Marguerite de Navarre: what crack was she on, and can we have some? And more about sex

[elettaria]

Somewhere between the Pyrenees and the Alps there once lived a nobleman by the name of Thogas. He had a wife, children, a fine house and so much wealth and pleasure that he had every good reason to be content with life. Apart from one thing. He was subject to great pain beneath the roots of his hairs. The pain was so severe that the doctors advised him to stop sleeping with his wife.

Marguerite de Navarre, The Heptameron, Story 54.

We're having quite an interesting discussion about a peculiar TV programme called "Virgin School" in king_laugh's journal here, if anyone wants to jump in. Topics for discussion here in mine, prompted by a variety of sources:

* Prostitution - should it be legalised?
* Sexual surrogacy - useful? creepy? unprofessional? a great idea?
* Virginity - what does it mean, and do we like the concept in the first place?
* Should vibrators be available on the NHS?

Comments

[ghost-of-a-flea.livejournal.com]

From the link:

Prostitution is an entertainment service and provides the payer with instant gratification. It is a device, a way to release sexual energy. The client calls the shots and gets what he pays for. A sexual surrogate on the other hand, has a purpose in mind. A surrogate’s job is to educate the client on how to master or alleviate specific sexual problems. Though the surrogate does the teaching, the therapist—not the client or the surrogate—decides on activities would best treat the client. Therapy usually takes months. Any sexual activity—if a therapist deems it necessary—is secondary to communication, education and healing.

Sex surrogacy is a professional practice in association with psychologists, physicians, urologists, and is always overseen by a sex therapist. Surrogates are there, at the request of a therapist, to teach clients how to overcome sexual problems by education and by physical treatment.

Certainly don't have any initial issue with those two statements. A contrast of entertainment/therapy might be a usefull tool to be thinking about.