Sex isn’t always about love, lust, or even biology. For centuries, it’s also been about ritual, fear, luck, and timing. When people don’t understand something—or want to control it—they turn to rules. Superstitions are some of the weirdest.
“Sex-related superstitions reflect deeper cultural anxieties,” says Emily Conway, CEO of Dragon Toys. “They can create structure around something most societies struggle to talk about openly.”
Here are ten that have somehow stood the test of time.
1. Masturbation Makes the Crops Grow
Some pagan rituals involved group masturbation to honor fertility gods and spark a good harvest. Sex, as agriculture.
2. Holy Week Hookups Might Get You Stuck
Colombian folklore warns couples against having sex during Holy Week. Do it, and you risk getting physically fused together mid-act. A built-in deterrent for sin.
3. Tripping Someone Means You Want Them
During the Guajiros tribe’s Chichimaya dance, flirtation comes with footwork. If a woman trips a man and he falls, it’s taken as a sexual claim. No words needed.
4. Green Hats = Cheating
Wearing a green hat near your partner is a serious faux pas in Chinese culture. The phrase “wearing a green hat” translates directly to “being cheated on.” Men skip it entirely.
5. Bedroom Mirrors Will Ruin You
Thailand’s superstition about mirrors by the bed warns of obsessive desires and overactive urges. Reflection, in this case, invites temptation.
6. Don’t Toast Without Eye Contact
In Germany, skipping eye contact during a toast is more than a faux pas. It’s believed to doom your sex life for seven years.
7. Yellow Flowers Kill Romance
In Russia, gifting yellow flowers to a romantic partner isn’t sweet; it’s actually a warning. They are often associated with betrayal and breakups. Stick to literally any other color.
8. Cake Under the Pillow Predicts Your Spouse
This Anglo-American tradition involves sleeping with a slice of wedding cake under your pillow to dream of your future spouse. It’s still popular at weddings today.
9. Brooms Are Love Repellents
Letting a broom sweep over your feet in Italian folklore means you’ll never get married. Grandmothers still scold their kids over this one.
10. Red Underwear = New Year, New Sex Life
In parts of the Philippines, Italy, and Spain, wearing red underwear on New Year’s Eve is believed to boost your romantic prospects in the year ahead. What you wear under your clothes might say more than you think.
They’re rarely logical, often outdated, and somehow still everywhere. Sex superstitions live on because they offer some sort of “control” over a very complicated, emotional, and personal act.
The post 10 Bizarre Sex Superstitions From Around the World appeared first on VICE.
