The Virginity Taboo

Sigmund Freud traces the virginity taboo to an ancient logic of possession and fear. Among Australian tribes, ritual defloration by shamans preceded marriage; the groom was deliberately excluded from first intercourse. Freud argues that sexual bondage, the castration complex, and women's primal rage toward substitute objects explain why second marriages often prove happier than first ones. From Krafft-Ebing's terminology to Ferenczi's paleo-biological speculation, this text excavates the archaic roots of modern sexual anxiety.

You'll learn:

- Why primitive peoples assigned defloration to sacred figures

- How the masculinity complex shapes female object choice

- What drives the hostile impulse after first intercourse