Comic Books, strips, etc, History, Sex, Graphic novels, Sex customs, Sexuality 

Whether out of a desire for children, pleasure, money, power, driven by love, lust, revenge, self-discovery, or simply because it isn't allowed, our attitudes to sex and sexuality are forever changing. Through the centuries, religion, superstition and morality laws have impacted what is and isn't deemed acceptable, while technology and disease have redefined the limits of pleasure and reproduction. Many cultures have come a long way from prohibiting masturbation--by way of a microscope--or homosexuality--a 'perversion' once comparable to cannibalism--while others continue to condemn promiscuous behaviour, particularly of women. The subject is endlessly fascinating and never more relevant to today's discussions of relationships and gender. The story of sex brilliantly and humorously reveals our sexual ancestry, highlighting the key characters of change along the way, and foretells a future of virtual gratification. 

Notes:
Closely guarded secrets -- 1. Origins -- 2. Babylon: free love -- 3. Egalitarian Egypt -- 4. Greece: pantheon of love -- 5. Rome: greatness and decadence -- 6. The Middle Ages: Heaven and Hell -- 7. The Renaissance: the artist and his model -- 8. The M word -- 9. The Enlightenment: repression and libertinage -- 10. The 19th century: clenched buttocks and prostitution -- 11. The 20th century: sexual liberation -- 12. The 21st century: futuresex -- Memo.