Cause and Effect: How our values have changed over time.
What is most compelling about these readings is that they take us through a morphing of sexuality. I keep coming back to the timeline we drew in class and applying the Foucauldian progression of sexuality to the American sexual identity that has its origins in Europe. Going back to Part Five in History of Sexuality (which I discussed in an older blog entry) in which Foucault discusses the shift of blood power from a right to kill to a right to live and thus a concentration on the quality of life rather than mere survival. I would like to acknowledge that America in its infancy was probably shifted back to a more survivalist culture and the unification of civilized society was imperative if they were going to thrive in a strange land. In The Scarlett Letter we see the whole reasoning behind adultery being such a grievous offense is that it threatens the structure of society and can be seen as quite dangerous to a village that is self-governing. And while sex was seen as serving a function outside of reproduction, reproduction was still key for new Americans to gain power over their newfound land. Women gain their power over sexuality through the limited ideas of being “passionless” or having the power to say no and by nurturing intense female friendships give them support in the sphere of womanhood.
The essays in Chapter 7 show a shift of sexual ideologies and women become more outspoken about their sexual rights in the 18th century. Instead of a need for children both women and men express a desire for smaller families and the demand for birth control rises. This is just as much of a survival instinct as the need to have many children! With the stabilization of American culture the desire to have less children makes sense; less mouths to feed and a better economic situation, better health for the mother and so on and so forth.
With this of course comes opposition. We see Comstock as the spokesperson for the opposing force of change with his laws against “obscenity”. Law becomes the new clergy in this setting and it is surprisingly in opposition to the medical sphere when it comes to sex.
“Law is a tool of power groups, and criminal prosecutions have been described as both a form of social control and as expression of moral aversion.” (Burton 271)
The law seeks oppression of sexuality and preservation of morality while the medical arena provides cures for pregnancy and diseases, attempts to enlighten the public about sex and seeks to excavate private discourse. We see civil disobedience and open protests against the repressive force. Both the law and medical field are governing forces as seen through Foucault’s theory of scientia sexualis. In this way the ultimate goal is the same but the methods are radically different.
We are always trying to exercise control over our sexuality but with the changing of values comes the changing of methods. I really enjoyed these documents and essays that chronicled our ever-changing definition of sexual and societal values and etiquette.
Tags: birth control, civil disobedience, Comstock, Law, Michel Foucault, obscenity, survival instinct
