Eventually, more and more cells glommed together (no one said this book is scientific), and life forms got bigger and more complex until finally there were stable species with two distinct genders.

From this lowly beginning, males and females have been relentlessly pursuing each other. But it wasn't until modern man arrived on the scene that sex became a complicated matter involving spiritual, social, and political ramifications.

THOU SHALT BETTER STOP BOFFING

The ancient Greeks and Romans have a reputation for enjoying licentious behavior, while it seems as if the ancient Jews were always getting smote down for it. Since both cultures understood that people have strong sex drives, how is it they developed such diverse attitudes? Probably because humans have one instinct even stronger than the one to procreate -- the one to survive. According to some theorists, because both the Greeks and Romans lived in relatively small areas, as their civilizations grew so did the need for population control. Since sex and procreation went hand in hand, and the invention of the pill was a few millennia away, alternative methods of sexual satisfaction were not only accepted, but to some degree, encouraged. Some men kept sterile mistresses, others took male lovers. Homosexual activity was regarded as natural enough to be woven into the legends of their gods and heroes. The parameters of acceptability, however, are a little ironic. While sodomy between an adult male mentor and his adolescent student was expected, a monogamous homosexual relationship between two grown men was a social no-no. Go figure. And sex with a child not yet through puberty was illegal.

At one point, the Greeks also controlled their population by exiling fertile, unmarried women to the Isle of Lesbos. Since the only sex to be had there was with other women, it's no wonder Lesbians became synonymous with female homosexuals.

The ancient Jewish civilization had a completely different problem. They lived in a fruitful land surrounded by hostile neighbors with much larger populations. For the Jews, increasing their numbers was as necessary to survival as controlling the populace was to the Greeks and Romans. So the ultimate goal of sex was conception, which eventually translated to conception being the only respectable goal for sex.

By the time Moses came trotting down the mountain with his rules on rock, communal morality frowned upon alternative sexual practices. Masturbation, homosexuality, bestiality, and prostitution all got negative press in the Old Testament. (And coveting your neighbor's wife isn't allowed, although knocking up your brother's widow is not only okay, it's a duty.) But marital sex was regarded with approval and is celebrated in the Song of Songs.

Considering the Good Book's rather stringent regulations regarding sexual relations, it's rather odd that a common euphemism for intercourse with a woman is "to know her in the biblical sense."

Since the first Christians had been Jewish, the newly created religion held to Jewish beliefs regarding sex. But by 500 A.D., even intercourse for procreation was viewed as a necessary evil. Celibacy was a holy trait. This was partly because of the teachings of St. Augustine. He had been quite a wild one, taking both male and female lovers, until he renounced his evil ways. Once he tucked the old one-eyed snake away for good, he wrote about his experiences and his interpretation of them. Lust, he felt, was the defining difference between Man and God. He believed Adam and Eve were cast from the Garden of Eden for their sin of sexual lust and that, as a result, all humans were burdened from birth with this original sin.

FEET IN THE STIRRUPS, KNEES APART

Gyne, the root word for gynecology comes from the Greek and means bearer of children. Gynecologists, however, do not bear children for a living. They are more like inspectors of child-bearing equipment. They do their job using a miner's hat and ice-cold instruments.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, the Chinese, Hindu, and Islamic people had an entirely different perspective on sex. A celebrated facet of life, sexual activity was neither restricted nor regarded as negative. The Kama Sutra (a manual on sexual variety and positions) was first compiled around the time Augustine was promoting a chaste life.

A LITTLE ICE IN THE CODPIECE AND VOILA!

Christianity quickly spread, and the number of followers grew with each generation. By the Middle Ages, the church was so powerful in Europe that it eclipsed secular society, and religious rules were synonymous with common law. Church leaders dictated sexual repression for the multitude, but certain members of the upper class could have "courtly love." A highly suspect custom, courtly love sprung from the idea that while marriages (which were usually arranged) generally resulted in love, that love was somewhat sullied by the obligatory nasty stuff that went on between the sheets. In contrast, courtly lovers were thought to have a pure love, untainted by sex, for one another. To prove their love was the courtly variety, the pair was tested by being stripped naked and made to lie down next to each other for a period of time. If no signs of lust passed between them, they were free to spend time together without a chaperone. (The idea that Lord Muffwilling and Lady Peterlove wouldn't eventually consummate their relationship once out of the public eye is certainly a curiously naive supposition. Perhaps because the priesthood attracted a fair amount of homosexuals who were capable of loving a woman without lusting for her, they based their assumptions on their own experience.) Apparently, commoners were incapable of "pure" love, since this practice was only acceptable among the elite.

BUT HONESTLY, M'LORD, THIS BELT DOESN'T GO WITH MY ENSEMBLE!

It was also during the Middle Ages that technology reared its sometimes ugly head in the form of a new invention -- the chastity belt. The belt allowed men to lock up their wives and daughters, who were considered property. Entirely made of metal, the chastity belt sat on a woman's hips and a molded band, attached to the front, went between the legs and locked onto the back of the belt. Two small holes in the band provided an outlet for elimination but were too small for any kind of penetration. Whether a chastity belt was made of ornately carved gold or crudely molded iron, it was heavy, rigid, and it restricted movement. But these were the least of the wearer's problems. A woman could be locked into a belt for extended periods of time while her husband was away. Even with very frequent bathing, hygiene was extremely difficult. Menstrual flow and bowel movements could easily cause bacterial infections that could turn deadly. The metal bands could chafe to bleeding, and the resulting sores were also an open invitation to bacteria. If a woman lost weight, it might be easier for her to keep herself clean, but the chafing would increase. If she gained weight, the opposite was true. And if she gained enough weight, she could lose circulation below the belt. One of the original intentions of putting a woman in a chastity belt was to prevent rape. But it seems logical that a rapist (who is more likely to commit the crime out of aggression, not desire) would be more likely to kill his victim if he found the goodies inaccessible.

LORDY, LORDY, GIVE THE GIRL SOME CREDIT

Clear up until the mid-1600s, it was generally believed that teeny tiny humans resided within the viscous ejaculation of men. These mini-folks just needed a nice warm womb so they could grow up to be babies. This theory meant that as long as a man could ejaculate, he was capable of producing offspring. So, invariably it was a woman's fault if a couple failed to have children.

Anatomy professor Dr. Gabriel Fallopius noted the existence of both the ovaries and tubes (yup, those fallopian things) in women sometime in the mid-1500s, but another 100 years would go by before anyone figured out that those extra parts had a purpose. The discovery came, not from a scientist or physician, but from a haberdasher.

Antoine van Leewenhoek ground glass into lenses as a hobby and succeeded in creating a microscope with a high enough resolution to see cells. The world's first microbiologist, this Dutch haberdasher made numerous discoveries, one of which is that women produce and contribute an egg to the procreation process.

Both the Protestant Reformation and resurgence of the arts and humanism of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries brought a more relaxed attitude toward sex. Not to say slutting around was encouraged, but things did loosen up somewhat, and the customs of courtly love and chastity belts faded into the past.