Candaulism

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Candaulism is a sexual practice or fantasy in which a man exposes his woman, or pictures of her, to other people for their voyeur pleasure. According to Gugitz, the term is derived from ancient King Candaules who made a plot to show his unaware naked wife to his servant Gyges of Lydia. Discovering Gyges while he was watching her naked, Candaules' wife ordered him to choose between killing himself or killing her husband in order to repair the vicious mischief.[1][2][3]

Sometimes this behavior is taken to the extreme point, allowing complete sexual relations, a practice defined by many English speaking people in the swinging subculture as cuckoldry. In certain cases the relation evolves into a stable union of three persons that is known as triolism.

Contents

[edit] History of the term

The term was first defined by Richard von Krafft-Ebbing in in his book: Psychopathia sexualis. Eine klinisch-forensische Studie (Stuttgart: Enke 1886).[4]

[edit] Psychology of candaulism

R. Senf proposed that candaulism should be thought of as a veiled form of homosexuality; Sadger hypothesized that the candaulist completely identifies with his partner's body, and deep in his mind is showing himself.[5]

[edit] Candaulists in history

This is a list of seduced, sexually unfaithful wives, happily married for many years to famous consenting men (who deliberately ignored, tolerated, approved, encouraged, or even induced the non innocent nude exposition or promiscuous sexual behavior of their spouses, all facts fully proven, and widely known to the public). These persons/characters must have a relevance in arts, history, literature, science, cinema or cartoons, not belong to the world of pornography, and have stable relationships extending over many years.

Faustina the Younger, wife of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, mother of emperor M.A. Commodus Antoninus, said to be a son of a gladiator (history)

According to the popular legend, the beautiful Lady Godiva took pity on the people of Coventry, who were suffering grievously under her husband's oppressive taxation. Lady Godiva appealed repeatedly to her husband, who obstinately refused to remit the tolls. At last, weary of her entreaties, he said he would grant her request if she would ride naked through the streets of the town. Lady Godiva took him at his word and, after issuing a proclamation that all persons should keep within doors and shut their windows, she rode through the town, clothed only in her long hair. In the end, Godiva's husband keeps his word and abolishes the onerous taxes.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Gide, Le roi Candaules
  2. ^ Hebbel, Gyges und sein Ring
  3. ^ Herodotus, Histories, Book 1.8
  4. ^ Richard von Krafft-Ebbingin in his book: Psychopathia sexualis. Eine klinisch-forensische Studie (Stuttgart: Enke 1886).
  5. ^ Ernest Borneman, Lexicon der Liebe (Hannibal, 1984)

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links