Taboo (dictionary)
| BoyWiki Dictionary: Taboo (dictionary) |
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¹ A taboo is a vehement prohibition of an action based on the belief that such behavior is either too sacred or too accursed for ordinary individuals to undertake, under threat of supernatural punishment. Such prohibitions are present in virtually all societies. The word has been somewhat expanded in the social sciences to strong prohibitions relating to any area of human activity or custom that is sacred or forbidden based on moral judgment and religious beliefs.[citation needed] "Breaking a taboo" is usually considered objectionable by society in general, not merely a subset of a culture.[1] |
Cultural dependence of taboos
Taboos are highly culturally dependent--what may be strongly tabooed in one culture or society may be perfectly acceptable in another culture or society.
Sexual taboos
As sexuality is a desire which exerts a strong influence on behavior (and may expose a person to the criticism/ridicule/etc. of others) sexuality has been a favorite means of those in power to control human behavior--it has great potential and power to be used by those who wish to cause another person to be ostracized and/or condemned by society. Governments often use tabooed sexual behavior to persecute dissidents or others who have fallen out of favor with the government.
BoyLove as tabooed behavior
BoyLove has, in the West especially, been tabooed at one time or another over the past two millennia, but usually simply as a forbidden form of homosexuality. When a BoyLover and his young friend were caught in flagrante delicto in various past eras, both the boy and the BoyLover were often punished, and the punishments could have been equally severe for the boy, no matter what his age.
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