Sexual ethics reform requires women’s genuine independence and new self-conception first.

Evidence

The formation of a new feminine personality is the most important question of an ethical and civil order connected with the sexual question. Until women can attain not only a genuine independence in relation to men but also a new way of conceiving themselves and their role in sexual relations, the sexual question will remain full of unhealthy characteristics and caution must be exercised in proposals for new legislation. Every crisis brought about by unilateral coercion in the sexual field unleashes a “romantic” reaction which could be aggravated by the abolition of organised legal prostitution. All these factors make any form of regulation of sex and any attempt to create a new sexual ethic suited to the new methods of production and work extremely complicated and difficult. — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1101

Categorization

• DEFINE: Shows Gramsci’s method: any ethical reform (including the sexual question) must be analyzed through changes in the whole way of conceiving personhood, not just legislation.