Amaan Syed Week 4

Gender Assignment Week 4

“Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality” by Gayle S. Rubin talks about multiple laws over the western world related to Sexual Acts and ideas related to sexuality. The chapter explores the Post World War II era where strict laws related to pornography, homosexuality, and prostitution emerged. There are many cases explained in which the intensity of the punishment is described. The laws were so strict and severe that people used to run away from their homes when were suspected of sodomy. A mother was accused of child pornography by showing various naked boys at different ages which included her seven-year-old son. The laws were contrasted by practices in the older times where parents used to tie their children so that they don’t get aroused. Genitalia was considered a sinful body part, comparing it with the excretion system of the body. In western culture, and more specifically Christianity, considers sexual acts as sins with only exceptions being sex for “procreational purposes”. Seeing back in the 1980s and looking now in the modern era, where sex is considered to be a normal thing (age of consent being 14 in some European countries), the Western society has come a long way. Homosexuality, being considered such a severe crime is now been supported by LGBTQ activists all around the world.