Venus Victrix: The History of Sex, Power, and Female Desire

When we talk about Venus Victrix, the Roman goddess of victory in love and war, often depicted as a powerful, commanding figure who wielded sexuality as both weapon and gift. Also known as Venus Victorious, she wasn’t just about beauty—she was about control, influence, and the quiet force of desire that moved empires. Unlike passive goddesses of fertility, Venus Victrix didn’t wait to be chosen. She won. She seduced. She commanded. And in ancient Rome, that made her dangerous—and unforgettable.

Her image shows up in art, law, and literature long before modern feminism. She’s tied to Cleopatra’s red lipstick, which wasn’t just makeup—it was a political signal. She’s in the Etruscan tomb paintings where sex wasn’t scandalous, it was sacred, guiding souls into the afterlife. She’s in the Victorian-era medical devices sold to treat "female hysteria," disguised as therapy but used by women to claim pleasure on their own terms. And she’s in the banned Elizabethan poem that mocked male impotence and celebrated female agency. Gender roles, the unspoken rules about how men and women should act, feel, and desire. Also known as socialized sexuality, they’ve always been shaped by who gets to define pleasure—and who gets silenced. Venus Victrix didn’t fit the mold. She broke it. And every time a woman claimed her orgasm, challenged a law, or refused to be erased from history, she echoed Venus Victrix.

From the dowry systems of medieval Europe to the AI-generated porn of today, power has always been dressed in desire. The same forces that tried to shame women for masturbating still whisper today in the "orgasm gap" and the silence around bisexual erasure. But history doesn’t stay buried. The clitoral orgasm, once denied by medicine, was reclaimed by Anne Koedt. The gay bars raided by police became sites of revolution. The steam-powered vibrators meant to cure hysteria became tools of liberation. Erotic symbolism, the hidden language of sex in art, myth, and ritual. Also known as sexual iconography, it’s how cultures whisper truths they dare not say aloud. These aren’t just old stories. They’re the roots of today’s fights—for consent, for visibility, for the right to want without apology.

What follows is a collection of articles that trace Venus Victrix’s shadow across time: from the temple rites of ancient Etruria to the legal battles over LGBTQ+ housing rights, from the erased lesbian archives to the rise of sex robots that can’t feel but are programmed to please. You’ll find how power, shame, and desire have danced together for centuries—and how the women and queer people who refused to be silent are rewriting the rules. This isn’t just history. It’s a map. And you’re holding it.