Prudery and Attacks on Sex
Learning about the war on sex across the centuries can inform our efforts to resist such attacks in contemporary times
The 19th century French writer Stendhal once said “Prudery is a kind of avarice, the worst of all.” Prudery is excessive propriety or modesty in speech or conduct. Avarice is a strong feeling that you want to keep things for yourself. So, that quotation rings true.
When someone expresses extreme prudishness, especially when accompanied by harsh judgment of others who don’t share those sentiments, it does feel like a kind of avarice, a selfish statement that the realm of sexuality is only to be enjoyed by those who share the same restrained perspective when it comes to matters of the erotic flesh.
No thank you. I refuse to allow someone else to control what I can do with other consenting adults. I hope you feel the same way. Let others be prudes if they wish, but I hope you will always live the best sexual life you can possibly live.
In Rikki de la Vega’s soon to be released book Prudery and the War on Sex, de la Vega says this in the introduction.
Defenders of sexual repression often argue that is it about public health and public morals. I would contend, however, that it was, and still is, about the imposition of order by claiming people’s bodies and desires as public property to be regulated – especially those of women and other marginalized groups.
All one need do is scan news headlines today to see evidence of the continued war on sex. Sex workers demonized. Men passing legislation to control the bodies of women. LGBTQ people and trans people in particular being attacked. Sex education hobbled. Books being banned.
Whether it’s overt control of sexual acts themselves or the peripheral agenda of limiting the rights of women, gay men, lesbians, or trans people, much of the core energy behind those dark efforts are rooted in the ongoing war on sex and the prudishness that’s elevated to worship status among the misguided erotically constipated ranks.
I was privileged to be able to see an advance copy of de la Vega’s new book and it’s excellent. de la Vega has authored 18 books and is an activist for sexual freedom, sex workers' rights, disability rights, and trans rights.
The book covers a wide-ranging history of people, institutions, and movements that have sought to limit or outlaw what we can read, see, hear, or do with our sexualities.
Religion was often at the root of such attacks. Pervasive misogyny is ever present. Homophobia and transphobia are sadly still with us. Leveraging sexual repression as a political tool has been used throughout the centuries. Even an art form like drag has recently been vilified by the extreme right-wing attempting to wrongfully attach to it overt sexuality to exert control for political gain. At the heart of it all is a historical and current war on sex, a war on us all because we all deserve the right to have the consensual sexualities we desire.
Chapters progress from early pre-agriculture times before prudery emerged to the impact of religions to political situations enlisting prudery as control to how divisions over sex affected feminism to how prostitution has been punished and so much more. It’s a trip through the history of how prudishness and attacks on sexual freedoms have risen up throughout history and are sadly with us to this day.
I could say more, but I don’t want to give too much away. Anyone interested in sexuality and its place in our culture will enjoy reading this book. It comes with my highest recommendation.
The book is available for preorder in Kindle format to be released in June 2023. You can learn more about Rikki de la Vega and her work on her website. Prudery and the War on Sex is de la Vega’s first nonfiction book. Check out her many other works of erotic fiction.
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