The meaning of sexual positions is socially constructed, not biologically fixed
Evidence
Many modern women who claim their dignity as human beings still grasp their sexual lives by referring back to a tradition of slavery: so it seems humiliating to them to lie under the man and be penetrated by him, and they tense up into frigidity; but if reality were different, the meaning sexual gestures and postures symbolically express would be different as well: a woman who pays, who dominates her lover, can, for example, feel proud of her superb inertia and think that she is enslaving the male who is actively exerting himself; and today there are already many sexually balanced couples for whom notions of victory and defeat yield to an idea of exchange. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1978
Categorization
- XREF: Directly relevant to the ‘Complaints About Immodesty Go Way Back’ piece — like dress, sexual posture is a social signifier whose meaning is arbitrary rather than given. — connects to: Phallic privilege is contingent on situation, not anatomically destined — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 128; Womanhood is socially constructed, not biologically destined — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 676; The virgin-desire myth serves male domination, not biological fact — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 948 (+6 more)
- SEED: An essay angle: the social construction of sexual posture — how the same physical act carries opposite symbolic meanings depending on the power arrangement, echoing how dress codes get read differently across class and culture.
Broader Connections
- Sexual attraction arises from socially conditioned images, not raw nature
#corroborates(0.88) - Sexuality is produced by biopower’s discourses, not a repressed secret to decode
#expands(0.82) — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 293 - Roman concepts of manhood depend on sexual role rather than partner gender
#exemplifies(0.78) — Stephen Kershaw, A Brief History of the Roman Empire, 685 - The desire to provide is not an innate male instinct
#corroborates(0.75) — bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman_ Black Women and…, 225