Sexuality is an ontological structure of the For-itself, not a physiological given

Evidence

As soon as “there is” the body and as soon as “there is” an Other, we react by desire, by Love, and by the derived attitudes which we have mentioned. Our physiological structure only causes the symbolic expression, on the level of absolute contingency, of the fact that we are the permanent possibility of assuming one or the other of these attitudes. Thus we shall be able to say that the For-itself is sexual in its very upsurge in the face of the Other and that through it sexuality comes into the world. — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 1003

Categorization

• DEFINE: Establishes the ontological (not physiological) status of sexuality in Sartre’s system — key for understanding the for-itself’s sexual attitudes as fundamental projects.
• XREF: Sets up the backdrop for Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, which extends/revises Sartre’s sexual ontology from the women’s standpoint. — connects to: Sexuality is a fundamental structure of being-for-others, not a mere physiological accident — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: An Essay on…, 970; Desire, not observed traits, originally discloses sexual being to consciousness.; Sexuality is produced by biopower’s discourses, not a repressed secret to decode — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 293 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Sexuality is produced by biopower’s discourses, not a repressed secret to decode #complicates (0.82) — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 293
• The body is a permanent structure of being, not a contingent addition. #expands (0.80) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 870
• Sexuality expresses an underlying quest for being rather than grounding it. #qualifies (0.75) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 127