Rubin's View Of Sexuality In 'Thinking Sex' By Rubin

In his article, “The Invention of Sexuality”, Weeks argued that sexuality is a product of society and is shaped by

Ira L. Reiss, a well-known sociologist, has contributed greatly to the field of human sexuality and in the 1960’s brilliantly predicted the revolutionary changes in sexual attitudes. In his novel, An End to Shame: Shaping Our Next Sexual Revolution, Reiss develops the notion that our previous sexual revolution did not adequately eliminate the inequalities related to sexuality. In reality he argues that America is in need of a newly formed sexual revolution, one that will address the negative consequences that our sex negative culture is experiencing. A significant portion of our population argues that these consequences are due to the fact that we talk too much and too soon about sex. This is an inaccurate view of the reasoning behind the sexual problems we are experiencing in America, as in reality the negative sexual outcomes we observe are due to the opposite of this view. This misconception is a common explanation for our sexual problems and many believe it is the key to solving our sexual crisis, but in reality is part of the problem. Reiss argues that “America is long overdue for a rendezvous with sexual reality” (18) and that the future of our nation depends on accepting these realities.

I have found the perfect definition of sex from Greta Christina’s paper “Are We Having Sex Now or What?” and that is, “Maybe if both of you (or all of you) think of it as sex, then it’s sex whether you’re having fun or not.” I find this definition as sex because it clearly tells the audience that sex is sex if you thought of it as sex. For example, when opposite or same sex have a sexual activity or intercourse with each other whether you like it or not, it is sex. However, this definition can be unsatisfactory to others because there can be cases when people may not want to count it as sex, such as getting sexually assaulted by someone. In this case, the person who got sexually assaulted would not want to count it as sex and avoid the truth, but for the person who made a sexual assault to someone, that person would count it as sex. It may be hard for those people who gets sexually assaulted, but that is the reality and the truth that he/she had sex with someone. Therefore, even though this definition may be broad and unsatisfactory to some people, it will narrow down and clearly prove that you had sex if you think you had sex.

Sexuality is a particularly perplexing topic for young women. Bell notes that “Their (women’s) twenties ought to be a decade of freedom and exploration. But… I have found them to be more confused than ever about not only how to get what they want, but what they want.” (Bell 26) Yes, they are young and has so many opportunities in front of them. Yes, most of them have a college degree and are highly educated. Yes, there are too many choices and they are condemned whichever way they choose.

According to Pepper Schwartz, Americans are fearful of having conversations about sex and sexuality due to these 5 main sources: religious tradition and indoctrination, double standard and patriarchal norms, diseases that are sexually transmitted, cultural expectations about appearance and sexual competence, and andostracism for not being masculine enough. American’s fear based on religion often are associated with rules such as masturbation being weak or sick, premarital sex being condemned, and being gay is often seen as being immoral. As for double standards and norms, men that sleep with a lot of people are seen as good, but women that sleep with a lot of people are deemed as sluts. For sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS was definitely a big problem and it caused mass hysteria. With regards to sexual competence, this causes a lot of sexual anxiety. The anxiety of whether or not we are sexually acceptable and if we have the ability to change that are often challenges that people face. Fears due to sexual orientation often target men. Men are more susceptible to being harassed for being “heroically heterosexual,” meaning they are not dating a lot and having sex. They are also punished for being gay. Pepper Schwartz is a firm believer that sexual education is a way to solve this problem, that is, this will reduce the amount of sexual anxiety and ignorance. The culmination of these 5 main reasons are why Americans are fearful of having

What I found most significant about this reading was the idea and meaning of sexuality between both men and women. When I think of the term sexuality, I simply just think about sex. Who I have sex with and what I like during sex. From the reading, I felt like social reforms, scientists and physicians were implying that sexuality was meant for procreation and anything that prevents procreation is an abomination to sexuality. It was stated, “The conservative social reforms mounted a political battle against anything and everything that facilitated non-procreative sexual behavior, including prostitution, homosexuality, masturbation, abortion and birth control” (Bem,1993, p.82). How can you relate sexuality

Rubin discusses sexual hierarchy and how people are constituted within it based on types of sexual practises. She approaches these schemas as a basis of understanding how various institutional forces such as Medical communities and Religious communities define good sex versus bad sex and how their discourses define how people should see various types of sex. She emphasises that “marital, reproductive heterosexuals are a lone at the top of the erotic pyramid” (279). From this point, any type of sex falls under the heterosexual ideal is considered bad sex. Rubin further argues that “sexual liberation has been and continues to be a feminist goal” and states that both the LGBTQ+ community and Feminists often debate internally whether sexual liberation is good or not

Rubin’s theory on sexuality completely transformed the way feminists in that period thought about the intersection of gender and sexuality. By declaring the necessity that sex must be its own category with its own theory, Rubin would forever change the face of sexual theory. They start out by examining the consequences of Victorian morality on

According to Rubin's article, “Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality”, her main argument it that there is a line between good sex and bad sex but we are the ones who will determine what's good and what's bad for ourselves. It is not up to the greater portion of society to tell us where the line has to be drawn when it comes to sex. Rubin talks about the “charmed circle” and this higher thought of what sex is. The biggest issue she speaks on is sex negativity. Just because someone doesn't like a specific act, does not mean thats its disgusting. For instance, in “How to Have Lesbian Sex

It’s much easier to openly express sexuality in this current era of social awareness and change. Many people have been slowly accepting the idea of the reclamation of a woman’s body, possibly due to the wide representation in contemporary media. However, this still seems like a radical idea to others. Susan Minot’s “Lust” describes a time when society was near the beginning of sexual liberation. On one spectrum, there is the narrator- a teenage girl attending boarding school, exploring her sexuality by having all of these experiences with different boys. On the other spectrum is the narrator’s house mother, who’s only been with one man her entire life. It’s implied that she believes the sole purpose of sex is to deliver babies. These two

The author Gayle Rubin in the textbook “Social Construction of Sexuality,” talks about “Sexual Conflicts” and how society perceives them and how they handle differences. Battles happen with different groups and their sexual ideologies, especially when individuals believe what another individual or group of individuals are doing is wrong. Laws can be created to prevent them from expressing their sexuality and taking away basic freedoms. Gayle Rubin explains, to be able to stop the struggle over sex laws they need to get rid of all laws that include sex, except ones that project individuals from sexual violence. Besides laws being created, daily life within society can cause human beings to feel uncomfortable or unaccepted with their sexuality, which will create sexual migration.

Sexualization has occurred in the past, is occurring today, and will, more than likely, continue to occur in the future. The society we live in today characterizes women as sexual objects. It’s everywhere you look. For example, look at the media. Reality TV, romance movies, fashion magazines, and advertising all portray women to look a certain way; slim, young, and attractive. These images of women are etched into our brains, and it’s normal to look at these media and think that those women are what society calls “beautiful.” A contributor to

Mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, aunts, uncles, grandparents, pimps, prostitutes, straight people, gay people, lesbian people, Europeans, Asians, Indians, and Africans all have once thing in common: they are products of sexuality. Sexuality is the most common activity in the world, yet is considered taboo and “out of the norm” in modern society. Throughout history, people have been harassed, discriminated against, and shunned for their “sexuality”. One person who knows this all too well is activist and author, Angela Davis. From her experiences, Davis has analyzed the weakness of global society in order to propose intellectual theories on how to change the perspective of sexuality. This research paper will explore the discussions of

In order to illustrate this, Fahs examines seven key examples where women are caught between joyous celebrations of sexual progress and disturbingly regressive attacks on their sexual empowerment: orgasm, sexual satisfaction, treatment for sexual dysfunction, rape and sexual coercion, body hair as ‘personal choice,’ same-sex eroticism, and sexual fantasy. Ultimately, Fahs argues that the sex-positive movement must advance its politics to include a more serious consideration of the freedom from as it relates to the freedom to. In addition, Fahs argues that the sex positive movement must advance its politics to include a more serious consideration of the freedom from repressive structures. By outlining several ways that the freedom from and the freedom to are currently in conversation in discourses of women’s sexuality, the author argues that the integration of these two halves could lead to a subtler and more complete understanding of the contemporary sexual politics, particularly around tensions that arose during the infamous “sex wars” of the 1980s, thus helpings to build a more cohesive and powerful feminist movement as a whole. As a vision for sex positivity, Fahs also argues that we need three broadly defined goals, each of which contributes to a larger vision that prioritizes a

Throughout the course, Religion and Sexuality, I have gained new insights on religion and its relationship to sexuality, further, I have learned skills on how to approach people about such topics (religion and sexuality) and how to critically evaluate these subjects efficiently. Lastly, this course has enabled me to discover new qualities about myself.