The Domino Theory Of Sexual Perils In 'Thinking Sex'

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Miley Cyrus. America’s Sweetheart turned out-of-control freak. What happened? Public’s perception of this teenage icon was suddenly changed when she publically started being more sexually promiscuous. This fear that only chaos can come from sexual promiscuity and deviancy is deeply engrained in our society. Gayle S. Rubin, author of “Thinking Sex”, sites this domino theory of sexual peril as one of the fundamental ideological formations of sexuality out of six main formations. I believe the domino theory of sexual peril is the most important ideological formation because this idea describes how systems of power react and control sexual and racial variances. The domino theory of sexual peril is the basis of the hierarchical model of sexual …show more content…

According to Rubin’s model, “good” sexual acts include heterosexual, married, monogamous, procreative, in private, and vanilla. Characteristics of “bad” sexual acts include homosexual, non-procreative, pornographic, and sadomasochistic. Only sex acts that are on the “good” side of the line are aligned with morality. This model assumes the domino theory of sexual peril, which is the belief that “the line between “good” and “bad” sex stand between sexual order and chaos” (Rubin 14). If certain aspects of “bad” sex are allowed to cross the erotic barrier, then other “reprehensible” acts would follow and chaos would ensue. The domino theory of sexual peril and this notion that some sex are moral while others are immoral further adds into the discourse of oppressive powers. “It grants virtue to the dominant groups, and relegates vice to the underprivileged” (15). This means that institutions of powers could be scapegoating sexual deviances as the problem while ignoring the real issues of society. One example of this was the anti-porn movement during the late 1970s. S/M porn was especially criticized because it is thought that …show more content…

Scapegoating sexual deviances is beneficial to institutions of power because it allows them to maintain social order. Our society is fundamentally based on the sustainment of capitalism. Sexual acts like heterosexuality and procreation are thus considered “good” and exist higher on the hierarchy while acts that are deemed to threaten this social structure are considered “bad” and pushed toward the end of the order. The existence of a hierarchy and the poor treatment of lower status individuals are also present in racist ideologies. For example, during the late 19th century, all Chinese immigrants were scapegoated as prostitutes and opium smokers with a motive to spread illness to the white population. (Shah) Even though people of all race voluntarily visited these opium dens and prostitutes, they were scarcely scrutinized by society and all blame was put on the Chinese immigrants. Furthermore, Merle Woo states that “the perpetuation of dehumanizing stereotypes is really helpful for whites; they use them to justify them giving us the lowest wages and all the work they don’t want to do” (143). This kind of condescendence of Third World Women by Whites was justified by the belief there is a social hierarchy and colored women stand on the bottom of the ladder. Like the sexual hierarchy, the race hierarchy grants privilege to the ones on top. The more privilege you

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