Lascivious behavior
Lascivious behaviorissexual behavioror conduct that is considered crude and offensive, or contrary to local moral or other standards of appropriate behavior. In this sense, "lascivious" is similar in meaning to "lewd", "indecent", "lecherous", "unchaste","licentious "or"libidinous".
Legal usage
[edit]InAmerican legal jargon,lasciviousis a semi-technical term indicating immoral sexual actions and in certain cases, words or thoughts. It is often used in the legal description ofcriminalacts in which some sort ofsexual activityis prohibited. The legal definition of the term varies greatly across jurisdictions, and has evolved significantly over time, reflective of current moral values as they relate to sexuality.
For example, in 1896,lascivious cohabitationreferred to the now-archaiccrimeof living with a member of the opposite sex and havingpremarital sexwith him or her.[1]In 2015, the laws of three states of the United States (Florida,MichiganandMississippi) still considered "lascivious cohabitation" as a crime.[2]In 2016,Governor Rick Scottof Florida signed into law SB 0498 which no longer makes "lascivious cohabitation" a crime.[3]In 2023,Governor Gretchen Whitmerof Michigan signed into law SB 56 which no longer makes "lewd or lascivious cohabitation" a crime.[4]
In the 2000s, the term is often used as one of several adjectives to describepornography,solicitation for prostitution, and indecent acts, such as the exposure of one'sgenitaliain public (e.g.indecent exposure).
InAmerican law,mailing lascivious matter is prohibited thus:
Every obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, filthy or vile article, matter, thing, device, or substance... [i]s declared to be nonmailable matter and shall not be conveyed in the mails or delivered from any post office or by any letter carrier.[5]
"Lewd and lascivious" behavior has varying definitions across jurisdictions. Indecent exposure, for example, generally refers to the exposure of one's "private parts", which, as noted in a 1992 court case, depending on the jurisdiction, may or may not include one's buttocks, female breasts, or even pubic hair.[6]At that time, 22 states prohibited only indecent exposure of genitalia; "only three States (Indiana, Iowa, and New Mexico), would treat as indecent the intentional exposure of the genital area or pubic hair, and these jurisdictions do so by means of legislation which is explicit in its terms. It thus appears that the term 'indecent exposure' lacks a 'commonly understood meaning', when considered with respect to parts of the body other than the genitalia."[7]
Lechery
[edit]Lechery is a behavioral pattern that includes:
- Inordinate indulgence in sexual activity
- Unrestrained and promiscuous sexuality
- Immoderate indulgence of sexual desire
- Lewd andlustfulbehavior
Lechery is not the same aslust.Lust is an interior psychological state, thethinkingabout sex, the desire for it. Lechery is an outward behavior, a physical manifestation or behavior pattern of an interior condition of lust. Lust does not necessarily result in the action of lechery.[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^See e.g.Swearinger v. U.S.,161U.S.446(1896).
- ^Florida moves to repeal 1868 law banning 'sinful' cohabitation
- ^"Senate Bill 0498 (2016) - The Florida Senate".flsenate.gov.Retrieved2016-08-06.
- ^It's not illegal to live together as an unmarried couple anymore in Michigan
- ^18 U.S.C.§ 1461,interpreted inManual Enterprises, Inc. v. Day370U.S.478(1962), 482-484.
- ^People v. Santorelli,80 N.Y.2d 875,882 (NY App. Ct. 1992).
- ^Commonwealth v. Arthur,420 Mass. 535(Mass. Supreme Judicial Ct. 1995).
- ^Pope John Paul II, Mutual Attraction Differs from Lust. L'Osservatore Romano, Weekly Edition in English, 22 September 1980, p. 11. Available athttp:// ewtn /library/papaldoc/jp2tb39.htm
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