In Brave New World, we see people pressured and conditioned into being very open about their sexuality and erotic behaviors. Monogamy is looked down upon and one is viewed unfavorably if they stick to a sexual partner (how people looked at Lenina).
I thought it was really interesting how in 1984, the opposite idea spread throughout the party and its followers. Winston’s thoughts about desiring sex was seen as rebellious and something that no one in the party thought about (although there were people who had secret encounters with prole prostitutes).
What do you guys think about the drastic differences in how each book portrays sexuality and promiscuity? Does the society in brave new world model our current societal views on sex? Or is our culture more similar to 1984?
I think that in the US -- especially in the current younger generation --, the concept of dating and sex is not as “improper” as before. We often see this modelled in social media, tv shows, and in our daily lives. However, I think that in many other cultures outside of the US, sexuality isn’t a free choice for many and there are specific cultural norms that are expected of citizens.
Good question. It does seem like night and day -- but the one commonality is that sexuality IS socially and/or governmentally controlled. Sex isn't really seen as "natural" or as an individual choice; it's a function of society.
ReplyDeleteI noticed this contrast as well. I think this goes along with larger themes of the two novels. For example, in BNW the people are oppresed by having all the pleasure (sex, soma, feelies) they could want until they are dulled. Whereas in 1984 the people are oppressed by having their pleasure highly restricted
ReplyDeleteI think that our world is a blend of the two societies in the novels that we have read. On one side, we have definitely become more comfortable with speaking about sex and the social norm that one has to be in a monogamous relationship has slowing been getting quieter. However, I feel like sex and sexuality are still very taboo topics, especially when a woman or member of the LGBTQ+ community is talking about it. Our fascination with sex only seems to benefit and encourage the actions of the cis, straight, white man, refusing to accept that women masturbate or are comfortable with casual hookups, that LGBTQ relationships can be more serious than just sex, and so on and so forth. Male rappers can speak in great detail about every woman that they have had sex with (whether it even actually happened) in vulgar and inappropriate detail and have it result in a Grammy or number 1 single. But if a female rapper talks about herself and her comfortability with her body and/or sexuality, she is shamed for it and gets a large amount of backlash.
ReplyDeleteAlso when saying "we", I mean our society in America. There are definitely other countries that are way more comfortable and accepting of sex and others where it is still a very taboo topic.
DeleteIn the US, I think we're moving in the direction of Brave New World in terms of acceptance. We're finally becoming a society where people are allowed to own their sexuality, which I think is very important. I also thought it was interesting that Huxley and Orwell painted such sharply contrasting pictures of sexuality in a dystopian society, and I think that Orwell's idea is much more nuanced and intelligent instead of Huxley's, which is basically fueled by his paranoia of societal advancement.
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