‘—

assignment #7

In Michael Foucault’s piece, “The History of Sexuality”, he discusses the discourse around sex. Sex is often a subject in which people tend to not speak about it publicly. Sex has this way of making people uncomfortable and thought of as more inappropriate act instead of a natural act. Sex in the 17th century was a shameless act and people were liberated based on their sexual activities. It was considered an activity only done inside the home between husband and wife. This was thought of to eliminate any discourse regarding sex. Foucault questions why sex is so shameful and why people are so afraid to speak of it. Sex in his eyes was a natural act between a man and a woman to show their love and intimacy for each other. The repression of sex was a focal point in this piece and Foucault goes on to discuss the rise and publicity of sex throughout time.

The repression of sex made people want to talk about a supposed “illegal activity” deemed by the church. It is natural for humans to go against their beliefs and challenge society or even God. Sex was an important topic in confession in church. It was highly privatized and sensitive matter. It was a way of relieving sins, but the discourse on sex focused on language. By creating appropriate language it would allow people to talk about sexual activities. It would make people more comfortable confessing in church. In my opinion, this was propaganda by the church to gain more followers.

Sex is still repressed today, sex education is rarely taught in schools, even if sex is discussed it is not talked about to the fullest extent. Parents are afraid of letting their kids know about the sexual side of life. They’re afraid that they might start experimenting. Improper sex knowledge can be very harmful for young kids. Sex should not be repressed anymore, by allowing to de-censor sex and educate people on sex it could have a beneficial impact on society.