Dear Earthlings:
Here is Rhiann's take:
Response to Sex at Dawn
It states, "the female... with the rarest exception, is less
eager than the male...” The authors go on to say that, “hundreds, if not
thousands, of studies have claimed to confirm the flaccidity of the female
libido” (Ryan 52). A 1989 study done in Florida State University was explained
to illustrate where the assumption that women are sexually flaccid derives
from. In the study, an attractive college student would walk up to members of
the opposite sex and offer a compliment and ask them to go to bed with them
that evening. About 75% of males said yes and many who said no suggested a
different night. On the other hand, not one female said yes to the same
proposal. This study supposedly concludes that women are not interested in
casual sex and do not have a sex drive. The text also suggests that these
results are conducive to theories that woman “instinctively barter sex to get
things from men” and in order to maintain said value of intercourse they
abstain from casual sex (Ryan 52).
The
topic I felt most compelled to respond to in the text, Sex
at Dawn, was the section
titled, “The Famously Flaccid Female Libido.” The section starts with a quote
by Charles Darwin.
It states, "the female... with the rarest exception, is less
eager than the male...” The authors go on to say that, “hundreds, if not
thousands, of studies have claimed to confirm the flaccidity of the female
libido” (Ryan 52). A 1989 study done in Florida State University was explained
to illustrate where the assumption that women are sexually flaccid derives
from. In the study, an attractive college student would walk up to members of
the opposite sex and offer a compliment and ask them to go to bed with them
that evening. About 75% of males said yes and many who said no suggested a
different night. On the other hand, not one female said yes to the same
proposal. This study supposedly concludes that women are not interested in
casual sex and do not have a sex drive. The text also suggests that these
results are conducive to theories that woman “instinctively barter sex to get
things from men” and in order to maintain said value of intercourse they
abstain from casual sex (Ryan 52).
My reaction to this passage was
negative. I believe the authors would side with me and wrote this passage to
shed light upon this assumption. I felt smothered as I read the quotes of these
great thinkers. As I read this section, I realized that my personal struggles
with my sexuality can be considered a product of these assumptions. The theory
that women do not have a strong libido that has been proven by men and weak
studies has shaped culture so much that it’s effects are reverberating through
my life today. I personally, feel the need to make sure that my “number” of
sexual partners is very low because I do not want to be perceived as
promiscuous. On the other hand, I struggle with cognitive dissonance. Part of
me wants to keep the amount of people I engage in intercourse with low and part
of me wants to explore my sexuality. I find myself to a have a sexually open
personality but have yet to attempt to explore this because I feel as if there
is a societal demand to keep my “number” particularly low. I struggle with
these two opposing thoughts all the time. After reading this section, I now
realize how deep and old this assumption is that has affected how I perceive
myself and monitor my own sexuality. To me, this is unfair to myself and all
women. I can only hope that through this class I will start to let go of the
societal demands I and other women succumb to on a daily basis.
Rhiann Peterson
Published with permission
WGSS 3998 - Ecosexuality and the Ecology of Love
Prof. Serena Anderlini-D'Onofrio
U Conn, Storrs, Spring 2013
Dear Earthlings:
Let "nature" be your teacher in the arts of love. Education is the heart of democracy, education to love. Come
back for more wonders: Students Responses have resumed, to appear now every Tuesday.
More Book Reports to be scheduled soon, every other Thursday.
Namaste,
Serena Anderlini-D'Onofrio, PhD
Gilf Gaia Extraordinaire
University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez
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