Essay on Camille Paglia’s Sexual Personae
The role of sexuality in our society and in one’s life has been the role of much debate, especially since there are many contrasting views and schools of thoughts on the subject. On the one hand, there exists a tradition that is the product of a largely male driven, hierarchal and patriarchal thought while, on the other hand, one can see feminism as a counter force to the traditional thought process. This essay will examine and discuss a few viewpoints that Paglia puts forth in her essay.
We examine one of Paglia’s first viewpoints: “Sex is the natural in man. Society is an artificial construction, a defense against nature’s power.” (Paglia 1) This viewpoint makes it clear to the reader that Nature is primordial and superior to Society which is a relatively new and man-made construct. Since Sex is natural, Paglia implicitly puts forth an important point that while society can attempt to restrict its usage within moral and immoral terms, sex as a natural act will continue to affect our Society and its individuals. In bringing this point forth, she also explains the potential problems that Sex poses for Societies and its individuals since, although it is supposed to be guilt-free, various taboos and cultural associations shackle this very natural act. One can understand this point by bringing about an illustration of this conflict by examining the viewpoints of a religious conservative society such as Pakistan. In such countries, local religious bodies tend to issue stringent regulations with regard to a person’s sexual conduct in society. This could include marriage at a lower age, death sentence for a woman in case of adultery, or even laws that heavily discriminate against women in cases involving sexual violence. (Malik 2013) The Pakistani society is an excellent example of the manner in which society has built an artificial construct based on religion that channels a natural force such as Sex in ways that only a few people deem fit. In doing so, however, society becomes more regressive, intolerant and crime-ridden as a price for having suppressed one of nature’s most natural and necessary acts. However, on the contrary, if one takes a look at nations with more open societies such as the United Kingdom and United States where sex is not viewed as a taboo nor controlled in any way, Paglia’s claim seems to fall apart. In the United States, for instance, studies have found an 18% prevalence rate for sex based crimes with underreporting being the main cause for a depressed prevalence rate. (Berzofsky 2013) This fact falls in direct contravention of Paglia’s claim that society as an artificial construction is a defense against Sex in this case. If it were really the case, there would have been a marked statistical disparity in rape cases in both countries. Therefore, Paglia’s statement generalizes and clubs all societies as having the same tendency, which is logically flawed. Although, I do believe that Sex is a natural act, I do not believe that the Society is a construct that defends this act. Sex as well as sex based crimes occurs at nearly the same rates in both liberal as well as conservative societies, although their rates of reporting and reasons for occurrence differ. Thus, the apparent contradiction is visible in this case.
In discussing the above point, Paglia also discusses the viewpoint of both Rousseau and Marquis de Sade, “For Sade, to get “back to nature” would be to give free rein to violence and lust. I agree.” (Paglia 2) The context of the line mentioned is Paglia’s belief in the concept of Original Sin that Rousseau categorically rejects. Paglia endorses Sade’s view that if we as a Society grant total and complete freedom to citizens, it would promote crime; especially sex-based crimes. While this belief contradicts the previous belief of the Society being a construct to defend man against Nature including that of unbridled Sex and related problems, the line also highlights the role of society in keeping crime in check. (2) One can consider the instance of contrasting societies previously discussed, namely Pakistan and the United States. One can understand clearly that both these societies have respective rules and religious or legal norms that either allow or prevent the proliferation of improper sexual contact. Given this background, however, one can see that the statistics do not support the understanding that artificial constructs affect sexual behavior. In this case, the point highlighted by Paglia becomes applicable in both instances, namely when strict legal enforcement (United States) is present or whether legal enforcement is nearly absent (Pakistan). In both cases, these crimes occur due to a culture that is steeped in violence and lust. However, in Pakistan, strong societal and tribal ties within communities effectively deter the incidences of rape in certain regions since laws are region dependant in that country and social censure for a person who is branded a criminal is very high. On the other hand, in a free society like the US, community and social censure from criminals is relatively low which might arguably be introducing the tendencies of violence and lust that both Sade and Paglia mention in their writings. If one takes an opposite view, one could consider the habitats of various tribal and indigenous communities that are spread out over the world. Such communities live on the principle of freedom, trust and goodwill. In such communities, incidences of rape within their inhabitants are extremely remote, although, according to Paglia, they have the means, sanction and the violent lust commit such a crime. (Berzofsky 2013) Such behavior goes against the grain of Sade’s writings as well as Paglia’s thoughts on the subject. My personal opinion on this subject is that the reality lies somewhere between Rousseau’s thoughts and Sade’s work. Most people are good, but given the conditions or absence of proper conditions they might turn out bad. Therefore, I believe, the answer might lie between a person’s innate goodness and social conditioning, which Paglia fails to highlight, instead taking an extreme view and siding with Sade in this matter.
On the subject of the role of culture in sexual personae, Paglia states “The West’s greatness arises from this delusional certitude. Eastern culture has never striven against nature in this way. Compliance, not confrontation, is its rule.” (Paglia 3) In simple terms, Paglia is trying to explain the contrast between Western and Eastern cultural and religious beliefs with regard to nature. For instance, religions such as Hinduism and allied religions such as Buddhism have always believed in compliance with nature in its practices as opposed to Judaism and Christianity that have semblances of opposition as claimed by Paglia. Even in present times certain practices in Eastern religions such as unified identification of oneself with nature, worship of the elements, use of natural products on a mass scale to prevent environmental damage and the acknowledged worship of female Gods bear testimony to this fact that Eastern cultures typically comply rather than confront. On the contrary, certain practices in Eastern cultures such as the practice of sexual celibacy in some cases tend to go against the spirit of the natural tendency of a human to have sexual desires – or rather it tends to repress such desires. Most people view such a practice as superior in nature and, although subjective, one could argue that such practices tend to go against the will of nature. My personal opinion, however, tends to support the viewpoint of Eastern cultures on this subject. As humans have learned in their long history of existence that Nature can neither be controlled nor repressed, it is always advisable and wise to comply with nature rather than confront it. The instance of celibacy raised in the discussion tends to affect only a very small number of monks and people of the holy orders who have renounced pleasures. One should note that such acts are at the sole discretion of the individual which means that such acts, although seem to be against nature, are not against nature.
Further, Paglia also puts forth her view on marriage, “Conventional marriage, despite its inequities, kept the chaos of libido in check. Today divorce rates soar.” (Paglia 4) Through this statement, Paglia appears to be supporting the institution of marriage as one of the society’s devices to control errant sexual behavior. However, with the erosion of the sanctity of this social practice, she feels that divorce rates too have gone up. One can examine both the American and Pakistani societies for evidence of this claim. In the U.S, divorce rates stand at around 40-50% of the married population. In Pakistan, however, the divorce rates are quite low, partly due to religious reasons and because divorces are mostly initiated by men. One can understand that the US society looks down at the notion of conventional marriage, while in countries such as Pakistan many people still consider marriage a very important social and religious ritual. A comparison of the two societies, therefore, supports the Paglia’s view that a breakdown of conventional marriage is responsible for an increase in divorce rates and also in the rise of illicit and immoral sexual practices. On the contrary, if one views the current status of divorce rates in Pakistan compared to about a decade ago, one observes a rise from 208 in 2002 to 557 in 2013 per 2 million. (Zeb 2013) Therefore, although conservative, the Pakistani society is also not immune from the incidence of rising divorce rates. Hence a conservative marriage system can only safeguard the chaos of libido and rising divorce rates to a limited extent. This fact is in opposition to Paglia’s view of marriage. I feel that society instituted the concept of the marriage primarily as a safeguard against the chaos of unbridled sex amongst its members. The rising divorce rate could stem from a variety of unrelated reasons such as a greater freedom for women to choose the path of divorce, acceptability of the same in civil society et.al. It could be possible that in earlier times, women were forced to continue in unhappy marriages due to social stigma which, in turn, resulted in lower divorce rates. Paglia fails to incorporate this point of view in her discussion and rather remains rigidly focused on the failure of the marriage and its effects on the divorce rates.
Lastly, one can examine the Paglia’s view on sex as viewed by women, “Women have no problem to solve by sex. Physically and psychologically, women are serenely self-contained. They choose to have sex, but they do not need it.” (5) Through this line, Paglia intends to convey that women are far less dependent on sex than men. She goes so far as to say that women have neither physical nor psychological need for sex. One can understand that a view of this nature is highly subjective and depends on particular women as well as the society and the upbringing of the individual woman. In writing this line, Paglia attempts to place women on a higher pedestal than men since they do not necessarily require sex. Further, Paglia has not provided any evidence for the viewpoint mentioned and, therefore, this point seems to be a general observation with no sound basis. Likewise, studies have shown that this viewpoint is not true and that, in fact, women have about the same or possibly higher need for sex than men. (Mariner 2014) Daniel Bergner in his writings feels that women are, however, not as forthcoming as men about their sexual urges, possibly due to cultural and social restrictions. Similarly, various studies conducted on this subject by psychologists also ratify this point. (Mariner 2014) Therefore, in this case, Paglia’s viewpoint seems a little too extreme and flawed. My personal opinion on this subject would be to disagree with Paglia’s ideas on the subject since studies and empirical analysis on the subject tend to negate her ideas. Even in everyday life, one rarely comes across a woman who would deliberately choose to live a life without sexual pleasures, marriage and children. Thus, a combination of these studies and experience on the subject would lead me to disagree with Paglia’s views.
In conclusion, one can observe that most of Paglia’s ideas in the essay are problematic since they are either logically flawed, lack sound basis or because they are extreme in their approach. While she does make certain interesting points on the subject, she is unable to draw a larger picture due to the presence of these problematic viewpoints that tend to diffuse the important ideas in the essay.
Works Cited
Berzofsky, Marcus, et.al. “Female Victims of Sexual Violence 1994 -2010.” U.S Bureau of Justice. 7 Mar 2013. Web. 11 Nov 2014
Malik, Tariq. “No Witnesses? No Rape, Says Pakistan's Islamic Council.” Global Voices Online. 12 Jun 2013. Web. 11 Nov 2014.
Mariner, Cosima. “Women want as much sex as men.” Daily Life Online. 9 Mar 2014. Web. 11 Nov 2014.
“Marriage and Divorce.” American Psychological Association. APA Online. 2014. Web. 12 Nov 2014.
Paglia, Camille. Sexual Personae. New York, NY: Vintage Books, 1990. Print. 1-6
Zeb, Sanam. “Rising divorce rates in Pakistan and the misconceptions about women rights in Islam.” Center for Journalism – University of Kent. 14 Jan 2013. Web. 11 Nov 2014.
