Sex

The Europeans liked to talk about sex. Sex with demons, sex out of marriage, sex at satanic orgies- it fascinated them as though they were all overgrown, doublet-wearing adolescents. Because there were so many sexual taboos in European society, talking about it was considered wrong and therefore it was done as much as possible.

The Mi’kmaq, on the other hand, didn’t think that sex was a bad thing. They did think that it was private, and because of that it’s hard to find out what was culturally acceptable and what wasn’t, because they didn’t say much on the subject- at least not to the Europeans.

Sex before marriage was not particularly encouraged, as modesty and chastity were valued amongst the Mi’kmaq. However, virginity and chastity were considered two different things- one could be sexually active and still considered chaste so long as one was private about it- and no one was socially required to remain “pure.” (Possibly because, very sensibly, the Mi’kmaq did not confuse virginity and purity.) Interestingly, there were no nudity taboos in Mi’kmaq society- it wasn’t treated as something racy or degenerate, the logic being that everyone is naked under their clothes anyway, so why make a fuss over it?

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