‘—

Sex has always been a topic few people feel comfortable discussing. Female teachers often teach sex education conservatively in schools. Parents are afraid to educate their children about sex; they believe that with this knowledge, they would want to experiment.
Foucault’s history of sexuality part 1 takes us through the 1800 century theory of sex or the “repressive hypothesis”. During this era, sex became more of a means of reproduction rather than pleasure. The bourgeois design this system where people worked so hard that they often relied on the reproduction of children to help with labor as a means of income to the growing families. The new system takes away women’s freedom to engage in other relationships.
Sex was strictly between a husband and a wife. This gave the men dominance over the women who faced abuse and rape and couldn’t share it openly. Religion forbade adultery and getting a divorce was considered sinful in the eyes of the society. These women were considered to be wicked and therefore should never be married again.
Foucault spoke about women who openly rejected the norms of marriage and fornication. Prostitutes were deviant in regards to following norms. They believed that sex should be in the open and should be pleasurable. Sex should not just be limited to having children so that they can inherit the father’s names and continue their legacy, but more than that. Prostitutes were fighting against political power. They wanted to put an end to the norms of how a woman should behave. Society set up rules that are beneficial to men and not women. Men didn’t want their woman to have outside affairs yet they would have affairs with prostitutes. Prostitution was bad yet it wasn’t banished throughout society. Prostitutes revolted against bourgeois by not working a “9 to 5 job” but being self-employed.
Capitalization wanted to control sex because it threatened couples work ethic. For instance, if everyone were to engage in sex during their jobs, work wouldn’t be done and too many women would be home due to pregnancy. With couples working all day, it is hard for them to return home to have sex. Instead prostitutes saw what society or capitalization brought and deviated from that. They wanted to build their own sub culture. Foucault shows us how sex has changed from the Egyptian period (prostitution) to a society that follows the strict sex moral conduct. With less play and more work the rich will always be power

Q: why was sex enjoyed during Egyptian period but in present day it’s seen as taboo?