The roots of antisexualism range from religious asceticism to political theory
In short: Why does society sometimes treat sexual behavior as something to be suppressed or even demonized? From radical religious sects practicing self-castration to philosophical debates on human dignity, antisexualism reveals a complex history of how we view the body, power, and the limits of human desire.
Antisexualism describes a broad hostility toward sexuality, often manifesting as a desire to eliminate the sex drive or suppress sexual freedom. Historically, this has been driven by religious asceticism. For instance, early Gnostics viewed matter as evil and encouraged chastity. More radical groups, like the Russian Orthodox sect Skoptsys, believed Christ was castrated during his crucifixion and practiced self-mutilation to achieve salvation. Similarly, the Shakers opposed all sexual activity and procreation, while Father Divine advocated for religious abstinence to combat what he saw as the root cause of social and political issues: sexual objectification.
In the 20th century, the concept shifted into political and philosophical spheres. Immanuel Kant argued that sexual intercourse was degrading because it turned a rational being into an object of appetite, a view that influenced his insistence on sex only within marriage. In the United States, James Baldwin identified the country as antisexual, noting how white culture viewed the sensual behaviors of Black Americans as suspect. This cultural policing of desire serves as a mechanism for maintaining social hierarchies and defining who is allowed to express bodily autonomy.
The 'feminist sex wars' of the late 1960s further complicated this landscape. Radical feminist theory posits that sexuality is the primary sphere of patriarchy, where heterosexual sex serves to revoke women's agency and objectify their reproductive labor. This led to a spectrum of responses, from calls for total celibacy to the advocacy of 'political lesbianism.' Conversely, critics like Naomi Wolf have labeled certain forms of feminism as 'victim feminism,' which they describe as sexually judgmental and antisexual. Ultimately, while some see these attitudes as a defense against oppression, others, like Bertrand Russell, dismissed them as superstitious products of jealousy or 'diseased' mental states.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Antisexualism
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