User:LBird BASc/sandbox/ATK/Seminar6/Power/Power in sex

Patriarchal Effects over Time in Heterosexual Sex

Pre-modern Gender Power Dynamics

• In Medieval time there was a very clear expectation of a male sexual desire, but it was conflicted by the assumption of sin. The huge number of female sex workers throughout history acts as clear evidence towards this male-centred assumptions of sexual desire. St Augustine made reference to the idea of sexual sin in his work De Bono coniugali (357AD) where he wrote (translated from Latin) "Even when such physical debts are demanded intemperately (which the Apostle permits in married couples as pardonable, allowing them to indulge in sex beyond the purpose of procreation, rather than laying down the law as command), and through debased habits impel partners to such intercourse, marriage is none the less a safeguard against adultery or fornication. Nor is marriage the cause of such behaviour, but marriage makes it pardonable". In this he suggests that intercourse is only truly morally permissible when procreating, although the sin of sex for pleasure could be forgiven in a marriage. This ideology remained in religious thinking and the public subconscious throughout the Christian middle-ages in Europe. Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) were known of and often rife in prostitution and was commonly interpreted as a manifestation of the sin. While there was some small acknowledgement of female sexuality in medieval time (The 13th century Dominican Friar, Albertus Magnus, wrote that certain women "use their fingers or other instruments until their channels are opened and by the heat of the friction and coition the humour comes out, and with it the heat"), sex was far more discouraged for women of the time than men. This was partly due to the risks of pregnancy, with contraception being both close to non-existent and illegal due to the catholic church, but most likely more to do with the power structure of the medieval society. With both the national structure and the familial unit being male-dominated, a sense of female sexuality could challenge the solely maternal role of females in sex and challenge the male dominance in that area

Changes Leading to Modern Sexual Power Dynamics

• In Western culture power dynamics in sexual relationships have changed enormously into the modern (20th century) era from the proceeding eras of history due to several important factors:

The Combined Oral Contraceptive Pill (COCP)

1. Women's role in society has changed due to the suffrage movement. Women's rights grew enormously and the implicit power relationship between men and women was lessened.
2. Contraception was also revolutionised at a similar time; 'Birth Control Leagues' were started in both Britain and America in 1921 and was closely linked with the feminist movement of the time. While birth control had existed prior to the late 19th century in Europe at least it was illegal and even condemned as witchcraft, due to religious beliefs.
3. The societal gender roles in marriage played a significant role, which were effected greatly by a change in attitudes, difference in requirements and rise in secularism.
4. Feminist thinking became steadily more prevalent which led to a rethinking of the relationships between male and female interactions and by extension: sex.

A key difference between a pre-modern and modern view of sex in a country such as the USA or UK is the role of sex in couples' relationships and attitudes towards it by both parties. There was no longer the previous stigma of sexual sin and the idea procreative sex being the only permissible form of sexual relations and towards the latter half of the 20th century, societal opinion of pre-marital sex and extra-marital sex changed significantly. The largest influence on this change was the change in the role of religion in the dynamic of a heterosexual couple. There was far more religious diversity and tolerance into the 20th century and this change in the power that religion had on peoples' opinions and actions allowed sex for pleasure to become far more socially tolerable than before.

There was also a shift in the power dynamic of a sexual relationship, as the idea of sexual pleasure only being important for men changed slowly through the modern period. Women became able to express far more sexual freedom (although still not free of patriarchal stereotypes to this day such as a far less positive attitude towards having multiple sexual partners for women than men) in many ways.

Power Dynamic in Modern Sex

It would seem that there is a clear shift in general range of power dynamics from a much more male-centred relationship to a more complex dynamic, more dependent on the wishes of both parties. Before the factors mentioned in the previous section the societal pressure and personal values (heavily influenced by religion and the patriarchal nature of the surroundings) led to both parties being somewhat restricted in their sexual power, although females far more so than males. I would suggest this led to a male dominance of sex.

Both males and the females became freer to express sexual desire after the events of the late 19th and early 20th century, with general opinions towards sex becoming far less stigmatised. I would suggest this would eventually lead to a far more case by case balance of power in sexual environments. Interestingly though, there doesn't seem to necessarily be a link between a higher disparity in the sexual power dynamic and a higher physical dominance as might be expected. "In a study on hormonal changes during SM play (Sagarin, Cutler, & Cutler, 2002) we noted, “Bottoms expressed significantly greater anticipation of the evening’s scene 109 compared to tops.” All the data suggest that the image of the bottom being a “victim” is inaccurate; the bottoms have shown to be at least as willing a partner in BDSM activities as the tops." In this case it might be inferred that the submissive partner is typically more of a driving force behind this sexual behaviour. That would imply that by increasing sexual preference, even if it takes the form of submission, you are likely to increase the partners power in the sexual relationship.