This OG Dating Practice Involved Getting Tied Up By Your Mom in Bed
We all know that dating has made some major changes in the last 200 years.
Some of these changes are great, like women being able to express their sexuality. Some of these changes are not so great, like being expected to bang some rando you talked to for five minutes on Tinder.
But don’t you go complaining that the “hook-up culture” is ruining your life, because you could be subjected to the 17th-century dating practice of bundling.
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WTF is bundling? Glad you asked.
You see, bundling was a practice that involved getting tied up in your parents bed by your mother, who then placed a thick wooden board next to you, and only then allowed your date to lay down next to the board.
Fun!
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From Atlas Obscura:
When two teens were interested in one another, if both sets of parents approved, the girl’s parents invited the boy to the home, often on Saturday nights, and bundling process began. The bundling bag, a readily available, makeshift chastity device, was normally tied around the lower half of the girl’s body, though some accounts claim that each young person was placed into a bundling bag up to their necks, if possible.
The practice was done in Ireland, the rural United Kingdom, and the New England colonies from the 16th into the 18th centuries, according to Atlas Obscura. Then, Christian and Amish communities in the ’60s tried to have a revival because bundling was just so fun and they figured might as well let their horny kid hang with their bae in the house rather than in a movie theater.
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The crazy thing is, this practice was actually pretty scandy. In fact, preachers spoke out about this practice for “teetering on the edge of dangerous promiscuity.” Because even though there were bundles and a wooden board, somehow the couple still found a way to get their freak on. I mean, honestly, what can you expect with those raging hormones?
