What are the last French sexual taboos?

This unprecedented study – the last one dates back to 2006 – aims to update knowledge on the behaviors and habits of the French in matters of sexuality. In the show, we wonder what are the last sexual taboos of the French, between consenting adults of course… What are the moral, religious and social prejudices that still weigh on our sexualities?

We will dissect what a taboo is and what are the obstacles that prevent us from transgressing them. Do we necessarily have to transgress them? We will, for example, discuss the question of masturbation, which has long been repressed but which can still remain a subject of embarrassment and discomfort, particularly within couples.

What taboos?

Alain Rey's historical dictionary of the French language tells us that the word taboo is borrowed from the English “taboo”, an English word itself borrowed from the Polynesian “tabu” and especially from the adjective “tapu”, qualifying what is forbidden, sacred. And it is the name for what the profane cannot touch without committing sacrilege. Synonyms for taboo are forbidden, inviolable, sacred, forbidden, untouchable.

For Guillaume Durand, lecturer in philosophy and bioethics, there are four characteristics of what is taboo. “The first is the moral prohibition. Masturbation was prohibited in the moral sense of the term. Parents tied the hands of young boys. Second, strong emotions, such as disgust, shame, fear aroused by indignation also if we talk about certain taboos like zoophilia or incest We will actually be outraged, even repelled by what we are talking about. desire. We are going to prohibit what arouses desire. So the taboo is an object of desire. And the fourth characteristic is the veil thrown over the taboo, it is what we cannot even name. will write, here again that masturbation is an evil, it is morally condemned by all, and as proof, we cannot even name it, we do not even dare to talk about it.

For Joëlle Mignot, clinical psychologist, there are taboos that we could call universal, insurmountable, which are incest and cannibalism. “There is this dimension of taboo which is an absolutely fundamental prohibition which joins the sacred.” And then she explains that there are the taboos which come from our history, which we have integrated as we have evolved, which are the family taboos, the taboos around sexuality, which are very strong.

What evolution of taboos in France?

Joëlle Mignot notices that in her consultations, people talk about their sexual practices much more easily than before. But also in the media: “Even on your broadcast, we use words that we didn't use ten years ago. The word masturbation, the word cunnilingus, sodomy, I'm sure that ten years ago, we didn't use these words in a public service broadcast, so we can clearly see that mentalities are changing, so sexuality is less and less taboo.

Cécilia Commo, sexologist, shares this opinion, “cunnilingus or sodomy, frankly, it's no longer taboo at all in reality.” For her, taboos are now based in particular on sexually transmitted infections, on sexual difficulties linked to certain pathologies, or even on sexual malformations. She mentions, for example, Peyronie’s disease. “In men over 50, there suddenly appears a curvature of the penis which will enormously complicate their sex life.”

According to her, the new taboos are found in everything that is not glamorous in sexuality. She explains, for example, that we know that there are a lot of women who suffer from vaginismus, that is to say the contraction of the perineal muscles which prevents penetration. “They don't talk about it, they don't say it. They have this idea that it's normal to suffer.”

-> To learn more about taboos in sexuality, listen to this show…

With

• Cecilia Commo couples therapist, clinical sexologist and psychoanalyst. She is the author of the book “The perfect couple does not exist” published by Flammarion in 2022. Her podcast “Intimacy in questions” can be found on all streaming platforms and for news on her Instagram. Member of the American Psychological Association, as well as the French Society of Clinical Sexology and referent to the National Union of Clinical Sexologists.
• Guillaume Durandlecturer in philosophy and bioethics at the University of Nantes. He is the author of the book “Sex and taboos” published by Hermann on August 28, 2024.
• Joëlle Mignotclinical psychologist and sexologist. Co-holder of the UNESCO Chair in Sexual Health and Human Rights and editor-in-chief of the journal Sexualités humaine. Also head of teaching at the DIU of Clinical Sexology and Sex Therapy (Paris-Cité University, UFR Medicine), member of the UNESCO Chair in Sexual Health and Human Rights; clinical hypnosis teacher; editor-in-chief of the journal Sexualités humaine and President of ASCLIF (Association of French-speaking clinical sexologists). She is also an author and collection director at Editions Complicités.

+ The column “The French, Instructions for use” by Jeremy Peltier