Sodomy

While the word sodomy in its contemporary context is generally used to mean "ass rape" or at least "anal sex", historically and legally the term has had a much broader meaning. Originating in the 11th century, the word sodomy was coined by Saint Peter Damian to replace the earlier term "Sin of Sodom". (Sodom and Gomorrah being those cities in the Bible which were destroyed by God for their unredeemable moral depravity. See Sodomy and the Bible).

Interestingly enough, over the centuries many bible thumpers have forgotten that the "Sin of Sodom" never referred to a singular sin (like ass humping), but rather to a collective of sin (i.e. all the sin accumulated in Sodom). The unclean acts that contributed to this cesspool of sin included, but were not limited to:

• Anal Sex
• Bestiality
• Oral Sex
• Sex outside of wedlock (a.k.a. fornication)
• Mutual masturbation
• Selling sexual favors in the name of God/Goddesses (temple prostitution was big with certain pagan religions in and around the Holy Land)

While St. Peter himself had originally included solo masturbation under the heading "Sodomy", later religious thinkers, gave it its own separate heading, "Onanism" -- perhaps to better differentiate the more childlike vice of self-pleasuring from sins which showed more spiritual deviancy. Oddly, although lying with mankind, as with womankind was an abomination in the bible, evidence shows that homosexual marriages were still sanctioned and performed in the Christian church, at least up until the Middle Ages.

It wasn't until the 16th or 17th Century (specifically in England) that the term "sodomite" ceased referring to the ancient residents of Sodom and Gomorrah and began to refer to sexual deviants -- primarily to those who took it dans le bosphore. But even though sodomite began to more and more refer to homosexual men, lesbians too were called sodomites and, technically, everyone -- whether hetero or homo -- who engaged in oral sex, anal sex, or bestiality were also sodomites.

As quaint as all this may seem, it is actually vitally important information for understanding the modern legal codes that govern our sexual behavior. Law depends upon tradition. Democratic governments typically cannot pass a law unless it has the popular support of its constituents. On the other hand, people tend to support a law that seems "good and right" -- and to elect lawmakers whose laws and persons also appear to be good and right.

But unfortunately what causes us to decide what is "good and right" is not always rational thinking (i.e. a careful consideration of real life causes and effects), but fears and conditioned assumptions. Thus it is that long-standing laws often reflect the fears and prejudices of earlier generations -- and legal reform is required to bring such laws into accord with our modern perspective, and our current understanding of what is good and right.

But while our modern attitudes about sexual activity may have changed by leaps and bounds since the era of the Kinsey Report and Master's and Johnson, very few people have wanted to stand up -- on behalf of pussylickers and assfuckers everywhere -- and demand that our laws be updated.

Consequently, until the mid 1970s it was against the law to be a pussylicker or an assfucker (or a cocksucker, or a mutual masturbator) in most parts of the United States. While such laws were often not enforced, the penalties accompanying them could potentially be quite severe. For example, in the state of Oklahoma, conviction under sodomy law could actually land you as much as 20 years in prison -- even if the person with whom the individual had committed sodomy was a fully consenting adult.

It was not until a recent Supreme Court decision, in June 2003, that these archaic laws were largely struck down. Notable exceptions still remain however, and kink-loving consenting adults should acquaint themselves with local and state law before gettin' their freak on.

These rule of thumb holds especially true if one is planning to travel to a foreign country. Many Islamic nations still proscribe the death penalty for fornication, homosexuality, and other deviations from the prescribed norm.

Related Trivia

• From around 1150 onward, according to historian John Boswell, anti-homosexuality sentiments experienced a rapid rise in European countries, a fact soon reflected in civil laws and in Christian theology. By 1350 sodomy was punishable by death in almost every European nation.
• The first English anti-sodomy law was created in 1533 by King Henry VIII. It was not put to much use however until the 1700s when the English, blaming the French revolution on moral decline, began to crack down on sexual deviants.
• In the 17th century, the fledgling American colonies modeled their laws on English law, making sodomy a capital offense (although flogging and banishment were the more common punishments).

Santorum
Sodomy and the Supreme Court
Sodomy and the Bible