Stephen Houston > Quotes

“It has been suggested that genders or even sexual distinctions among the Classic Maya were fluid and, in the jargon of present-day academic language, “performed” or “inscribed,” as though physical attributes could be reconfigured by force of will or caprice of thought (e.g., R. Joyce 2000a:6–10, 64–66, 78–79, 178). The distinction here between gender, a series of learned habits and attitudes linked with sex, and sex itself, a biological property, is basic, although a number of scholars have begun to assert that the latter, too, is culturally conditioned (Gosden 1999:146–150; cf. Astuti 1998:46–47; Stein 1992:340–350).”
― Stephen Houston, The Memory of Bones: Body, Being, and Experience among the Classic Maya

“Most enema scenes are intensely sociable ones, with two or more people gathered around a vessel that supports, on its lid, a cup for drinking and a syringe for enemas (e.g., K530, K4605).”
― Stephen Houston, The Memory of Bones: Body, Being, and Experience among the Classic Maya

“Among contemporary highland Maya, women pluck their husband’s facial hair as a form of sexual foreplay (Allen Christenson, personal communication, 2003).”
― Stephen Houston, The Memory of Bones: Body, Being, and Experience among the Classic Maya