4.2.rubin

"The Sex Wars"

pp. 2195-2203

Sexuality is a product of of human behavior and activity with conflicts of interest and political maneuvering. The societal sexual expectations impacted the sex laws and anti-porn laws. An example being the arrest of homosexuals and prostitutes from the Victorian campaign of “white slavery.” Specifically, in the United States 1950's, the focus was on homosexuals who they would code as “sex offenders.” Many anti-homosexual crusades were happening at this time. The point being that the stigmas behind sexuality seemed to never really go away and there will be an ongoing fight despite societal changes that are being fought for.

"Sexual Thoughts"

pp. 2203-2212

The “axiom” of sexuality is the idea that it is natural and exists beyond a social construct. Rubin references Foucalt’s The History of Sexuality and points out the idea that understanding sexuality as a natural thing rather than a social construct is not accurate and that desires are not preexisting biological entities. She states “human sexuality is not comprehensible in purely biological terms” (2205). Rubin says the five ideological formations of sex thought are sex negativity, the fallacy of misplaced scale, the hierarchical valuation of sex acts, the domino theory of sexual peril, and the lack of a concept of benign sexual variation” (2206). She believes the most important is sex negativity because Western culture deems sex as dangerous and destructive. The Christian influence had a large impact on this ideology and considers sex as sinful in instances outside of marriage and created sex laws. She created a sex hierachy under the dominio theory of sexual peril to determine the “charmed circle” which would be acceptable by society and “the outer limits” which are unacceptable according to society (2209). Although modern days have changed some of these views, homosexuality still stands in “the outer limits” for the most part.

"The Limits of Feminism"

pp. 2212-2220

Rubin mentions the relationship between feminism and sex and how they are complex. Discourse on sexuality bases sexual behavior negatively. Such as societies anti-porn propaganda and how the sex industry is missing feminsim. The anti-porn movement claims to speak for feminism but does not because sexual liberation is a goal of feminism. The “brainwash theory” explains “erotic diversity by assuming that some sexual acts are so disgusting that no one would willingly perform them” (2217). Then they conclude that anyone who does them was forced. She believes that it is essential to separate gender and sexuality to accurately represent the social existence of the two.