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  • TUESDAY OCTOBER 5 2004 4:00 PM

Shifting Out of Sexuality and Defunding Sex Research

Submitted by Christopher

Edited by Christopher

In The History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault writes that our western culture lacks “ars erotica”, or a private cultural exchange of sexual knowledge. Instead, our culture has created sexuality, the discourse of sex with pleasure, the Self, and the power structures of sexuality as the subject. In an article at Nerve.com, Justin Clark examines the repercussions and reaction into the defunding of sex research by the political rightwing.

These days sexologists' fears go beyond defunding, says DeLamater, editor of the Journal of Sex Research, a publication of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. "Two former students of mine are blacklisted," says DeLamater, referring to a list of 150 NIH-funded scientists whose work was attacked by Republicans last year in Congress. Some of DeLamater's other students have decided to enter less controversial fields. "I was blacklisted myself three years ago," he says, "for writing a letter to the editor of a local newspaper saying that abstinence doesn't work."

Clark uses Foucault to posit that our “yearning” for ars erotica is displacing our scientific exploration of sexuality, and of course the sex survey.

Defunding university studies into sex and shifting most the basic research to drug companies that create pills to "solve" erectile dysfunction doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, especially when those same right wing advocates condeming studies into sexuality also participate in its privatization and sale.

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Comments
TheFuckOffKid

TheFuckOffKid

NEWSWIRE

Australia

OCT 05, 2004 04:37 PM

Foucault. *yawn*

Suffice to say, Bush's reactionary moral tendencies on a whole number of fronts are scary.

muteseh

muteseh

Royal Oak, MI
February 2003

OCT 05, 2004 05:46 PM

This has more to do with Bush. This is the systematic 'delegitimization' of science for the sake of moral agendas.

MrStitches

MrStitches

Brooklyn, NY
November 2003

OCT 05, 2004 05:48 PM

Heretics.

muteseh

muteseh

Royal Oak, MI
February 2003

OCT 05, 2004 07:01 PM

L Ron Hubbard?

implod

implod

Seattle, WA
January 2004

OCT 06, 2004 12:36 AM

look at wilhelm reich
his research was outlawed and he was hounded
mixing science and sex is still taboo
be as kinky and explore fetishes as you will, but involve the scientific method and you will be exposed as a freak and a charlatan

cirdt

cirdt

Edmonton, AB
February 2004

OCT 06, 2004 12:47 AM

arg. i wish i didn't come across articles like this when i'm supposed to be studying.

waxangel

waxangel

Baltimore, MD
May 2003

OCT 06, 2004 01:06 AM

Sex studies have been difficult to fund since Kinsey and Masters & Johnson for many reasons. Not the least of which is that, with new research requirements and most reputable universities having fairly stringent IRB requirements, it's difficult to demonstrate societal gain as being greater than potential negative affect to participants. Not that I agree, but that's the way research funding has been heading for quite a while.

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