4 - The Sexual Subject

Summary

How do we construct sexual citizenship? Put differently, how do we as a society identify those whose sexual conduct and identities as sexual beings are consistent with our notions of citizenship and the public good? Often, identifying the ideal sexual citizen means identifying the traits associated with sex and sexuality that we deem useful, beneficial and productive – the kinds of sexual conduct we value, reward and encourage. But, as is often the case when constructing ideals, our understanding of that which is normatively desirable and desired is often informed by its foil – that which is decidedly undesirable. In this regard, the construction of a normative ideal of sexual citizenship has been tethered to the production of the sexual outlaw – those individuals who live their lives outside of the bounds that constrain citizenship. But it is not just that the law’s construction of the ideal sexual subject depends on the construction of its foil (the sexual outlaw); law also constructs sexual citizenship in ways that are deeply gendered and raced.