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Assignment 05

In Gayle Rubin’s, Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality, she discusses the sexual assumptions that restrict the formation of a radical theory as well as how they limit political discourse in the US. One assumption is the idea of sexual essentialism: the idea that sex is a natural force that is independent of social life. Sex is also seen as a negative thing by default as well. Sex itself is seen as harmful and a sin Any sexual behavior is seen as bad or negative in almost all situations unless there is a specific reason to exclude it from that judgement. There is also a ‘hierarchy’ of sexual value in society in which straight, reproducing males are at the top and their sexual actions are rewarded and seen as positive. Whereas the people placed lower in the hierarchy, their sexual acts are viewed as horrible and negative and they are seen as criminals.

Rubin mentions certain events that occurred in Europe and the US around the nineteenth century. People organized movements against masturbation, birth control, prostitution, etc and this led to all of these topics being seen as taboo for many years to come, even to this day. Political discussion about sexuality is limited in that it can’t be discussed as long as it is thought of as a biological phenomenon. Also, as long as it is a biological idea and not a social idea, political discourse about sexuality is heavily limited since it can be seen as a “human product.”