Hist 322 Final Exam
Student Name
Professor Name
Institution
Course
Date
, 2
Part 1
Question 2: “Describe men’s sexuality in the middle ages, early modern period, and the
eighteenth century. What changed and what remained the same?”
Middle Ages
First, when it comes to the Middle Ages, particularly years before 1500, men's sexuality
was mainly influenced and shaped by religion (mainly Christianity) (Wiesner-Hanks, 2024).
During this time, the concept of sex was only acceptable inside marriage and mainly meant for
having children. However, this was not always the case in real life, as there were many men who
could still have sexual relationships outside marriage with people like prostitutes. It is clear that
even such behaviours were largely seen as sinning, they were still quietly tolerated (Wingard,
2023). At the same time, while same-sex sexual acts between men also existed during this
period, this was not understood as sexual identity as it is in the modern world (Wingard, 2023).
In the Middle Ages, same-sex acts between men were considered “sodomy” and were
condemned by the Church. Men were also believed to have strong sexual urges, which created a
double standard where male behaviour was sometimes excused more easily than female
behaviour.
Early Modern Period
In the early modern period (1500 to 1700), attitudes toward men’s sexuality became more
regulated and more controlled by both religion and the state (Shamgunova, 2021). Actually,
during this period, there were stronger laws that were introduced against sexual behaviour that
were considered to be “immoral,” and this mostly included adultery and same-sex acts. For
Student Name
Professor Name
Institution
Course
Date
, 2
Part 1
Question 2: “Describe men’s sexuality in the middle ages, early modern period, and the
eighteenth century. What changed and what remained the same?”
Middle Ages
First, when it comes to the Middle Ages, particularly years before 1500, men's sexuality
was mainly influenced and shaped by religion (mainly Christianity) (Wiesner-Hanks, 2024).
During this time, the concept of sex was only acceptable inside marriage and mainly meant for
having children. However, this was not always the case in real life, as there were many men who
could still have sexual relationships outside marriage with people like prostitutes. It is clear that
even such behaviours were largely seen as sinning, they were still quietly tolerated (Wingard,
2023). At the same time, while same-sex sexual acts between men also existed during this
period, this was not understood as sexual identity as it is in the modern world (Wingard, 2023).
In the Middle Ages, same-sex acts between men were considered “sodomy” and were
condemned by the Church. Men were also believed to have strong sexual urges, which created a
double standard where male behaviour was sometimes excused more easily than female
behaviour.
Early Modern Period
In the early modern period (1500 to 1700), attitudes toward men’s sexuality became more
regulated and more controlled by both religion and the state (Shamgunova, 2021). Actually,
during this period, there were stronger laws that were introduced against sexual behaviour that
were considered to be “immoral,” and this mostly included adultery and same-sex acts. For
