Queer Sexuality from a Historical Perspective

Queer sexuality from a Historical perspective
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Queer Sexuality from a Historical perspective
Sexuality remains a sensitive subject in contemporary societies, often due to the reluctance of many to engage in conversations and discourses on the subject. As a result, minorities in this regard have opted for activism as a means of having their voices heard, and their preferences acknowledged and accepted by society. At this point, it is important to understand that sexuality is more than just an individual's sexual orientation and preferences. On the contrary, sexuality comprises a set of complex issues surrounding norms and behaviors and beliefs and practices adopted by society for millennia. This critical review focuses on presenting a critical summary of two scholarly works on the history of sexuality and presenting an original commentary that expresses which of the pieces would be preferable.
Arguments
The two articles examine how sexuality has been handled in history. The main argument by Rubin (2006) is that sexuality has not been treated with the respect it deserves, which explains why most practices associated with it are inherently barbaric. Many of the practices have been based on conflicting moral grounds and moralities that have been inherited from our ancestors. For example, sexual activity among young people was perceived as harmful for people, which saw societies undertake cruel measures to prevent children from engaging in sexual activities. To make matters worse, sexuality has become a highly politicized subject, which has resulted in powerful movements pushing both political and educational agendas towards such objectives as elimination of prostitution and discouraging masturbation.
A second part of the argument focuses on how the contemporary world perceives sexuality. Rubin (2006) finds that modern sexual arrangements deviate from the preexisting systems in several ways. For instance, Western Europe and the United States underwent industrialization and urbanization, which reshaped the traditional rural and peasant people into urban service and industrial workforce. Family relations and gender roles have since been altered to form new forms of identity, including sexual. This is followed by the emergence of new kinds of erotic individuals and the rise of homosexuality and other forms of sexuality. This transformation still faces social resistance in many societies, but its progress manifests in prostitution changing from part-time to more permanent jobs.
The second article also presents an overview of how sexuality has evolved and the challenges it has faced. A key argument by Foucault (1976), sexuality faced constraints of opinion where the practices and morality were based on canonical law, civil law, and Christian pastoral laws. These laws are inherently repressive and do not allow people to express their sexuality freely. The subjugation started at the language level, where it was deemed necessary to control the free ...