Abstract
From an apparent impasse and crisis in the 1970s and 1980s – politically and intellectually
– Marxism has recovered to offer critical insights into contemporary changes and developments
in late capitalist societies. Sexuality has been one area where Marxist critiques of
commodification and consumption, reification, cultural production and its hegemonic effects
and the structures of feeling and meaning-making that compose contemporary subjectivities
have been of significant value in decoding legal, political and cultural changes in the regulation,
prohibition and propagation of forms of sex and sexuality. This discussion will draw from some
of the most important contributions to Marxist critiques of sexuality, contemporary and historical,
to outline the contours of a critique of contemporary sexuality in society, notably Peter
Drucker, Holly Lewis, Rosemary Hennessy, David Evans, and Keith Floyd. The Marxist critique
of contemporary sexual politics and rights claims both recognises the importance of these
struggles and provides a materialist critique that demonstrates both the contemporary power
of Marxist analysis and a critical engagement with queer and constructionist “orthodoxies”.
Marxism has become a central and important ground for exploring the vagaries of sexuality
under capitalism in all its objectifying, commodifying, alienating and exploitative forms.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 696-706 |
Journal | tripleC:Communication, Capitalism and Critique |
Volume | 16 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 4 May 2018 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 4 May 2018 |
Keywords
- sexuality
- politics
- culture
- community
- commodification
- political economy