Literature is an important medium for exploring and interrogating social norms around sex and gender. Sexual humor can be used as a way to challenge these norms and expose their absurdities. Through satire and comedy, writers can subvert traditional ideas about what is acceptable or appropriate when it comes to sex and desire. By playing with expectations and creating unexpected situations, authors can reveal hidden assumptions and biases that underpin society's understanding of sex. This essay will explore how literature uses sexual humor to interrogate societal discomfort with eroticism.
One example of this is the novel "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller, which features a character named Milo Minderbinder who runs a successful mess hall business on the island of Pianosa. He becomes wealthy by selling food to both sides of the war, and eventually decides to sell sex as well. The authorities try to shut down his operation but he evades them by claiming that he is merely providing a service. The scene where Milo negotiates the price of prostitutes with Colonel Cathcart demonstrates the absurdity of the military's puritanical attitude towards sex. Milo is able to bargain for better terms because he knows that the colonel wants to have sex himself.
Another example is Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice", in which Mr. Darcy attempts to propose marriage to Elizabeth Bennet in a letter. He writes that he has "become convinced that I cannot live without her," which she responds to with anger and embarrassment. This scene highlights the social conventions around courtship and marriage at the time, which emphasized propriety over romance. By using sexual language in an inappropriate context, Austen exposes the hypocrisy of these norms.
In "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there are several instances where characters use sexual humor to expose the superficial nature of high society. One such instance is when Nick Carraway describes Daisy Buchananan as being "so excitingly slender.with white skin, just bright enough for her age." This line suggests that physical appearance is more important than character or personality when it comes to desirability. Similarly, Tom Buchanan's affair with Myrtle Wilson shows how men can objectify women for their own pleasure, regardless of whether they actually love them.
Literature uses sexual humor to challenge societal discomfort with eroticism by exposing its absurdities and contradictions. By subverting expectations and playing with traditional ideas about sex, authors create works that question our assumptions and beliefs about what is acceptable or appropriate. This allows us to explore new perspectives on desire and intimacy, and opens up possibilities for change in our culture.
How does literature use sexual humor to interrogate societal and cultural discomfort with eroticism?
Sexual humor is used in literature as an effective tool for interrogating the discomfort that society has towards eroticism. Through this literary device, authors can challenge traditional norms of sex and gender roles by highlighting their absurdity and ridiculousness.