The Sexual Child (Corse at Cornell U)

Cornell University ^

[Texaggie79]

651 The Sexual Child R 1:25-3:20 Hanson, E.

4 credits. (also WOMNS 651)

With respect to children, the American imagination today is defined by what we might call pedophile gothic. The sexual child, as a volatile emblem of trauma, has become the focus of moral panics from every point on the political spectrum–panics about cultural phenomena as various as pornography, psychotherapy, day care, parenting, the women’s movement, the Roman Catholic priesthood, access to the Internet, and every level of school curricula. But what do we think a child is or ought to be? What does it mean to love or desire a child? Who promotes the idea of child sexuality and why? How has it been constructed through theory, literature, and visual imagery? How do psychoanalysis, queer theory, and other theoretical approaches to sexuality reinscribe or challenge the dominant paradigm of trauma? This is an interdisciplinary course in American Studies and queer theory in which we will pursue a political, historical, and rhetorical analysis of the gothic language of trauma that has developed around the sexual child, especially in the United States in the past century. Theoretical readings for the course will include literary, psychological, and anthropological studies of child sexuality, child sexual abuse, trauma, moral panic, and the debate over "recovered memory" (Sigmund Freud, Bruno Bettelheim, Gilbert Herdt, Gayle Rubin, James Kincaid, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Lee Edelman, and Judith Lewis Herman, among others); we will also do close readings of fiction by Edgar Allan Poe, Henry James, and Vladimir Nabokov, among others, as well as controversial cinematic, theatrical, and photographic texts. Requirements for a letter grade will include a 20-25 page paper, as well as shorter assignments designed to introduce students to various forms of professional academic writing; requirements for S/U credit are three short papers or a teaching dossier.

CID 109707

[Mrs. P]

We have started to call on the legal system and the social services to help us, when we should just be giving the perp a good @$$ woopin, as you said. Maybe the problem is partly that so many families are broken up, and there is a single mother trying to get help. If a Dad were on the scene, (and especially if it were my Dad) I'm sure the woopin would have been done really good. No more problem.

[IronJack]

The sexual child, as a volatile emblem of trauma,

This type of phraseology is known as "academium," one of the densest argots to ever pollute the human vocabulary. It is a meaningless, contrived phrase designed less to enlighten than to obscure. As is the rest of this self-impressed gibberish.

Give 1,000 monkeys 1,000 typewriters ...

[boris]

"dammit boris, you got me! Course! ugh!"

I do what I can, he said modestly.

[Lorianne]

"The juvenile sea squirt wanders through the sea searching for a suitable rock or hunk of coral to cling to and make its home for life. For this task it has a rudimentary nervous system. When it finds its spot and takes root, it doesn't need its brain any more so it eats it. It's rather like getting tenure."

from Consciousness Explained by Daniel Dennett,

[Hobsonphile]

Bump for later ping.

[Texaggie79]

bump for later ping?

So, you want to ping someone, but not until later?

[Hobsonphile]

I maintain a ping list, but that list is not on my computer here at work- so I've bumped the thread to myself as a reminder to ping my group later when I am at home. :)

[weegee]

Queer Theory == Classroom activism/re-education.

[weegee]

"Sex positive" proponents refuse to take a stand against any sexual activity (minor-adult, same sex, family). Whatever you do is all "good" because it is part of your learning process.

See All About Sex for an example of such educators/advoocates.

[weegee]

It hasn't been said yet so let me add:

Ithaca, City Of Evil BUMP!

[Texaggie79]

Very true. I once asked a (supposed) NAMBLA advocate why he thought kids should have sex. His answer was "Sex is fun, like pizza".

LOL

[Eva]

You are wrong. My mother was sexually abused as a child and we all suffered for that abuse. She ended up in a mental ward at the age of 13(for 6 months). She has no memory of this time. She suffered from extremely low selfesteem which she unfortunately passed on to her kids, inspite of the fact that she was considered beautiful, had a beautiful voice and was a devout Christian. She never forgave herself and remained fearful of men her whole life.
Then to add to her trauma, she was repeatedly sexually harassed . A boy who she refused to date, laid in wait with a rifle to shoot any boy she went out with, one boss exposed himself to her on the job, a lesbian from her church tried to make moves on her and her psychiatrist told her that all she needed was a good man and that he was available anytime she was ready.

[EdReform]

BTTT

[Texaggie79]

You misunderstood me. I assume your mother went through years of abuse, being forced to keep quite, ect. Prolonged abuse is very traumatic and requires treatment.

What I am talking about is maybe an uncle that seemed to linger too long washing his niece or nephews' nether regions, or being fondled by a coach, ect. These are troubling, and the perps should be punished, but I hardly see a need for long term therapy, or even short term therapy.

I'm not saying kids are resilient enough to get through years of coerced sexual abuse without help, but I'm pretty sure they can get over being "touched in their special place".

Hell, I remember when I was about 7 or 8 and I took gymnastics. Our teacher seemed to like spotting us. Nothing blatant, but it just seemed strange how he would keep his hands on us as we did our routines. Come to think of it, he seemed to always do the ole' hand-in-the-crotch lift to get us on and off of the rings.

Recalling it now, he probably was getting off on it. I think it should be looked into, if he is still teaching, but I don't want to sue him or anything. I find it gross, but there is nothing I can do about it, and I haven't ever lost a wink of sleep over it.

Had he been arrested and all us kids put into therapy, I'm pretty confident in saying that I would be far worse off then. It never entered my mind that something "BAD" was happening. If I was told that I was "ABUSED" and "VIOLATED" and needed help, there is no telling how screwed up I would be.

[semaj]

I t would appear that the whole reason for these types of course curriculums's to de-construct the laws and societal norms that have been in place for generations to protect the weaker elements of society. The course is not designed to bolster society per se, but equips those inclined with the tools and understanding necessary to destroy the moral reasoning and fiber that has worked so well to protect us from ourselves.

[Hobsonphile]

Leftism on Campus ping!

If you would like to be added to the Leftism on Campus ping list, please notify me via FReep-mail.

Regards...

[Dr. Frank fan]

One wonders if the prof will mention the child-abuse accusations used to justify the holocaust at Mt. Carmel near Waco, Texas as a primary and recent instance of one of those "moral panics" referred to here.

[Under the Radar]

Thank god for the anonymity of the Internet.

I was molested by my 14 year-old babysitter when I was 6 years old. I never recieved "treatment" for it, and my parents never talked about it, but thankfully my mother did press charges and saw that the son-of-a-bitch was removed from his home where his younger sisters (my age) lived. I can't speak for anyone else, but I know that it affected me in ways I still don't fully grasp. I agree that this is a subject that should perhaps be studied with more scientific scrutiny, but my own experience, and from talking with other women who were also molested as children, confirms my belief in traditional, conservative wisdom regarding childhood sexualty.

Sexuality in humans seems to be a switch that, once flipped, cannot be turned off. My experience was cruel to the extreme, not just because of the incident itself, but because of what it did to my sexuality. That pervert took an innocent 6 year-old who had no conception of sex and turned her into a child who had drives and desires and no idea what they were or how to properly channel them.

The pedophiles are correct-- the children who are molested do not universally hate the experience, and many would tell you that they liked the adult attention. The sex drive in humans, like all animals, is a powerful one, and asking someone to say that they regret being sexualized is like asking someone if they regret the sesation of appetite and hunger that comes from the drive to obtain sustenance. Pedophiles and child molsters are today capitalizing on this truth, and would convince you that it is ok to prematurely sexualize children because the experience is not 100% harmful.

The effects of pre-sexalizing children are long-reaching. Girls who are sexally molested tend to have problems with forming male attachments and are more prone to lesbianism. Boys who are molested are more prone to homosexuality. All children who are molested have some form of sexual disfunction and a lingering sense of guilt.

Conventional, conservative wisdom has always maintained that children should be sheltered from sexuality and sexual experiences so that they can grow to a more mature level before they have to deal with such a powerful drive. In societies where parents are allowed to shelter their children in this manner, there does seem to be a strong indication that this works to keep children from sexualing early. In other words, the pedophiles are wrong that all children are naturally sexual. Children, like all humans, can be sexualized at a young age, but it is not a "natural," immutable force. Children, if not nudged in that direction, can in fact have long childhoods innocent of the sex drive until puberty. This has been a goal of Western Civilization until present. And pedophiles want to change this.

[Sender]

Thanks for sharing your experience, it is eye-opening for sure. I'm not sure kids today can escape being sexualized early even if they're not molested...it's an MTV world out there. Probably when my parents grew up it was possible to shield kids from any exposure to sexuality until puberty but not now.