...Nagel’s Sexual Perversion Regine Apeah 500514075 Ryerson University Nagel’s Sexual Perversion Regine Apeah 500514075 Ryerson University The idea of sexually perverse acts can only be understood after grasping the concept of sexual desires amongst humans. Nagel (1969) mentions that like hunger, sexual desire has its characteristic object a certain relationship with something in the external world; sexual desire is a feeling about other people. The object of sexual attraction is a particular person that has features that make them attractive (Nagel, 1969). For example when different people are attracted to a person for different reasons, it’s ultimately because of the person. It’s important to know that not any person can be substituted as an object for sexual desire, and one cannot transfer an old desire to a new person, although the same desire and arousal will occur, it will be a new attraction with a new person (Nagel, 1969). According to Nagel (1969), sexual desire involves a kind of perception; there is the model of mutual desire and blanketed mutual perceptions of both oneself and the object- this brings about the “complex system of superimposed mutual perceptions” (Nagel, 1969, p. 10). In order to be sexually aware of someone, one must first be aware of themselves; this is the Romeo and Juliet scenario (Nagel, 1969). This explains why it is important that the partner is aroused, but also being aroused by one’s desire- it entails “multi-level interpersonal awareness”...
Words: 800 - Pages: 4
...Perverted, you say? The distinction between "natural" and "unnatural" or "perverted" sex has always been part of traditional sexual morality. Every major philosophy of sex has something to say about this distinction; and in some of them, the distinction is given a high value. In society, the word perversion is attached with many negative connotations. The word suggests a sexual act that is grotesque, strange, or unnatural contrary to “normal” sex. Yet, in both every day and more abstract contexts, the use of the term sexual perversion is plagued by considerable inconsistency and confusion. Two different philosophers, for example, have very different views on what accounts for natural and unnatural sex and their account of perverted sexual desires. Thomas Negal is most popular for his belief that sexual perversion is not the actual act itself, but the mindset with which the individual completes the act. On the other hand, Alan Goldman’s theory is that sexual desire is only the longing for physical contact with another human. However, even with these disagreements there seems to be one underlying common theme between both Nagel’s Sexual Perversion, and Goldman’s Plain Sex. It is that another person, or their body, is always the source of sexual pleasure. Nagel stresses that sexual perversions are based upon the notion that, “unnatural sex lies not in the nature of the act performed, but instead on the mindset of the person who performs it” (Nagel, 33). To illustrate this...
Words: 906 - Pages: 4
...BIOETHICAL ISSUES AND MORALITY Bioethics refers to the systematic study if the human conduct in the areas of the life sciences and health care. Based on the foregoing arguments, these are the following issues, namely surrogate motherhood, drug addiction, suicide, murder, self-defense, euthanasia, capital punishment, abortion, and mutilation. Surrogate motherhood is the transaction through which a woman bears the child for the convenience of another woman. It is one of the progressive ways of alleviating infertility. However, Catholic Church is strong in saying that reproduction outside marriage is illicit, and therefore, immoral. Drug addiction is not immoral if the drug intake is meant for curing an illness. However, the immorality of drugs would surface if used outside their purpose. Suicide is to kill oneself. It is an immoral total cessation of a God-given life. Therefore, suicide is immoral. Murder is the art of killing of an innocent person. It is immoral since it violates the right of God over human life. Self-defense is not our duty to kill an aggressor; but we have the right to defend ourselves from any unjust and illegal attack of aggressor. It is justifiable since killing here is not a murder. Euthanasia or mercy killing is defined as the intentional killing of the life of the presumably hopeless person. It is inherently wrong because it violates the nature and dignity of human beings. Since life originates from God, therefore, He alone has a sovereign right over...
Words: 756 - Pages: 4
...III. In Between Neurosis and Perversion If one thing comes clear from the considered above reviews, it is the fact that explicit topics (like prostitution) and explicit scenes (showing nudity, sex, or genitalia) are still not always welcome in cinema that aspires to be serious. Somehow, these elements make film less serious and worthy of attention in the eyes of many critics – they make films “pretentious.” However, as we have seen in the case of Breillat, if one is a known director, there is a lesser possibility that one's film will be interpreted as pornographic, whereas if one is a young and relatively unknown filmmaker. It should be mentioned here that the separation between art and pornography is not a new phenomenon. Walter Kendrick brilliantly traces the origins of modern pornography in his book The Secret Museum(Kendrick 1988). He shows how ad hoc are many definitions of pornography, as well as authorities' decisions to classify some artworks as pornographic. Kendrick's book nicely shows how certain artifacts can be continuously moved from the category of pornography to art, and vice versa. Similarly, philosopher Hans Maes in his...
Words: 1001 - Pages: 5
...The ONE Inc. vs. Olesen case was a critical legal battle for gay rights leading up to 1969, highlighting the most explicit ways in which the LGBT community was censored, particularly by the US federal government. I highly recommend these excerpts, from both the federal and Supreme Court rulings, be included in our pre-Stonewall Riots compendium. ONE Inc. was the "first widely distributed publication for homosexuals in the United States," formed to “publish...a magazine dealing primarily with homosexuality from the scientific, historical and critical point of view, and to aid in the social integration and rehabilitation of the sexual variant,” providing an unapologetic voice for the LGBT community during an otherwise dismal time period (“History”). The magazine included fictional writings by and about LGBT people, such as a lesbian-authored poem entitled “Proud and Unashamed”, and current events concerning the...
Words: 799 - Pages: 4
...of expression. Everyone seems to have a desire to express themselves freely and without interference, to say what’s on their minds and how they feel on specific matters that concerns them. In addition, laws are also made to protect one’s right to express oneself freely, but to extend this lawful right to pornography is the worse decision that can ever be made by any constitution or law. The Williams Committee defined pornography as sexually explicit representation which has the function or intention of sexually arousing its audience, and according to the Merriam Webster dictionary pornography can be in the form of movies, pictures, magazines, etc., that show or describe naked people or sex in a very open and direct way in order to cause sexual excitement. Pornography appears to have few friends in high places. Governments generally censor and restrict it. Most religions abominate it and others seem at least to frown upon it. Academics for the most part find it distasteful, if not offensive or even heinous. Pornography over the years has been viewed taboo, both in subject and in content. Almost all cultures across the world have sects within them that are offended by pornographic content. This content is expressed in movies,...
Words: 1629 - Pages: 7
...Sexual activity is described to be any sexual activities associated with sexual intercourse. However, sexual activity is often categorized as either normal or perverted. Two analytic philosophers, Thomas Nagel and Alan Goldman, described their views on natural sexual activity and sexual desire versus abnormal sex and sexual desire. Thomas Nagel, who is a professor of philosophy and law, borrows his ideas relating sexual desire from the well-known French philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre. Nagel is able to give human beings his insight of who we are, specifically our sexual desires. There are three general conditions that an accurate account would have to meet relating perversion. The first one states, “If X is a sexual perversion, X must be a desire or practice that is somehow unnatural.” This first condition assumes that X is something abnormal, which results in perverse activities. The second condition states, “certain conditions will be perversions if anything is, such as shoe fetishism, bestiality, and sadism; other practices, such as unadorned sexual intercourse, will not be; about still others there is controversy” (34). This one states that having sex with an animal or inanimate objects will be considered perverse, whereas plain sex will be considered as normal sexual activity. The last condition states, “if there are perversions, they will be unnatural inclinations rather than just unnatural practices adopted not from inclination but for other reasons” (34). This one states...
Words: 840 - Pages: 4
...marriage is defined as a union between two people who are of the same gender or biological sex. This is obvious from the varying definitions of marriage that this topic carries with it a large amount of controversy. Those who support same-sex marriage often argue that love is grounds enough for marriage, regardless of their sexual orientation. Those who are opposed often cite religious viewpoints and concerns about the rearing of children as the main reasons for their opposition. The conflict over same-sex marriage is not a simple one. It involves many legislative, cultural, religious and family issues.” http://www.debate.org/gay-marriage/ However, “from a legal standpoint, those on the opposing side of the gay marriage situation often believe that the rights of marriage should be restricted to couples who are of the opposite sex. Those who are for it believe that marriage is a civil right and should not have restrictions to those of a particular sexual orientation.” This is another point stated in the article, ”With the legalization of homosexual marriage, every public school in the nation will be required to teach that this perversion is the moral equivalent of traditional marriage between a man and a woman. Textbooks, even in conservative states, will have to depict man/man and woman/woman relationships, and stories...
Words: 688 - Pages: 3
...and Marriage by Staff Forerunner, "Ready Answer," September-October 1997 Topics * Adultery * Fornication * Homosexuality * Infidelity * Infidelity to God * Marriage * Movies * More... Adultery, fornication and other forms of sexual immorality have been in the news a lot lately. The military in particular is undergoing a top-to-bottom review of its sexual policies because of various misdeeds of its officers and troops. From the lowest to the highest offices in the land, marital infidelity and sexual improprieties are the buzzwords. Tabloids scream the latest "love triangle" discovered. Magazines contest each other to picture the cover girl with the least covering. Headlines tease readers with articles about sex. Within their pages sex sins of every stripe come out of the closet. Whether its movies, the Internet, bars, parties, homosexual activities, parades or whatever, sex is the vehicle that attracts interest. It has even encroached into children's cartoons, books, magazines and videos! "Living in sin" is now par for the course. People refer, not to husbands or wives, but to "significant others." They speak of "satellite relationships" rather than affairs. Perversions have been downgraded to "personal sexual expressions." What was once shameful is now acceptable. Why is sex promoted so extensively? Because sin is pleasurable, and sex sins are particularly so. Moses chose to forego the "passing pleasures of sin" (Hebrews 11:25) for a greater ultimate reward...
Words: 3391 - Pages: 14
..."overt acts of perversion", The American Psychiatric Association classified homosexuality as a sociopath personality disturbance and you were considered mentally infirm (this did not change until 1973), and "You could be arrested for holding hands in public with your partner." 2. History.com also provides information that the Stonewall Inn was raiding in a surprise attack on June 28, 1969. But this time things ended in a different way. Instead of spreading out into the city, the patrons and employees gathered together and attacked the NYPD which led to a riot that lasted till 4:00 A.M. and continued for five more days. Signpost: Furthermore, the events of the Stonewall riots made a permanent impact on the way American citizens view the LGBT+ community and with these many changes, led to the many rights that LGBT+ citizens have gained throughout the years and their continued process for equality. II. Nearly fifty years later, LGBT+ people in the U.S. have gained a variety of equal rights. A. Some rights that LGBT+ people have gained are marriage equality, certain states outlawing sexual discrimination, proper healthcare, and many more. 1. Evidence provided by CNN informs the audience that in 1994 the Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancing Act go into effect. "The law allows a judge to impose harsher sentences if there is evidence showing that a victim was selected because of the "actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation...
Words: 1041 - Pages: 5
...is a perversion or not is not even the issue. The issue is that the moment these films start being exposed to large audience they start hurting the morality of the society and degrade the men’s attitude towards women. So, should it be banned? Pornography videotapes are popular and available as they have never been before or may be also called “home pornography”. Such video pornography is usually sold or rented and often include extra-violent tapes where women are hurt by being penetrated by unhealthy objects, raped, and forced to do humiliating things. So, basically saying, the tapes include obviously illegal acts of a sexual character. In such tapes women are depicted as sex objects for the satisfaction of men’s primitive sexual needs and entrained into degenerate conversations. Such hard-core pornography shows women being raped by several men or even beaten. It comes as no surprise that there are even pornography motion pictures having the NC-17 rating and TV pornography that is on special pornography channels on cable television. And the worst thing is that such channels are almost never censored and may contain any type of violence. Internet pornography is a separate case for it has everything listed above. Cyber-porn offers online sex chats, pictures, movies and even online sex acts. The severity of Internet porn is horrifying. There is something for any perverted mind and the caliber of violence increases from site to site and the content even includes sexual deviations...
Words: 1590 - Pages: 7
...homosexual acts by General George Washington in 1778. Although the Military has prohibited homosexuality, the ban was not enforced until the time of World War II. Procedures had been developed and implemented in locating and excluding homosexual draftees from serving in the Military; the services screened for feminine body mannerisms, dress manner and any rectum irregularities (Webley, 2010). During President Bill Clintons term the “Don’t ask don’t tell” policy, formally known as the Military Personnel Eligibility Act was enacted (Webley, 2010). This law was passed to keep open gay women and men from serving in the U.S. Military. “As long as gays kept quiet about their sexual orientation, they were allowed to serve in the Military” (Webley, 2010). The Pentagon agreed to keep from asking about sexual preference in recruitment forms and interviews, but it never stopped with the investigations of those serving in the military to determine if they were gay (Webley, 2010). In President Obama’s “first State of the Union Address, the president stated he was going to work to repeal the law that denied gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are” (Webley, 2010, para. 1). Rebuttal The dictionary defines “Marriage as the social institution under which a man and a woman...
Words: 574 - Pages: 3
...In the 1960’s America had laws that stated homosexuality was forbidden and was a punishable offense. The gay community after dealing with discrimination and police brutality had decided that they had to fight for their civil rights. Throughout this paper I will answer the following questions: what led to the start of the gay liberation movement, who were the leaders as well as the advocates of the movement, what were the discriminations that gays and lesbians faced, what were the goals of the movements and how they achieved them as well as what was the aftermath of the movement. By answering these questions, we will explore what oppressions the community had to go through to achieve the rights they were entitled to. Throughout the history...
Words: 606 - Pages: 3
...Is television turning the America public gay? In the article “Subversion Through Perversion” by William Jasper, he claims that forces in entertainment are trying to take their audience with them to hell. Jasper continues by saying that these “sodomites” (Jasper, 2005, para.1) are trying to force homosexuality on straight people and make them subconsciously accept it. He then claims that over the top homosexuals are trying to reform our society and culture but are unsuccessful with passing laws so the must do so through the media, through the placement of gay/lesbian characters in popular shows. Jasper explains how the “Velvet Mafia” (Jasper, 2005, para.5) is in charge of determining when it is time to push homosexuality on the public. When they say its time there are coming out episodes or same-sex kissing scenes. Jasper later cites a New York Times writer, Virginia Heffenan. She claims entertainment mediums have discovered the appeal of the lesbian kiss and how the audience sees them as nothing out of the ordinary. She also describes how lesbians are sold to young adults and makes them seem beautiful and cool. Jasper continues with his examples by calling out The Simpsons and claiming Homer has been added to further spread homosexuality by officiating a same-sex marriage. At the end of the article, Jasper concludes by saying that this revolution occurred so quietly that no one even knew it happened. I disagree with Jasper that the media is trying to homosexualize America because...
Words: 1204 - Pages: 5
...Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy DeVry University Online During a time of need and desperation, when another person jumped to your aid and helped you out, did you stop to think about what their sexual preference was and if so would it have mattered to you? Well if you are in one of the United States Military branches, it is almost guaranteed to have come up and it has caused enough of an issue, commotion and publicity that the President of the United States had to step in and put into place a policy for what is the beginning of a giant human rights and equality motion in history. Even in this new century, who you choose to have sex with or love, still appears to be an issue for many people. Some even know that this person may one day save your life and have your back and it’s still an issue for some. The struggles of discrimination and inequality were all too frequent in the lives of homosexuals who were serving or trying to serve in the United States Military started to catch attention with the media and caught the attention by many who had voices to make a difference for equality. During the civil rights movement in the 1960’s, homosexuality wasn’t a right that was openly fought for. Albeit that today, most people view the right to love whom they choose as a civil, and human right. Many people believe that a relationship should be between a man and a woman and therefore the rights of the homosexual community were not fought over in any of the early civil rights movements...
Words: 3782 - Pages: 16
