Why are we naturally attracted to taboo?
Example. I've heard a lot of people talking about A Serbian Film. The more people talked about how bad it is or even refuse to talk about it, the more people told me how I shouldn't waste my time watching it, how they went too far etc etc made me all the more curious to watch it. Obviously I regret watching it, but it's still relevant to my point. This can be traced way back to the bible with Eve taking the forbidden fruit, not that I believe that crap. Basically... why is something all the more appealing to us when it's looked down upon or off limits? If it was commonly accepted, it would be far less appealing and we'd take it for granted, but why?
Is it natural for humans to see sex as a taboo topic?
Absolutely not.A taboo is taught.Before we turned to owning land and building houses we were hunters/gatherers that traveled. It’s very likely our sexual behavior back then was more like the sex lives of bonobo’s: there’s always time for sex, there’s always an occasion to have sex, and there’s always a partner to have sex with, often regardless of gender.Owning land and owning stuff and having money however made inheritance a thing. And to make sure that men only left their good stuff to their natural kids, women were no longer supposed to just have sex with anybody. From that moment on sex has been regulated, always for women and sometimes for men too.And the easiest way to regulate something is to make it taboo.
Why in our society when we know things are considered wrong, do we still find it attractive and have the urge to do them. Is it normal?
Ragini, I have edited your question in order to answer it as you have asked me.To some extend it is normal yes. As human beings we have a trait to sometimes 'go against the grain' and to push boundaries. This can be seen on different levels, and although I agree it is normal, it is not in most cases right to do so. In society we have to abide by the rules that our authorities set for us, otherwise there will be chaos. Of course you have a contingent of people that are very anti-establishment of any type and will do their utmost in any way they can to infringe these rules. They can get in serious trouble for doing this if they are actually breaking the law.In more simpler cases it comes down to every day little things that we do that we should not which are not so serious but nevertheless, breaking the rules. For instance, driving without due care and attention. Not adhering to speed limits on the road. Everyone these days talks about freedom, but in a society we cannot be free to do what we want, we have to have due consideration for others.
I find my cousin attractive. Is this normal or am I just extremely messed up?
Age 5; me with my first male cousin @ my house. Mom: What game are you two playing? Cousin: Happy family. Mom: So, you two play siblings?Cousin: No way, she will be my wife. Age 9; at the restaurant. Me: This dish is yummy. Cousin: Yeah. I could eat it all day. Me: But its costly. We can't buy it here all the time.Cousin: Yeah, you should cook it for me then someday. Me: But I can't cook. Cousin: Learn it for me, then.Me: Okay. Only if you marry me!Cousin: Of course. Who else would be my wife? Age 13, at my grandpa's residence. Me: I have a crush on *****. Cousin: *sad face* Oh, great! Me: Would he ask me out? Cousin: Will you say yes if he asks you out? Me: No idea. Why? Cousin: You won't marry me then?Age 16, at my cousin's place. Aunt: Can you go to the grocery store and get me something?Cousin: No way. I'm busy working. Aunt: You're not. Playing video games is not an activity that should be considered as a work even. Cousin: Okay. *points at me* Tell her to go! Aunt: Why her? Cousin: Because I'm busy.Aunt: *hmmph* Who will shop for the groceries when you get married then? Cousin: My wife, of course. Aunt: What if she refuses to?Cousin: I'll marry my cousin then. *looks at me*Aunt: What???Cousin: Nothing. I'll go. Age 20, at a family reunion. Me: You okay? Cousin: Yeah, good. You? Me: Mm. Fine too. Cousin: I am in love. Me: With?Cousin: A girl. Yet to tell her, she might yell at me. Me: Hey, congrats. Who? Cousin: Well,... I. She is...*sighs* If I tell you, will you marry me? Me: Haha. I will. And we laughed for two whole minutes. That's my cousin, my best friend, my first love and my best enemy who loves me with all his heart and soul. We never went out or professed our mutual attraction towards each other; but if there is one soul who will give his heart and soul wholly to love me, it'll be him. The kind of love which will hold my hand to a visit down our favourite candy store. Or the one who will playfully tickle me and make me laugh at some silly jokes. The kind of love that would not hurt me in any way even if I throw hurtful words at him. The love that would bring a spark (and chocolates) everytime he visits. And the one who could lie down beside me all night with no bad intentions and talk to me. He loves me, and I love him too. But we could never be together. Not in this birth, even if we'll continue to love each other endlessly. :') ~Just that.
Why is it considered taboo to play as a Drow in Dungeons and Dragons?
Maybe it’s the racism.Let’s look at the science of it. Drows are a subterranean race of Elves right - and according to some nocturnal? so why do they have dark skin? It makes no sense, as melanin (human or “faerie melanin”) would be produced naturally as a means of absorbing vitamin D and blocking out harmful UV rays from the sun.Ok so if it’s not science based then maybe?Thus we see the reality that this is not based in science, but in society - and given Racism and Colorism are a reality of our daily lives - we see that Drow Elves are described generally as evil or inclined to evil because of their dark skin.You can see this trend play out almost everywhere - whether it’s “Evil Link” from Legend of Zelda having dark skin, Ryu’s antithesis Akuma from Street Fighter, or even the noble Star Trek series with the barbaric (albeit beloved) Klingons.Let’s also not forget that us white folk LOVE blackface and Drow Elves provide a unique opportunity to shamelessly darken our faces because fantasy! wooo! Do a quick image search and you’ll find cosplay that ranges from “tasteful” to “yeah, that’s def blackface.”Nothing in this world exists in a vacuum, and the harsh reality is that things like racism, sexism, ableism etc are present even in our adored D&D culture (which is largely white, although that’s rapidly changing thank goodness!)I don’t think there’s a taboo around playing Drow? but it might just be your conscience speaking!Moving foward…That said? D&D allows you to bend the rules. For the games that I DM, I state very clearly that Drow Elves were the first Elves, and their blue skin (which ranges in shade and hue depending on region and intermingling) is used to justify racism from the other elves (Wood, and High Elves especially). The idea that they live in caves in also an extension of that racist construct of the High Elves.You don’t have to play by the rule book. Similarly I just have people play as “orcs” instead of “half orcs” since the book more or less alludes that most half orcs are the product of rape or non-consent.Just remember what Anita sez:
Homosexuality is technically a Paraphilia/Fetish/Taboo?
Paraphilia isn't judged by it's extremetity: Sexual attraction to objects or feet, for that matter, should then not be classified as a Paraphilia, but it so blatently is. If homosexuals weren't present in such bulk, then Homosexuality would almost definately be a recognised medical condition, as there would be no community to protect itself. Strength in numbers, as is always said in these situations. And the sole purpose of life is to survive. Anything else is innecesary and unneeded, and when it comes down to it, nothing has a purpose if thought about it deeply enough. The universe dosen't need to exist, humans don't need to have ever existed and life is just alive to keep itself alive. In theory, everything is selfish, but nothing needs to exist, yet does. I know it's an incredibly pessimistic view on the world, but fundamentally, the only purpose life has to the universe is to survive. Homosexuality is technically a disease, as it stunts growth. For this reason, the gay gene canno
Is dating or falling in love prohibited in Islam?
Falling in love is obviously not forbidden in Islam, but 'dating' is not an Islamic term.The Prophet taught that building a family is a virtuous thing and he suggested every Muslim to get married. Also, he suggested every Muslim to investigate the background of his/her wife/husband candidate. This investigation is called TA'ARRUF and must in NO WAY develop into datingDating, in its modern sense, almost always involves the channeling of sexual lust for the opposite sex by caressing, kissing, or even having sex. These things are strictly forbidden in Islam before marriage. The grounds are:1. Fornication, as well as adultery, is forbidden in Islam.2. The Prophet mentioned in the Hadith that whenever a person being intimately in two with his/her unmarried couple, satan will be the 3rd person accompanying & luring them into sex.So, in Islam getting to know your opposite sex must be clean from any sexual plays and must be done with the clean purpose of finding a fitting wife/husband candidate.But how getting to know your opposite sex can be done without involving sexuality? You can think of any possible ways. Pious Muslims have been doing that the following ways:1. Asking about your wife/husband candidate's background to her/his close friends.2. Coming to her/his house, meeting her/his family, and having chats w/ her/him there.3. Talking via phones or letters w/ her/him.4. Taking any of her/his family member with you when both of you go out OR go with her/him and her/his family altogether.Once you feel you've known her/him well enough, you must declare if you're interested in her/him or not and planning a marriage. This is so that the girl/boy won't be played around with.As you can see, this all involves good self-control and since many Muslims are unable to fulfill that, they just succumb into 'dating'.
Why are vampires so strongly associated with sex?
For some reason this new generation of girls finds a man who murders women in the middle of the night sexy
Is it common not to be attracted to people from your own caste / community?
Things that are forbidden increases the curiosity. This is an natural instinct. See the video in the footnote for the reactions of kids who are discouraged to eat the marshmallow fight their temptations.[1]There is however limited exposure to other castes in India. Urban areas are dominated by the privileged castes, housing discrimination and discrimination in schools ensures that exposure to other castes are limited.In India, women are segregated in many places like schools, colleges, transportation, places of worship etc. due to social norms. This increases the gender-curiosity in general. This is not related to caste system, however.It is natural to be attracted to things that are forbidden. How far one would go to satisfy the curiosity depends on your tolerance for parental ridicule and pressures.A nephew of mine, about 8 years old, declared one day that he wanted to become a bus driver. He was impressed by how his school bus driver maneuvered the big impressive bus amid traffic. He was ridiculed by his parents and cousins. Soon, he stopped talking about it. This is a kind of social conditioning.The practice of untouchability in kids and classrooms provides the impetus for the social prejudice against kids belonging to other castes and communities. It ridicules other castes, castigates kids for ‘mixing’ with children from other communities.But by adolescence, kids tend to be either obedient succumbing to parental pressures or rebellious.Obedient kids identify with the value-systems of their parents - fighting away the natural instincts of curiosity and try to measure up to their parent’s expectations in achievements, social status, relationships.Rebellious ones learn to think for themselves and challenge their parent’s views as a means to assert themselves. They tend to get a different view of the world from movies, books, magazines, newspapers, internet, friends and society.Among kids coming from the same caste, there is not much social curiosity between them. There is however, some amount of gender curiosity owing to social taboos.To answer the question, Yes, there is a less attraction towards people of your own castes and communities compared to others. But these also get tempered to a large extent by parenting, lack of exposure and social norms. Whether you act on these depends on whether you are a rebellious or obedient.Footnotes[1] The Marshmallow Experiment - Instant Gratification