One subject that brings out passions in society today is sex.  It is such an interesting topic because it brings together all the feelings of pleasure in the extreme that Nature has imbued us with, and all the dangers and responsibilities that are at the core of life.  Thus we see the mars-venus connection on the one hand and the saturn-moon connection on the other. 

The mars-venus connection is the pleasure drive, both male and female, that serves as nature’s call to form intimate bonds.  These bonds of intimacy draw us into relationships that result in the saturn-moon relations, that of father and mother.  These relations are central to forming human societies, from the polygamous cultures of the early human societies, to the modern day monogamous ones.

The conflict between the polygamous cultures of the past and the monogamous cultures of the present can still be seen in the battle in Texas/Utah between the Mormon fundamentalist cults and the government of Texas where 416 children were recently taken into custody, an attempt to separate out who is who genetically.  However the same kind of conflict can be seen in the invasion and administration of indigenous cultures of the New World by the Western Powers over the last several centuries.  For example, Sitting Bull refused toward the end of his life to convert to Christianity.  One of the reasons was his refusal to let go of either of his two wives. 

Because we humans are naturally such sexually active animals, the transition from a hunter gatherer culture to a post-industrial culture causes real problems in society regarding sexual relations.  In Sociology, the term for this change is The Demographic Transition.

 A look at the graph to the left shows the idea, that because of the reduction in the death rate, particularly in infant mortality, through greater food supply, sterilization practices, health treatment, and a host of other factors, industrialized societies experience first a rise in population, and then a leveling off, such as has occurred in western Europe, particularly in the northern countries.  The leveling off of the population occurs because society adjusts to the increased population by reducing the birth rate.  One way to reduce the birth rate is through monogamy.

The foregoing I lay out to direct the readers’ attention to the affect on society of the reduction in the value of sexual behavior to society.  Human populations, unlike other members of the animal kingdom, can regulate our population by making the conscious choice not to have as many children.  We can adjust the boom-bust cycle of rising populations followed by pestilence, starvation, war, and death (The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse) by changing our behavior in ways that sublimate the libidinal drive into matters scientific, artistic, and spiritual.

The Indian mystic and poet, Gopi Krishna believed that the libido was in fact the flow of energy from the kundalini, the gland at the base of the spine in Indian belief.  Krishna wrote that the kundalini was the basis for the evolution of culture and the biological basis for genius and spirituality.  This explains why some priesthoods have chosen celibacy as a mean to bring about spiritual development.

One can see the attempts by society to reduce sexual drive.  Clothing to cover the genitalia, circumcision and clitorectomies to reduce stimulation, the banning of sexuality in art and literature, and the development of a sense of shame regarding sexuality in general all serve to numb the sex drive and reduce the birth rate, again as a response to a rising population.  The myth of the virgin birth, priestly celibacy, and the association of evil as in the lower body while virtue is in the upper body serves as examples of how a value system develops. 

One of the side effects of this is to develop alternate sexuality as a reaction to the sexual repression.  When sexual repression occurs as a result of authoritarian capriciousness and hypocrisy, the libido looks for sexuality that does not result in pregnancy.   There are many sexual practices that have evolved to avoid pregnancy, some healthier than others.

It is more than ironic that the loudest voices against sexual behavior are its worst offenders.  How many politicians and priests have been shown to be guilty of the sexual behavior they rail against, the Jimmy Swaggarts and Ted Haggards of this world?  The conclusion that this examination points to is that the demographic transition is a sloppy process, proceeding by slips and jerks to that advanced state: the state of spiritual, artistic, and scientific development of culture.

Sexuality cannot and should not be repressed as it is as necessary as ever to the species to have a healthy libido.  Thus sexuality can be developed in a Tantric or Taoist way such that the sexual experience is preserved, in fact enhanced, but in a balanced and healthy way, and not as an obsession involving unhealthy practices.  Guilt and shame can be replaced by innocence and freedom.

One of the key effects of the demographic transition is the changing role of women in society.  In European society in the 19th and 20th centuries, we saw the beginning of women as artists and writers, then entering universities, acquiring the right to vote, and now seeking equal pay for equal work.  We see this trend around the world, except where we see a tremendous reaction against the changing role of women, such as in Afghanistan where we saw the emergence of burkhas as the ultimate limitation on women’s rights.

 

It is also true that many couples today find that both have to work to afford a home, and in many cases wind up working to pay a baby sitter or day care to raise their children during the day.  This has resulted in the emergence of the latchkey child, the ones who comes home to be by themselves during the afternoon.  Clearly, the ideal model has yet to evolve.