View source for Sexual repression

{{short description|Psychological state}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
[[File:Homosexualitytherapy.jpg|thumb|300x300px|A man holding a sign in protest of laws allowing the practice of [[conversion therapy]] in 2009. Conversion therapy has been criticized for causing feelings of shame, guilt, and sexual repression among [[gay]], [[lesbian]], and [[Bisexuality|bisexual]] individuals.]]
'''Sexual repression''' is a state in which a person is prevented from expressing their own [[Human sexuality|sexuality]] or [[sexual orientation]]. Sexual [[Repression (psychoanalysis)|repression]] can be caused by an [[emotional conflict]], in which a person feels [[Guilt (emotion)|guilt]], [[shame]], or distress regarding their natural [[sexual impulse]]s. These feelings of emotional distress can be exacerbated by outside factors, such as family, religion, and [[peer pressure]]. Sexual repression is often synonymous with [[internalized homophobia]], in which a [[gay]], [[lesbian]], or [[Bisexuality|bisexual]] person feels the need to suppress their own [[Homosexuality|homosexual]] impulses and conform to [[Heterosexuality|heterosexual]] norms. Sexual repression can also be caused by external oppression, in which the laws of a society prevent someone from expressing their sexuality freely.

Defining characteristics and practices associated with sexual repression vary between societies and different historical periods. The behaviours and attitudes constituting sexual repression differ across cultures, religious communities and [[moral system]]s Sexual repression can largely be categorised as physical, mental or an amalgam of both.

Sexual repression is enforced through legislation in certain countries, many of which are located in the Middle East and North Africa region, and South Asia. Common practices associated with the practice include [[female genital mutilation]]. Individuals believed to have engaged in behaviours contradicting social, religious or cultural expectations of sexual repression, such as [[Homosexuality|same-sex sexual activity]], may be punished through [[honor killing]]s, persecution or the death penalty.

==History==
{{Close relationships |expanded=practices}}

[[Sigmund Freud]] was the first to use the term 'sexual repression' widely, and argued that it was one of the roots of many problems in [[Western world|Western society]].<ref>Wilf Hey. [http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=597 "Sigmund Freud: Psychoanalysis and Sexual Repression"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518033909/http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/article.aspx?id=597 |date=2008-05-18 }}, vision.org</ref> Freud believed that people's naturally strong instincts toward sexuality were repressed by people in order to meet the constraints imposed on them by civilized life. Among many others, Freud believed renowned artist [[Leonardo da Vinci]] to have been a repressed homosexual, who he believed [[Sublimation (psychology)|"sublimated"]] his sexual desires so as to achieve artistic brilliance.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Freud|first=Sigmund|title=Leonardo DaVinci, A Memory of his Childhood}}</ref> However, Freud's ideas about sexual repression have been subject to heavy criticism. According to sex therapist Bernard Apfelbaum, Freud did not base his belief in universal innate, natural sexuality on the strength of [[sexual desire]] he saw in people, but rather on its weakness.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090704081455/http://www.bapfelbaumphd.com/Sexual_Reality.html B. Apfelbaum. "Sexual Reality and How We Dismiss It."]}}</ref>

In some periods of Indian history, [[anaphrodisiac]]s were utilised in order to lower libido.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fBVNAQAAMAAJ|title=Sweet Tears and Bitter Pills: The Politics of Health Among the Yuroks of Northern California|last=Ferreira|first=Mariana Kawall Leal|date=1996|publisher=University of California, Berkeley with University of California, San Francisco|language=en}}</ref>

In contemporary society, medication may be prescribed to registered sex offenders in order to lower the libido and ensure that further offences are less likely.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Pharmacological interventions for those who have sexually offended or are at risk of offending |year=2015 |pmc=6544815 |last1=Khan |first1=O. |last2=Ferriter |first2=M. |last3=Huband |first3=N. |last4=Powney |first4=M. J. |last5=Dennis |first5=J. A. |last6=Duggan |first6=C. |journal=The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews |volume=2015 |issue=2 |pages=CD007989 |doi=10.1002/14651858.CD007989.pub2 |pmid=25692326 }}</ref>

==Religious sexual repression==
{{Further|Religion and sexuality|Christianity and homosexuality|Christianity and sexual orientation|Islamic sexual jurisprudence|LGBT in Islam|Hinduism and LGBT topics|Kama}}

Sexual repression is a recurring prohibition in many religious contexts.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

Most forms of Christianity [[opposition to homosexuality|discourage homosexual behavior]].<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PPEyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pwgGAAAAIBAJ&pg=1827,2290931&dq=&hl=en liberal media] Free Lance–Star retrieved 27 January 2012</ref>

Many forms of [[Islam]] have strict sexual codes which include banning homosexuality, demanding virginity before marriage, accompanied by a ban on fornication, and can require modest dress-codes for men and women.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=csX0f7AVM3gC&pg=PA722 Sex and Society] Volume 3 – Page 722</ref>

[[Chemical castration]] has also been practiced upon male choristers prior to puberty to ensure that their vocal range remained unchanged.

The practice of creating "Castrati" was common until the 18th century, and after a decline in popularity were only used in the Vatican up until the beginning of the twentieth century<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jenkins|first=J. S.|date=2000|title=The lost voice: a history of the castrato|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11202227/|journal=Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology & Metabolism |volume=13 Suppl 6|pages=1503–1508|doi=10.1515/jpem-2000-s625|issn=0334-018X|pmid=11202227|s2cid=8609141}}</ref> (new research suggests that the employment of castrati was tolerated by the Vatican as late as 1959<ref name="theguardian/Vatican">{{cite news |last1=Carroll |first1=Rory |title=Pope urged to apologise for Vatican castrations |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/aug/14/humanities.highereducation |work=The Guardian |date=14 August 2001}}</ref>).

==Marriage==
Marriage has historically been seen as means of controlling sexuality.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Murray|first=Melissa|date=2012-01-01|title=Marriage as Punishment|url=https://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/facpubs/1885|journal=Columbia Law Review|pages=1}}</ref> Some forms of marriage, such as [[child marriage]], are often practiced as a means of regulating the sexuality of girls, by ensuring they do not have multiple partners, thus preserving their [[virginity]] for their future husbands.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dayofthegirl.org/child-marriage/ |title=Child Marriage |website=Day of the Girl |access-date=July 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531090804/http://dayofthegirl.org/child-marriage/ |archive-date=May 31, 2014}}</ref> According to the [[BBC World Service]], "In some cases, parents willingly marry off their young girls in order to increase the family income or protect the girl from the risk of unwanted sexual advances or even [[promiscuity]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/features/ihavearightto/four_b/casestudy_art16.shtml|title=Article 16: Right to marriage and family and to equal rights of men and women during and after marriage|publisher=[[BBC World Service]]|access-date=June 8, 2016}}</ref>

==Female genital mutilation==
[[File:Fgm_map.svg|200px|thumb|Prevalence of FGM in Africa]]
{{Main|Female genital mutilation}}
Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting or female circumcision, "comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons".<ref name="who.int">{{Cite web|url=https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/female-genital-mutilation|title=Female genital mutilation|website=www.who.int|language=en|access-date=2019-07-29}}</ref>
The practice is concentrated in 27 countries in Africa as well as Iraqi Kurdistan, Yemen and Indonesia; and more than 125 million girls and women today are estimated to have been subjected to FGM.<ref name="who.int"/>

FGM does not have any health benefits, and has serious negative effects on health; including complications during [[childbirth]].<ref name="who.int"/>

FGM is used as a way of controlling [[female sexuality]]; the [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) states:

{{blockquote|FGM is often motivated by beliefs about what is considered proper sexual behaviour, linking procedures to premarital [[virginity]] and marital fidelity. FGM is in many communities believed to reduce a woman's libido and therefore believed to help her resist "illicit" sexual acts.<ref name="who.int"/>}}

FGM is condemned by international human rights instruments. The [[Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence|Istanbul Convention]] prohibits FGM (Article 38).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list|title=Full list|website=Treaty Office|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-07-29}}</ref> FGM is also considered a form a [[violence against women]] by the [[Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women]] which was adopted by the [[United Nations]] in 1993; according to which: ''Article Two: Violence against women shall be understood to encompass, but not be limited to, the following: (a) Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including [...] '''female genital mutilation''' [...]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.un-documents.net/a48r104.htm|title=A/RES/48/104 – Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women – UN Documents: Gathering a body of global agreements|website=www.un-documents.net|access-date=2019-07-29}}</ref>

==Honor killings==
{{Main|Honor killing}}
An honor killing is the [[homicide]] of a member of a family or social group by other members, due to the perpetrators' belief that the victim has brought shame or dishonor upon the family or community, usually for reasons such as refusing to enter an [[arranged marriage]], being in a relationship that is disapproved by their relatives, having [[sex outside marriage]], becoming the victim of [[rape]], dressing in ways which are deemed inappropriate, or engaging in [[Homosexuality|homosexual]] relations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/honourcrimes/|title=BBC – Ethics: Honour Crimes|website=www.bbc.co.uk|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-07-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/honor%20killing|title=Definition of HONOR KILLING|website=Merriam-Webster |language=en|access-date=2019-07-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/honor+killing?s=t |title=Honor Killing |website=Dictionary.com |access-date=July 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602221322/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/honor+killing?s=t |archive-date=June 2, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/01/13/world/europe/turkey-gay-killing/index.html|title=Shocking gay honor killing inspires movie|author=Ivan Watson|website=CNN|date=13 January 2012 |access-date=2019-07-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/02/23/arizona.iraqi.father/index.html|title=Iraqi immigrant convicted in Arizona 'honor killing' awaits sentence|website=www.cnn.com|language=en|access-date=2019-07-29}}</ref> With regards to honor killings of women, according to a UN Expert Group Meeting that addressed harmful practices against women:

{{blockquote|They [honor killings] stem from the deeply-rooted social belief that male family members (in some cases, mothers and other women are involved in planning or carrying out honor crimes) should control the sexuality of or protect the reputation of women in the family, and that they may contain their movements or kill them for blemishing family honor, even when rumors or false gossip are the reason for public suspicion.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/vaw_legislation_2009/Expert%20Paper%20EGMGPLHP%20_Sherifa%20Zuhur%20-%20II_.pdf |title=Considerations of Honor Crimes, FGM, Kidnapping/Rape, and Early Marriage in Selected Arab Nations |last=Zuhur |first=Sherifa |publisher=United Nations |date=May 11, 2009 |access-date=July 23, 2021}}</ref>}}

==Same-sex sexual activity==
{{Further|Sodomy law}}
Homosexual sexual expression is a sensitive topic in many societies. As of 2014, same-sex sexual acts are punishable by prison in 70 countries, and in five other countries and in parts of two others, homosexuality is punishable with the [[death penalty]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-25927595|title=Where is it illegal to be gay?|date=2014-02-10|access-date=2019-07-29|language=en-GB}}</ref> Apart from criminal prosecution, LGBT individuals may also face social stigmatization and [[violence against LGBT people|violence]].{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

==Research findings==
Researchers such as Peggy Reeves Sanday have proposed a relationship between sexual repression and [[rape]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sanday|first=Peggy Reeves|date=1981|title=The Socio-Cultural Context of Rape: A Cross-Cultural Study|url=https://spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1981.tb01068.x|journal=Journal of Social Issues|language=en|volume=37|issue=4|pages=5–27|doi=10.1111/j.1540-4560.1981.tb01068.x|issn=1540-4560|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Evidence has been found to contradict this hypothesis, with a study by Jaffee and Straus finding "no relationship between sexually liberal attitudes and rape."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Jaffee|first1=David|last2=Straus|first2=Murray A.|date=1987|title=Sexual climate and reported rape: A state-level analysis|url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/BF01542065|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|language=en|volume=16|issue=2|pages=107–123|doi=10.1007/BF01542065|pmid=3592959|s2cid=34096155|issn=0004-0002|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Sexual repression is a key talking point in [[feminism]],<ref>{{cite journal
  |title = Sex and Power: Sexual Bases of Radical Feminism
  |last = Shulman
  |first = Alix Kates
  |journal = [[Signs (journal)|Signs]]
  |publisher = [[University of Chicago Press]]
  |issn = 1545-6943
  |volume = 5
  |issue = 4
  |year = 1980
  |pages = 590–604
  |doi = 10.1086/493754
  |jstor = 3173832
  |s2cid = 143235534
 }}</ref> although [[feminist views on sexuality]] vary widely.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}

===Michel Foucault===
[[Michel Foucault]], in his ''[[The History of Sexuality|History of Sexuality]]'', refutes what he calls the "repressive hypothesis."{{Explain|date=March 2023}}{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}

=== Sexual repression and sexual arousal ===
Although the typical expectation is that sexually repressed female individuals would experience less sexual arousal, one study regarding the effect of repression (among other variables) on sexual arousal concluded that repression-sensitization (R-S) and interactions with R-S did not have a significant effect on sexual arousal. These results were consistent with research performed in other studies regarding the same topic. Moreover, other research findings have demonstrated that repression may have differing effects between gender, namely, that "male repressors may inhibit sexual behavior, whereas female repressors do not."<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Morokoff|first=Patricia J.|date=1985|title=Effects of sex guilt, repression, sexual "arousability", and sexual experience on female sexual arousal during erotica and fantasy.|url=http://doi.apa.org/getdoi.cfm?doi=10.1037/0022-3514.49.1.177|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|language=en|volume=49|issue=1|pages=177–187|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.49.1.177|issn=1939-1315|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Repression in various countries==

===China===
{{Further|Sexuality in China}}
Reproduction-based sex was urged by [[Mao Zedong]], but later politicians instituted a [[one-child policy]]. In a country where atheism is popular, the restriction cannot be ascribed to religion but to nationalist motives.<ref name="Body & Society">{{cite journal |title=Rethinking Sexual Repression in Maoist China: Ideology, Structure and the Ownership of the Body |journal=[[Body & Society]] |date=September 2005 |last=Yuehong Zhang |first=Everett |volume=11 |issue=3 |pages=1–25 |doi=10.1177/1357034X05056188 |s2cid=145745888 }}</ref>

==== Sexual revolution ====
Within the past few decades, China has undergone major changes (known as the sexual revolution) in society that have affected their outlook on sex. Li Yinhe, China's first female sexologist, observed that prior to the sexual revolution, very few couples would engage in premarital sex. These observations were accredited to the fact that, until 1997, premarital sex in China was considered illegal and offenders could be prosecuted.<ref name=":12">{{Cite news|date=2016-02-27|title=China's high-speed sexual revolution|language=en-GB|publisher=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35525566|access-date=2021-11-07}}</ref>

Furthermore, China's stance on sexuality before the sexual revolution was quite harsh in comparison to standards set by Western governments. China had previously banned the publication of pornography, organization of sex parties and prostitution, and even writing about sex.<ref name=":12" /> These regulations on sexuality before the revolution led to a legal precedent regarding the organization of prostitution in 1996 that had sentenced a bathhouse owner to death (though this is no longer punishable by death today). Today, the organization of sex parties is still illegal, although it is not strictly enforced anymore due to changes in Chinese attitudes which have led to fewer people reporting these sex parties.<ref name=":12" />

However, the Chinese sexual revolution still has a lot of progress to make regarding the repression of the LGBT community. Although China has made some progress in the way of LGBT rights (namely, removing homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses), LGBT rights are still limited by some standards. For instance, same-sex marriage still has not been recognized legally, although there is the existence of guardianship, a recent development that many people consider as the first step to the legal recognition of same-sex marriage.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last1=Wang|first1=Wilfred Yang|last2=Chen|first2=Xu|title=How China is legally recognising same-sex couples, but not empowering them|url=http://theconversation.com/how-china-is-legally-recognising-same-sex-couples-but-not-empowering-them-122270|access-date=2021-11-07|website=The Conversation|date=2 October 2019 |language=en}}</ref> In addition, Chinese law does not legally protect the LGBT community from discrimination in the workplace.<ref name=":12" />

===India===
{{Further|Sexuality in India}}
India has developed its discourse on sexuality differently based on its distinct regions with their own unique cultures. According to R.P. Bhatia, a [[New Delhi]] psychoanalyst and psychotherapist, middle-class India's "very strong repressive attitude" has made it impossible for many married couples to function well sexually, or even to function at all.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/22/world/sexual-repression-in-the-land-of-the-kama-sutra.html|title=Sexual Repression in the Land of the Kama Sutra|last1=Stevens|first1=William K.|date=1983-04-22|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2019-11-21|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

=== Japan ===
{{Further|Sexuality in Japan}}
A Durex survey performed internationally resulted in Japan being the only country where more people have expressed discontent with their sex lives than those that have expressed fulfilling sex lives, an important major reason being that they are simply not having sex.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Beauchamp|first=Zack|date=2014-05-07|title=6 maps and charts that explain sex around the world|url=https://www.vox.com/2014/5/7/5662608/in-different-area-codes|access-date=2021-11-07|website=Vox|language=en}}</ref>  Homebuilders in Japan have also observed that more than a third of homes built feature separated bedrooms for married couples, suggesting that even married couples are less inclined to have sex than married couples in other cultures.<ref name=":0" />

==== Work culture and economy ====
Japanese citizens' dissatisfaction with their sex lives can be partially attributed to their work culture, whose work hours can be considered lengthy in comparison to other work cultures. According to Michael Zielenziger, Japan's lengthy work hours has led couples to spend less time with each other, have reduced contact, and therefore have less sex.<ref name=":0" /> Japan's sexual repression can also be partially attributed to societal and business expectations, which generally expect that women should abstain from marriage, which is a major indicator of sex likelihood.<ref name=":0" /> Although Japan's work hours have even shrunk down to the United States' level of work hours per week,{{vague|date=March 2023}} large amounts of sexual dissatisfaction and repression are still observed. One reason for these observations is that Japan's economy has been stagnating and has contributed to more unemployment. These factors generate stress, which plays a significant role in forming an unpleasant sex life according to Durex.<ref name=":0" />

=== Russia ===
Russian history of sexual repression and LGBT rights includes an oscillation of attitudes, caused by both governmental interference and changing societal norms.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

====Under the Soviet Union====

Soviet society in the past considered sex to be taboo and unacceptable to talk about. People sometimes expressed fear of losing their job and experienced shame from people they knew for simply using the word 'sex' openly due to the fact that discussion regarding the topic of sex in the Soviet Union was almost nonexistent.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Bearkunin|first=Mikhail|date=2020-08-30|title=Geopolitics of Russian Sexuality|url=https://bearkunin.medium.com/geopolitics-of-russian-sexuality-2dcf8463d7c3|access-date=2021-11-07|website=Medium|language=en}}</ref> Near the end of the Soviet Union, however, the country would undergo major changes when it came to sex. Organizations and media such as ''Tema'' and ''The Moscow Association of Lesbian Literature and Arts'', which focused on sexual liberation, were created and promoted the discussion of sex in Russian society.<ref name=":2" />

====After the Soviet Union====

The USSR's collapse also made way for LGBT rights to come to the forefront of societal issues. In 1993, Russia decriminalized homosexuality and set the precedent for future sociopolitical changes. New outlets of media – including pornography – regarding homosexuality were released within these years of social change.<ref name=":2" /> However, these changes would soon be quickly turned around when Vladimir Putin was elected in 2000. Despite previous failed attempts to revert the 1993 decriminalization of homosexuality, the Russian government created a turning point against LGBT rights in 2013 when Russia passed the [[Russian gay propaganda law|gay propaganda law]], which signaled Russia's return to more conservative and traditional values.<ref name=":2" /> The sexual repression of homosexuals with the passing of this law was partly because Russia wanted to portray itself as different from Western countries and demonstrate strength through these differences.<ref name=":2" />

=== United States ===
{{Further|Sexuality in the United States}}
In the last few decades the United States has been removing much of the legislation tied to sexual repression of various groups.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

==== Birth control ====
The first half of the 1960s saw contraceptions such as the [[Combined oral contraceptive pill|birth control pill]] and [[Intrauterine device|Intrauterine Device]] (IUD) become widely available, which contributed to sexual freedom for many people without having to rely on less reliable and uncomfortable physical contraceptives such as [[condom]]s or [[Diaphragm (birth control)|diaphragms]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Baird|first=Karen|date=March 2015|title=Melissa Haussman. 2013. Reproductive Rights and the State: Getting the Birth Control, RU-486, and Morning-After Pills and the Gardasil Vaccine to the U.S. Market. (Reproductive Rights and Policy Series; Series Editor, Judith A. Baer). Santa Barbara, CA: P|url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/wmh3.128|journal=World Medical & Health Policy|language=en|volume=7|issue=1|pages=90–91|doi=10.1002/wmh3.128|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Kuchin|first=Rebecca M.|title=Fit to be Tied: Sterilization and Reproductive Rights in America|publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]]|year=2009|location=New Brunswick, New Jersey|pages=1}}</ref> However, religious and conservative lobbying groups as well as the influence of [[neo-eugenics]] created push back on some other forms of birth control such as [[emergency contraception]] and [[tubal ligation]]. Emergency contraception was being developed and produced by [[Hoechst AG|Hoechst]] under the name [[RU-486]]. Conservative lobbyist groups with ties to various religious powers such as the [[Holy See|Vatican]], originally were promoting limiting healthcare coverage of items such as birth control, and once RU-486 was made public knowledge, these groups actively worked to threaten Hoechst by claiming they would cause the company financial hardship if they did not cease all activity pertaining to RU-486.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Baird|first=Karen|date=March 2015|title=Melissa Haussman. 2013. Reproductive Rights and the State: Getting the Birth Control, RU-486, and Morning-After Pills and the Gardasil Vaccine to the U.S. Market. (Reproductive Rights and Policy Series; Series Editor, Judith A. Baer). Santa Barbara, CA: P|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/wmh3.128|journal=World Medical & Health Policy|volume=7|issue=1|pages=101–103|doi=10.1002/wmh3.128|issn=1948-4682|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In terms of more permanent forms of birth control such as tubal ligation and [[Hysterectomy|hysterectomies]], there has been a long history of [[Eugenics|eugenicists]] pushing for forced sterilization of non Anglo-Saxon or lower-class women. This stemmed from a belief that this would contribute to the betterment of American society.  However, neo-eugenics, which is the more modern iteration of the eugenics movement, additionally works to limit access of procedures of sterilization from those they deem "fit" to reproduce. The demographic targeted for this are mostly white middle-class women.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kuchin|first=Rebecca M.|title=Fit to be Tied: Sterilization and Reproductive Rights in America|publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]]|year=2009|location=New Brunswick, New Jersey|pages=216–217}}</ref>

==== Sex education ====
During the late 1990s and the [[Presidency of George W. Bush|Bush administration]] (2000–2008) [[abstinence-only sex education]] groups were given considerable government funding to develop programming for schools.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Calterone Williams|first=Jean|date=August 2011|title=Battling a 'sex-saturated society': The abstinence movement and the politics of sex education|url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1363460711406460|journal=Sexualities|language=en|volume=14|issue=4|pages=417–418|doi=10.1177/1363460711406460|s2cid=220124220 |issn=1363-4607|url-access=subscription}}</ref> These groups were mostly represented by Christians who believed it to be their responsibility to address what they deemed as society's regressions towards a sex-based culture. Abstinence advocates generally focus on prohibiting sexual contact before heterosexual marriage. This has been linked to instigating a culture of sexual repressiveness affecting adolescent sexual behaviors, regardless of their sexuality.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Calterone Williams|first=Jean|date=August 2011|title=Battling a 'sex-saturated society': The abstinence movement and the politics of sex education|url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1363460711406460|journal=Sexualities|language=en|volume=14|issue=4|pages=417, 424–430|doi=10.1177/1363460711406460|s2cid=220124220 |issn=1363-4607|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Research concerning the effectiveness of different forms of sex education for adolescents shows the highest success from comprehensive sex education. Characteristics of comprehensive sex education include informing students on the forms of birth control and how to use them, and sexual anatomy.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Calterone Williams|first=Jean|date=August 2011|title=Battling a 'sex-saturated society': The abstinence movement and the politics of sex education|url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1363460711406460|journal=Sexualities|language=en|volume=14|issue=4|pages=418–419|doi=10.1177/1363460711406460|s2cid=220124220 |issn=1363-4607|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The [[Presidency of Barack Obama|Obama administration]] (2008–2016) worked towards promotion of comprehensive sex education programming and pulled much of the government funding supporting abstinence-only program development.<ref name=":1" />

==Symptoms of sexual repression==
Sexual repression can be expressed but not limited to the following<ref>https://www.choosingtherapy.com/sexual-repression/</ref>:{{medical citation needed|date=July 2023}}

* lack of sexual attraction
* disinterest in sexual activities
* shame and distress with sexual activities
* guilt or other negative feelings after having sex
* believing your body is unattractive or unworthy of sex

==See also==
{{Portal|Human sexuality}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*[[Age of consent]]
*[[Antisexualism]]
*[[Asexuality]]
*[[Bodily integrity]]
*[[Roy Cohn]] – Attorney responsible for anti-gay [[Lavender scare]] who was also a closeted homosexual
*[[Erotophobia]]
*[[Free love]]
*[[Freedom of speech]]
*[[Heterosexism]]
*[[Human sexual activity]]
*[[Human sexuality]]
*[[Libertine]]
*[[Opposition to pornography]]
*[[Reproductive rights]]
*[[Right to sexuality]]
*[[Sex-positive movement]]
*[[Sexual and reproductive health and rights]]
*[[Sexual norm]]
*[[Sexual frustration]]
*[[Sexual revolution]]
*[[Victorian morality]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* {{Cite web |title=Biography: Sigmund Freud: Psychoanalysis and Sexual Repression {{!}} Vision |url=https://www.vision.org/biography-sigmund-freud-psychoanalysis-and-sexual-repression-388 |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=www.vision.org |language=en}}

{{Interpersonal relationships footer}}

[[Category:Guilt]]
[[Category:Human sexuality]]
[[Category:Political repression]]
[[Category:Sexology]]
[[Category:Sexual emotions]]