy. In Salerno, Italy, he became a professor of medicine and his work attracted widespread attention...
; Ananga Ranga
Ananga Ranga
The Ananga Ranga or Kamaledhiplava is an Indian sex manual written by Kalyana malla in the 15th or 16th century. The poet wrote the work in honor of Lad Khan, son of Ahmed Khan Lodi. He was related to the Lodi dynasty, which from 1451 to 1526 ruled from Delhi...
, a 12th century collection of Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
erotic works; and
The Perfumed Garden for the Soul's Recreation
The Perfumed Garden
The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight by Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Nafzawi is a fifteenth-century Arabic sex manual and work of erotic literature....
, a 16th century Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
work by Sheikh Nefzaoui. The fifteenth-century Speculum al foderi, or The Mirror of Coitus, is the first western work to discuss sexual positions. Constantine the African also penned a medical treatise on sexuality, known as Liber de coitu.
Modern sex manuals
Despite the existence of ancient sex manuals in other cultures, sex manuals were banned in Western culture for many years. What sexual information was available was generally only available in the form of illicit pornographyPornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
or medical books, which generally discussed either sexual physiology or sexual disorders. The authors of medical works went so far as to write the most sexually explicit parts of their texts in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, so as to make them inaccessible to the general public. (See Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis
Psychopathia Sexualis
Psychopathia Sexualis may refer to:* Psychopathia Sexualis, an 1886 book about human sexuality by Richard von Krafft-Ebing* Psychopathia Sexualis , an 1843 moral psychology book about human sexuality by Heinrich Kaan...
as an example).
A few translations of the ancient works were circulated privately, such as The Perfumed Garden....
In the late 19th Century, Ida Craddock
Ida Craddock
Ida C. Craddock was a 19th-century American advocate of free speech and women's rights.-Early life:Ida Craddock was born in Philadelphia; her father died when she was two years old...
wrote many serious instructional tracts on human sexuality and appropriate, respectful sexual relations between married couples. Among her works were The Wedding Night and Right Marital Living. In 1918 Marie Stopes
Marie Stopes
Marie Carmichael Stopes was a British author, palaeobotanist, campaigner for women's rights and pioneer in the field of birth control...
published Married Love
Married Love
Married Love or Love in Marriage is a book written by Dr. Marie Carmichael Stopes, first published in March 1918 by a small publisher, after many other larger publishers turned her down because of the content. It rapidly sold out, and was in its sixth printing within a fortnight.The US Customs...
, considered groundbreaking despite its limitations in details used to discuss sex acts.
Theodoor Hendrik van de Velde
Theodoor Hendrik van de Velde
Theodoor Hendrik van de Velde was a Dutch physician and gynæcologist who served as Director at the Gynæcological Institute in Haarlem. His 1926 book Het volkomen huwelijk made him an instant international celebrity...
's book Het volkomen huwelijk (The Perfect Marriage), published in 1926 was well known in Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
. In Germany Die vollkommene Ehe reached its 42nd printing in 1932 despite its being placed on the list of forbidden books, Index Librorum Prohibitorum
Index Librorum Prohibitorum
The Index Librorum Prohibitorum was a list of publications prohibited by the Catholic Church. A first version was promulgated by Pope Paul IV in 1559, and a revised and somewhat relaxed form was authorized at the Council of Trent...
by the Roman Catholic Church. In Sweden, Det fulländade äktenskapet was widely known although regarded as pornographic and unsuitable for young readers long into the 1960s. In English, Ideal Marriage: Its Physiology and Technique
Ideal Marriage: Its Physiology and Technique
Ideal Marriage: Its Physiology and Technique is a famous popular scientific treatise and self-help book published in London in 1926 by Dutch gynecologist Theodoor Hendrik van de Velde, retired director of the Gynecological Clinic in Haarlem, and "one of the major writers on human sexuality during...
has 42 printings in its original 1930 edition, and was republished in new editions in 1965 and 2000.
David Reuben, M. D.'s book Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask)
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask)
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex is a book by U.S. physician Dr. David Reuben. It was one of the first sex manuals that entered mainstream culture in the 1960s, and it had a profound effect on sex education and in liberalizing attitudes towards sex...
, published in 1969 was one of the first sex manuals that entered mainstream culture in the 1960s. Although it did not feature explicit images of sex acts, its descriptions of sex acts were unprecedentedly detailed, addressing common questions and misunderstandings Reuben had heard from his own patients. Most notably, Reuben dismissed popular medical-psychiatric notions of "vaginal" vs. "clitoral" orgasm, explaining exactly how female physiology works.
The Joy of Sex
The Joy of Sex
The Joy of Sex is an illustrated sex manual by Alex Comfort, M.B., Ph.D., first published in 1972. An updated edition was released in September, 2008.-Overview:...
by Dr. Alex Comfort
Alex Comfort
Alexander Comfort, MB BChir, PhD, DSc was a medical professional, gerontologist, anarchist, pacifist, conscientious objector and writer, best known for The Joy of Sex, which played a part in what is often called the sexual revolution...
was the first visually explicit sex manual to be published by a mainstream publisher. Its appearance in public bookstores in the 1970s opened the way to the widespread publication of sex manuals in the West. As a result, hundreds of sex manuals are now available in print.
One of the currently most well known in America is The Guide to Getting it On
The Guide to Getting it On
The Guide to Getting It On! is a sexuality guide by research psychoanalyst Paul Joannides, illustrated by the comic book artist Dærick Gröss, Sr. A 6th edition was released on January 20, 2009, with a 2011 updated version of the 6th edition released in January 2011.-Structure and content of the...
by Paul Joannides. The Guide to Getting it On, now in its sixth edition, has won several prestigious awards and has been translated into 12 foreign languages since it first appeared in 1996.
List of sex manuals
- Kemper, Alfred M., Love Couches Design Criteria, Los Angeles 1972, Library of Congress #75-36170, 101 pages — design criteria for assistive furniture, with sections on accommodation of disabled persons.
- Bodansky, Steve and Vera, The Illustrated Guide to Extended Massive Orgasm, Hunter House. 1st ed., 2002, ISBN 0-89793-362-1, 235 pages
- Hooper, Anne J., Sexopedia, DK Publishing, 1st American ed., 2002, ISBN 0-7894-8958-9, 272 pages
- McMeel, Andrews and Lisa Sussman, Sex Positions, Carlton Publishing Group, 2002, ISBN 1-84222-266-X, 96 pages
- Nerve.com, Position of the Day Playbook, Sex Every Day in Every Way, Chronicle Books, 2005, ISBN 0-8118-4701-2, 376 pages
- Ananga RangaAnanga RangaThe Ananga Ranga or Kamaledhiplava is an Indian sex manual written by Kalyana malla in the 15th or 16th century. The poet wrote the work in honor of Lad Khan, son of Ahmed Khan Lodi. He was related to the Lodi dynasty, which from 1451 to 1526 ruled from Delhi...
by Kalyanamalla - Ars AmatoriaArs AmatoriaThe Ars amatoria is an instructional love elegy in three books by the Roman poet Ovid, penned around 2 CE. It claims to provide teaching in three areas of general preoccupation: how and where to find women in Rome, how to seduce them, and how to prevent others from stealing them.-Background:After...
(satirical) by Roman author OvidOvidPublius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria... - Art of Love by Philaenis of Samos
- Book of Dongxuan by Li Dongxuan of the Tang dynastyTang DynastyThe Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
- Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask)Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask)Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex is a book by U.S. physician Dr. David Reuben. It was one of the first sex manuals that entered mainstream culture in the 1960s, and it had a profound effect on sex education and in liberalizing attitudes towards sex...
by David Reuben - Good Recipes for Woman by Chen Zhiming
- The Good Vibrations Guide to Sex by Cathy Winks and Anne Semans
- Guide for the Jade House by Peng Zhu
- The Guide to Getting it OnThe Guide to Getting it OnThe Guide to Getting It On! is a sexuality guide by research psychoanalyst Paul Joannides, illustrated by the comic book artist Dærick Gröss, Sr. A 6th edition was released on January 20, 2009, with a 2011 updated version of the 6th edition released in January 2011.-Structure and content of the...
by Paul JoannidesPaul Joannides (psychoanalyst)Paul Joannides, Psy.D. is an author, public speaker and research psychoanalyst based in Northwest USA. He is the author of The Guide to Getting It On, a well-known guide on sexuality which is used in college and medical school sex-ed courses in the US and Canada. Dr... - Handbooks of Sex by Emperor Huang-Ti
- The Illustrated Guide to Extended Massive Orgasm by Steve and Vera Bodansky
- Jayamangala by Yasodhara
- The Joy of Gay SexThe Joy of Gay SexThe Joy of Gay Sex is a sex manual for men who have sex with men, written by Dr. Charles Silverstein and Edmund White.Publisher: Crown - References :* ISBN 067124079X* ISBN 978-0671240790...
by Felice PicanoFelice PicanoFelice Picano is an American writer. He graduated cum laude from Queens College in 1964 with English department honors. He founded SeaHorse Press in 1977, and The Gay Presses of New York in 1981 with Terry Helbing and Larry Mitchell; he was Editor-in-Chief there. He was an editor and writer for...
and Edmund WhiteEdmund WhiteEdmund Valentine White III is an American author and literary critic. He is a member of the faculty of Princeton University's Program in Creative Writing.- Life and work :... - The Joy of SexThe Joy of SexThe Joy of Sex is an illustrated sex manual by Alex Comfort, M.B., Ph.D., first published in 1972. An updated edition was released in September, 2008.-Overview:...
by Alex ComfortAlex ComfortAlexander Comfort, MB BChir, PhD, DSc was a medical professional, gerontologist, anarchist, pacifist, conscientious objector and writer, best known for The Joy of Sex, which played a part in what is often called the sexual revolution... - Kama SutraKama SutraThe Kama Sutra is an ancient Indian Hindu text widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behavior in Sanskrit literature written by Vātsyāyana. A portion of the work consists of practical advice on sexual intercourse. It is largely in prose, with many inserted anustubh poetry verses...
by Vatsayana - Lazzat Un NisaLazzat Un NisaLazzat Un Nisa is an erotic Indian story. The original manuscript dates back to the Qutb Shahi period. In the fifteenth century, the court of Bidar patronized such erotic works as the Bhog bal, Thadkirat al-Shahawat and Srngaramanjari...
by Muhammad Abdul Latif - Love Couches Design Criteria by Alfred M. Kemper
- The Mystery of Chamber Art by Chen Xilei
- On Abstinence in Sex by Gao LianGao LianGao Lian may refer to:* Gao Lian , ancient dramatist* Gao Lian , a Water Margin character...
- On the Loss and Gain of Intercourse with Woman by Tao Hongjing
- On the Loss and Gain of The Chamber Art by Sun SimiaoSun SimiaoSun Simiao was a famous traditional Chinese medicine doctor of the Sui and Tang dynasty. He was titled as China's King of Medicine for his significant contributions to Chinese medicine and tremendous care to his patients....
- On Venereal disease by Hua TuoHua TuoHua Tuo was an ancient Chinese physician who lived during the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. The Records of Three Kingdoms and Book of Later Han record Hua as the first person in China to use anesthesia during surgery. He used a general anesthetic combining wine with a...
- Pao-Pu Zhi by Ge HongGe HongGe Hong , courtesy name Zhichuan , was a minor southern official during the Jìn Dynasty of China, best known for his interest in Daoism, alchemy, and techniques of longevity...
of the Jin dynastyJìn Dynasty (265-420)The Jìn Dynasty , was a dynasty in Chinese history, lasting between the years 265 and 420 AD. There are two main divisions in the history of the Dynasty, the first being Western Jin and the second Eastern Jin... - Position of the Day Playbook, Sex Every Day in Every Way
- RatirahasyaRatirahasyaThe Ratirahasya is an Indian love manual written by Kokkoka. It is a popular text and is often compared to the Kama Sutra. It was probably written in the 12th century.Some commentaries have been written on this text....
by Kokkoka - Ratiratna Pradipika by Praudhadevaraja
- Reader's Digest Guide to Love and Sex by Dr. Amanda Roberts
- Recipe of The Simple Lady by Wang Shou
- Sexopedia by Anne J. Hooper
- Sex Positions by Andrews McMeel and Lisa Sussman
- The Secret Manual of The Jade House by Chong Hezi
- Tao of Love Coupling Emperor Huang-ti
- The Wonder Book of The Chamber by Hong Ji
- The Yin Passage of Rongchen by Rong chen of the Han dynastyHan DynastyThe Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
See also
- Safe SexSafe sexSafe sex is sexual activity engaged in by people who have taken precautions to protect themselves against sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS. It is also referred to as safer sex or protected sex, while unsafe or unprotected sex is sexual activity engaged in without precautions...
- SexologySexologySexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behavior, and function. The term does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sex, such as political analysis or social criticism....
- Sex educationSex educationSex education refers to formal programs of instruction on a wide range of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, abstinence, contraception, and...
- Sexual revolutionSexual revolutionThe sexual revolution was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the Western world from the 1960s into the 1980s...
- Sex-positive feminismSex-positive feminismSex-positive feminism, also known as pro-sex feminism, sex-radical feminism, or sexually liberal feminism is a movement that began in the early 1980s...
- Taoist Sexual PracticesTaoist sexual practicesTaoist sexual practices , literally "the bedroom arts", are the way some Taoists practiced sex. These practices were also known as "Joining Energy" or "The Joining of the Essences"...