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I did my project on the ways in which women, women's sexuality, and sexuality are pathologized, defined, and controlled. The sources that I used include:
The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm, by Anne Koedt
The Second Sex: Introduction, by Simone de Beauvoir
Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality, by Gayle S. Rubin
Integrating Disability, Transforming Feminist Theory, by Rosemarie Garland-Thomson
Pathologize: Main Entry: pa·thol·o·gize
Variant: or chiefly Brit pa·thol·o·gise /-"jIz/
Function: vt
Inflected Forms: -gized or chiefly Brit -gised -giz·ing or chiefly Brit -gis·ing
: to view or characterize as medically or psychologically abnormal <natural hormonal shifts have been pathologized —Joyce C. Mills> <pathologizing childhood behavior —Ruth Shalit> —pa·thol·o·gi·za·tion or chiefly Brit pa·thol·o·gi·sa·tion noun
- www.dictionary.com
PATHOLOGY
“Rather than tracing female frigidity to the false assumptions about female anatomy, our 'experts' have declared frigidity a psychological problem of women.” - The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm by Anne Koedt, p. 242
- Female sexuality specifically is pathologized
“It is often said that she thinks with her glands. Man superbly ignores the fact that his anatomy also includes glands, such as the testicles, and that they secrete hormones.” - The Second Sex: Introduction by Simone de Beauvoir, p. 33
- Females in general are pathologized, especially through biology relative to sex.
“But fetishism, sadism, masochism, transsexuality, transvestitism, exhibitionism, voyeurism, and pedophilia are quite firmly entrenched as psychological malfunctions. Books are still being written about the genesis, etiology, treatment, and cure of these assorted “pathologies.” - Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality by Gayle S. Rubin, p. 12
- Sexuality in general is pathologized.
“Moreover, disability is a broad term within which cluster ideological categories as varied as sick, deformed, crazy, ugly, old, maimed, afflicted, mad, abnormal, or debilitated – all of which dsiadvantage people by devaluing bodies that do not conform to cultural standards.” - Integrating Disability, Transforming Feminist Theory by Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, p. 5
- An illustration of how many aspects of humans can be pathologized, usually if they do not fit into a norm.
DEFINITION
“Women have thus been defined sexually in terms of what pleases men; our own biology has not been properly analyzed. Instead, we are fed the myth of the liberated woman and her vaginal orgasm—an orgasm which in fact does not exist.” - The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm by Anne Koedt, p. 242
- Women are defined by men without consideration of facts such as biology.
“Thus humanity is male and man defines woman not in herself but as relative to him; she is not regarded as an autonomous being... And she is simply what man decrees; thus she is called 'the sex,' by which is meant that she appears essential to the male as a sexual being. For him she is sex—absolute sex, no less. She is defined and differentiated with reference to man and not he with reference to her; she is the incidental, the inessential as opposed to the essential. He is the Subject, he is the Absolute—she is the Other...” - The Second Sex: Introduction by Simone de Beauvoir, p. 33
- Women are defined by and in relation to men, a One and Other relationship.
“Moreover, we never encounter the body unmediated by the meanings that cultures give to it.” - Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality by Gayle S. Rubin, p. 10
-The body is defined by the culture in which it exists, or, more specifically, the culture in which the viewer exists.
“Western thought has long conflated femaleness and disability, understanding both as defective departures from a valued standard.” - Integrating Disability, Transforming Feminist Theory by Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, p. 6
- Female bodies, like disabled bodies, are defined as defective and substandard.
CONTROL
“...The vagina, it was assumed, was able to produce a parallel, but more mature, orgasm than the clitoris. Much work was done to elaborate on this theory, but little was done to challenge the basic assumptions.” - The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm by Anne Koedt, p. 243
- Women had little control in how they were defined, and the false definitions were pursued by those in power.
“To decline to be the Other, to refuse to be a party to the deal—this would be for women to renounce all the advantages conferred upon them by their alliance with the superior caste.” - The Second Sex: Introduction by Simone de Beauvoir, p. 35
- Women are give certain advantages by accepting the definition given to them by men. Rejecting this definition would result in these advantages being taken away, and thus the definition is used to control women.
“Right-wing opposition to sex education, homosexuality, pornography, abortion, and pre-marital sex moved from the extreme fringes to the political center stage after 1977, when right-wing strategists and fundamentalist religious crusaders discovered that these issues had mass appeal... Also known as the Teen Chastity Program, it gets some 15 million federal dollars to encourage teenagers to refrain from sexual intercourse, and to discourage them from using contraceptives if they do have sex, and from having abortions if they get pregnant.” - p. 8
“Popular culture is permeated with ideas that erotic variety is dangerous, unhealthy, depraved, and a menace to everything from small children to national security.” - p. 12
“Sodomy laws, as I mentioned above, are based on the assumption that the forbidden acts are an 'abominable and detestable crime against nature.'” - Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality by Gayle S. Rubin p. 31
or page 15
- there are many different angles by which negative attitudes towards non productive-heterosexual-sex
“All these terms police variation and reference a hidden norm from which the bodies of people with disabilities and women are imagined to depart.” - Integrating Disability, Transforming Feminist Theory by Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, p. 7
- Words and discourse have devastating real-life consequences (Venus Xtravaganza)
The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm, by Anne Koedt
The Second Sex: Introduction, by Simone de Beauvoir
Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality, by Gayle S. Rubin
Integrating Disability, Transforming Feminist Theory, by Rosemarie Garland-Thomson
Pathologize: Main Entry: pa·thol·o·gize
Variant: or chiefly Brit pa·thol·o·gise /-"jIz/
Function: vt
Inflected Forms: -gized or chiefly Brit -gised -giz·ing or chiefly Brit -gis·ing
: to view or characterize as medically or psychologically abnormal <natural hormonal shifts have been pathologized —Joyce C. Mills> <pathologizing childhood behavior —Ruth Shalit> —pa·thol·o·gi·za·tion or chiefly Brit pa·thol·o·gi·sa·tion noun
- www.dictionary.com
PATHOLOGY
“Rather than tracing female frigidity to the false assumptions about female anatomy, our 'experts' have declared frigidity a psychological problem of women.” - The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm by Anne Koedt, p. 242
- Female sexuality specifically is pathologized
“It is often said that she thinks with her glands. Man superbly ignores the fact that his anatomy also includes glands, such as the testicles, and that they secrete hormones.” - The Second Sex: Introduction by Simone de Beauvoir, p. 33
- Females in general are pathologized, especially through biology relative to sex.
“But fetishism, sadism, masochism, transsexuality, transvestitism, exhibitionism, voyeurism, and pedophilia are quite firmly entrenched as psychological malfunctions. Books are still being written about the genesis, etiology, treatment, and cure of these assorted “pathologies.” - Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality by Gayle S. Rubin, p. 12
- Sexuality in general is pathologized.
“Moreover, disability is a broad term within which cluster ideological categories as varied as sick, deformed, crazy, ugly, old, maimed, afflicted, mad, abnormal, or debilitated – all of which dsiadvantage people by devaluing bodies that do not conform to cultural standards.” - Integrating Disability, Transforming Feminist Theory by Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, p. 5
- An illustration of how many aspects of humans can be pathologized, usually if they do not fit into a norm.
DEFINITION
“Women have thus been defined sexually in terms of what pleases men; our own biology has not been properly analyzed. Instead, we are fed the myth of the liberated woman and her vaginal orgasm—an orgasm which in fact does not exist.” - The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm by Anne Koedt, p. 242
- Women are defined by men without consideration of facts such as biology.
“Thus humanity is male and man defines woman not in herself but as relative to him; she is not regarded as an autonomous being... And she is simply what man decrees; thus she is called 'the sex,' by which is meant that she appears essential to the male as a sexual being. For him she is sex—absolute sex, no less. She is defined and differentiated with reference to man and not he with reference to her; she is the incidental, the inessential as opposed to the essential. He is the Subject, he is the Absolute—she is the Other...” - The Second Sex: Introduction by Simone de Beauvoir, p. 33
- Women are defined by and in relation to men, a One and Other relationship.
“Moreover, we never encounter the body unmediated by the meanings that cultures give to it.” - Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality by Gayle S. Rubin, p. 10
-The body is defined by the culture in which it exists, or, more specifically, the culture in which the viewer exists.
“Western thought has long conflated femaleness and disability, understanding both as defective departures from a valued standard.” - Integrating Disability, Transforming Feminist Theory by Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, p. 6
- Female bodies, like disabled bodies, are defined as defective and substandard.
CONTROL
“...The vagina, it was assumed, was able to produce a parallel, but more mature, orgasm than the clitoris. Much work was done to elaborate on this theory, but little was done to challenge the basic assumptions.” - The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm by Anne Koedt, p. 243
- Women had little control in how they were defined, and the false definitions were pursued by those in power.
“To decline to be the Other, to refuse to be a party to the deal—this would be for women to renounce all the advantages conferred upon them by their alliance with the superior caste.” - The Second Sex: Introduction by Simone de Beauvoir, p. 35
- Women are give certain advantages by accepting the definition given to them by men. Rejecting this definition would result in these advantages being taken away, and thus the definition is used to control women.
“Right-wing opposition to sex education, homosexuality, pornography, abortion, and pre-marital sex moved from the extreme fringes to the political center stage after 1977, when right-wing strategists and fundamentalist religious crusaders discovered that these issues had mass appeal... Also known as the Teen Chastity Program, it gets some 15 million federal dollars to encourage teenagers to refrain from sexual intercourse, and to discourage them from using contraceptives if they do have sex, and from having abortions if they get pregnant.” - p. 8
“Popular culture is permeated with ideas that erotic variety is dangerous, unhealthy, depraved, and a menace to everything from small children to national security.” - p. 12
“Sodomy laws, as I mentioned above, are based on the assumption that the forbidden acts are an 'abominable and detestable crime against nature.'” - Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality by Gayle S. Rubin p. 31
or page 15
- there are many different angles by which negative attitudes towards non productive-heterosexual-sex
“All these terms police variation and reference a hidden norm from which the bodies of people with disabilities and women are imagined to depart.” - Integrating Disability, Transforming Feminist Theory by Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, p. 7
- Words and discourse have devastating real-life consequences (Venus Xtravaganza)
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“To the extent that men try to rationalize and justify male superiority through physical differentiation, masculinity may be symbolized by being the most
“Since the clitoris is almost identical to the penis, one finds a great deal of evidence of men in various societies trying to either ignore the clitoris and emphasize the vagina (as did Freud), or, as in some places in the Mideast, actually performing clitoridectomy. Freud saw this ancient and still practiced custom as a way of further 'feminizing' the female by removing this cardinal vestige of her masculinity. It should be noted also that a big clitoris is considered ugly and masculine. Some cultures engage in the practice of pouring a chemical on the clitoris to make it shrivel up into 'proper' size.” - The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm, p. 247
"He thinks of his body as a direct and normal connection with the world, which he believes he apprehends objectively, whereas he regards the body of woman as a hindrance, a prison, weighed down by everything peculiar to it." - The Second Sex: Introduction, p. 33
“Throughout much of European and American history, a single act of consensual anal penetration was grounds for execution. In some states, sodomy still carries twenty-year prison sentences. Outside the law, sex is also a marked category. Small differences in value or behavior are often experienced as cosmic threats.” - p. 11
“Also known as the Teen Chastity Program, it gets some 15 million federal dollars to encourage teenagers to refrain from sexual intercourse, and to discourage them from using contraceptives if they do have sex, and from having abortions if they get pregnant.” - 
such as stiletto high heels, girdles, and chastity belts—impair women's bodies and restrict their physical agency, imposing disability on them.” - 
Integrating Disability, Transforming Feminist Theory
“Iris Marion Young, for instance, examines how enforced feminine comportment delimits women's sense of embodied agency, restricting them to 'throwing like a girl' (1990b, 141).” -