We can speculate that the evolution of BDSM started when humans first understood the link between pleasure and pain we wanted to delve a little more into its origins. And discover a comprehensive understanding of where our kinky fascination began.
BDSM, the abbreviation
The abbreviation BDSM, which stands for bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism, is just recently gaining popularity. We hear about it from a close friend, we read about it online. We see it in famous movies. However, what may appear novel to you is actually an age-old component of sex.
The history of BDSM is extensive and etched in time, and while BDSM has evolved and some stigmas surrounding it have ebbed and flowed, studying its history is a terrific approach to bring yourself closer to your sexuality if you practise or desire to practise BDSM.
When and where did the evolution of BDSM history begin?
Ancient Mesopotamia was one of the first known advanced human civilizations, and it is from there that we have our first accounts of BDSM. If you’re wondering where Ancient Mesopotamia was, it was in the Middle East near Iraq, according to current maps.
These documents date back to around 3100 BC. So long ago, in fact, that here is when and where writing was invented, allowing people to preserve portions of our past using the written word for the first time without the need of pictures.
Because sex was such an important aspect of ancient civilization, some of the first recorded stories frequently contain sex.
These stories frequently retained BDSM elements, demonstrating the first indications that bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadism and masochism were occurring approximately 12,000 years ago.
The First BDSM Records
The first BDSM stories and records of BDSM always involved gods and goddesses
The story of Inanna is one of the most famous. Inanna, also known as Ishtar, is the goddess of passion and fertility, the two major reasons we have sex: to satisfy a need and to procreate.
Inanna’s legends depict her whipping her subjects into a pure and wild sexual frenzy.
Their cries of pleasure followed their groans of agony, introducing the concept of obtaining sexual ecstasy through the act of feeling harm.
Inanna was the feminist of all feminists because she worshipped her own vagina. Other myths talk of her making males kneel down to her in servitude, frequently forcing them to don women’s garb or placing them in a euphoric state of both agony and delight.
Although Mesopotamia would finally collapse, the seeds of BDSM remained, and this erotic fire continued to spread over the world.
BDSM in Classical Greece and Rome
One of the next sites having a BDSM history is Ancient Greece. It was referred to as ‘flagellation,’ a phrase that is still in use today and is described by the dictionary as “flogging or beating, either as a religious punishment or for sexual fulfilment.”
Flagellation was a frequent ceremonial practice in Ancient Greece.
So, although we may credit Ancient Greece for the origins of science and philosophy, we can also thank it for continuing to cater to and evolve the BDSM lifestyle.
Some cults, for example, would employ this flogging and beating as a right of passage into their cult, whipping the young males while worshipping the goddess Artemis Orthia.
In Greece, there was even a Tomb of Whipping, which was painted with depictions of two guys whipping a lady and where individuals would go to be flogged for pleasure.
In Italy, the ideals behind sex and BDSM were also extremely similar.
Sex was in, and if you go deep enough into history, you’ll discover that BDSM has always existed.
Romans held sex to comparable standards as those of Ancient Greece, as orgies occurred on a regular basis, and they frequently practised types of BDSM, their gods, and works of literature leading to sexual extremes.
There was a Tomb of Flogging devoted to Dionysus, a deity associated with debauchery and extreme indulgence in sexual pleasures, where individuals who were beaten and dominated may find sexual pleasure in their misery.
In the earlier days, BDSM was taken extremely seriously, and it went beyond merely a “kind of sex.”
BDSM was sacrosanct, and many forms of it (particularly whipping) were considered as ceremonial and related with their gods and goddesses, demonstrating the reverence that should be kept surrounding this act to this day.
BDSM in the United States
Now that Christopher Columbus has decided to sail to the Americas, he has adopted the beliefs and values of BDSM.
However, from its inception to the present, BDSM (and sex in general) has had to through some difficult moments.
Europe was all about sex, generating some of the best sexual works ever created, but this didn’t seem to translate over the Atlantic.
As the belief that falling for your wants will earn you a place in hell spread, people felt sex should be a male-dominated act exclusively performed for procreation and religious objectives.
Women were repressed, men were paradoxically sexual, and BDSM has shied away from sex stigmas grew in power and support.
It was not until the late 2,000s that BDSM became a household phrase. People began to share their enthusiasm for BDSM, which could be found in literature or movies.
So, finally, hundreds of years later, sex is being accepted, and BDSM culture may progress as it should. Within this sort of sex, there is a complete lifestyle, and the community is powerful and supportive.
Understanding the history of BDSM allows you to recognise that sex is and will always be a driving force in mankind, and you should utilise this history to understand and respect your own ideas on sex.
Because just when you thought being whipped for fun seemed strange, you discover that if you lived in Greece, you could easily go up to the Tomb of Flogging for all your whipping delights, much like a BDSM drive-thru.
So, if you want to explore any component of BDSM, realise that it is also an integral aspect of humanity and that doing so will teach you things about yourself and the world that would otherwise be unachievable.
So here’s to ensure that the history of BDSM continues to be positive after this moment!
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