Erotic Women throughout History

The philosopher Voltaire once said, “It is not enough to conquer; one must know how to seduce.

Throughout history, women have been practiced in the art of seduction, likely because in addition to being every bit as fond of pleasure as are men, women have had to rely more heavily upon their God given assets to survive alongside men in the world. It was a woman’s ability to embrace her sensual side and attract a potent mate that allowed for the perpetuation of the species. One might say that sensuality, sexuality and eroticism have always been necessary to human survival. Whereas the female of various animal species may be attracted to a mate’s color, size, dance, plumage and strength, male animals just need a female to impregnate in order to spread their seed. Human males are slightly more complex. Human males look for qualities such as which woman might make a good mother, good cook, and homemaker. But human males are also concerned with finding a good sexual partner. That is because unlike other species in the animal kingdom, human males also seek to enjoy sex for its own sake. Human couplings are not exclusively about the perpetuation of the species. In fact, many human males do not wish to become fathers at all, yet that does not negate their sex drive. With millions of women from which to choose, it has become necessary for women to find ways of making themselves attractive to their male counterparts.

A man cannot tell by looking at her, whether or not a woman will make a good mother, a good cook or a proper homemaker. But women do have certain assets that are easily noticed. Such attributes include breast size, the curve of her waist, the length of her neck and hair, the size of her bottom. All of these things have the power to attract or repel a male at first glance. The human act of mating, including the identification and seduction of one’s chosen mate, has long held a fascination for me. The differences and similarities between the mating habits of humans as compared to other animals are intriguing. Women have been instrumental in redefining eroticism in most cultures and because of women, and the pedestals of worship up on which men have placed them, sex and eroticism are multi-billion dollar enterprises. Sex is no longer serves a purely practical purpose.

For me, eroticism is not simply about how women use their bodies to entice members of the opposite sex. It is also about how we use our minds and our unique talents to provoke, intrigue, and attract members of the opposite sex, or perhaps even, the same sex.

So this hub is meant to honor some of the most erotic woman in history, those who used not only their physical beauty, but also their exquisite minds and talents to advance the notion of women everywhere as powerful sexual beings, even when it wasn’t socially “acceptable” to do so.

Sappho

This ancient Greek poet was born somewhere between 630 and 612 B.C. on the island of Lesbos from whence the term Lesbians originated. She is somewhat of an enigma in that much of what is known about her sexuality in particular, is gleaned from the fragmented poetry that still remains. Sappho’s poetry revealed her attraction to a host of her contemporaries of both genders. She was part of a close-knit circle of women and several of her poems included homoerotic subtext. There were many references to Aphrodite including the most intact poem found to date entitled, Hymn to Aphrodite. The following is a Sappho poem which has been twice translated from Aolian Greek.

VERSION I

That one seems to me the equal of gods, who sits in thy presence and hears near him thy sweet voice and lovely laughter; that indeed makes my heart beat fast in my bosom. For when I see thee even a little I am bereft of utterance, my tongue is useless and at once a subtle fire races under my skin, my eyes see nothing, my ears ring, sweat pours forth and all my body is seized with trembling. I am paler than dried grass and seem in my madness little better than dead, but I must dare all…

VERSION II

Peer of the gods, the happiest man I may seem

Sitting before thee, rapt at they sight, hearing

Thy soft laughter and thy voice most gentle,

Speaking so sweetly.

Then in my bosom my heart wildly flutters,

And, when on thee I gaze never so little,

Bereft I am of all power of utterance,

My tongue is useless.

There rushes at once through my flesh tingling fire,

My eyes are deprived of all power of vision,

My ears hear nothing but sounds of winds roaring,

And all is blackness.

Down courses in streams the sweat of emotion,

A dread trembling o’erwhelms me paler than I

Than dried grass in autumn, and in my madness

Dead I seem almost.

Theda Bara

This silent film actress was one of the first American sex symbols. Fox Studios promoted her films heavily and though she did make some wholesome films, she was always best known for her “vamp” roles that often featured her wearing risqué, revealing costumes and playing characters with questionable moral character. One such film was  A Fool There Was, which featured cinema’s first onscreen kiss. Surely her work paved the way for future actresses. Consider Kim Basinger in 9 ½ Weeks, Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, and Katheen Turner in Body Heat. 

Mae West

Another of Hollywood’s most controversial yet beloved actresses, Mae boasted an unapologetic sense of humor that lent itself well to her successful Vaudeville act. Most of her quotations easily had double meanings, one far more tawdry than the other. Some of her famous quotes include:

A dame that knows the ropes isn’t likely to get tied up.

A hard man is good to find.

Give a man a free hand and he’ll run it all over you.

I generally avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it.

Her love life was as scandalous as her film roles and it was rumored at one point that she may have had two husbands at one time. At any rate, she was twice divorced. One of her famous quotes was, “Marriage is a great institution. I’m not ready for an institution yet.” 

Marlene Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich was a sexually confident, strong German actress whose smoky voice and cool method of seduction mesmerized men (and women) across the planet in the 1930s. Dressed in a men's tuxedo for her role in Morocco, she scandalously kissed another woman on the lips in front of a cabaret. Among her varied roles was a portrayal of Catherine the Great in 1934's The Scarlet Empress, which offered a blunt look into themes such as adultery and sadomasochism, which even by today's standards are considered scandalous and even immoral. She helped to blaze a trail for the sexually confident seductresses of future generations and the homoerotic undercurrents of several of her films titillated western audiences of her day and have become today's movie classics.

Georgia O’Keefe

Georgia was quite an artist. Her famous floral paintings have often been compared to thinly veiled artistic renderings of the female vagina. But Georgia not only painted provocative works, she also posed for them. While married to Arthur Stieglitz, a fellow artist who left his wife for her, Georgia became the subject of hundreds of erotic photographs. Georgia allowed these intimate photographs, many of which were nudes, to be included in a 1921 exhibit at the Anderson Galleries in New York.

Leonor Fini

Leonor Fini was an Argentine, surrealist painter who lived from 1907 to 1996. Acquainted with other famous surrealists of her day such as Salvador Dali and Max Ernst, Fini gained notoriety when she posted nude in a swimming pool and was photographed by Henri Cartier-Bresson. This image captured $305,000 at an auction in 2007, which to that day was the largest amount of money every paid for one of Cartier-Bresson’s works. Leonor was a bisexual who was quite accomplished at painting images of attractive, strong women engaged in provocative behavior. Many of her works marked a close resemblance to the artist herself. When men were included in her works, they were often depicted as the weaker sex, being dominated by women. 

Women of Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil is a virtual feast for the senses, with unconventional, sensual circus acts bathed in drama, drenched in rich color and enveloped in haunting music which is apropos to each performance. While each performer is exotic and sensual in their own right, there is something extraordinary about the women of Cirque. Perhaps it’s the erotic way that they contort their bodies much more like human pretzels than actual human beings. Their skin tight costumes often appear painted on, leaving few parts of the anatomy to the imagination. Zumanity, the sensual side of Cirque du Soleil, is a riveting, titillating spectacle meant to arouse passions and push the sensual bounds of theatrical performance. This is a not to be missed experience.