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Brian Watson has a masters degree from Drew university and has studied the history of obscenity. Source: Supplied
MEET the ‘Master’ of obscenity.
When it comes to the history of porn, sexuality and doing the wild thing, he’s in the know — but not for the reasons you might think.
Brian Watson is a 25-year-old from northern New Hampshire who works as a moderator on Reddit while he travels around Europe on a research and sightseeing trip.
He’s also a historian with a Masters of Arts focused on the history of pornography and obscenity, so he answers questions on sexuality, privacy and obscenity in theAskHistorians subreddit page as well.
On any given day he could be answering questions like: “How did couples with children have sex in one room houses?”
When it comes to the history of pornography Brian leaves no bone unturned in the sexual exploits of our historical ancestors.
“I try to keep a very open mind about sexuality and shifts in history and obscenity, but some things still genuinely surprise me and make me go “what the f***?” Brian told news.com.au
Have humans become more obscene over time? Kissing in 1896. Source: News Corp Australia
So is modern man more kinky than his predecessors?
“It’s my honest belief (and has thus far been supported by my research) that in most cases, we are no more or less weird sexually than all of our ancestors dating back to prehistoric times.
“Perhaps the weird or modern thing is the endless cataloguing and niche fetishes, but overall, nah, I think we’re just about the same as our ancestors,” he said.
Brian said he was deeply sceptical of arguments that “the internet caused this” when it came to human behaviours around sex.
“The people who claim these sorts of things are usually misinformed or ignorant of the long history surrounding sex and erotica/pornography.
Have humans become more obscene over time? Kissing in the 60s Source: News Corp Australia
“The group I did my masters thesis on, the Society for the Suppression of Vice, constantly claimed that they lived in the most obscene pornographic and depraved era that had ever existed, and their worst nightmare was a world where ‘everyone, man, woman, and child” had access to these terrible things.
“Well, we now live in their worst nightmare.
“The internet has created a world where everyone has access to pornography and obscenity, and despite the best (I think silly) efforts of governments such as Australia or the UK to control what gets accessed or represented, everyone is a few clicks away from pornography.
“If the internet has done anything in regards to privacy or obscenity, I agree that it has made westerners more accepting of erotic representation or discussion, in a way that earlier generations probably were not,” he said.
But it also opened up doors that hadn’t always been open.
“It has also helped individuals with alternative sexualities or identities — transgender or genderqueer individuals for example — gain community and support,” he said.
Have humans become more obscene over time? Kissing in the 90s Source: News Corp Australia
Reddit is made up of dozens of smaller subreddits and AskHistorians is modelled in a very specific way with a strict set of rules so that the site can offer “serious, academic-level answers” to questions about history.
Brian said he would delete questions which were deliberately sexist, racist or just creepy.
“For example, questions about Nazism coming from someone with a racist comment history will be closely monitored or even removed if there’s cause,” he said.
“This would also apply if someone came in asking about child pornography, or other such issues,” he said.
“If I felt a question was creepy or being asked in bad faith, I would likely remove it.”
So what are the strangest questions he gets asked?
“Probably the ones that inquire into my personal life, or interests, or anything along those lines. I tend to deflect them, for obvious reasons.
So (for all those playing along at home) how did people have sex back when families lived in one room?
“These things were common ... there were Cock and Hen bars in London, which would be equivalent to a singles bar today,” said Brian.
“In these clubs, what we would call nonpenatrative sex was on more or less public display, and indeed, it was common to see it in the streets as well.
“There was no police force to enforce public decorum as we have today in the late middle ages and early renaissance, it was quite common for households to be one room, and in particular, to have one shared bed for the entire family.
“This meant that children would be in bed and in all probability witness or be aware of their parents making their siblings.
Altogether now ... Ew!!!
Have humans become more obscene over time? Kissing in today’s era. Source: ThinkStock
About Brian:
How does someone end up studying the history of obscenity and porn?
“I was looking for a topic for my MA thesis — Drew (University) requires a thesis of 40-50 pages.
“The reason I was drawn to the history of pornography and obscenity is thus three-fold: Because of my backgrounds in English and History, I was drawn specifically to history of the book, which is my real focus, I’m a historian of the book.
“Additionally, I have always been interested in interdisciplinary history and material, and the topic I chose also touches on the history of censorship, the history of gender/sexuality, and legal history,” he said.
Brian said the MA course he studied required something ‘unique and novel’ to contribute to the field, and very few academics were doing it (pardon the pun).
“I did my MA thesis on the Society for the Suppression of Vice’, which was active in London from 1802 for nearly a century.
“They lobbied and succeeded in getting the Obscene Publications Act of 1857passed, which was the first law of its kind.
“My MA focused on this group, and with it, I connected two other major texts in my field — Bradford Mudge’s The Whore’s Story and Linda Siegel’s Governing Pleasures.
“The thesis was recognised and awarded by Drew as the best of the year,” he said
