Prehistory and early history
First depictions of sexuality can be seen in form of cave paintings in various parts of the world. Among them is the wall painting in Ti-n Lalan, Fezzan in Libia which depicts a couple during their sexual act. [1] Another important piece of art is the vulva drawings from La Ferrassie, which, according to the Protestant theologian Siegfried Vierzig, symbolizes fertility and birth. [2]

The Neolithic Revolution around 10.000 BC brought humanity the knowledge of agriculture and domestication of animals. Experts suggest that the sedentary lifestyle also brought about social changes, in particular the inequality between sexes. For example, men started to consider the physically weaker women as their possession and control their sexuality by means of taboos and bans. [3] [4] [5]

Classical antiquity
Society in ancient Greek and Rome is known as uninhibited and open sexually. This is why homosexuality was a social institution then. Aristocracy often celebrated excessive feasts and orgies. [6] Different forms of sexuality are depicted on several frescos, vases and other art objects, for instance, prostitutes during the sexual act or Gods practicing sodomy. [7] [8] [9] In literature, there are a few erotica like the love stories by Ovid and Catull [10] or the erotic poems by Sappho, the Greek poetess from the island of Lesbos. The term "lesbian" was coined by Sappho because she wrote her poetry for women. [11]

However, only society's higher classes profited from this sexual freedom, the rest had a different picture, as the ancient historian Robert Knapp explained. For men, sex in form of prostitution was available at all times but women were married young so that their sexuality would primarily serve reproduction. Next to being an inferior wife, the tasks of a married woman were the housekeeping, childbirth and the assistance to the husband. [6] [9]

Middle Ages
During the middle ages, Christianity in Europe pursued and punished prostitution, homosexuality and extramarital intercourse. It was then that the term shamefacedness came up and that virtues like abstinence and sacrifice shaped people's sexual imagination. Sexuality's only function was reproduction and up until now lust and unchastity are considered a mortal sin in Christianity. [3] [12] [13] [14]

In medieval times, the woman was regarded a wanton creature who could not control her instincts. While in sexuality she was assigned the passive part, man took over the active part. Other forms of practices, such as a man satisfying a woman orally, were considered abnormal. [12] [15]

Early Modern Age
Renaissance (1420-1570) brought about a rediscovery of ancient knowledge and an era of scientific restart. The English Reformation (1550) queried the clergy's monopoly of truth by splitting with the Christian church. (The clergy was the first estate within the estates of the realm all clergy belonged to in medieval times). However, sexuality was still seen very critically. [3]

Faramerz Dabhoiwala, the author of "The Origins of Sex: A History of the First Sexual Revolution" (2014) postulated a first sexual revolution at the age of Enlightenment (1650-1800) in England. At the time, the idea had emerged that an individual can decide over one's own body and sexuality was declared a private matter. This development was also made possible because of the rapid growth of big cities. London, for instance, expanded from 40.000 inhabitants to a size of 1 million. People were offered new freedom in the cities' anonymity. [16] [17]

With the advent of new media, especially daily papers, society underwent sustainable changes. Women now had their say and did away with the prevalent cliché of the wanton woman. Instead, they accredited it to men. This change of paradigm lead to an ease of dealing with prostitution, since buyable sex was regarded an outlet for men's ungovernable desires. [16] [17]

Due to the new life in big cities, underground movements emerged which didn't meet the heteronormative sexual idea. The first meetings of homosexuals took place in secret and were precursors of the LGBT-culture (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender [HOMOSEXUALITY]). [16] [17]

19th Century
Woman's middle class role was re-discussed on both medical and philosophical level. A wife had to be absolutely faithful and she was denied all sexual desires. Instead, she was there for her husband and children. [18]

Dr. Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing, who was an important researcher and opinion leader of his time, wrote about the sexual desires of a woman: [19]
"Is she [the woman] of unimpaired mental faculties and well-behaved, her sensual desires are small. If it wasn't this way, the whole world would be a brothel and marriage or family unthinkable. Generally, a man who flees from his woman and a woman who enjoys sexual desire are abnormal phenomena."
(Dr. R. Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing „Psychopathia Sexualis", 1880) [20]
(tranlsated by Christine Wilhelm)

The new evaluation of sexuality also affected homosexuality and masturbation. For the first time, doctors had their say. While homosexuality was considered a disease, masturbation [MASTURBATION] was harmful to health. [19] Sexual advisors like „The Young Man's Guide" (William Andrus Alcott, 1833) und „Lecture to Young Men on Chastity" (Sylvester Graham, 1834) were supposed to warn especially young men against the allegedly unhealthy effects of masturbation and homosexuality. Contrarily, pornographic literature developed in France, England and North America. [3] [21] [22]

20th Century
In the 20th century, the Viennese founder of psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) developed his theories concerning the sex drive of humans. For him, every individual was a sexually driven being [PANSEXUALITY] and thus he explored the psychological effects of the libido. [3] [23]

Between the First and the Second World War, women were needed as workers in the industry and thus reached material independence. The women's rights movement called for gender equality and the sexual revolution (1968) started. Some important steps were the invention of the contraceptive pill as efficient and accessible form of birth control as well as Kinsey's research work [HETEROSEXUALITY] and Masters & Johnson [CLITORIS]. The years of "free love" and hippie movement celebrating uninhibited sexuality in Woodstock (1969) and in communes were marred by the emergence of HIV / AIDS at the beginning of the 1980's.
[HIV / AIDS] [3] [22] [24] [25]

21st Century
After the emotional ups and downs of sexuality during the last centuries, disillusionment seems to have finally occurred. Sexuality is considered more and more "normal", but is distorted by pornographic culture. [PORNOGRAPHY] Besides, sexuality ubiquitously functions in advertising and media under the motto "sex sells". [SEXISM IN ADVERTISING] [22] [26]

Today, Western women have a right to live out their sexuality freely. However, there are still many gender specific prejudices and taboos connected to female behavior. Myths around hymen [HYMEN], ejaculation [FEMALE EJACULATION] and female orgasm [ORGASM] are part of media, public discourse and society. It seems rather more difficult than easier to autonomously act out sexual freedom and it's unclear whether we have ever freed ourselves from ideas, taboos and sexual morals of the past thousand years.