The roots of Greek pederasty lie in the tribal past of Greece, before the rise of the city-state as a unit of political organization.
Furthermore, the boy’s genitals are exposed in the plaque, thus experts interpret this, and more evidence comparative to this, as the practice of pederasty. Such a concept is backed up by archeological evidence experts have found throughout the years, such as a bronze plaque of an older man carrying a bow an arrow while grabbing a younger man by the arms- who is carrying a goat. He was to educate, protect, love, and provide a role model for his eromenos, whose reward for him lay in his beauty, youth, and promise. In Athens the older man was called erastes.
A boy was considered a "boy" until he was able to grow a full beard. It was a relationship between an older male and an adolescent youth. The most common form of same-sex relationships between elite males in Greece was paiderastia (pederasty), meaning "boy love". Īttic kylix depicting a lover and a beloved (480–470 BCE) Ashmolean Museum Within the traditions of pederasty, active/passive polarization corresponded with dominant and submissive social roles: the active (penetrative) role was associated with masculinity, higher social status, and adulthood, while the passive role was associated with femininity, lower social status, and youth. Greek society did not distinguish sexual desire or behavior by the gender of the participants, but rather by the role that each participant played in the sex act, that of active penetrator or passive penetrated.
The ancient Greeks did not conceive of sexual orientation as a social identifier as modern Western societies have done. It is unclear how such relations between same-sex partners were regarded in the general society, especially for women, but examples do exist as far back as the time of Sappho. Though sexual relationships between adult men did exist, it is possible at least one member of each of these relationships flouted social conventions by assuming a passive sexual role according to Kenneth Dover, though this has been questioned by recent scholars. Nevertheless, homosexuality and its practices were still wide-spread as certain city-states allowed it, while others were ambiguous or prohibited it. The most widespread and socially significant form of same-sex sexual relations in ancient Greece amongst elite circles was between adult men and pubescent or adolescent boys, known as pederasty (marriages in Ancient Greece between men and women were also age structured, with men in their thirties commonly taking wives in their early teens). In classical antiquity, writers such as Herodotus, Plato, Xenophon, Athenaeus and many others explored aspects of homosexuality in Greek society.
Shunga, which euphemistically translates as ‘pictures of spring,’ is an important aesthetic reference in Japanese culture, with even artists such as Hokusai producing work in this vein.Young man and teenager engaging in intercrural sex, fragment of a black-figure Attic cup, 550 BC–525 BC, Louvre The prevalence of male homosexuality has often been attributed to the gender imbalance of the population during the Edo period, which was about 70% male, and the scenes in which partners are dressed in women’s attire refers to onnagata from Kabuki theatre, where men would play women’s roles. This age-structured sexuality came to be known as shudo, meaning ‘way of the young’. Many would enter into same sex relationships with older monks. These religious practices were replicated in samurai circles, and young samurai would be sent to Buddhist monasteries during training. The images often depict a sexuality derived from practices within monasteries when an older partner such as a priest or a monk would have sex with a younger, often pre-pubescent partner. The scenes contain a complex morality when considered by contemporary standards.
The aesthetic is said to be influenced by the illustrations of Chinese medicine manuals as well as the work of Zhou Fang, a Chinese painter from the Tang dynasty era who painted oversized genitals, which later became characteristic of many shunga artists. Printed with woodblock and produced in a broad spectrum of colours and details, the scrolls were intimate, erotic, and sometimes humorous. Shunga, or Japanese erotic art, was prolific in Japan during the Edo period, from 1603 to 1868. Images derived from ancient myth, the military, religion, theatre, class, and prostitution feature samurai or Buddhist monks engaging in gay sex with men often dressed as geisha. One notable vein of shunga is nanshoku, translating as ‘male colours’ and referring to gay erotic depictions.