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I'm taking a Philosophy of Death class for fun, and I really struggled with my reply for one of our discussions. Therefore, I'm sharing it with you guys and seeing what you think. (Don't worry, you can share your opinions without me plagiarizing them on the class discussion board, this topic is over and done with now. xD)

I can't share the chapter in the textbook because the link is an internal school link and requires a login, but here is the commentary on the chapter. For those of you who don't feel like digging through the commentary, what Phillippe Aries is arguing in this chapter is that the tragedy of death shifted in the 17th-18th centuries from a tragedy to the individual who was dying to a tragedy for the people left behind. He called this period "Thy Death," as opposed to the previous period's designation of "One's Own Death." Death and dying was no longer orchestrated solely by the dying person, but included others to a great extent through new mourning rituals such as excessive displays of emotion and weeping and a predetermined mourning period where special mourning clothes were worn. Death became a very dramatic event for those who loved the dying person.

Due to the great damage now suffered by other people, death was portrayed more violently. In art, death was sometimes portrayed as raping the living. Other connections between death and sex were visible in plays such as Romeo and Juliet - the climax takes place in a tomb, Juliet kisses a dead man then stabs herself with a phallic object (dagger), for example. It is hypothesized that this developing connection between sex and death occurred because both were a "break" from normal life. This makes sense if you think about the highly ritualized nature of life during the 17th and 18th centuries. Both death and sex were taboo.

Okay, with that out of the way, here is the prompt:

"During the age of "Thy Death" there was a strong connection between death and sex. Today, which of these do you think is more taboo? And how does the relationship between the two now compare to the way it was then? (No, necrophilia does not count as a "relationship" between death and sex.)"

Discuss.

That's been possible since sex first came to be. Diseases like syphilis and gonorrhea have been around for centuries. Dying directly from sex isn't new.

I really don't think the views have changed very much, other than the fact that we're more comfortable with sex now than we were in the 17th - 18th centuries.

As far as which is more taboo, definitely sex unless we're focusing on how the person has died.

Interesting points, guys.

I finally ended up saying that death is more taboo because by and large modern culture seems to me all about how to be happy, how to be entertained, how to enjoy oneself, etc. Therefore sex has lost its taboo status because it makes people happy, but death rarely does.

I definitely agree with Pooky in saying that depends on the country or region, etc.

just reading the name on this thread made me think of the #1 way to die on 1,000 ways to die 3nodding

sorry if this post isn't relevant to your discussion, I just figured I'd put it out there sweatdrop

firstly, sex is not taboo nowadays.
we live in a consumer-capitalist society where instant gratification is glorified. all our lives, we are bombarded by the media. everyone wants to sell us this and that product, the latest trend, a concert ticket, a DVD, etc. it's all the same, because it's all about instant gratification.
sex is the pinnacle of what we call instant gratification, and you don't need to think too hard to see that this is true. nowadays, we spend four whole lives trying to get pleasure and trying to be happy for a few moments. isn't this exactly what sex is all about?

second of all, i think that death is a lot more taboo today than it used to be. death is something unknown, and we are instincively scared of anything that is unknown. this has come to be this way because religion has become less and less important in our modern world. people used to follow religion unquestionably and were therefore "certain" about what would happen to them after death. now, with all this doubt over religion, no one really knows anymore, and people are afraid. therefore, they'd rather not even think about it.

here is a simple exercise:
try to think of the last time you had a casual but serious discussion about what happens after death with your friends.
now, count the number of times you've discussed anything sexual with your friends.

(keep in mind, none of this necessarily applies in some eastern cultures where religion is still the key focus. (i.e. tibet?))

Neither is taboo and I know alot of friends like mixing the two. >>
(no they arent necros but they find something sexual about death in general kinda like the romeo and juliet thing you mentioned)
Personally I think neither were ever taboo for different cultures and individual people in some other cultures never thought like that so it wasnt very taboo to begin with. >>