Sexual intercourse was to be looked on as a slightly disgusting minor operation, like having an enema (Part 1, Chapter 6)
What was more important was that sexual privation induced hysteria, which was desirable because it could be transformed into war fever and leader worship (Part 2, Chapter 3)
From Sexual Freedom and Political Freedom
by Cass R. Sunstein
One of the most vivid passages in Nineteen Eighty-Four appears in the middle of the novel. The passage can be found immediately after Winston tells Julia about “his married life”: as it happens Julia knew “the essential parts of it already”. Thus she describes “to him, almost as though she had seen or felt it, the stiffening of Katharine’s body as soon as he touched her.” This was “the fridgid little ceremony that Katharine had forced him to go through on the same night every week.” Winston notes that his wife “hated it,” but “nothing would make her stop doing it”. What Katharine called it, Winston says, Julia will “never guess”; but of course Julia “promptly” guesses: “Our duty to the Party.” Then julia begins to “enlarge upon the subject”; (from the novel)
It was not merely that the sex instinct created a world of its own which was outside the Party’s control and which tehrefore had to be destoyed if possible. What was more important was that sexual privation induced hysteria, which was desirable because it could be transfored into war fever and leader worship. The way she put it was:
“When you make love you’re using up energy; and afterwards you feel happy don’t give a damn for anything. They can’t bear you to feel like that. They want you to be bursting with energy all the time. All this marching up and down and cheering and waving flags is simply sex gone sour. If you’re happy inside yourself, why should you get excited about Big Brother and The Three Years Plans and the Two Minute Hate and all the rest of their bloody rot?” This was very true, he thought. There was a direct, intimate connection between chastity and political orthodoxy.
Response
– Do you believe that Orwell had any basis for this? Do totalitarian governments encourage and facilitate repression of sexual drives? Do they repress sexuality to make room for mass marching and public cheering, “sex gone sour”?
– Is this too simplistic, the correlation between sex and freedom, chastity and political repression? Are there any examples of governments or groups who have done the opposite and encouraged sexuality and promiscuity?
– Can you think of any other groups who have used chastity as a means of exerting control and power?
– Now consider Winston and Julia’s relationship. How would you characterise it?
March 8, 2016 at 6:17 pm
I can’t think of a totalitarian government that used the repression of sexual urges to exert control over it’s population, but I don’t think that was the message of the novel exactly. Not everything in the novel is meant to be a literal prediction of the future. In fact, much of the futuristic society Orwell creates is dramatized and taken to far-fetched extremes in an attempt not only at entertainment, but also to show just how far the Party is willing to go to take control of even the most intimate aspects of it’s citizens personal lives, as totalitarian leaders in Orwell’s time were similarly pushing the bounds of invasion of personal privacy like never before seen.
I don’t think there is an example of a government encouraging sexual promiscuity, either. Not because they all mean to control us in a way similar to the Party, but because no government has yet concerned itself with their citizen’s lives in such a personal way. Again, the controlling of sex and sexual urges by the government in the novel is not meant to be literal, but more to shock readers with the idea of government corruption and manipulation of something that seems too primal and personal to be destroyed by a government. It is just a theory about what the end of invasion of personal privacy and private life would lead to, if taken to it’s most extreme point possible.
The closest group that I can think of would be religious institutions. They teach their followers, among other things, to wait until marriage to have sex. This allows religion to control a vary personal choice in their followers lives, and places a taboo on the topic as a whole. It also creates a stigma around those who choose to defy these teachings, and therefore leads to greater ideological conformity. However, I’m not sure this is exactly religious authorities exerting their power; they don’t really gain or lose anything either way. But it is the closest group I can think of that teaches the repression of sexual desires.
I would characterize Winston and Julia’s relationship to be very adolescent. It is based almost fully on sex and rebellion. There is not really any loved involved at all. In fact, in many of the sections where Winston attempts to sit and talk with Julia rather than just have sex with her, he is annoyed by how she things, her apathy towards most everything, and almost her personality in general. The only reason either is with the other is because they are the symbol of rebellion against their situation and frustrations. They are held together by a common enemy rather than true connection.
March 9, 2016 at 7:22 am
Concerning the relationship between Winston and Julia, I believe that there was some evidence of there being real love. Near the end of the book the only thing keeping Winston from becoming a “perfect” party member, is his love for Julia. We see this during Winston’s captivity when he is nearly converted but has a sudden outburst about Julia and how he loves her. This then leads to Winston being taken to room 101 where he finally and fully betrays Julia.
March 9, 2016 at 7:26 am
I agree with the fact that Orwell may be using extreme facts such as sexual repression to emphasise the totalitarian control that the Party had on the private lives of the people, however I do not agree with the example of religious institutions. In my opinion religion cannot be seen as an example of a group that uses chastity to insert power, since, in the first place, it is a personal choice and it’s not imposed. In second place no power is gained from people that follow religious beliefs.
March 8, 2016 at 6:24 pm
George Orwell has used this topic wisely. We can look back at George Orwell’s life and discover how he had been apart of military forces for numerous countries. Armies usually negate any sexual topics since they want to focus on other tasks and to not lose any respect for their organization. Orwell might have used satire to describe this. Sex might be indeed represent and be interpreted as an act of individual exploration and freedom. The act is solely between two individuals without any control of any other person. So I could see why/how a government might want to reduce this to keep the individuals not have complete freedom and to insure that all of the individuals decisions are managed.
At first it can be seen as to be too far-fetched but the relation is visible. We can link this to the Hippie era. They used sex as an symbol to freedom and went against mainstream norms. Having very abnormal sex in public with numerous people at once to show the world that sex didn’t come only with marraige and to produce kids properly. In this example sex was a example of freedom in choice .
March 29, 2016 at 7:04 am
Ireally like the choice of examples you did, you made interesting connections and you linked them to Orwell’s biography too.
I think the example of sexual repression in the military forces is a very good one, that can be related to the book under many aspects. The prohibition of any sexual relation to exert more control on people and therefore the connection with the Party policies is not the only one. We can use this specific example of the army also to talk about the theme of sex and violence in 1984 and how the two are highly connected.
I find the Hippie movement a really good example to show how sex has been used as a symbol of freedom and I find it very interesting also because we know that Hippies were not only sustaining freedom, but peace too.
March 8, 2016 at 6:57 pm
I think that any group that demands commitment and obedience from their followers could use the repression of sexuality in their favour in order to control them. For example, many churches preach how sinful sexuality is and William Reich explained some of the psychology behind fascism by stating that “man’s authoritarian structure is … produced by the embedding of sexual inhibitions and fear in the living substance of sexual impulses”. I think there is a lot of logic behind Orwell’s theory and that we can see traces of such in control in history and past regimes (like fascism. Therefore, I agree that Orwell did find the basis of this theory in totalitarian/authoritarian governments.
I think Western society as a whole uses chastity and the idea of a sexual being being sinful as a way to control people, especially women. There is such a stigma attached to sex, such value is placed on a woman’s chastity, that this exerts a lot of control over her actions, self worth and status in society.
I feel very cynical towards Winston and Julia’s relationship. While reading the book, it came off as shallow and forced-as they seemed more infatuated with the idea of love rather than their respective other. They live in a world devoid of love and passion, so one can’t really blame them for mistaking whatever they had for love since they don’t know what it’s supposed to feel like.
March 9, 2016 at 7:19 am
Insightful and well supported comments here Leandra. Thank you for sourcing the quote from William Reich.
March 9, 2016 at 7:23 am
I do agree with you to a large extent. On large scales, regimes, and on smaller scales, churches, or even within individual families, the repression of sexual activity, is used as a symbol of the restriction of even the most basic human instinct, which is very impactful in terms of controlling mindsets, and channelling energy in the “appropriate” direction (adoration for the party). However I do feel that not all regimes and ideologies necessarily suppress the act of engaging in such activity, some simply suppress the purpose and actually encourage sexual activity, only with a completely different motive (almost always revolving around fertility).
I share your opinion on Winston and Julia’s relationship, as I feel that they felt more love and attraction toward the other’s stand in society and mindset, rather than the person themselves. Having never experienced “true love” before, and trapped within a society which disallows their union in the first place, their relationship was indeed superficial and in a sense immature, but as you said, without having been exposed to love anywhere else ever before, they can’t be blamed for their behaviour.
March 9, 2016 at 11:49 am
I agree with everything you have mentioned. The Western society does place a stigma on sex, especially towards women, whereas men are encouraged to be sexual beings and to embrace their sexuality.
I also agree that perhaps Winston and Julia thought what they felt for the other was love, since they do not really know what love feels like, living in a place where their emotions are manipulated by the party. And perhaps they are not to blame considering their social and political context and the fact that they didn’t give each other up until the final moment where they could no longer withstand the torture.
March 29, 2016 at 6:48 am
I very strongly agree with what you say and I would like to add that in Middle ages expecially, in the Christian world, you would only be allowed to have sex with your husband/wife and the prohibition of it is not a case that is mostly imposed on women, as it might be easier to make women believe in the fact that the act is wrong, more than men, but as they get convinced of it, men are obliged to follow. This gave a great power to the Church in those times as marriage was only allowed in its religious conception and the corruption of the priests was not uncommon. A priest would be likely to decide not to allow a marriage until something had been given to him.
I agree that what Winston and Julia feel is not fully love, but mostly the idea of it. Indeed, Orwell itself writes in the book that their sexual acts is almost a political declaration.
March 29, 2016 at 7:02 am
I think that you have made some very interesting points in your comment and I do agree with most of them. However I do not think that Orwell decided to use chastity and sexual repression just because he saw traces of it in the history of other groups or totalitarian regimes. I believe that it was more of a stylistic choice, in order to make the reader feel more intimidated by the party controlling even the most intimate aspects of people’s lives.
March 8, 2016 at 7:56 pm
I do agree that totalitarian governments encourage and facilitate repression of sexual drives. I think all human beings have sexual drives and repressing this leads to frustration, aggression and sometimes violent urges. Such governments then manipulate these emotions and channel them into progressing their political ambitions.
I don’t think there are any examples of governments that encourage sexuality and promiscuity. Most times when governments discourage promiscuity, it is to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and well as family planning purposes for example the South African government. Many churches and other religious institutions preach chastity and are against sexuality but I don’t think this is necessarily to exert power or control. A stigma is placed around the topic but their followers still have the free will to do what they like without consequences from the church.
I think Julia and Winston’s relationship was based solely on lust and rebellion rather than love, which they wanted to believe. The feelings they felt wasn’t necessary for the other person but for what they represented; rebellion against the party.
March 9, 2016 at 7:21 am
Good response although I disagree with some of your points. I do think that governments in some cases repress sexual drives (not to the extend of 1984) but not reasoning it with politics. Also I do not think that there exists any type of totalitarian governments in the first place at least in the years since totalitarianism became a theoretical concept in the 1920s, and the repression of sexual drives would also depend on the believes of the totalitarian government in place.
March 8, 2016 at 8:25 pm
I think Orwell had plenty of basis to do this. In my opinion Orwell choose to do this to scare people or to show them how much a Totalitarian government would be able to control the desires and morales of the people. I do not think there has been fully totalitarian states, but examples such as Hitlers, Nazi Germany is an example of an authoritarian state, which is viewed as closely related to the idea of totalitarianism. Writing off the top of my head I can not think of any governments that have encouraged or facilitated repression of sexual drives as a moral standard. Orwell’s representation of a totalitarian government is also very extreme, although in theory a totalitarian government does control all aspects of life including the thoughts and actions of the public. If the wish of the party was to control and direct these sexual desires into a bad thing, then it would definitely be encouraged by the government. I do not know for what reason a party would do this, but the example giving in 1984 seems well justified, I am sure there are plenty of other reasons governments could come up with for repressing sexual drives.
I think they are easily made connections, but also interesting ones to explore as often I would compare chastity with religious repression. I have never thought of a political party repressing sexual drives for none other than that of religion. Therefore I think that aspect to the book is very interesting as where typically money and power corrupts in 1984 it is freedom and sex that corrupts. This is not a far fetched Idea either as I think it has some truth to it. I am not sure if any government as encouraged “promiscuity” or “sexuality” but I know that in my country, Denmark normally whichever sexuality you are it is generally accepted. There is also a bit of a joke going around as there is a Danish commercial famous for telling danes to have more Sex, since we have a small population. I would say that sex is encouraged (very open/normal topic), but not promiscuity.
Mainly groups that exert chastity as means of control and power, I would identify as religious groups, other than that I can not think of any groups.
Winston and Julia’s relationship to me is one created as a symbol for rebellion. The love they have for each other, is created as they represent to each other their ideas. I do not think when we are talking about love we talk about the same love we use to describe for our partners/friends or families, because this is something they did not know of/posses in 1984, these types of love were strange and unfamiliar for them. As we have discussed in class they dealt with emotions in extremes, and love for them is a feeling they only knew related to a concept. For example the love for big brother, now the concept of rebelling against INGSOC was created and amplified around the relationship he had with Julia, Julia for him became a sort of physical symbol of rebelling, therefore he thought he had love for her, as he only knew love as a concept of an idea.
March 8, 2016 at 9:07 pm
I believe that the repression of sexual liberty is symbolically used by George Orwell to show how humanity in itself is suppressed in a totalitarian government. Sexuality is an element of humanity and its repression shows how human interactions outside the purpose or will of the Party are prohibited. Chastity is defined as ”sexual purity. Those who are chaste are morally clean in their thoughts, words, and actions”. With this definition I want to show how the presence of chastity denotes a clearer and pure mind that, in the case of the totalitarian government can be filled with hypocritical values of the Party and be easy manipulated.
As a consequence, having sex becomes not a liberty, but a way to rebel against the government, as quoted in the book “a political act”. Here comes the relationship between Julia and Winston, a relationship that I would not define as love, but lust. An attraction not to the other person, but to the idea of rebellion against Big Brother, the attraction you get to something when this something is prohibited to you. Winston and Julia were symbols of hope for each other, they were both attracted to the idea of rising up against the Party.
I don’t have a specific case in which sexuality was suppressed by a totalitarian government, but I fully agree with the link that Darnell made with the Hippie era. In my opinion this is a very good example that shows how sexuality was used as a mean to get more power and rebel against the society.
March 8, 2016 at 9:14 pm
Most governments don’t necessarily repress the act in itself, but more the motive for which it takes place. They know that it is an undeniable part of human life, and necessary to continue to grow and prosper as a society (children are always needed, and are the most “malleable population” so easy to shape), so don’t stop all sexual drive, just change the social perspective, putting a stigma on the act for the sake of pleasure, much like the way the party in 1984 has done. The lack of love spent on each other, and energy built up from suppressed sexual drive can then be channeled toward the greater goals of the regime, in effect controlling people from within, exploiting their instincts for a purpose not in their own favour. There are not many societies in modern day where sexual control is promoted, other than individual beliefs, family values, and through the ideals of religions.
In our modern world however, there are examples of governments who encourage sexuality, but again with an ulterior motive. Campaigns have been run about people’s sexuality, and specifically fertility (trying to spread awareness of contraception and the like, reduce it or increase it according to demographic data, and will for development). In a totalitarian context, there is indeed a very strong correlation, as governments want to be in control of every aspect of people’s lives, especially the part that brings pleasure and enjoyment, but in other societies it is simply for the people’s, and overall society’s benefit.
I feel that Winston and Julia’s relationship is one they know they are entitled to, but subconsciously feel caseous having. Their relationship is intimate and a symbol of rebellion against the party, being in a relationship, not in the sole purpose of producing offspring for the party’s benefit. It is possible, that do not find love in each other, but merely love in each other’s different outlook to the party compared to the rest of society, loving each other’s “unconventional” lifestyle and intrigued by their audacity and outward thinking. It was affectionate and protected, but also strong, evidenced by Julia proclaiming her willing to do anything but separate from Winston, which ironically, is what she was forced to do by the end of the novel. Short-lived, but novel while it lasted.
March 9, 2016 at 7:19 am
I agree with your point that it’s not the act itself that is prohibited, but how it is experienced and the motives behind it which cause all the concern from the Party. The existence of younger children is vital to the Party and their brainwashing ways, so therefore sex is actually useful to them (although the pleasure surrounding it is not).
However, I’m not utterly convinced that the campaigns you mentioned are actually about promoting or demoting sex rather than making sure the environment around it is a healthy and safe one.
March 8, 2016 at 9:38 pm
– I do not recall any totalitarian regime that openly, officially repressed or banned sex, desire etc. . I do however believe that it had always been a “tabu” topic and that had a major influence on how it was handled. Totalitarian governments want their citizens to have full trust in them, which enables them to have complete control over them. In order to transfer ones focus onto one specific person/group/object, complete “concentration” is needed. This “concentration” is disturbed by outside influences which would include sex, general physical attraction to another.
– I cannot think of any government or groups who have encouraged sexuality and promiscuity, I do believe though that there must have been/be. Sex can be connected to freedom in a way since, especially religious contexts, it is considered a tabu topic and maybe therefore having the choice whether to engage with it or not, is considered freedom, in combination with the rebellious side of that person emerging if in the situation in which sex is tabu.
– Winston‘s and Julia‘s relationship is based on rebellion rather than on love or affection for one another. Julia claims that she has done this with several other men before and Winston states that that makes her even more attractive and appealing to him. That sternly suggests that Winston is attracted to her rebellion rather than her as a person. Also their relationship is majorly, if not completely, physical. If you think about it, they barely know anything about one another. The only thing that holds them together is their mutual hate towards the Party.
March 8, 2016 at 11:51 pm
Totalitarian governments are known for the lack of freedom offered to their civilians so I do see some basis for Orwell to create this oppression of sexual drives in his novel. Yet I do believe that this oppression remains a big imaginative part of the book as small groups or communities might have different views on sexual drives and might try to oppress them within their groups (such as nuns in the catholic church who have to remain virgins) but I can not think of any official ruling government who oppressed sexual activities within their party. Sexual activity remains a natural act in our lives and enables people to reproduce so it is generally seen as a positive thing for nations/powers.
In a completely totalitarian government the correlation between sex and freedom does make a lot of sense, especially in the context of 1984, as sex is described as a moment of vulnerability and complete human emotions which cannot be controlled by anyone meaning the political power has been “defeated” for the occurring time of any sexual activity. Also a point that is being made in the book is that the sexual activities made people in general more happy so they would therefore not find as much happiness in the party’s declarations, taking away that power over people’s emotions that the party possessed.
Winston and Julia’s relationship is for me mainly an act of rebellion. Both individuals find an “escape” from their daily lives in a physical connection that they share. Julia has done such an act in the past and that seduces Winston even more, who is glad to have found someone who hates the party as much as he does. They find confort in each other so it does remain love, in its own tragic, physical, oppressed way.
March 9, 2016 at 12:45 pm
In what I’ve heard and learned about totalitarian governments they do not discourage sex. It is not an act frowned upon. Neither do they fill this space with other activities. Some governments do however discourage child birth, to avoid over population.
There have been several countries that wanted to encourage their people to have sex. An example was in Russia when they had a rapidly declining birth rate they encouraged the citizens to have sex.
The Christian church encourages chastity till marriage, so that you stay morally pure. There have also been examples where knights would put chastity belts on their wives to stop them from going with other men. However from what I’ve learned in other classes it was never used as a form of control.
I don’t think Winston and Julia were in a normal loving relationship. It was more of a way of going against the party and rebelling in their own way. It was also a way for Winston to get rid of his violent tensions. Before he slept with Julia Winston was a more violent person with more violent thoughts. But after sleeping with her he had nowhere near as many violent intensions.
March 12, 2016 at 1:30 pm
1. From my knowledge, I know of no totalitarian governments which have encouraged or facilitated the repression of sexual drives. And because of this I do not believe that Orwell created this part in the story from a basis, however I think he added it into the story because he was creating a possible future. We know that parts of the story were based off of real governments and places, but i think he added the chastity part into the story as an example of what totalitarian dictatorship can lead to. It was like a warning about the possible abuses of power.
2. I also cannot think of an example of governments encouraging sexuality or promiscuity, because in my opinion, democratic governments today try to work by the rule that the government should stay out of our bedrooms, even if they might infringe upon liberal sovereignties from time to time with cases such as surveillance.
3. I know of certain religious rules which prohibit sex before marriage, however I do not believe this is to exert power or control over someone. As religion for most people is not forced onto them and they have a freedom of choice to take part in a religion or not.
4. I believe that Winston and Julia’s relationship was not platonic, however just sexual. I do not think they truly loved each other, I think they loved the idea of betraying Big Brother or revolting in some way. And that miscued love lead them to believe that they loved each other, not because they did, but because they had to if they really wanted to defy Big Brother.
March 14, 2016 at 8:04 am
– Do you believe that Orwell had any basis for this? Do totalitarian governments encourage and facilitate repression of sexual drives? Do they repress sexuality to make room for mass marching and public cheering, “sex went sour”?
I think that both the party and totalitarian governments don’t want to repress the sex drive rather they want to ensure that it is something that is done out of duty rather than for the purpose of pleasure, this is evident in the book, when he hear about Winston’s wife, and how she was loyal to the party, it is stated that she kept a schedule for when she and Winston would have sex. I believe that this helps us see how the purpose of the party is not to stop sexual activities rather allow them to only take place for the purpose of reproduction.
– Can you think of any other groups who have used chastity as a means of exerting control and power?
If you look at the answer I have put for the first question, you can see how it can relate to religion, in both cases sex undertaken for one purpose, reproduction, and in any other context, it is forbidden. Even though this is the case in many religions it is sometimes difficult to see how this provides power or control. In my opinion, power comes from control, and what better way is there to gain control than to try and kill human instincts, this is where I believe power is created, at a point where one can control the primal instincts of other human beings.
– Now consider Winston and Julia’s relationship. How would you characterise it?
The way I see it, Winston and Julia’s relationship are created from love and lust, but not love for one another rather love to an idea that their acts, their lust towards one another creates. Both of them are in love with the idea of rebellion and by expressing it through lust, this idea is to create within them, the idea of love towards one another, but this is fake. They are not in love with each other, they are in love with rebellion and since the other person is helping with this rebellion, it seems as if they are in love with one another, but when looking at the text it is clearly evident that their relationship is that of lust.
March 24, 2016 at 8:59 am
– Do you believe that Orwell had any basis for this? Do totalitarian governments encourage and facilitate repression of sexual drives? Do they repress sexuality to make room for mass marching and public cheering, “sex gone sour”?
After a little bit of research, it looks like that Hitler itself thought that sexual repression makes people submissive and impotent and it leads to the research for substitute gratification. Therefore, a totalitarian government as the nazist do represse sexual drives. However, to increase the birth rate, German girls’ leaders intimate to their girls that they should bear illegitimate children and donate a child to the Fuhrer, fulfilling their role as german women.
– Is this too simplistic, the correlation between sex and freedom, chastity and political repression? Are there any examples of governments or groups who have done the opposite and encouraged sexuality and promiscuity?
I think is too simplistic, however I can’t think of any example.
– Can you think of any other groups who have used chastity as a means of exerting control and power?
I think about religions group, but I don’t know much about their mechanism.
– Now consider Winston and Julia’s relationship. How would you characterise it?
Winston and Julia have a sexual relation which is almost a political protest, an act of political rebellion, instead of having a sentimental base.
March 25, 2016 at 11:25 am
1. Orwell does have some basis for illustrating totalitarian governments as suppressors of sexual drives. The British philosopher Engels in one of his books analyzes the widespread social phenomena associated with female sexual morality, such as fixation on virginity and sexual purity. In totalitarian regimes like communism in Albania sexual act was more valued about the outcome of offspring rather than the pleasure that comes with it. However I think that his choice to include oppression of sexual drive more than a portrayal of real totalitarian regimes policies, was to influence the reader more directly by showing that the party has control even over the most intimate and personal aspects of people’s lives.
2. There definitely is a correlation between sex and freedom and chastity and political repression, however correlation does not mean causation because freedom is a much more complex concept than just freedom for sexual activity and also there is much more to political repression than just chastity. The only group that comes into my mind that encouraged sexuality is the members of the Sexual revolution that happened in the Western World from the 1960s to the 1980s.
3. Religious groups in countries such as Saudi Arabia use chastity as a tool to control and limit the freedom of women. If women lose virginity with a man who is not her legal approved husband than she will face severe consequences which often times include torture and death.
4. I think that Julia and Winston’s relationship is more driven by opressed sexual desire and the desire for rebellion against the party, because their relationship was a symbol of rebellion to the party. This is proven by the fact that they slept together in the first date when they barely knew each other’s names. Later it might have developed into a more emotional link but I would not call it love.
March 25, 2016 at 12:43 pm
I cannot think of any totalitarian government that used sexual repression as a tool to control people, but I think Orwell took his inspiration from real situations. Many totalitarian governments managed to exert control over people’s emotion and behavior and I think that what Orwell wanted to say is that at one point they might gain so much power to be able to control your basic and most natural instincts.
Thinking about this the fascist period in Italy came up into my mind.The government created many policies to support families, having a large number of children was not only positive, but encouraged. The main reason for it was to keep the population growing and provide more and more men to the army and more workers to the industries, making the country develop and become stronger. Propaganda was effectively used in order to convince the population that giving birth to many kids was a service to the country and made them become “good citizens”.
Maybe the direct correlation between chastity and political repression is a bit too simplistic, but they’re for sure in some ways connected. If someone becomes that powerful to be able to control even your sexual instinct, then he will be able to control any other aspect of your life too, including your political opinions.
I cannot think of any governments that deliberately promoted promiscuity, but I think some more conservative people would disagree with me. They would probably say that any country that promotes sexual education in schools or sexual health campaigns is in reality trying to encourage promiscuity and liberality, but that’s a subjective opinion.
Talking about groups that used chastity to exert control and power, the first things that came up into my mind are religious groups and specifically the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is hierarchically structured and, especially those at the top of it, still has a huge political and economic power together with the spiritual one. It is an extremely conservative group and it is also one of the few religious groups in which priest still cannot be married, because they have to completely focus on their duties.
I think that the relationship between Winston and Julia can be defined as love. Even though both of them didn’t have any experience about love or personal relationships, they feel a very strong attraction to each other. Winston tries to not betray Julia, when in the Ministry of Love he’s being brainwashed, all of his opinions and principles are taken away from him, but he still loves Julia. It’s true that in the end he gives up,but this happen in Room 101. Everybody, if put in such situation, would do the same Winston did. I also think that the fact he feels guilty and can’t even look at her when they meet in the park is a hint of what he really felt for her, he also tries to follow her, even though he soon changes his mind. I think that in the end the change is that Winston can not love her anymore because he can’t feel any emotion, but if he could he would still do it.
March 29, 2016 at 7:03 am
Totalitarian goverments have attempted to repress sexual drives from the people as it is a way of freedom expressed by one another. Sex would therefore be the downside to totalitarian goverments. This leading towards where goverments use the method of repressing sexual acitivty for mass marching and public cheering. Repressing sexual activity would mean more energy to the people to support marching and cheering.
I do believe that there is a pinch of correlation between sex and freedom to a specific extent. Sex can be used as a way to express emotions and freedom, although it might not be the strongest way. Therefore its also a bit too simplistic, there are many other aspects that link to freedom, sex can be one of them. Communism was also used throughout in cuba to liberate sexuality.
Winstons and Julias interest to each other vary in different parts. Their relationship wasnt strong, however one of the relations between Winston and Julia was that they both had the desire of rebelling against the party. I beleive that they did not really love each other but used each other to rebel against Big Brother.