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Seduction
In sociology, '''seduction''' (also called '''inveigling''' or '''wheedling''') is the process of deliberately enticing a person to engage in some sort of behavior, frequently sexual in nature. The term may have a positive or negative connotation. Famous seducers from history include Cleopatra VII of Egypt|Cleopatra, Giacomo Casanova, and the character Don Juan.[Ridley-Duff, R. J. (2007) ''Emotion, Seduction and Intimacy: Alternative Perspectives on Organisation Behaviour'', Bracknell: Men's Hour Books, ISBN 978-0975430019]. In contemporary usage, seduction is also frequently used broadly as a synonym for the act of charming someone—male or female—by an appeal to the senses. The seducing agent may even be nonhuman, such as music or food.
History
Seduction is a popular motif in history and fiction, both as a warning of the social consequences of engaging in the behaviour or becoming its victim, and as a salute to a powerful skill. In the Bible, Eve was a seductress who convinced Adam (Bible)|Adam to eat forbidden fruit, a situation directly related to her verbal seduction by Satan to pick it in the first place; the Sirens of Greek myth lured sailors to their death by singing them to shipwreck; Cleopatra beguiled both Julius Caesar and Marc Antony; and Persian people|Persian queen Scheherazade saved herself from execution by story-telling. Famous male seducers, their names synonymous with sexual allure, range from Casanova to James Bond.
In biblical times, because unmarried females who lost their virginity had also lost much of their value as marriage prospects, the Old Testament Book of Exodus specifies that the seducer must marry his victim or pay her father to compensate him for his loss of the marriage price: "And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife. If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins."[''Book o Exodus'', Chapter 22 on Answers.com]
English common law defined the crime of seduction as a felony committed "when a male person induced an unmarried female of previously chaste character to engage in an act of sexual intercourse on a promise of marriage." A father had the right to maintain an action for the seduction of his daughter (or the enticement of a son who left home), since this deprived him of services or earnings.[Mary Ann Mason: From Father's Property to Children's Rights: A History of Child Custody]
In more modern times, Frank Sinatra was charged in New Jersey in 1938 with seduction, having enticed a woman "of good repute to engage in sexual intercourse with him upon his promise of marriage. The charges were dropped when it was discovered that the woman was already married."[Hollywood Behind Bars - Frank Sinatra Mugshot]
Biological point of view
Thierry Lodé, a French biologist, proposed in his book [Thierry Lodé La guerre des sexes chez les animaux, une histoire naturelle de la sexualité" Eds O Jacob, Paris, 2006] that seduction could result from the supranormal stimulus. The trend towards exaggeration is a fundamental biological component which explains the exuberance of certain sexual traits; for instance: the peacock’s tail and the uca crab's pincers. Sexual selection and sexual conflict could amplify the maintenance of extreme specific characters by intensifying sexual desire. The bilateral symmetry is also an essential character in life. Most animals prefer to mate with sexual partners exhibiting symmetric pattern. Actually, symmetric traits are largely altered by growth and health, and asymmetry often reveals genetic problem or immune system (MHC) deficiencies.
See also
- Beauty
- Courtship
- Charisma
- Eros (love)
- Flirting
- Persuasion
- Physical attractiveness
- Romantic love
- Seduction Community
Bibliography
- Baudrillard, J. (1991) ''Seduction''. New York: Saint Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-05294-4
- Giacomo Casanova|Casanova, G (2002 1894) ''Histoire de ma vie|Story of my life''. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-043915-3
- Kierkegaard, S (1997) ''The Seducer's Diary''. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01737-9
References
External links
- ''The memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt'': e-version of the rare unabridged London edition of 1894 translated by Arthur Machen
- ''Seduction timeline, cycles & trends'': A chronology of Seduction & Sex.
- Seduction Blog: How To Get Girls
- Seduced: Art and Sex from Antiquity to Now Showed at the Barbican Art Gallery from 12 October 2007-27 January 2008, an exhibition exploring the representation of sex in art through the ages.
Category:Sexual attraction
Category:Sexual acts
Category:Sexual slang
Category:Intimate relationships
Category:Seduction
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Sources: StartLearningNow, Wikipedia | Usage license: GNU FDL
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