Lust

Lust!
The sin of craving pleasure of the flesh
Punishment in Hell: smothered in fire and brimstone

This one is super easy. I'm all for it. And I've got no guilt about it either! I'm pretty sure lust became a sin when the big matriarchal to patriarchal change-over happened. Because really, it wasn't too problematic until the big three, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Few ancient religions saw it as problematic as those guys. I love looking up this stuff, because medieval Christians just crack me up. Check this out this punishment guide for sex outside of marriage based on the type of sex that occured!:

• Dorsal sex (woman on top): three years penance
• Lateral, seated, standing: 40 days
• Coitus retro (rear entry): 40 days
• Mutual masturbation: 30 days
• Inter-femural (ejaculation between the legs): 40 days
• Coitus in terga (anal sex): three years if committed with an adult; two years if with a boy; seven years for habitual offenders; and 10 years if with a cleric*

*Brundage, James A., “Let Me Count the Ways: Canonists and Theologians Contemplate Coital Positions,” Journal of Medieval History, vol. 10, 1984, 81-94; Richards, Jeffrey, Sex , Dissidance and Damnation: Minority Groups in the Middle Ages, (New York, 1993).

Obviously some taboos regarding sex existed in cultures for thousands of years. Animals, kids, blood relatives, and the like. But making people feel guilty about having sexual feelings is something Catholics have perfected.

Vampires seem to be OK with lust. They are primarily a metaphor for sex and sexuality in the 19th century, but these days, they are just extra lusty. The only vamps that seem to be chaste are of course, Twilight's Edward, who is seriously old fashioned, and the book version of The Vampire Diaries, in which Stefan Salvatore remarks that they just can't do it anymore after they are turned. Boo to that, I say. Thankfully, the TV show is different.

Lusty vampire stuff:


Don't worry, I'm not going to post the vampire sex toys, though they are pretty amazing.