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Ah, sex. It’s a wonder how a mere three-letter word in our vast vocabulary is able to elicit and bring to mind incredibly powerful associations ranging from pop icons to skimpy undergarments (and, alas, oftentimes a combination of both). Or is it? Thanks to our contemporary flesh friendly media, sex is everywhere you want and don’t want it to be, a drastic change considering only decades ago the topic was a media no-no. In fact, sex seems to be the common denominator for a variety of products that would otherwise share nothing in common—Marilyn, lingerie, Maxim, oysters. What if there was a world where sex existed not as the focus of a marketing campaign but as a part of an individual’s cultural heritage? While it may sound far-fetched in this day and age, it’s true—there are still cultures that have a serious regard for sex and its significance.

In certain Australian, Melanesian, and Papuan tribes, sex is an important part of a young male’s maturation from a boy to a man. Before you jump to the conclusion that such a ritual is no different than that of young American youth eagerly anticipating the day they join their fellow birds and bees, take note that young adolescent males in these cultures begin their sexual development with other males in their tribe. That’s right. The initiation of boys into manhood starts with homosexual exploration. Giving oral sex to a slightly older male partner is a crucial part of young boys’ growth in some tribes. Such traditions are a perfectly normal and accepted rite of passage and viewed as a necessity for the youth to fully develop his sexuality.

Young girls also participate in a sexual rite of passage which leads them to adulthood. In rural areas of the Republic of Malawi, female virgins undergo a special ceremony specifically designed to teach them how to please men sexually. At the end of the ceremony, they each sleep with an older man called a “fisi,” or hyena, whose purpose is to guide the young woman in her sexual activity.

Sexual intercourse has another purpose in other African communities: to cleanse a widow of her deceased husband’s spirit. In certain parts of Kenya and the Republic of Malawi, women who have recently lost a husband are subject to this practice before they are allowed to continue life as usual. Certain Kenyan tribes have a designated man, known as “the cleanser,” who performs the ritual. Kenyan tradition insists that the widow must sleep with the cleanser if she wants permission to attend her husband’s funeral. Single Kenyan women who lost a parent or child are also subject to this tradition. The Republic of Malawi basically practices the same ritual, but the man whom the widow must sleep with is her deceased husband’s brother. The intercourse must be completed before the deceased may be buried.

Talk about hardcore rituals. While modern urbanites treat sex all too casually, there is clearly another end of the sexual spectrum that is quite grave. Kenyan women and the Malawi president are urging against the practice of spiritual cleansing due to the rapid transmission of HIV/AIDS through unprotected sex. Sex isn’t all about stripteases or steamy reality TV—sex is also a critical and revealing aspect of an individual’s culture and the toll it takes on those it affects.