In Leo Bersani’s essay, “Against Monogamy,” the idea was brought up that present day civilization does not like polygamous relationships because society sees anything except for a man and a woman in a relationship as, “sexuality as a source of pleasure in its own right,” which some in today's civilization believe to be wrong. This statement triggered me to consider all of the different types of relationships people partake in, particularly the Mormon religion where it is the norm to have multiple wives. This religion goes against all that was being said in Bersani’s essay, and I found it interesting to consider the differing views of philosophy and science and religion. The article also discussed children and the influence that parents have over them when they’re young. Children tend to emulate their parents and learn what is right from them. The Mormon parents are continuing the cycle and are teaching their children, even if it’s unconscious, that it is acceptable and good to have multiple wives in a family. The children will be much more apt to continue this cycle of polygamy that has been deemed unacceptable by some people in present day civilization.
Another piece of Bersani’s essay that I found particularly intriguing was the idea that, “monogamy is…something that blocks circuits of desire.” After attending Vivian Gornick’s lecture on Wednesday, I was able to relate this to Emma Goldstein’s idea of free love, which is the polar opposite of monogamy. Goldstein believed that free love was a chance to live and love freely without guidelines. I feel as though desire is something vital to the progression of present day civilization, and by saying that monogamy hinders the ability to experience desire to the full extent, I agree with Bersani’s essay and see no validity in the idea of limiting one’s ability to live and love openly. Not one person on this earth has any right to determine guidelines as to how it is acceptable for others to love because this is different for every single person.
Bella Narvaez
In this post I was able to identify with you as attending to Vivian Gornick's lecture about Emma Goldman and the lecture series about love too. I definitely agree that no one has the power to decide how it is correct to love or give us those guidelines. Obviously, there are some pathological patterns such as obsession that can be clearly determined as negative. Love should be a personal decision and not limited by others who believed they are an authority over love and how it should be practiced.
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