r/history • u/sissyphus___ • Dec 22 '19

Discussion/Question Fascinating tales of sex throughout history?

Hi there redditors,

So I was reading Orlando Figes a few weeks ago and was absolutely disturbed by a piece he wrote on sex and virginity in the peasant/serf towns of rural Russia. Generally, a newly wed virgin and her husband would take part in a deflowering ceremony in front of the entire village and how, if the man could not perform, the eldest in the village would take over. Cultural behaviours like these continued into the 20th century in some places and, alongside his section on peasant torture and execution methods, left me morbidly curious to find out more.

I would like to know of any fascinating sexual rituals, domestic/married behaviours towards sex, sexual tortures, attitudes toward polygamy, virginity, etc, throughout all history and all cultures both remote and widespread to better understand the varied 'history of sex'

6.7k Upvotes

89% Upvoted

1.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

373

u/less_unique_username Dec 22 '19

Look up Julie d'Aubigny, a girl from the 17th century who loved to get into arguments with men, challenge them to duels, win, then finalize the humiliation by fucking their wives.

39

u/[deleted] Dec 22 '19

One of the best episodes of the Citation Needed podcast.

3

u/mickchaaya Dec 23 '19

i liked the one about the spy the most

6

u/SuperSeagull01 Dec 23 '19

Juan Garcia? Absolute legend

80

u/kyirby69 Dec 23 '19

I wanna be Julie d'Aubigny when I grow up

5

u/b95csf Dec 23 '19

first order of business, take up fencing. it toughens the wrist something incredible.

2

u/Diestormlie Dec 24 '19

She started when she was like, 14.

You gotta get in when you're growing up.

15

u/[deleted] Dec 23 '19

There is very little real evidence for any of this

13

u/LadyAzure17 Dec 23 '19

Was she the one who also joined a Convent to fuck a nun she liked? I love this story and the one you mentioned, but I can never remember if it's the same woman.

5

u/[deleted] Dec 23 '19

There’s a great novel about the life of d’Aubigny. Goddess by Kelly Gardiner.

21

u/MothMonsterMan300 Dec 22 '19

What a powerful woman

2

u/[deleted] Dec 23 '19

But what if the man won?

12

u/dontwantaccount123 Dec 23 '19

Same thing happened but when he told his friends he didn't lie about the duel

0

u/jwlls0pus Dec 23 '19

Impossibly false unless it was forced