Essay Brave New World:
Sex in a utopian world
Nowadays the population is used to the principles of sex we know. Principles people are used to are:
one bedpartner, a relationship and sex for reproduction. Everybody knows what it is, but most of the
people do not talk about it. It is a true taboo. People are so used to this way of living that they do not
think about what the situation would look if the principles completely changed. But what would
sexuality look like in a utopia? Aldous Huxley wrote a book featuring the role of sex in 1932. His book
was called ‘Brave New World’. It is about a science fiction world were sex takes on a different role.
The story is a science fiction story written in 1932. So, the story has an interesting perspective
because someone from the past wrote about the future. It is about a society that is completely
controlled by the government. In this essay it will be clear what kind of role sex takes in this novel.
In the first paragraph the role of sexuality in the new world state will be discussed. At the beginning
of the story, it becomes clear that babies come to earth in a completely different way than what the
contemporary population is used to. - Like the people who live in reservations. A distinction is made
in this book between the new world state and the reservation. For the people living in the new world
state, their lives are influenced by various forms of technology. The people living in the reservation
live without that technology, in a way that people thought was normal in 1932 at the time. - So,
population propagation is different in the New World State than in The Savage Reservation. This can
be recognized by the director's tour of the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre. ‘“And
this”, said the Director opening the door, “is the Fertilizing Room”’ (P.1). So, it is literally spoken
about a room where embryos are artificially created. Another fragment from the book shows the
conception process of the embryos: ‘One egg, one embryo, one adult – normality. But a
bokanovskified egg will bud, will proliferate, will divide. From eight to ninety-six buds, and every bud
will grow into a perfectly formed embryo, and every embryo into a full-sized adult.’ (P.3) This excerpt
is said by the director, here he is giving students a tour of the Hatchery-Centre. From this part of
text, embryo can multiply, germinate, and grow in this process. All this happens without a man and a
woman having come together. So, at this centre, babies are conceived in a totally unnatural way. Sex
is a purely recreational activity in the World State. Sex is used here as a daily activity. There is no
question of dating or a love relationship. In other words: “Everybody belongs to every-one else”
(p.104), this is a recurring quote in the book. This sentence has been formed into a true code of
conduct, their norms, and values. It is totally socially acceptable if you have a different bed partner
every day, it is even so bad that it is a criminal offense to have a relationship. Sex and love are
separated from each other. A recurring character in the book is Lenina. She fits very well in this world
in this area. She has had many bed partners and does not mind at all. She also doesn't think it is
important to love someone before opening yourself up physically. So, in the New World State there is
no sexual intercourse to produce babies. There is also no mention of relationships and no love in
sexual acts.
The role of sexuality in the reservation is discussed in the second paragraph. As mentioned in the first
paragraph, the lifestyles of the people living on the reservation are completely different from those
in the New World State. An example of a person who grew up on the reservation is John (son of
Linda). John grew up on the reservation and later ends up in the New World State. The reasons for
this are irrelevant. But this is how he enters a world that is very different in the sexual field. He meets
Lenina there and you see how these opposites react to each other. First, a text fragment shows that
sex is necessary for reproduction in the Savage Reservation. The text fragment is a quote from the
controller. ‘The world was full of fathers – was therefore full of misery full of mothers – therefore of
every kind of perversion from sadism to chastity; full of brothers, sisters’ uncles, aunts – full of
