Inis Beag is a remote island off the coast of Connemara

Connemara

Connemara is a district in the west of Ireland consisting of a broad peninsula between Killary Harbour and Kilkieran Bay in the west of County Galway.-Overview:...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 and near the Aran Islands

Aran Islands

The Aran Islands or The Arans are a group of three islands located at the mouth of Galway Bay, on the west coast of Ireland. They constitute the barony of Aran in County Galway, Ireland...

. It contains a small, isolated Gaelic-speaking

Gaeltacht

is the Irish language word meaning an Irish-speaking region. In Ireland, the Gaeltacht, or an Ghaeltacht, refers individually to any, or collectively to all, of the districts where the government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant language, that is, the vernacular spoken at home...

 Irish Catholic

Irish Catholic

Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...

 community which cultural anthropologist

Cultural anthropology

Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans, collecting data about the impact of global economic and political processes on local cultural realities. Anthropologists use a variety of methods, including participant observation,...

 John Cowan Messenger observed in his study "Sex and Repression in an Irish Folk Community." During the period of his study between 1958 and 1966, Inis Beag supported a population of around 350, mostly living by subsistence farming and fishing. Its true identity is almost certainly Inisheer.

Messenger's study of this island community has often been cited by anthropologists

Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...

 and sexologists

Sexology

Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behavior, and function. The term does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sex, such as political analysis or social criticism....

 as an example of extreme sexual repression

Sexual repression

Sexual repression, also known as sexual ethics, is a state in which a person is prevented from expressing their sexuality. Sexual repression is often associated with feelings of guilt or shame being associated with sexual impulses...

. Inis Beag had no formal sex education

Sex education

Sex education refers to formal programs of instruction on a wide range of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, abstinence, contraception, and...

, and sexual intercourse

Sexual intercourse

Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...

 was treated by both sexes as a necessary evil which must be endured for the sake of reproduction

Human reproduction

Human reproduction is any form of sexual reproduction resulting in the conception of a child, typically involving sexual intercourse between a man and a woman. During intercourse, the interaction between the male and female reproductive systems results in fertilization of the woman's ovum by the...

. Phenomena such as menstruation

Menstruation

Menstruation is the shedding of the uterine lining . It occurs on a regular basis in sexually reproductive-age females of certain mammal species. This article focuses on human menstruation.-Overview:...

 and menopause

Menopause

Menopause is a term used to describe the permanent cessation of the primary functions of the human ovaries: the ripening and release of ova and the release of hormones that cause both the creation of the uterine lining and the subsequent shedding of the uterine lining...

 were regarded with fear and disgust. Breast-feeding was avoided. Not only was premarital sex

Premarital sex

Premarital sex is sexual activity, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex, practiced by persons who are unmarried. Although it has always been practiced, in the West it has increased in prevalence since the mid-1950s...

 almost non-existent, but kissing, caressing and any affection was seen as too sexual and was therefore prohibited. Nudity was extremely private, to the extent that even a married couple conducted intercourse in the dark and fully clothed, except for genitals. Sex was also practiced only in the missionary position

Missionary position

The missionary position is a "man-on-top" sex position usually described as the act in which the woman lies on her back and the partners face each other. Though often acted on and applied by heterosexual pairings, it may also be used by gay and lesbian couples.The missionary position is an example...

. Any variation of sex was seen as deviant and sin

Sin

In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...

ful.

Bathing was also 'unknown' and the average age at marriage was 36 for men and 25 for women. A man was considered a 'boy' until the age of 40. Dogs were also whipped for licking their genitals. The repressive atmosphere, according to the researchers, led to high levels of masturbation

Masturbation

Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...

, drinking

Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...

 and alcohol-fueled fights.

Real location

According to UCSB SexInfo: Sex in a Conservative Society: Inis Beag, Ireland the real location of Inis Beag is an island off the coast of Connemara, across the bay from the small fishing port of Roundstone

Roundstone, County Galway

Roundstone is a village in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland, located on the west coast of Ireland. The town of Clifden is nearby to the north....

. The actual name of that island is Inishnee

Inishnee

Inishnee is a small island off the shore of Ireland, in Roundstone Bay near the village of Roundstone in Connemara in County Galway. The island is equipped with a lighthouse. As of 2006, it had a population of 28.- External links :* *...

.

External links

• UCSB SexInfo: Sex in a Conservative Society: Ines Beag, Ireland
• http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/IES/ireland.html
• Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States
• John Messenger bio