Inis+Beag+Community+in+Ireland

=Inis Beag Community in Ireland= toc It is assumed the pronunciation of "Inis Beag" is "Ennis-Bay" (Doe, 2015). John Messenger, who researched the community in the 1950s and 60s, named them "Inis Beag" to protect their privacy (Durand-Drouhin, Szwengrub, & Mihailescu, 1981; University of California, Santa Barbara [UCSB], 2007).

Warning
The information shared is taken from various reports on Messenger's research of the community that was completed in the 1950s and 60s. No later or current research was found in the process of completing this assignment. Because Messenger's research was performed over 60 years ago, the community may have changed since then or since the re-publication of Messenger's research in 1983.

Location and Basic Demographics
The Inis Beag is a small community in Ireland, located on an isolated island among the Aran Islands west of the Galway Bay (Durand-Drouhin et al., 1981; Nanda & Warms, 2014 ). John Messenger did not reveal the exact location of the community in his research, but they are believed to have lived on the island of Inisheer (assumed pronunciation: "Ennis-Heer") (Durand-Drouhin et al., 1981).

The Inis Beag community is a rural, peasant, farming community of about 350 people (Durand-Drouhin et al., 1981; UCSB, 2007). Most inhabitants are affiliated with the Catholic church (Durand-Drouhin et al., 1981; UCSB, 2007).

Inis Beag and Sexuality
Many American sexologists would consider the Inis Beag community sexually repressed (Doe, 2015).

Why is it a sexually repressed community?
Sex was not discussed among individuals in the community (Nanda & Warms, 2014; UCSB, 2007). They did not discuss the body or reproduction (UCSB, 2007). Nudity and looking at the naked body was considered unacceptable (Nanda & Warms, 2014). Mothers who bathed their children only touched the face, neck, lower arms, hands, lower legs, and feet (UCSB, 2007). Because information about sex, the body, and reproduction were not discussed, they were uninformed about how to perform sex (Nanda & Warms, 2014). They learned information about sex by trial and error, believing "after marriage nature takes its course" (Nanda & Warms, 2014, p. 200). Any form of sexual expression led to punishment, which consisted of a beating or banishment for disagreeing with practices (UCSB, 2007). Dogs seen licking their genitals were beaten (UCSB, 2007).

Relationships
People in Inis Beag did not experience courtship (UCSB, 2007). Arranged marriages between 1 man and 1 woman were the accepted norm (UCSB, 2007). Individuals who did not marry remained celibate (UCSB, 2007).

Marital relations
Sex for procreation was the only acceptable type of sexual activity (Doe, 2015). Only the man-on-top (missionary) position was the acceptable sexual position for coitus (Doe, 2015). Sex was considered a duty (Nanda & Warms, 2014; UCSB, 2007). Refusal to engage in sexual activity was considered sinful (UCSB, 2007). Procreative sex resulted in families that averaged having 6.4 children ( Durand-Drouhin et al., 1981). Women did not know if they experienced an orgasm (Nanda & Warms, 2014; UCSB, 2007). Often the husband fell asleep soon after ejaculating (UCSB, 2007). Foreplay existed! It consisted of light kissing and groping the buttocks (Doe, 2015; UCSB, 2007).

Sexuality in Ireland
When considering the general sexual mores in Ireland, it is not surprising that the Inis Beag community followed sexually repressive practices. 90% of inhabitants are Catholic (Kelly & Walsh, n.d.)--Traditional Catholic beliefs only considered procreative sex as acceptable sexual behavior (Kellogg Spadt, Rosenbaum, Dweck, Milheiser, Pillai-Friedman, & Krychman, 2014). Any other sexual activities were considered sinful. Sex was associated with fear and guilt (Kelly & Walsh, n.d.). Heterosexual marriage was considered "proper" sexual expression, which "proper" sex being penile-vaginal intercourse (Kelly & Walsh, n.d.). Women were expected to be sexually available to men, and were believed to be passive and have weak sexual desires to be awaken by men (Kelly & Walsh, n.d.). Childless marriages were considered selfish (Kelly & Walsh, n.d.). It was acceptable for single individuals could be celibate (Kelly & Walsh, n.d.).