‘—

Assignment 05

Gayle Rubin, in her essay “Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality,” highlights the critical assumptions about sex that have hindered the growth of a radicalized theory of sex.

According to Figure 9.1, “good” and “normal” sexuality “should ideally be heterosexual, marital, monogamous, reproductive, and non-commercial” (10)  Any sexuality outside of those criterions are deemed to be “bad” and “unnatural,” supported by false assumptions that homosexuality and prostitution symbolize a dangerous, immoral society.

Homosexuals have been one of the main scapegoats regarding “unnatural” sex.  The homosexual was deemed a ‘menace’ around World War II, and soon after, state and federal legislatures passed laws that authorized employers to discriminate against their employees based on their sexual orientation.  This job discrimination, based on the assumption that homosexuals were a threat to the community, discouraged countless homosexuals to pursue their field of work, and limited them to low-status, low-income occupations.

Sex-workers too, were portrayed as a threat to “health and safety, women and children, national security, or civilization itself” (21).  The sexual behavior of prostitutes was recognized as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association, which implied they were not as emotionally and mentally capable due to their sexual behaviors and orientation.  Sex-workers were therefore vulnerable to irrational persecution by law-enforcement, especially during times of intense moral panic.

Even if it lacked harm, acts including masturbation, prostitution, homosexuality, and pornography were taboo and therefore deemed a threat to society in the United States.  These assumptions were ultimately counterproductive and limited political discourse on sexuality by promoting standards which ostracized and penalized those who did not identify with the heterosexual or monogamous agenda.  The oppression and condemnation of sexual diversity thus hindered the possibility to learn about and respect “abnormal” sexual preferences, and discouraged the possibility for growth of those deemed the “sexual deviants” of society.