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This brings me back to the question of celibacy: Sworn virgins were socially and culturally necessary for the people of the Balkans after the male population was nearly decimated. Does this kind of celibacy give us any insight into the kind of celibacy we're discussing (i.e. celibacy practiced willingly by a person for personal and/or political reasons)? Is the celibate in western society regarded as something of a "third sex" in our binary social construction of gender?
To me, it seems slightly problematic to think about Albanian sworn virgins as an example that connects us straight back to celibacy as a lifestyle choice in a so-called 'modern' Western context. My limited understanding of sworn virgin cultures is that most/many sworn virgins live as men and go by male forms of address as well as taking on a masculine economic and social role. And it's not unheard of for some sworn virgins to live with companions. So I would maybe theorise (without the benefit of really knowing anything at all about this) that celibacy for sworn virgins in Balkan culture is a social norm or ideology prohibiting what might be understood as sexual deviance, rather than something that every person who lives as a sworn virgin in the Balkans has practiced, and does practice. Celibacy in that context may not have anything to do with 'choice'; it may have to do with the threat of violence or social exclusion if an individual publicly transgresses the law.*
Meanwhile, the sense in which 'new' forms of celibacy are being articulated seem anchored in a cultural context where sexuality is assumed to be heteronormative. From what I understant of Cline, she seems to understand celibacy as the only alternative for women who are trapped in a sexual culture that makes them feel objectified or like receptacles for male desire. This ignores the possibility of female same-sex sexual practices, and it also seems to assume that all men are going to take on a masculine sexual role. On the other hand, the point seems to be about regaining a sense of autonomy. I'm all for autonomy, in a femininst context. But it would be pretty great to imagine that it was possible for women to gain a sense of autonomy and self-determination while having sexual relationships, too. But to get back to the point, Cline's thesis certainly doesn't seem to frame celibate women as a 'third sex': she's far too anchored in the gender binary for that.
Personally, discourses around celibacy make me feel a bit wary. I worry that books like the New Celibacy are actually quite anti-sex, underneath the layers of talk about it being an individual's choice. Certainly the implication seems to be that celibate individuals can attain more personal growth than those who fuck all the time. It seems to buy into the idea that sex is 'lowly' because it's to do with the body. I also have huge issues with the idea that attaining spiritual balance involves reducing one's dependence on the outside world, or reducing one's need for something external. We all need to eat; no-one (with the exception of breathairians) questions the human body's need for consuming food daily. I realise that I'm in danger of framing sex as some kind of biological need here, wihch is not my intention, but it seems equally suspect to frame sex as a 'base' need from which evolved humans can separate themselves, as a self-improvement strategy.
But I can see that in some contexts, practicing celibacy might be liberating. So I don't want to say, blanket statement, celibacy is a bad thing. Perhaps I'm just reacting to the mainstream discourses that support it. I'm thinking principally religious here: the good old Catholic Church as well as the more 'Eastern' spiritual teachings on celibacy as a path to enlightenment. I also wonder whether my experiences of sex as basically awesome (despite being a completely learnt social practice) and a source of great personal autonomy, contributes to that reaction against celibacy. If that wasn't the case, maybe I would feel differently.
*There's an interesting article called "Woman Becomes Man in the Balkans" in Third Sex, Third Gender, ed. Gilbert Herdt. I don't have a copy to hand, so my recollections are a bit vague. Sorry. |
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