Being Decent, Being Authentic: The Moral Self in Shifting Discourses of Sexuality across Three Generations of Chilean Women

Abstract

Scholars have interpreted changes in sexual discourses from behaviouralist and structuralist perspectives, in the context of social movements, as expressions of power relations, among other approaches. This ar ticle advocates the study of shifting discourses of sexualities from the viewpoint of transformations in individuals’ moral orientations over time. To this end, thematically, the article recovers Foucault’s view of sexuality as a field of moral self-formation; conceptually, it follows Taylor and examines selfhood through the person’s moral sources. The article uses this framework to observe reformulations in sexual narratives across three generations of Chilean women. From grandmothers’ stories to granddaughters’ accounts, this analysis identifies a deactivation of the equation between being a ‘good woman’ and sexual disengagement. This movement reveals a change in the moral principle regulating Chilean women’s sexualities (from a morality of decency to one of authenticity) and a displacement of moral authority from the community to the person.

The Sexuality-Assemblage: Desire, Affect, Anti-Humanism

“…In this final section we look critically at some issues arising from these theoretical and methodological elements. In the study of sexuality, sociology's disciplinary focus on the social milieu has been tempered by efforts to acknowledge the personal and political significance of sexuality, sexual identity, sexual conduct and sexual emancipation for the individuals and specific social groups it researches, as the latter struggle against repression and seek sexual agency and authenticity (Bernasconi, 2010;Carpenter and Delamater, 2012). An ability to theorize resistance has been important for the study of sexuality (Renold and Ringrose, 2008), in which deterministic or structuralist frameworks sit uncomfortably alongside experiences of creative and transgressive sexual desires and experiences (Lambevski, 2005;Robinson, 2003).…”

Drug and sex education : a case study of the operation of social control

“…By defining heterosexuality as an institution, Weeks (2007) is arguing that all other sexual practices are compared to heterosexuality, which is assumed to be the 'normal' type of sexual activity. Similarly, Bernasconi (2010) argues that historically, sexuality has been controlled through heterosexual institutions such as marriage and the family. The definition of all other sexual practices, for example polygamy, as abnormal, deviant, etc.…”

“…Bernasconi (2010) discusses how three generations of Chilean women define their own sexuality differently. Bernasconi (2010) places importance on Foucault's (1978) examination of sexuality and sexual regulation in Western societies and the link between sexuality and morality. Based on Foucault's (1978) conception of sexual practices and morality, Bernasconi (2010) argues that Western societies believe that "individuals constitute themselves morally through their sexual practices" (861).…”

“…Bernasconi (2010) places importance on Foucault's (1978) examination of sexuality and sexual regulation in Western societies and the link between sexuality and morality. Based on Foucault's (1978) conception of sexual practices and morality, Bernasconi (2010) argues that Western societies believe that "individuals constitute themselves morally through their sexual practices" (861). Bernasconi (2010) attributes the different definitions to how the individuals define themselves.…”

“…Based on Foucault's (1978) conception of sexual practices and morality, Bernasconi (2010) argues that Western societies believe that "individuals constitute themselves morally through their sexual practices" (861). Bernasconi (2010) attributes the different definitions to how the individuals define themselves. These differing definitions could also be the result of changing perceptions of morality and sexuality throughout the past several decades.…”