Summary of key terms with definitions for the first module of the term. The test will ask you to describe several terms based on class notes and readings. All possible terms and concepts are listed here. Sexual Ethics is largely about understanding concepts, so this is a great starting point if you...
Sexual Ethics (RELG 271) - Test 1 Review
Identification terms:
Habitus:
Part of Bourdieu’s observations of how normal people act under normal circumstances.
Habitus is the social “embodied”, i.e. set of dispositions or an orientation to the world
that appear without any rules that regulate action. It is an ingrained habit that a person
adheres to without instruction.
Bodily hexis:
Part of Bourdieu’s observations of how normal people act under normal circumstances.
The physical embodiment and expression of our habitus, ie how we carry ourselves. This
is our actions based on our ingrained orientation to the world, even when we have
received no instruction on how to act.
Disciplinary technique:
Described in length by Bourdieu, disciplinary technique creates a set of “rules” that the
body is forced to adhere to either consciously or unconsciously. These rules dictate the
body's actions and behaviours based on the specific social/religious/cultural ideals that
body is surrounded by. Understanding there is a deep relationship between the body,
beliefs and social/religious/cultural ideals.
Docile body:
Discussed by Susan Bordo under her theory that gender is reproduced imaginatively, and
Foucault’s theory that body discipline is enforced through non-violent coercion. A docile
body is productive and useful, or a body that is easy to control. The docile body is
projected onto a person, usually women, where they then internalize the “rules” given
and act accordingly. The rules are usually a product of the environment and experience of
an individual from their birth. This is especially evident in practices that are traditionally
seen as feminine, like corsets, dieting, minimal movement in public, etc.
Temporal discipline:
Conforming to specific timing for specific actions/events. Structures the group itself as
well as their worldview. Can organize groups into a social hierarchy based on their timing
of events/actions, like when comparing a night janitor against a 9-5 job. Any deviance
from the social norm of timing is (usually indirectly) punished, or ostracized. Examples
of temporal discipline include brushing your teeth in the morning, eating lunch, going to
bed, waking up, etc.
Practical sense:
Foucault’s theory that body discipline is enforced through non-violent coercion. Practical
sense uniforms our world with meaning, we have naturalized beliefs surrounding the
“game”. To participate in the “game”, you must agree and adhere to the rules and
traditions in place. Believing in the rules of the game is a “state of the body”. For
example, you must believe in laws or the government will not work.
, Performativity:
Under Judith Butler’s theory that gender is performative. Performaitivty states that
gender produces the identity it purports to be, gender is expressed and we become our
gender through our actions. “Gender is always a doing,” because it feeds to the illusion
there is a core gender we must express.
Visible Identity:
Linda Alcoff states that race is a visible identity, and how we understand our physical
body is a reflection of how others see our physical bodies. Since race is physical, it is an
identity marker that shapes which impact our whole experiences, and are then further
enhanced by the actions of ourselves and others.
Triangle of Desire:
Discussed in Hopkin’s argument for developing a healthy relationship between eroticism,
religion and the male body. The triangle of desire pits black men and white men as
adversaries in a fight over the bodies of white women. The black male body is seen as an
object of fear and an object of envy. Black males are hypersexualized and viewed as
“animalistic”, whereas white males are seen as intelligent and self-disciplined.
Black Theology of Liberation:
The movement within Black Christianity which seeks to find power in eroticism, creating
a positive relationship between physical sexuality and religion. Hopkin’s proposes that if
gender is a human construct, humans can reconstruct it through religious reaffirmation.
The belief that self love is possible through the love of God. This challenges the antiblack
movement within Christianity and liberates black male identity to be rebuilt in a positive
light.
Post-colonialism:
Emphasizing the legacy and impact of colonization on cultural/social/political ordering
and experience, rethinks the narrative of people subordinated by the colonial regime. It is
meant to validate colonized people’s struggle with creating an identity separate from their
colonizers/their colonizers perspective.
Problem of the generic ‘Third World woman’:
A construct created by the “intellect” looking from the outside into a subject. The dualist
division between the subject and the object constructs a figure that does not accurately
represent the “third world woman”, but creates this woman and applies her onto actual
“third world women”. Problematic because it plays into racism, colonialism and further
victimizes and stereotypes women, and does not actually represent the “third world”.
Subaltern:
Idea put forward in postcolonial studies that describes a part of a social group that is
considered to be outside and/or below the dominant social and political structure, and
therefore inferior. Heavily associated with Ranjit Guha, who was seen as a professional in
the studies, and Spivak who criticized the study of the subaltern as a form of essentialism.
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