Flirt - a behavior that attracts the attention of a potential sexual partner, coquetry

Flirt - a behavior that attracts the attention of a potential sexual partner, coquetry. Sometimes it serves as a prelude to sex, sometimes it is an expression of sympathy, in some cases it is an attraction of attention, just a game, entertainment.

Origin of the word

Flirt - from the English word English. flirt - courtship, coquetry, love game.

In English, it came from Old French, where its roots go back to Latin, to the word "Latin." florem ”- flower. French "fr. fleurette ”meant a flower, from flirting with flowers and the word flirt went. The Brockhaus and Efron Small Encyclopedic Dictionary [2] defines “flirting” as a special form of the manifestation of sexual feeling, which is expressed in flirtatious flirtation with looks, words, mock and unintentional touches, etc.

Meanwhile, the history of flirting goes back centuries and can be traced back to the times of Cleopatra (69-30 BC). The last queen of Egypt from the Ptolemaic dynasty introduced the incense and oils, which she used to attract the attention of the opposite sex. She also invented herbal teas to give your eyes a special shine.

In a certain set of rules of conduct flirting finally took shape in the XVII-XVIII centuries. The birth of the new meaning of the word "flirt" was described by the English writer Lord Chesterfield. According to him, at one of the high-society receptions, Lady Francis opened and closed her fan, hid her whole face for him, leaving only her eyes. And when a man jokingly talking to her made a remark to her for such tantalizing behavior, she replied that it was only a “flirt”, she was only waving a fan. With her light hand, this word was widely spread first in Britain, and then throughout the world.

Technique heterosexual flirting

Leonard Louis Levinson (“Flirting: when a girl doesn’t know what she wants, but achieves this in every way” [3]) approached the definition of the technique of flirting, and Wojciech Bartoszewski, who said: “The goal of all love maneuvers is to fall together, and as close as possible to each other. " According to the sexologist Alexander Poleev, flirting is a woman’s way to let a man know that she is ready to consider him as a sexual partner. However, flirting was not a purely female privilege, it was not for nothing that the names Don Juan and Casanova became synonymous with the seducer. In Italy, under the window of a lady, it was customary to perform serenades, in England - to send flowers with a messenger, putting a scented business card in a bouquet. And if you turn, for example, to the history of everyday life and customs of Russia, then you can find more "tangible" evidence that prescribed an active role for a man - for example, a spindle. With the help of this small and elegant little thing, within the framework of traditions, a guy could draw the attention of a girl she liked. To hand it in was taken at gatherings, which were arranged in villages and winter evenings. If the girl came to the next gatherings with a gift, then she is ready to accept courtship.

In merchant circles, “flirting” with girls was made with gingerbread, sweets and flowers. In the book "Encyclopedia of rites and customs" we read:

“In the middle-class urban environment on Sunday (on weekdays, girls from“ decent families ”were not allowed), parties were held. They sang to the guitar or accordion romances, played exciting games - flirting colors, paint, telephone, forfeits ... a tall, slim girl stood modestly in place, not lifting her eyes, and the young people circled around her and looked in ... In winter for high school students and students arranged paid evening, which was attended by educated merchant and noble youth. They danced to the waltzes and mazurkas. A young man as a sign of sympathy could give his partner flowers that were sold in the form of small bouquets at the entrance to the hall. ”

Art of flirting

If we consider flirting as a set of tricks with the help of which the attention of the opposite sex is attracted, then the legislators in this sphere were undoubtedly Italy and France.

In the 14th century, in the Renaissance, Giovanni Boccaccio described the customs of the Italian court in his famous Decameron. It was in those days that seduction began to turn into art. Clothes, shoes, hairstyles, accessories, perfumes and behavior - all served as a means to achieve the goal.

Both courtesans and court ladies, trying to emphasize their feminine attractiveness, made intricate hairstyles, tightly tightened the corset, put on low-fashioned dresses, exposing shoulders and chest, using exquisite perfumes and cosmetics for eyes and lips. Gold jewelry - earrings, necklaces, bracelets - were designed to attract the attention of men to the naked neck and wrists. A fan, an umbrella or a bouquet of flowers in his hands completed the outfit of a lady ready for departure and flirtation. At the same time, men armed with cylinders, monocles or lorgnets, neckerchiefs and pins ...

By sunset - all on the "Strelka"!
Fountains in every lady
Accord of Garlenovsky Vials
And breathes subtle spirits
From green lawns! ..
And in a continuous labyrinth
Coats of arms, stones and toilets -
Cylinders rise
And lornets are proudly squinting ...

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wrote the poet N. Ya. Agnivtsev about Petersburg evenings on Elagin Island, which in 1817 became a favorite place for romantic dates. The Strelka then called the western part of the island overlooking the bay, and the greening lawns, as a joke, were ladies' hats, which were fashionable to decorate with fresh flowers so tightly that they resembled flower beds.

When writing this article, material from the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (1890-1907) was used.

Criticism

Members of the Anti-Flirt Club

In the early 1920s, the Anti-Flirt Club operated in the American city of Washington, whose goal was to protect women from unwanted attention from men. The rules of the club categorically warned against flirting and pointed to its negative consequences.