1. The definition and role of sex
According to former definitions, sex (from the Latin word sexus) meant only gender that is whether someone is a man or a woman (or male or female). The meaning of the adjective sexual derived from the noun sex extended to cover the meaning of proliferation or reproduction only in the 18th century, especially after the botanist, Linnaeus had set up his plant-classification system called “methodus sexualis”.
According to the definition of WHO sex or sexuality is “a central aspect of being human throughout life encompasses sex, gender identities and roles, sexual orientation, eroticism, pleasure, intimacy and reproduction. Sexuality is experienced and expressed in thoughts, fantasies, desires, beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviours, practices, roles and relationships. While sexuality can include all of these dimensions, not all of them are always experienced or expressed. Sexuality is influenced by the interaction of biological, psychological, social, economic, political, cultural, legal, historical, religious and spiritual factors.” In the narrower sense it means the innate sexual instinct or its realization in sexual acts, in which the joined genitals implement transitional physical unity of the two entities, with the result of a third individual coming into existence. Sex is the most intense way of giving and receiving pleasure, which has more roles. The simplest is the pragmatic role, the realization of sexual instinct motivation, which drives individuals to get rid of sexual tension by practicing sexual activity. The functional role of sex is to provide the society new individuals to run the system, the reproduction of the human race. It has an important psychological role also which is to form self-esteem through the exercise of sex, and it is an essential component of the overall confidence of adult personality. Another important role is the gender identification, which is realized through sex and sexual experience and practice, and in the years of puberty it contributes to the development of the personality.
2. The brief history of sex
2.1. Prehistoric times
The story of sex is practical to be showed through historical ages, because sexuality changes as much as society itself does. Moreover, it is worth taking a bit of an outlook to the prehistoric times, when the norms of society did not yet regulate the framework for sexuality. Until there were no so-called social norms and morale set up by society, practicality and necessity had determined sex, by which it is understood that sexual stimuli was led off by the stronger sex in the shortest and simplest way possible like in the world of animals. They were able to do it by their physical superiority without any curiosity about the other’s opinion or mood. Prehistoric women did not have too many options anyway, because a strong and aggressive fighter or hunter was always a good choice in terms of procreation, raising children and obtaining food, which means comfort and safety. Today it is no different: many women tend to choose financial security, even though the modern hunter does not stand out with his physical power and hunting abilities but with his skills to make money. It is not necessary to be physically fit and well-trained because making money does not require these properties therefore it is no wonder that beautiful women are often seen on the side of elderly wealthy men who can provide full modern comfort, even if they are not too attractive due to their advanced age.
Sex is also so important in the history of our species, because in contrast with other species it plays a much more important role in the lives of individuals. The humans may be said to be the most sexual or the hungriest for sex species on the planet, because there is a fundamental difference between humane and animal sexuality: while other mammals are only able to mate within a certain time period of the year, human can enjoy sex irrespective of time and seasons. We human can have sex several times a day with multiple orgasms, which can be more intense than that of animals on top of all. Moreover, compared to the sexuality of animals, human one is much more frequent and enjoyable. The explanation for such a difference is to be found in child rearing. If an herbivore gives birth to an offspring, it immediately stands to its feet, a newborn monkey starts clinging to its mother's fur, and on the contrary, human offspring would be unviable to survive without extra parental care. In prehistoric times if the man, the hunter and fighter had not kept the whole family, even the mother probably would have died of hunger and the sever conditions, because of which the poor ancestress could not have had much choice in selecting partner. It was therefore necessary that a close relationship should form to keep the family together for a long time, whose secret to provide was the development of regular sexual pleasure between man and woman. Another fundamental difference that I have already referred to is that female animals do not really enjoy mating, as after or during the act they usually graze or suffer from the weight of the much heavier male treading on their back. It seems they cannot wait the male's climbing down their back, because they are so bored with the quickie, the hurried sex-act (due to safety reasons, as too much involvement in sex would prevent them from watching lurking carnivals). The upright posture, however, has changed many things about humans, even the sexual practice. Due to the erect position of the body evolution brought the womb has taken vertical posture which in turn jeopardized the success of fertilization because of the gravity in case of quick sexual act. Therefore, the Nature brought the solution, which is the pleasure in sexual act for the female as well, who stays in horizontal pose after sex, thanks to the tiredness caused by satisfactory sexual practices, which results in successful fertilization. The mutual sexual pleasure gradually gave birth to love (now this is usually done vice versa), the emotional bond between man and woman, which is essential for raising children.
Our look also has significantly contributed to sexuality having become intimate when the coarse hair fell off thus exposing the sensitive skin. The touch on skin as well as the physical contact brought substantial emotional-erotic surplus in contrast with animal sexuality where the only contact between bodies were the matching of genitals and the lent on the female’s back to help it carry out. This nudity posed a great danger, on the one hand, to the sex organs, and on the other hand to the stability of a relationship. Just let us think of it this way: while at other mammals the outer sexual organs are exposed only during the genital copulation, as the penis is kept in a safe bag (penis bag), while the erected man has his penis outside of the body, and this is quite a challenge, as it is more vulnerable to injuries and infections. Something had to be found out to protect it, and it was the clothes. However surprising it may sound, it was invented not just to protect the body against cold but to protect the genitals also. For instance, in Central Africa, loincloth is used in spite of the very warm climate, which would not necessitate it. Of course this took place not one day to the next. It required a couple of thousand years of evolution to see the prototype of our species: the sex maniac, the loving and shamefaced human primate.
But as the hair fell out, and clothes were put on, there appeared the society, which means a linguistically and culturally organized community. The access to food became much easier and safer with the end of hunter-gatherer-fisher lifestyle when land-cultivation and animal husbandry appeared. People did not have to work that much any longer for food by chasing wild animals or gathering berries, etc. Life became more comfortable, there was more time to have sex, which was practiced in a more ideal environment than a cold, moist cave. Of course, the development of a society and culture greatly influenced how much or under what circumstances sex was allowed to be practiced or talked about as a social issue at all.
Our culture basically rests on ancient Greek-Roman and Jewish-Christian base therefore it is worth talking a few words about what was regarded as manifestations of sex in these societies.
2.2. Sex in Ancient Greece
It says a lot about the Greeks that their main god, Zeus was almost constantly horny, and he had been unfaithful to his wife whenever he could. Besides he was also bisexual, because he did not despise young and handsome boys. Not surprisingly, the Greek society adopted homosexuality or bisexuality. The older and more affluent teachers or men of science would often patronize young guys who were taught by them, and sometimes the disciples’ rectal area was used for improper purposes also. If the boy was too young, the leg-elbow was used for imitating vagina for the impatient penis in order to avoid too early rectal injuries. Women used to be look down on as they were thought to be intellectually inferior therefore at social events horny eyes often turned towards young and nice guys, who were then taken care very well. A typical case of sexual contact between an experienced man and a young boy was the initiation to adulthood, when the young boy was taught to become man by an experienced (life) teacher who, for some reason, made anal penetration as an integral part of the teaching process. Getting back to the despised women of the age, I have to mention not all of them were excluded from the men’s society, as the ancient prostitutes or escorts called hetaera, who were beautiful as well as so educated to be able to entertain men, were welcome at social gatherings. The men at that time appreciated literacy very much, without it beauty did not mean much for them. The most populous group of women was family mothers, who were respected, but because of their uneducated mind the contemporary men would find them boring, therefore ancient husbands often visited hetairas where they had the opportunity to have a deep conversation. If they happened to long for some good sex, there were slave girls from all over the world, who were used for doing housework and if the wife was not in the mood for sex, Greek husbands often used these servants for something else. If it was not enough, common prostitutes called pornae were available, who sold cheap sex. In the ancient Greek society women were not full citizens, but a sort of servants with special responsibilities, so that is why prostitution is so important in the classification of female roles. Perhaps only the most talented hetairas were able to achieve equal footing with men, but it was rare, though a very important step towards equality. After all, sex in the ancient Greek times was just a functional act. Without some rare cases where love was involved, ancient Greek sex was exempt from emotions, unless it was had with a hetaera.
2.3 Sex in the Roman Empire
The establishment of the Roman Empire is directly linked to sex through prostitutes and ancient escorts. According to the legend, the founders of the Empire (Romolus and Remus) were brought up by a she-wolf (the word wolf and prostitute were denoted with the same word in Latin). Under she-male wolves, wondering or walking prostitutes were also meant. It sounded better than deprived, ousted and rundown tits-showing whores, who they were at that time. Wolves, waiting for their prey. However, this ancient prostitute who brought up the founders was very neat and skilful prostitute with great influence in the society, on whose land, which she bought by selling her body, the Roman Empire was founded. On that basis, we cannot be surprised that Rome itself was the realm of sex. There were official holidays when famous prostitutes were celebrated (lupercalia and florealia) or simply public orgies were held to worship the demigod of male power, Priapos, who had an incredibly giant penis. Sperm was flooding the streets of Rome at the time of these sex-festivals. This period is characterized by a greater degree of sexual promiscuity and debauchery, although the citizens were controlled and sanctioned with strict laws related to adultery (initially capital sentence for adulterous woman) because it was known very well that if the honourable women took part in the sex-festivals (e.g. bacchanalia), the society would not benefit from it. Not surprisingly, venereal diseases began to spread at the time, which demanded urgent action. Sexual diseases, for instance, had an excellent opportunity at the humiliating punishment on adulterous woman when these sinful female citizens were publicly raped by a crowd amid great laughter. The punishment often involved even a donkey forced to mate with sinful women, which is otherwise said to enjoy the sex with human.
Compared to the Greeks, the Romans were even less emotional types than the Greeks, as they were not affected by erudition, artistic skills, and any tender emotions in women. The ancient Roman men were totally sensual, only interested in pleasures, so women as patricians got into more difficult trouble when they committed adultery, as the horrible and penile dick of a donkey awaited for them with the laughing crowd. This is exactly why ancient escorts, the hetaeras were not present in the Roman society.
The baths and spas in the Roman Empire also contributed to unmoral tendencies and societal promiscuity, as the sexes were not separated from each other. Knowing the sexual temperament of the ancient Romans, it is not surprising why the pools became the scenes of public or group sex. Later ancient prostitutes and escorts also turned up at these venues, converting spas and saunas into sex-dens and brothels (though there were public brothels too).
We can see that in this ancient time the human race’s sexual activity reached its peak. Enjoying sexuality was allowed to by the state, even promoted in public events. They may have felt that something would change soon with the new time, the time of Christianity.
2.4 Sex and Christians
People began to look at sexuality from a different point of view when Christianity took over and became part of the power. Sex was considered from moral angle, because the base of the Christian culture, the Bible contains a number of passages about sex. The most important chapters can be found in the Old Testament, especially the Ten Commandment, which completely changed the general attitude to sex. The seventh commandment (Thou shalt not commit adultery) forbade sex outside the marriage. The Old Testament, the holy book of the Jews, however, originally meant to prohibit sexual contact with married woman. Since they would live in polygamy, presumably men cannot have been so unsatisfied to need another woman. However, the Christian translation and interpretation of the Bible has a different understanding that is the seventh commandment refers to forbidden sexual intercourse with prostitutes, escorts or other free individuals as according the Christian interpretation sex is allowed to have only within marriage. Well, there is a huge difference between the Jewish and Christian approaches to sex. The latter one is much stricter and less liberal, which does not allow any affair outside marriage. In addition, sex within marriage had been considered to be a sinful act for a long time, even if forgiving, as propagation comes with sexual pleasure, which was feared to be the manipulation of the Evil. Sex outside marriage was one of the thinkable most serious sins. Jews used to stone to death those who breached the seventh commandment, however the Christians were more forgiving about this sin, as their punishment were shaving bald and public flogging. The seventh commandment is in close relation with the ninth one that commands not to feel sexual desire towards the other’s wife and other possessions (Thou shalt not covet). What a big difference there is between the jolly world of Greek bacchanalias and the strict Christians who prohibited any sexual affair! The Hungarian psychologist, Jenő Ranschburg, who specialized in teenage sex, called the attention to the danger that as sexuality is a set of skills to learn, not just the question of moral or religion, thus healthy sexual life in adulthood requires practice and experience, especially at young age, to develop properly. According to him, only a person with sufficient sexual experiences gained at teenage can be a balanced adult, who knows their desires, how their body works, what sort of relationship they prefer. Such a person is likely to choose partner properly and their marriage will be endurable and successful, while who have gained sexual experiences in adulthood, she or he will get aware of what they prefer in a relationship only in their adulthood, but by that time it will be late, as she or he is expected to start a family and not to live a promiscuous life. And consequently, the marriage will be unhappy as the sexually unsatisfied parties will keep trying to find the missing sexual experiences and sexual satisfaction outside the marriage.
As for the early Christian restriction of sex, there were certain periods within marriage when sexual contact was forbidden. Such was the menstruation period when married couples were not allowed to have sex, because menstruating women were considered unchaste. During pregnancy, sex was also forbidden. In the beginning of pregnancy sex was not permitted at all, but later it became allowed until the pregnancy did not become obvious.
Besides, the Christian feasts and religious celebrations also prohibited sex on certain days. The most common sex-free day was Sunday because believers had to engage in prayers and other religious practices. One of the most important religious celebrations was the Lent, which lasted from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, included 46 days-long continuous sexual self-denial. In fact, even more days, because sex was not allowed to have even the next day, on Sunday, as it was Sunday, the church-day and the main day of Easter.
Not only was the number of day permitted to have sex limited, but the sexual positions were also specified. Except the classical missionary pose, any other way of penetration was prohibited as sinful sexual deviances. Especially the doggy-style sex position was forbidden as it is quite similar to how dogs copulate, which was thought to be sinful.
Another big problem in the relation between sex and the new religious age was the Christian worldview. Christians would focus on the afterlife and the world in which they lived they despised and considered it only temporary, tortuous station, vale of tears, which is necessary to overcome with good and sinless behaviour, like in a prison, to reach Paradise where all suffering is going to be over. The Muslims regard Paradise a place of eating and drinking all day long and where blond women wanton while the Christians consider it a place without desires, where they can unite with the God. It is not surprising that sex and sexuality was thought to be the manipulation of evil trying to seduce the faithful through various temptations, among which the pleasure of flesh was the most dangerous.
Not only were certain formations and realizations of sex considered a sin, but even masturbation was so, especially among the Jews. The Zohar (the main book of Cabbala) regard masturbation as one of the most vicious kind of sins and the bans were sometimes very wide-ranging. It was noted, for example, that the Jews were not allowed to sleep lying on their backs, and they were not permitted to wear tight pants or touch their penis during urination, fearing that it would cause accidental ejaculation. Doing so they thought they would violate the divine law as they would not give semen to a woman who would give birth as a consequence. In this light, the Jews did their best to procreate, possibly Jewish children. The Orthodox Jewish were abhorred by the thought that they would marry a Christian (goi), but the early Christians likewise had similar opinions about the Jews, as they believed the sexual interaction with a Jew was a form of bestiality (fornication with an animal), which was considered a crime, and the perpetrator would have the same punishment as a zoophile. The Christians also regarded masturbation as a sin, since it did not serve either the procreation or the pleasure of the spouse. Therefore, since puberty boys had often been scared with all sorts of horrors, such as the devil or spinal atrophy, in case of masturbation. However, some monks identified semen with the devil himself, which somehow slipped into them, but if they jerk off regularly, they can get rid of the influence of evil.
So we can see in this dark period of the Middle Ages the church made a moral problem out of sexuality, and depicted it as an imminent peril, unless the people were lucky enough to have found permanent desire of sexuality thus the source of sexual pleasure in their spouse. But of course it was very rare due to the historical fact that, like sexuality, love was an irrelevant aspect of choosing a pair. In the Jewish culture sex was nothing more than procreation, similarly to Christians, but later emotional attraction was involved too, but most of the time marriage was an economic unity without love and affection, especially in the higher social classes.
In the lower social class, among peasants of the medieval feudal societies, it was common that the landlord had the right to introduce peasant or servant girls into sex (the right of the first night). Understandably landlords eagerly monitored young and beautiful girls’ sexual development, and when finally the time came, the lord of that land came to get the virgin acquainted with the world of sexuality. Due to this fact there were a plenty bastards that time, but the number of births (as well as infant mortality) was much higher, so it did not matter as bastards usually got lost among the numerous children of the age.
2.5 Knights and sex
The institution of knighthood brought new and fresh approach to sex and love. Knights belonged to the upper social class, as the purchase of horses and weapons presumed great prosperity. Knights set up a new kind of attitude to women by elevating the woman into the centre of their world view. Until that time women had been regarded as a tool or an instrument of economic interests and relationships excluded emotions or sexuality in the feudal world, but now they began to surround women with almost religious devotion. Their codes contained the imperative to protect the weak and fallen, but also special attention was paid to respect and serve the weaker sex. Their emotions were usually expressed in verse (troubadour poetry). The courtly love, in most cases, was not an experienced love with physical involvement, but a "platonic", longing, unfulfilling love, where the feeling is more important than its fulfilment. The reason for this is to be found in the chivalrous paragon: one of the defining virtues of the heroic knight is to protect and respect women (female cult). In most cases, the beloved woman is not independent, but upscale, married woman, so she is unattainable for the troubadour. Love is a moral value therefore the beloved woman is not the knight’s lover, mistress or muse, but a mystical, ethereal creature. The knight’s and his beloved woman’s relationship is a kind of feudal relation. That is why talking about sex in relation to knights is almost impossible as their love was theoretical which was never or very scarcely put into practice. Love was the key to all the virtues, or even "the bottom rung of the ladder that leads directly to God." The saturation of the knightly love with spiritual content had many connections with the Cult of Mary developing from the 11-12 centuries that is the veneration of a female figure free from all earthly bearings. This disembodied heavenly love naturally resulted in abstinence and ascetic behaviour which – in accordance with the teachings of the Church – meant the path of salvation. So the Christian moralism in love still lived on, but now it was not God that appeared as the object of love, but the female body, although this object was not used for sexual purposes yet. Of course, this does not mean that knights were impotent dreamers, because they had wife and beautiful servant girls to have sex with, if who happened not to be enough to satisfy their mundane desires, contemporary prostitutes helped to relax these warriors. It also often occurred, which poems testify, that knights simply raped women during their frequent trips.
2.6 After the Dark Ages
The Renaissance brought a big change in the approach to sex in the European culture, when in the wake of the Greek and Roman cultural revival the human body got into the centre of aesthetic attention. It was no longer just despicable clay, where the soul is temporarily accommodated, but it came forward as the object of admiration, which is proved with numerous paintings and sculptures. Female beauty was given birth again and its admiration in material sense. Of course, this does not mean that the hitherto repressed sexuality became liberated all of a sudden, and people began frantically practicing sex, because there had been sex in some practical form to reproduce the population, but the pleasure-oriented sex was still a deadly sin. With the female body having become an object of admiration, sexuality also moved in the direction of being emancipated from religious constraints, but it would otherwise take a lot of time to become fully liberated.
2.7 Reformation and sex
We might think that the great religious revival, the Reformation has brought something new about sexuality, but unfortunately it did not happen like that. Reformation just went on emphasizing the role of the devil in sex. Sex as a service, however, can be dated to turn up in this age, and all major European cities gave place to brothels and street prostitution, helping sexually transmitted diseases spread, especially syphilis.
2.8 Early civilian society and sex: the Victorians
Due to the Industrial Revolution in the 17th century, the earliest civilian society emerged in England. We could expect that sex and sexuality would become a little bit more liberated from religious constraints, but the contemporary citizens still had to wait until that age. Victorian sex is broadly characterized by the fact that it was strictly closed in family rooms, and it was about only reproduction. In this sophisticated age sex was thought indecent, and shyness was considered the most important behavioural pattern to take. The reason is basically to be found in the power. Previously the church kept the people under control with the threat of Hell and the promise of Paradise, but now the current secular power believed the most effective way to rein in the emerging commonage was to limit the right to sexual pleasures. Nevertheless, there was a change going on that could be discernible in the diverse discourses on sexuality, and the power itself generated and made available to process the issue on the forums of knowledge. The reason is that from the 18th century the need of scientific exploration appeared behind every scientific discourse. Sexuality was not just a moral subject any more, it had to be scientifically examined and explained. The administrative mechanisms came to live that helped to control sexuality with discourses. The government had to deal with the demographic data: the causes of fluctuations in population had to be expounded; the birth / death rate had to be assessed, as well as the sexual habits should also be examined. The state wanted to know how citizens used their sexual organs. Then there was the children and young people's sexuality. The silence that had characterized the adults’ behaviour with their children on the subject developed to be a different kind of silence, a very worrying silence.
The scientific investigation of sexuality became the interest of medical science as well. Psychiatry studied certain nerve diseases, perversions, extreme sexual behaviours. The judiciary system began to deal with sexual crimes more circumspectly, and suspects began to be examined by doctors. Records were made about the cases with medical diagnostics, trying to map every deviant habit and tendency. The wide-ranging discourses on sexuality almost made it compulsory to talk about the issue publicly, making people feel not inconvenient when hearing discourses on sexuality. The newly emerging expansion of psychiatry in sexual discourse drew attention to the sexuality of children, fools and criminals. Masturbation and homosexuality were both considered abnormal at that time. Variant sexual behaviour was sanctioned by compulsory treatments in mental hospitals, prisons and asylums, and these individuals were regarded as outcast, degenerate persons suffering from genital neurosis. In any case, the thorough examination of perversions expanded as well as the range of non-normative sexual behaviours.
As we see, the Enlightenment and Rationalism eventually began to influence the contemporary sex-approach, and sex and sexuality started to get rid of the religious-moral shackles due to the emerging knowledge-centeredness, though initially it happened only theoretically.
2.9 Modern citizenry and sex
The new knowledge brought by the evolving disciplines (psychology, biology, sociology) slowly but surely tore sex out of its religious base and put it on a new footing. Sex is no longer served only procreation, but it gradually began to be about pleasure. There remained some moral framework in sexual life, however, but it was civil and ethical motivated morale to protect family institution with larger and smaller amount of religious reflex, depending on the constitutions and countries. Initially, it was literature that had a huge impact on setting sex and sexuality free, later popular music and film, whose content was becoming more and more openly sexual in nature. This process did not take place one day to the next, of course. Sex became a topic like pieces of clothes fell off, leading to complete nudity. Initially it started with love stories that would turn into erotic (Lady Chatterley's Lover), later pornographic (de Sade Marquis’ writings). The same tendency can be observed in the fashion industry with its products ranging from casual wear to bathing suits, more and more openly advertising sexuality. The liberation of sex and sexuality can be thanked for the advertising industry, which aimed at citizens as the most solvent and widest stratum of society, and which manages to sell them even the dullest product via erotic coding. However, after a while, for sexuality only advertisements did not give enough place to turn up, it required prime time, which culminated in reality shows. Virtually sex has appeared in all walks of life, their content has become more and more accessible for younger age groups. This all has led to, due to the continuous exposure to sexuality and increased awareness of the right to be sexually satisfied, tensions occurring within families owning to sexual dissatisfaction and the lack of moral and religious control.
The women's rights movements have promoted this tendency by liberating women from under the paternal family hierarchy and gradually setting them free from the traditional family mother role that prescribed them to be solely in charge of the hardest job, upbringing children. Simultaneously, as I have referred to it, the legal claim for happiness and sexual satisfaction also has appeared on both sides, which is motivated by the increasing diversity of sexual practices about which people learn from magazines or the increasingly popular content of different film productions. All these processes have led to a worldwide increase in the number of divorces and single-parent families, as well as the soaring of prostitution. As for young people, with the decreasing number of religious educational institutions and the emergence of mixed education became a major turning point in making children aware of sexuality quite early, well before than it used to be, by allowing mixing genders in schools. The loss of virginity has been becoming happened earlier and earlier, so the accumulated sexual experience resulting in higher demand for sexual gratification has fundamentally altered the sexual attitudes of the new generations.
2.9 Sex in information society
The spread of information technologies has a revolutionary impact on sex in the contemporary society, when sex and sexuality departed the reality and set off into the direction of the virtual reality. The first step of this process is the sexual socialization on free porn, which conveys false behavioural patterns to be followed to young people, which often includes violence, and on the other hand it may cause such frustrations that the person will not be able to establish relationship. The second step toward artificial reality is artificial sex produced by the sex-industry for those clients who are unable to make sexual relationship. It is based on electrical stimulation through various computer simulations connected to different sexual tools and the human body. The other way is the fastest growing, sex-robotics. This change in sex has been accelerated by the social phenomenon, the so-called alienation, which is the result of psychological and sociological tension caused by crowded megalopolises. The situation is the worst in Japan, where about a million young Japanese lives locked in their bedroom, according to recent estimations. People suffering from the condition called hikikomori usually stay at home all day surfing on the Internet, reading and watching television, while they do not live social life at all. These people are reclusive adolescents or adults who withdraw from social life, often seeking extreme degrees of isolation and confinement. The term hikikomori refers to both the sociological phenomenon in general and the people belonging to this societal group. Hikikomori have been described as recluses, loners, or "modern-day hermits”. The disease characterizes most Japanese men aged between 15 and 20. The hikikomori is not only a burden only to families, but also for the Japanese economy, because people suffering from this societal disease are often considered to be "the missing one million". The Japanese hikikomori phenomenon can be observed in all developing countries, although it is still less intensively, where young people disappear in the digital space and their sexuality is also practiced there. It is not hard to predict where this process will lead because prostitution and escort service have already been drastically reduced in these countries.
In summary it can be said that the history of sex and sexuality got to freedom through many restrictive and rarely liberal historical ages, where the reality is not a necessary factor in sex because it is going to be soon replaced by artificial or virtual reality thanks to the rapidly developing robotics and the computer technology of virtual reality.
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