Sex: Letter From the Editor

Sex is easily one of the most loaded words in the English language. No matter the context, its utterance seems to invoke in us the thrill of the taboo. It is ignored and euphemized when we are children, and even as adults it seems to be out of bounds of “polite conversation.” Yet it is something with which we are constantly obsessed. Sexual imagery assaults our senses in advertisement, popular media, literature, and even our political discourse. It pervades virtually every aspect of our lives, and yet we retain much of our ancestors’ taboos about verbalizing this most fundamental of human urges. This tension has spawned a whole subset of academic theory, evidenced by the sheer number of “and Sex” courses offered at university. We could think of no more fitting a topic for our theme in this issue of Syndicus.
In the pages that follow you’ll find fascinating discussions on topics like incest and its evolutionary consequences, the sexualization of female bodies across cultures, the pervasive virginity myth in American Christianity, and more. This issue also breaks from tradition and features not one, but two prominent interviews. Judith Butler is a world-renowned radical feminist scholar whose work has informed much of feminist discourse in the past twenty years. Her fundamental argument is that gender is performative, not biologically given, and that insight has been foundational for the academic study of queer theory. Vanessa Valenti is an editor at feministing.com, the world’s most popular feminist blog. As we enter the age of the internet, it is important to discuss how marginalized groups are carving out safe spaces for themselves online, and what repercussions this has for their identities in the realm of the physical.
Each piece in this issue offers a unique perspective on sex and how it pertains to the way we live our lives. We hope that in reading this magazine, you’ll have your conceptions about sex challenged, and will come away having learned something about that most slippery of concepts.

Sincerely,

Chris Rudnicki
Editor-in-Chief

1. 

   Poseidon says:

   December 2, 2009 at 10:07 pm

   Amazing issue! Everyone did a great job and we’ve really put together something special.

   David Kepes
   Senior Editor