Kama Sutra

[Steezie]

Is it considered ethical or ok for people to read and use books such as the Kama Sutra?

Im also interested in the Christian responses to this question.

I personally dont see anything wrong with it and I own a physical book copy, a copy on the computer, and a web site that lets you see the positions as depicted in an art exhibit that was [SIZE=-1]on show at the Chambéry Modern Art Museum in France in 2006. It was the work of artist Paul Servolex. I'd post the link but I KNOW I'd get in trouble but its an absolutely fascinating exhibit and beautiful sculptures. PM me if you're 18 or older and wish to see the link
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[GabrielWithoutWings]

I think it's a fascinating piece of work, but most of the stuff in there would put me in the hospital for a week.

Still, it's worth a read through.

 

[arunma]

I've never read it, and I'm not all that interested in doing so. But I certainly can't say that it is intrinsically more evil or ungodly than various pieces of Renaissance art that depict nudity. There is a certain artistic and literary quality that ought not to be overshadowed by unwarranted prudishness.

 

[dhuisjen2]

Wouldn't this poll be more interesting if you could see the correlations between how people vote and what their religious affiliation is?

 

[Eudaimonist]

Is it considered ethical or ok for people to read and use books such as the Kama Sutra?

I see nothing wrong with experimenting with sexual positions as long as love and respect for one's partner is involved.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Krysia]

I see no problem with it at all....

as long as you stretch thoroughly before attempting the positions

 

[Chalnoth]

Well, from what I recall of reading a modernized version a few years back, only a scant few of the positions need a significant amount of flexibility. Most of the positions aren't particularly exciting, in some sense, but are rather positions designed to produce a greater sense of intimacy with your partner.

There are a few, though, that can lead to injury if done wrong, and the man is by far the more likely to be seriously injured. So ladies, please be careful when trying any of the more athletic positions. A slip on your part could put the guy in a world of hurt.

 

[Krysia]

Well, from what I recall of reading a modernized version a few years back, only a scant few of the positions need a significant amount of flexibility. Most of the positions aren't particularly exciting, in some sense, but are rather positions designed to produce a greater sense of intimacy with your partner.

Interesting. I'll have to get a copy of the modernized version!

There are a few, though, that can lead to injury if done wrong, and the man is by far the more likely to be seriously injured. So ladies, please be careful when trying any of the more athletic positions. A slip on your part could put the guy in a world of hurt.

Duly noted. Great advice.

 

[plum]

I'm all about making sex interesting through different positions.

However the Kama Sutra is not just a "Wicked Fun Sex Manual" I could be wrong (and please correct me if I am) but as far as I know, it's about sex being a religious act and it has instructions on how to connect with the gods, and so forth. Since I want to avoid using or revering practices that honor other gods besides the One God... I would probably avoid this book.

 

[suzybeezy]

Thread has been moved to the more appropriate forum - Ethics & Morality

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[Chalnoth]

Interesting. I'll have to get a copy of the modernized version!

Well, I'd be willing to bet there's more than one modernized version. Texts that old aren't subject to copyright law

However the Kama Sutra is not just a "Wicked Fun Sex Manual" I could be wrong (and please correct me if I am) but as far as I know, it's about sex being a religious act and it has instructions on how to connect with the gods, and so forth. Since I want to avoid using or revering practices that honor other gods besides the One God... I would probably avoid this book.

You can read without believing it, you know. Just like you can read Homer's Epics without believing that the ancient Greek gods actually did those things. Regardless, I know that the particular modernized version that I read was entirely secular. There may be more spiritual versions as well.

Anyway, I would tend to think that this sort of information would be beneficial to any couple who has an intimate sexual relationship. And as such any married couple should seek out information of this sort. It is, by far, more respectable than other potential methods of learning about new ways to experience intimacy.

 

[Jane_the_Bane]

However the Kama Sutra is not just a "Wicked Fun Sex Manual" I could be wrong (and please correct me if I am) but as far as I know, it's about sex being a religious act and it has instructions on how to connect with the gods, and so forth. Since I want to avoid using or revering practices that honor other gods besides the One God... I would probably avoid this book.

I'm not sure whether the Kamasutram is primarily concerned with sacred sexuality, but it definitely reflects the sexual mores of ancient India, including religious aspects. And that morality was VASTLY different from the one that's practiced (or at least paid lip service to) in the United States these days.


Oh, and by the way: Steezie, could you send me the link via PM?

 

[gengwall]

The mechanics of sex is really not that complicated and my wife and I are imaginative enough. We don't need outside help in building our model for sexuality within our marriage.

 

[Chalnoth]

I'm not sure whether the Kamasutram is primarily concerned with sacred sexuality, but it definitely reflects the sexual mores of ancient India, including religious aspects. And that morality was VASTLY different from the one that's practiced (or at least paid lip service to) in the United States these days.

Oh, yeah, I do remember some of this. I thought it some of the practices mentioned were really fascinating.

The mechanics of sex is really not that complicated and my wife and I are imaginative enough. We don't need outside help in building our model for sexuality within our marriage.

You might be surprised about how much you might learn about so simple an activity. There is, after all, nothing to lose in learning more.

 

[katautumn]

I'm going to have to concur with Gengwall on this one. While there are numerous ways to keep your love life interesting and pleasurable, some books and other materials make the partners feel like utter failures. Like those videos with supposed real couples showing people how to have great sex. Even with the educational spin, all of the couples I've ever seen in these types of self-help materials look like professional porn stars. They don't look like real day-to-day couples having real day-to-day sex.

Some of them are very discreet and tastefully done, but most are nothing more than porn that makes the couple feel like they're not a good enough lover if they can't master Tantric sex and climax for twenty hours or bend their bodies into the shape of a pretzel during intercourse.

I don't think I've ever read the older version of the Kama Sutra. I've seen Cosmopolitan's version of it in the stores and it's nothing I was willing to spend money on. There were only about five positions in there my husband and I could figure out anyway and the little outline stick people didn't have much artistic value to speak of.

 

[Ramona]

I have not used the Kama Sutra because I am not married or otherwise committed to one person forever, but I do plan on making full use of it in my married sex life, like the good little Indian girl I am.










*In case nobody got that last part, the "good little Indian girl" line was a joke.

 

[sister_maynard]

I don't think that it's wrong: the book is a morally neutral aid that might help you have more fun with sex. If you don't want to use it, there's no need to do so. The only problems would be if you started taking some of the theology in the old version seriously or if the book caused you and your partner to have unfair expectations of each other. If you want your partner to twist into a new shape and find them inadequate when they can't, the book is disrupting your marriage and ought to be put away, if not discarded.

 

[justanobserver]

picked option #1. had a partner once with an unsatiable appetite for exploring and, well, the book had some good ideas how to explore...

( ~ sigh ~ reflecting back on the flare of my youth)

 

[shye]

I hvaen't used it yet, mainly because I am still a virgin but I want to try it

 

[Eudaimonist]

To look at this issue from a different angle, I would hope that couples won't use the Kama Sutra as a way of attempting to fix problems in their relationships that really stem from different sources. If your relationship is growing boring (or whatever the problem is), focusing on spicing up your sex life might actually cover up the real issues.

This doesn't mean that the use of the Kama Sutra is intrinsically immoral, of course, but some care is needed to understand just how it may or may not be good for your relationship.


eudaimonia,

Mark