The Domesticated Penis: How Womanhood Has Shaped Manhood

252 Pages·2015·8.25 MB·English

by  Loretta A. Cormier and Sharyn R. Jones

The Domesticated Penis
THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA PRESS | TUSCALOOSA
THE
Domesticated
penis

how womanhood

has shaped manhood
Loretta A. Cormier & Sharyn R. Jones
The University of Alabama Press
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487–0380
uapress.ua.edu
Copyright © 2015 by the University of Alabama Press
All rights reserved.
Inquiries about reproducing material from this work should
be addressed to the University of Alabama Press.
Typeface: Scala Pro
Manufactured in the United States of America
Cover photograph: Iculanibokola, a penis-shaped cannibal
fork used by Fijian chiefs; replica in the Fiji Museum; photo
by James P. Cormier
Cover design: Michele Myatt Quinn
∞
The paper on which this book is printed meets the minimum
requirements of American National Standard for Informa-
tion Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI Z39.48–1984.
Cataloging-in-Publication data is available from the
Library of Congress.
ISBN: 978-0-8173-1874-1
E-ISBN: 978-0-8173-8850-8
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
1
The Human Penis | Why Study the Phallus? 1
2
The Sexual Penis | The Phallus in Evolutionary Perspective 9
3
The Patriarchal Penis | Phallic Cults and the Dawn of Agriculture 45
4
The Cultural Penis | Diversity in Phallic Symbolisms 88
5
The Erotic-Exotic Penis | Phallic Facts and Fictions 113
6
The Domesticated Penis | The Phallus and the Future 132
Epilogue 147
Notes 151
References 175
Index 225

Illustrations
2.1 “Two Female Bonobos GG-Rubbing” 16
3.1 Egyptian obelisk, Boboli Gardens of the Pitti Palace, Florence, Italy 56
3.2 Priapus, god of fertility, depicted on the wall in the doorway of the
House of Vettii at Pompeii 59
3.3 Bronze statue of the faun in the impluvium at the House of the
Faun, Pompeii 62
3.4 Phallic house relief and fresco located along one of the main streets
in Pompeii 63
3.5 Penis image carved on the street in Pompeii 63
3.6 Fountain depicting the Roman god Neptune in the Boboli Gardens
of the Pitti Palace, Florence, Italy 64
3.7 Copy of Michelangelo’s David statue, Piazza della Signoria,
Florence, Italy 65
3.8 Obelisk in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican in Rome, Italy 65
3.9 Renaissance bronze sculpture of Perseus with Medusa’s head,
Loggia dei Lanzi of the Piazza della Signoria, Florence, Italy 66
3.10 Harappan seals from Early Indus Period 68
3.11 Elaborate Shiva linga carving with head motif, National Museum
of India in New Delhi 68
3.12 Miniature Shiva linga and yoni shrine next to a Ganesha statue
in north India 69
viii | ILLUSTRATIONS
3.13 Shiva linga and yoni shrines are still produced in Asia for the
tourist trade and for purposes of worship 70
3.14 Ancient Shiva linga and yoni shrine at the Angkor Wat temple
complex of Cambodia 71
3.15. Ancient Shiva linga shrine at Bayon temple in Angkor Thom
at the Angkor Wat complex in Cambodia 72
3.16 Stone phallus at Shinto shrine 72
3.17 Carving along the Terrace of the Leper King at Angkor Thom
in the Angkor Wat complex in Cambodia 73
3.18 Painting depicting penises on the wall of a house and gallery
in Bhutan 78
3.19 Phallic drinking fountain in front of a house in Nepal 79
4.1 Bullroarer 89
4.2 Phallic cornerstone marker in front of a church in Rome, Italy 108
4.3 Cerne Abbas giant in Dorset, England 109
Acknowledgments
Special thanks go to Sherrie Alexander, Lisa Baker, James Cormier, Joan Fer-
rante, William Landon, Jill Pruett, and Ashley Wilson.