A widespread way of treating certain aspects of the body among Haredim is to refrain from mentioning them, as if they had no existence in reality. During adolescence, when the sexual body is being discovered, giving rise to questions and insecurities, there is a conspicuous and lamentable lack of explanations and support.
Written By Professor Gideon Aran
Precisely when the potential for crisis is at its peak, there is virtually no established recognition among the Haredim whatsoever. The age of bodily awakening rapidly becomes the age of bodily denial. Ignorance and mystery are formed around the body and sex, which can have grave consequences, such as emotional trauma caused by what is experienced as failure at a crucial bodily test – losing one’s virginity on one’s wedding night.
Haredi society tries to control sexuality and organize the body while refraining from talking about them in a positive, clear and convincing way. Ultimately, more than anything else that they do concerning their bodies, the Haredim are, above all, silent about them.
Taken from “Denial Does Not Make The Haredi Body Go Away Ethnography of a Disappearing (?) Jewish Phenomenon”, By Prof. Gideon Aran.
