PHIL 200 Chapter Notes -Alan Soble, Linda Tripp, Paraphilia
12 Jun 2018
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Gage in sexual activity with their husbands, whether they want to or not, for fear of being
abandoned; these women, too, may not be engaging in sexual activity fully voluntarily.
The woman who allows herself to be nagged into sex by her husband worries that if she says "No"
too often, she will suffer economically, if not also physically and psychologically.
The view that the presence of any kind of pressure at all is coercive, negates the voluntary nature of
participation in sexual activity, and hence is morally objectionable has been expressed by, among
others, Charlene Muehlenhard and Jennifer Schrag.
36 They list-to provide just two of their examples-"Status coercion" and "Discrimination against
lesbians" as forms of coercion that undermine the voluntary nature of participation by women in
sexual activity with men.
Depending on the kind of case we have in mind, it might be more accurate to say either that some
pressures are not coercive and do not appreciably undermine voluntariness, or that some pressures
are coercive but are nevertheless not morally objectionable.
Is it always true that the presence of any kind of pressure put on one person by another amounts to
coercion that negates the voluntary nature of consent, so that subsequent sexual activity is morally
wrong? I wonder whether a woman who says to her husband, "Buy me that mink coat or you will
sleep on the couch for a month," is engaging in any objectionable behavior.
Conceptual Analysis Conceptual philosophy of sexuality is concerned to clarify concepts that are
central in this area of philosophy, including sexual activity and sexual desire.
It also attempts to define less abstract concepts, such as prostitution, pornography, sexual
harassment, and rape.
Consider, for example, the concept sexual activity and how that concept is related to another central
concept, sexual pleasure.
One lesson to be learned from the following conceptual exploration is that conceptual philosophy of
sex can be just as contentious as normative philosophy of sexuality, and that, as a result, firm
conceptual conclusions are also hard to come by.
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