A Closing Thought...

By Hayley Turner

When I heard that I would be taking a class about pleasure and desire I understood that I would be discussing sex and drugs, the two things I believed were associated with pleasure and desire. It was not until after our first few discussions that I realized that pleasure and desire is everywhere and can be associated with anything.

I would have never associated coffee and spices with pleasure. I’m not sure how many people in today’s society would. However books have been written on the pleasure derived from these substances. I also would have never thought of the Protestant ethic and Capitalism as areas to look for pleasure and desire but low and behold books have been written about them as well.

This semester has been interesting and has taught me a lot about pleasure and desire. The class has opened my eyes to pleasure that can be found within the norms of society but also pleasure that fall outside the norm. Some of these ‘deviant’ pleasures are included in the book The Other Side of Desire by Daniel Bergner. These pleasures include a fetish for amputees, a possible pedophile, a female bareness and the fetish of feet. Other pleasures that seem to fall outside the norms that I have learned about or discussed this semester include body modification, zoophilia, and excessive pornography.

Although we have discussed a broad range of pleasures and desires this semester, to me one thing is clear, I may find pleasure in one thing and others might find hate and distaste. Thus pleasure and desire like many other aspects of our lives is subjective and is based solely on the individuals. The aspect of desire that is based on society is how open individuals are about their desires. Thus, society places constraints on pleasure and desire, these constraints can include the law but can also just be based on societal norms and the confidence and openness of the individual.