Present Day Power in Sexuality

The most engaging aspect of Halperin’s article has to be his use of power in sexuality. He states that sex was the ultimate means of establishing social rankings within Athenian society. The more powerful man, or the penetrator, was dominant within the sexual relationship and the man of lesser power took on the passive, receptor role. There were no labels. There was no such thing as homosexuality and heterosexuality and there was no need to define the distinction. Sexuality was not controlled by innate biological preference, but by societal norms. Unlike Twiddle Dee, I have to say that there is not a vast difference between ancient Athenian society and present day American society. Within American society, sex continues to establish who is dominant within a given relationship. No longer is sexual domination the system by which we establish societal rankings, it is now the system for establishing which individual or group is more powerful in relationship to one another. The powerful man in Athenian society would demonstrate his power by sexually dominating boys, men and women. At present, within the Patriarchy, when a male rapes a female, he is aggressively dominating and oppressing her. Sexual dominance continues to influence relationships today because rape exists. Women who are sexually dominated are made to feel inferior and insignificant. Rape is an act which expresses a greater idea. Women are not unimportant, sexual objects and there is no inherent reason as to why they should be dominated. In the greater sense, the prolonging of rape results in the systematic oppression of women as a group. All women are affected by violent male domination. Women’s actions are altered everyday with the fear that they could be raped. Some do not walk alone, others think twice about going certain places or donning certain outfits. Rape is the most frequently committed violent crime in the United States. 1 in 8 women will be raped in her lifetime. 1.3 women are raped every minute. There are 683,280 rapes per year. Rape is undoubtedly a rampant social phenomenon. The sensible writer Kalamu ya Salaam pointed out, “as long as male domination exists, rape will exist.” Time has not significantly revolutionized since the Athenians. Power in sexuality endures in present day. I only wish it didn’t.