í Assignments

The concept of sexuality in the United States is one that is controversial and difficult to understand. According to Rubin, the topic of sexuality consists of its own internal politics and forms of oppression. She believes that sex is always political, as it is a product of human activity and is in conflict with political influence. Rubin begins her argument by discussing the social movements occurring in England and the US during the nineteenth century that fought to condone chastity, eradicate prostitution, and prevent masturbation, especially in the young. Beginning at an early stage, the initial intent was to avoid the exploitation and free practice of sexuality. Ultimately, it was seen as something that was limited solely to reproduction, but was excused by marriage, love, and sometimes, a long-term relationship. Rubin continues to discuss how masturbation was considered unhealthy and would hinder the health and maturation of a child. It was deemed that an early interest in sex and sexual excitement would not allow for proper growth. In an attempt to protect the young, parents would tie their children down at night to prevent them from touching themselves. Eventually, this idea that sex is generally harmful to the young has slowly become embedded into people’s minds, affecting social and legal structures and keeping minors separated from sexual understanding and experience.

With time, sex laws began to move into full effect, as the 1950s shed new light on homosexuality. Evidently, this concept did not sit well with societal norms, as it led to the creation and fear of the title “sex offender” and the term “homosexual menace”. Initially, the term sex offender pertained to rapists and child molesters, yet with time, it linked entirely to homosexuality. Soon enough, the war on homosexuals began, where witch hunts and purges ran ramped. Police force became prominent as bars were raided and streets were swept, in a violent attempt to run out the gay community. Arrests became more and more frequent, as police arrested over 400 people in parks, streets, and other forms of local gay nightlife. This resulted in “queer bashing”, which discriminated against homosexuals in violent and forceful ways. The forceful negativity is only the tip of the iceberg on the concept of sexuality. Situations that are anything out of the societal norm result in dangerous backlash, as it stirs up the learned ideals of society that individuals have become used to. Rubin makes this clear in many instances, such as the development of laws against these ‘abnormal’ situations. One in particular is the Family Protection Act, which essentially, aims to attack feminism, homosexuals, non-traditional families, and the sexual privacy of teens. This act is not expected to be passed but the fact that an act such as this one has made its way into the minds of others is quite unsettling. Ultimately, the acceptance of differing forms of sexuality is difficult in a society that has already developed its pre-meditated perspective on what is right and what is wrong. Rubin sheds light on these concerns in this piece, as she believes that without any dramatic change anytime soon, we should be expecting much more of the same.

While reading Gayle Rubin’s “Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality,” I thought about my experience with Catholic school. I attended Catholic School (almost) my entire life, I remember in high school we were assigned a project on abortion that instructed us to argue the side of prolife and prochoice. The argument for prolife was that if you’re not prepared to have a child then you simply shouldn’t have sex. This argument is completely unrealistic and illogical, but in an environment that has directly and indirectly programed us to think that premarital sex (and sometimes just sex itself) is sinful and wrong – the argument makes perfect sense. This bias permeates the political realm as well and prevents us from having logical and rational conversations about important issues regarding sex.

When Rubin talks about the far right making a case in the late 1960s that SEICUS (the Sex Information and Education Council of the United States) and proper sexual education would destroy the family and that similar practices and organizations would somehow tarnish morale and tamper with race relations. I think there is a huge problem with placing ideas of morality on sexual behavior. Sex is something that is natural and (arguably) the basis of existence (to reproduce and procreate – in a biological sense, the ability to reproduce determines the success of a species) and comes with risks that we must be prepared for. A refusal to educate people on sex can result in unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and psychological problems that can result from non-consensual sex or fear of judgement.

I think that Foucault’s “The History of Sexuality” gives a more accurate explanation of sex – as a natural libido trying to break free from social constraints. He says that new sexualities are constantly produced, arguing that social sexual practices are always evolving and always changing, which means society must be aware and conscious of those changes and the new identities that may emerge from such a progression.

The assumptions that sex is sinful, that premarital sex is wrong, that the only purpose of sex is to have children in an ideological family, and that the negative repercussions of sex are consequences of poor moral practices is extremely regressive and dangerous. The far right has used religion as a justification for a certain moral high ground that (they think) grants them the right to tell other people how they need to behave in their private lives. I find it ironic that these people feel a moral superiority and a moral obligation to better society with a no-sex agenda, but don’t think to extend that moral obligation to orphans, homeless people, underprivileged children, veterans, sick people without access to healthcare and so much more. It is indicative that this “moral standard” is not moral, but religious. Religion can serve as a base for one’s identity and it is difficult to change people’s minds when their opinion is tied to their identity. Although we have come a long way and have sexual education programs and access to sexual care, it is astonishing and troubling that we are still having arguments about Planned Parenthood and contraceptive care.

The discussion of sex in the United States if often very limited; it focuses on only straight couples, most of which are both white and probably married or in a romantic relationship. Western society tends to ignore the topics of homosexuality, casual sex, sex outside of marriage, sex for pleasure, and this inhibits the ability for sex theory to develop. This issue is deep-rooted in the history of the United States, with laws that criminalize sexual acts and feelings. Dating back to 1873 with the Comstock Act, pornographic or obscene material was banned along with contraceptive drugs. This implies that sex is not made for pleasure but for procreation, and that having natural feelings of sexual desire is immoral. Throughout the years, the age of consent as been raised; in 1885, it was raised from 13 to 16, and now varies state to state but is typically around 17 to 18. This law brings the implication that children cannot be aware of sex or engaging in sexual acts, and criminalizes consensual sexual acts between two minors. In my opinion, this law is not all bad because it prevents young children from rape and sexual assault, but it is unnecessary for it to be a crime for two consenting 16 year olds to have sex. This relates to the movement of the rising use of the term “sex offender” in the 1950’s. This term was often aimed at the LGBTQ+ community, but also cracked down on people who possessed child pornography. I also do not see this as a bad thing because child pornography is completely wrong, but this law did ban historical and art pieces that contained naked children which were not sexual at all. There is a common implication in the United States that nudity is equivalent to sexuality, when in fact people use nudity as a form of art and the naked body is not inherently sexual. The criminalization of human sexuality continues when homosexuals were increasingly targeted in the mid to late 1950’s. Homosexuals were associated with communists, were considered mentally ill, and were used as a scapegoat. Many Americans placed their frustration with the state of the country at the time on the gay community, which led to many police raids of gay bars and areas and increased queerbashing. Many of these issues still exist today. Often sexual acts are considered only okay in a monogamous relationship or marriage, and women are often called degrading names for enjoying sex. Although homosexuality is more accepted, there is still a stigma surrounding it. People believe that lesbian sex is not real because there is no penis involved, and that gay sex is unnatural and immoral. These issues were created out of tension with societal problems, and have still not been solved. Sex theory will not develop until these issues are solved in our society.

In the first chapter of “Caliban and the Witch”, Silvia Federici highlights the transition from feudalism to capitalism. In this major shift, the value of production also changed and the way of life at the time changed significantly. Unfortunately, women were major victims of capitalism, which led to their degradation and dropped their status not just economically, but also socially and politically. In the first chapter, “The Accumulation of Labor and the Degradation of Women”, Federici emphasizes how the new capital system will be built and achieved by using enslavement, violence, war, and colonialism as its foundation, not only in Europe but also in America. Marx’s Primitive Accumulation theory also led to a huge vacuum in labor as well as a growth in human exploitation. The privatization of land forced many peasants and farmers out of their jobs causing massive working populations to be out of the lands where they originally worked. Women especially were severely affected by the shifting economy.

As the new form of economy was developing, women’s labor was not remotely considered as a real job. But when men did the same exact job, it was considered highly productive and was acknowledged by the market. At the time, women were encouraged to stay at home and only serve as a support to their husbands rather than going out and directly participating in the economy. This subordination led to immense drop in women’s status in society and an inclination to their dependency to men as their only support and source of income. This degradation led women to exploit their selves in order to gain access to money or food to live on. This exploitation was usually either through slavery or prostitution.  Not only did these women lose their participation in the economy, but they also lost the right to represent themselves in court, because they were officially labeled as “imbeciles”. The loss of power made women very vulnerable that even their presence in public would lead to their assault or ridicule.

Due Monday, March 6th, by midnight. Word count: 300 words. Please make sure everything is in your own words. Absolutely no quotes should be used. If you paraphrase from the text (from Rubin’s work or anywhere else), you must be sure to include the proper citation (either MLA or APA).

In her essay, “Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality,” Gayle Rubin argues that several persistent features of thought about sex inhibit the development of a radical theory of sex. She notes that “[t]hese assumptions are so pervasive in Western culture that they are rarely questioned. Thus they tend to reappear in different political contexts, acquiring new rhetorical expressions but reproducing certain axioms” (9). In your own words, explain these assumptions and how they limit political discourse on sexuality in the United States.

In the Middle age, Europe was using feudal economy system. Emperor was giving territories to feudal lords, and they were having full authorities of that land. However, at the late Middle Age, feudal economy was destroyed, and new system called ‘Capitalism’ exposed to outside. Capitalism is an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state. This new economic and political system looked like a revolution of economic system because this system was putting emphasis on the equality of people. However, as the time passed, capitalism started to cause many problems. In the Caliban and the Witch, Silvia Frederici state that capitalism created sexism and racism in the society. For example, she showed disparagement of women while capitalism was the economic and social system.

During the transition from feudalism to capitalism, over-exploitation threatened the collapse of the whole system. In addition, the workforce was barely survived. To keep the capitalism, it required the process which was making people in the society like a work-machine, and the conquest of women to the reproduction of the work-force. The subjugation of women was achieved by “witch hunt.” In addition, women were treated badly as labor. For example, Women were paid less than men, and increasingly excluded from most wage work. Furthermore, state policies were exacerbated misogyny within the working class and male craftsmen fought to cut off women who were in many professions, because they were afraid that women’s participation would drop the value of their own work. Women’s activity came to be considered as ‘not workers.’

Eventually, this degradation of women helped capitalism to create wealth. For instance, the sexual division of labor divided and controlled the working class. These processes allowed the capitalist class to secure control over labor.

The Caliban and the Witch is interesting, but I also found it to be a difficult read.
The chapter talks about capitalism and its direct causation of sexism and oppression of people, particularly women, black people, and impoverished people.
Frederici writes about the emergence of capitalism slowly oppressing women especially because they were put into a category of “reproductive beings” with little else available. As capitalism developed taking over feudal society, women’s wages (when they were given them) were pitiful when compared with men’s. They were less mobile since they became pregnant and took care of children and their social power was slowly stripped from them. Frederici writes about their protests which initially had some protection since their husbands were responsible for them legally, but eventually they found a way to arrest women for their protests.
It seems as things progressed from feudal to capitalism societies, poorer citizens who had previously been responsible for only working the land, slowly became responsible for the costs of working the land as well. Whereas before they simply did the labor and the wealthier individuals paid for the tools, and labor, when capitalism came into play, the poor individuals were forced to buy the land they were working and they became individually responsible for a small section of land meaning they were responsible for all monetary items and such. The land became something you could own and be responsible for in a way it had never been before.
Capitalism created lower wages, especially for women, higher prices, and great inequality. Women became almost breeders and were even paid for reproduction, but at a minuscule wage.
Wars became more frequent and violent, and a terrible famine began to hit. The famine caused such extreme hunger that people turned on each other believing that poor people would sell their souls to the devil for food.

Silvia Fredericci’s, Caliban and the Witch makes many valid points on capitalism and its detrimental effects on women, both emotionally and monetarily. She disproves the idea that “the women’s place in the home” was something that naturally came about within the economy, and shows that capitalism pushed sexism and female devaluing. Along with the workforce greatly favoring men, it also completely relegated women’s monetary value in labor and further prevented their progression in society. Witch hunts were also used to intimidate women out of work outside their homes, speaking to just how far people went to maintain their gender oppressive way of life.

The workforce of the time oppressed women in a number of aspects. Women were extremely discouraged to work outside of their homes, and were therefore much less valued within the workforce. Reproductive work had been a way some women earned wages in their homes, but it was deemed “natural responsibility” and invalidated as a form of labor. This again displayed the misogyny and disregard for women normalized and promoted by authority. Due to the invalidation of their work, many struggling women turned to begging and prostitution in order to feed themselves and their families. These lines of work were obviously dangerous and hardly ever sufficed in helping women get by.

The Witch hunt also had its ways of negatively affecting women’s monetary stance. The movement allowed for women to be accused of witchcraft for reasons not excluding desire for independence and work outside of their home. The Witch hunt was often used to intimidate women out of the workforce and keep them confined and dependent on men. By instilling a fear of these women with “powers” into society, men were able to be able to accuse women of witchcraft on often vague and elementary observations/suspicions, therefore putting them through trials in which the end result was invariably death.

In this work, Frederici speaks about the presence of Capitalism in Medieval Europe. Slowly, the economic system is being overrun by patriarchy, as a woman’s presence in society is becoming more and more excluded. As Capitalism took over, forcing Feudalism out, the degradation of women soon began as their placement in society changed greatly. Frederici discusses the sudden changes in women’s labor, as they are given unfair wages and unsafe working conditions. Women were continuously seen as housewives and were not given the same opportunities as men when it came to work. By keeping women limited in this sense, they were able to have the advantage by practically forcing women to rely on their husbands for support. Another way of keeping women limited was by pressing societal roles onto them. Soon enough, land and the purchase of it became increasingly popular. However, women were constantly confined to the typical domestic role, which did not allow them to branch out and participate in the buying and selling of land. They did not have enough resources or money to do so, thus leaving them under the control of their husbands.

Frederici continues to discuss the presence of sexual violence at the time as well. Ultimately, it was just another way of establishing capitalism at the time. As the strengthening of the wealthy, male population grew, the female population became more and more oppressed. Naturally, women had to remain inferior to men in order for Capitalism to rise with the male population. Soon enough, prostitution and violence against women became a typical occurrence. It is these situations that create boundaries for women and limit them from breaking free from the clutches of the wealthy white male. Besides the sexualization of women, there was also the accusation of women being witches. Women were considered to be witches if they could not reproduce, and in order to blame someone for this, the male population started the witch hunt. They believed it was their fault that there was a lack of reproduction. Women were unable to voice their opinion, be economically involved, and were seen as nothing more than housewives and child bearers. If they were anything else, they were discriminated against and were stripped of any humanness. Frederici clearly wanted to emphasize the unfair treatment of women during medieval Europe, as it was led by a sudden urge to grow economically that could not be done without tearing down women and keeping them under the thumb of the wealthy white male.

In Silvia Frederici’s, The Caliban and the Witch, she discusses the degradation of women. Women were seen as inferior to men and only seen as wives and ways to reproduce. While women did an assortment of jobs, it was seen as housekeeping or helping the man. Any women who were opposed to this and rioted were quickly arrested.

Since women were paid much less than men, they had little choice but to get married to and rely on men. This, in turn, led to them getting forced into a housewife position and later on, expected to have children and take care of them which took away a lot of their power and freedom. The growth of mercantilism also was a big factor as to why the population needed to grow via women.

Women also began to have little control over their body and childbirth. Many women were expected to get pregnant and keep the children because in the end, it would mean more men to potentially work. This also restricted their work options because since they had to take care of children, they weren’t able to do certain jobs such as production or traveling. Unfortunately, if women were not able to reproduce or were simply uncooperative, they were seen as witches.

All in all, women were degraded in many ways. Whether it was being seen as inferior to men, being paid less and therefore getting stuck in housewife roles or having no control over pregnancy and giving birth, they had little power in this time period and if they tried to rebel, they were put down and further degraded.