Sexual Taboos and Social Boundaries

Abstract

The strong taboos against homosexuality, bestiality, and transvestim that exist in many Western societies are teh result of attempts to establish and defend strong ethnic, religious, or institutional boundaries. If religious, military, or political leaders decide to strengthen the boundaries of their group, they tend in consequence to impose harsh penalties on forms of sexual behavior that breach social or symbolic boundaries. This may be because they have adopted a code of belief and conduct that emphasizes the need to maintain boundaries of all kinds, including those between humans and animals and between males and females, or because they wish to prohibit the formation of sexual relationships that cut across the internal and external boundaries of their group or organization. The principal groups and institutions examined are the Old Testament Jews, the Parsees, ancient Greek states and their armies, early and medieval Christianity, the German National Socialist movement, and the modern British armed forces.