Read Online Loose Women, Lecherous Men by Linda Lemoncheck - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Linda Lemoncheck
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AIDS-tested disease-free men, and, like our barhopper, sleeps with a different man every night derisively considered by many people to be a "slut"?
What these cases suggest is that exactly what we mean by sexual promiscuity will depend on the identity and context of the subject "we." What I intend to show is that it is a philosophical mistake to try to offer a single definition of sexual promiscuity, one with necessary and sufficient conditions that are designed to cover all possible contexts of its use. Rather, I will take the approach that the term "promiscuity," like so many expressions in the English language, is used in a variety of contexts with meanings related to, but not identical with, one another. Instead of the meaning of promiscuity, I will uncover a wide variety of meanings for the term derived from the particular social location of each speaker and the social context of the speaker's sexual behavior. 9 Like the "view from somewhere different'' introduced in chapter 1, this approach eschews the universal analytic categories typical of the "view from nowhere" in favor of assigning meaning on the case-by-case basis of social location. This approach is consistent with a feminist philosophy of sex that appreciates the context-specific dialectic between gender and sexuality. 10
Consider the following propositions:
1. Distributing condoms to high school students only encourages them to be promiscuous.
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2. If Magic Johnson hadn't been so promiscuous, he never would have contracted HIV, the virus that can cause AIDS.
3. A promiscuous woman is a loose woman.
Note that in all three propositions, the reference is to sexual promiscuity. High school distribution of devices designed to inhibit the exchange of bodily fluids during sex makes many parents fear that their children are being given tacit permission to be sexually promiscuous. Many people believe that Magic Johnson's sexual promiscuity resulted in his contracting a virus typically, but not necessarily, caused by the exchange of bodily fluids during sex ; and it is the sexually promiscuous woman who is the sexually loose woman.
However, not all contexts in which speakers use the token terms "promiscuous" or "promiscuity" prompt us to identify the type as sexual. Promiscuity also has a nonsexual sense that connotes merely indiscriminate or careless behavior. Suppose a sexually promiscuous bank executive is our proverbial "loose woman." We may know this much about her yet still know nothing about the way she spends her bank's money. On the other hand, the bank executive who is promiscuous with her bank's money is an incautious financier whatever her sexual habits. Furthermore, promiscuity can connote an abundance, excess, or profusion with or without sexual overtones. The sight of a promiscuous display of bougainvillea is the sight of vibrant color, while the sight of a promiscuous display of Chihuahuas is the sight of dogs in heat.
In addition, a sexually promiscuous person is a sexually active person. A teenager who fantasizes about sex after acquiring a condom but never acts out those fantasies is not a sexually promiscuous teenager; and no matter how strong Magic Johnson's intentions to be sexually active may have been, if none of those intentions had been fulfilled, he would not be accused of sexual promiscuity. A sexually active person need not be promiscuous, however, as many faithful and happily married couples will attest. Moreover, former president Jimmy Carter could admit to "lusting in his heart" after women other than his wife Rosalyn without being accused of sexual promiscuity because while he and his wife may have had a great sex life together, he was not sexually active with the women about whom he fantasized. A loose woman doesn't just think about sleeping around; she sleeps around.
A commonly held view of the sexually promiscuous person is that she is sexually active in an uncoerced or voluntary way. When a single woman is raped by a
What these cases suggest is that exactly what we mean by sexual promiscuity will depend on the identity and context of the subject "we." What I intend to show is that it is a philosophical mistake to try to offer a single definition of sexual promiscuity, one with necessary and sufficient conditions that are designed to cover all possible contexts of its use. Rather, I will take the approach that the term "promiscuity," like so many expressions in the English language, is used in a variety of contexts with meanings related to, but not identical with, one another. Instead of the meaning of promiscuity, I will uncover a wide variety of meanings for the term derived from the particular social location of each speaker and the social context of the speaker's sexual behavior. 9 Like the "view from somewhere different'' introduced in chapter 1, this approach eschews the universal analytic categories typical of the "view from nowhere" in favor of assigning meaning on the case-by-case basis of social location. This approach is consistent with a feminist philosophy of sex that appreciates the context-specific dialectic between gender and sexuality. 10
Consider the following propositions:
1. Distributing condoms to high school students only encourages them to be promiscuous.
Page 31
2. If Magic Johnson hadn't been so promiscuous, he never would have contracted HIV, the virus that can cause AIDS.
3. A promiscuous woman is a loose woman.
Note that in all three propositions, the reference is to sexual promiscuity. High school distribution of devices designed to inhibit the exchange of bodily fluids during sex makes many parents fear that their children are being given tacit permission to be sexually promiscuous. Many people believe that Magic Johnson's sexual promiscuity resulted in his contracting a virus typically, but not necessarily, caused by the exchange of bodily fluids during sex ; and it is the sexually promiscuous woman who is the sexually loose woman.
However, not all contexts in which speakers use the token terms "promiscuous" or "promiscuity" prompt us to identify the type as sexual. Promiscuity also has a nonsexual sense that connotes merely indiscriminate or careless behavior. Suppose a sexually promiscuous bank executive is our proverbial "loose woman." We may know this much about her yet still know nothing about the way she spends her bank's money. On the other hand, the bank executive who is promiscuous with her bank's money is an incautious financier whatever her sexual habits. Furthermore, promiscuity can connote an abundance, excess, or profusion with or without sexual overtones. The sight of a promiscuous display of bougainvillea is the sight of vibrant color, while the sight of a promiscuous display of Chihuahuas is the sight of dogs in heat.
In addition, a sexually promiscuous person is a sexually active person. A teenager who fantasizes about sex after acquiring a condom but never acts out those fantasies is not a sexually promiscuous teenager; and no matter how strong Magic Johnson's intentions to be sexually active may have been, if none of those intentions had been fulfilled, he would not be accused of sexual promiscuity. A sexually active person need not be promiscuous, however, as many faithful and happily married couples will attest. Moreover, former president Jimmy Carter could admit to "lusting in his heart" after women other than his wife Rosalyn without being accused of sexual promiscuity because while he and his wife may have had a great sex life together, he was not sexually active with the women about whom he fantasized. A loose woman doesn't just think about sleeping around; she sleeps around.
A commonly held view of the sexually promiscuous person is that she is sexually active in an uncoerced or voluntary way. When a single woman is raped by a
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