Women's Studies 1021F/G Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Jane Austen, Sexual Norm, Heterosexuality
23 Nov 2016
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Document Summary
Could be considered ahistorical (being outside of history, as never changing) but yes sexuality does have a history. In classical athens, male homosexual relations were the norm". A great example of how sexual identity and sexual practices have changed over time. History has layers (not linear) it has layers of meaning and experience that if we dig into them, many things can be found. Sexuality can be seen as a progress narrative (oppression to liberation, ignorance to knowledge, non-identity to identity) Marriage was only seen as a relationship between men and women. Marriage meant a high social standing, procreation, children, stability (for women). Men worked outside the home (factory, office, etc) Women worked inside the home (running the household, parenting, managing servants, etc) Considered one of the best writers of the 18th-19th century. Austen was able to capture rules of social decorum, marriage, and heterosexuality in her novels.
