| Summary |
A presentation made at the 2006 Understanding Human Sexuality Seminar in South Africa.
Human sexuality can be defined as the expression of sexual sensation and related
intimacy between human beings, as well as the expression of identity through sex and as
influenced by or based on sex (Wikipedia Encyclopedia). In contrast to other cultures,
Africans have yet to come up with openly articulated guidelines on sexuality, its
philosophical and religious underpinnings, as well explicit boundaries of its expression.
The Chinese, Japanese, Hebrew, Roman, Greek, Arabian, Persian and Indian cultures
created erotic works directed at celebrating sexuality as an enjoyable and intense part of
life (McCormick, 1992). Western sexuality and its expression on the other hand have
remained on firm religious leash, and Freud and Foucault spearheaded their
psychological and sociological analyses. African contact with Western societies, which
veered between reticences and elaborate analyses of sexuality, has so far failed to entice
Africans into engaging in similar analyses of their sexuality. |
| More Details |
African oral traditions may have contained useful expositions on this important subject,
but oral traditions have the inherent weakness of suffering from inaccurate transmission
over time, and ultimately disappearance, in contrast to the enduring power of the written
word. In being both recalcitrant and suspicious of Western religious guidance, African
sexual expression has over time remained least understood, and with the unfolding of the
world Aids scenario that reflects Africa as the undisputed epicenter of the pandemic, the
most debated sexuality in the contemporary scene. |
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| Keywords |
This Item is associated with the Following
Keywords: Understanding Human Sexuality Seminar Series. |
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