Abstract
In this response to the comments on my book, Rape and Resistance: Understanding the Complexities of Sexual Violation, I offer a futher elaboration of the crucial concept of sexual subjectivity put forward as a way to approach the normative evaluation of sexual practices. This concept makes possible a healthy pluralism without retreating to a facile libertarian view that would render consent sufficient to determine morally unproblematic sex. The concept of sexual subjectivity sanctions experimentation in our sexual lives (individual and also collective) and the question arises as to whether this opens the door to anything. Yet the concept of experimentation also presupposes that some experiments fail and that all require assessment. I argue that assessment is best done in intra-group discussions where people share broad experiences and aims, but it is also possible to communicate concerns and ideas across groups. I then discuss my use of Foucault to elaborate the specific challenges that are encountered when one tries to speak about rape and sexual violations, and also the ways we can use his work to develop more effectively resistant speaking practices.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allison, D. (2005). Skin: Talking about sex, class, and literature. New York: Open Road Press.
Brison, S. (2002). Aftermath: Violence and the remaking of the self. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Burke, M. (2019). When time warps: The lived experience of gender, race, and sexual violence. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Butler, J. (2005). Giving an account of oneself. New York: Fordham University Press.
Cahill, A. J. (2001). Rethinking rape. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Cahill, A. J. (2011). Overcoming objectification: A carnal ethics. New York: Routledge Press.
Foucault, M. (1988). Power/knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings, 1972-1977 (Ed., C. Gordon). New York: Random House.
Gray-Rosendale, L. (2013). College girl: A memoir. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Halwani, R. (2017). Casual sex, promiscuity and objectification. In R. Halwani, et al. (Eds.), The philosophy of sex, contemporary readings (7th ed., pp. 401–420). Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.
Keller, M. H, & Dance, G. J. X. (2019). Child sex abuse on the internet: Stolen innocence gone viral. New York Times, September 29, 2019.
Khader, S. (2011). Adaptive preferences and women’s empowerment. New York: Oxford University Press.
Kimmel, M. (2009). Guyland: The perilous world where boys become men. New York: HarperCollins.
Rothbart, D. (2011). He’s just not that into anyone. New York Magazine, January 28, 2011.
Sexual Health Initiative to Foster Transformation. (2018). High school sex ed may prevent sexual assault in college, Retrieved November 14, 2018, from https://www.mailman.columbia.edu/public-health-now/news/high-school-sex-ed-may-prevent-sexual-assault-college.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Alcoff, L.M. Response. Philos Stud 177, 311–320 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-019-01393-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-019-01393-y