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Assignment 05

In Gayle Rubin’s essay, “Thinking Sex: Notes from a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality”, the political discourse on sexuality is the main focus of Rubin’s work. In society, the main revolving issue around sexuality is the assumptions determined by civilization because of the identified sex at birth. The absence of bold conversation on the topic of sexuality incites fear in society and when people who are sexually liberated and choose to express themselves, it is seen as something abnormal. The idea of masturbation, abortion, and pornographic literature and art were seen as negative actions to be taken by people and assumptions set by western culture of who women and men are supposed to sexually desire placed a limit on the political discourse on sexuality. Throughout history society has not been specifically kind to members of the homosexual community and this institutionalized stigma against homosexuals is still carried by members of society today and has continued “Queer Bashing” which during the time period from 1940s to 1981 has done more damage than good; attacking gay bars, deeming the name “sex offender’ as an acceptable nicknames for gay people, and arresting them on the sole basis of whom they choose to love. What I found most interesting was Rubin’s hierarchy of sexual activity, the system places heterosexuals at the top allowing them the ability to advance in society meanwhile people with disabilities or abnormalities suffer at the bottom of the pyramid with no type of plan to be able to advance following homosexual people as well. Sexuality has it’s own politics that work behind the scene which are ever-more present now that it is becoming socially acceptable to be homosexual and it is even legal in countries across the globe but, because it’s legal doesn’t mean there isn’t limitations to these new laws.