CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2011
| Author | Dumas, Hayden Lee |
|---|---|
| Title | Sex Education and Religious Discipline: A Biopolitical Negotiation of Sexual Citizenship in Malta |
| Summary | There is a need to reexamine both biopolitical and sexual citizenship theories in the context of individual experience. In this thesis I examine development of sexual citizenship within a framework of biopolitical theory, and look at negotiations of power in the process of sovereignty, focusing specifically on the role of religion in these negotiations. Through the incorporation of these ideas into the specific context of sex education debates as covered in two Maltese newspapers and a series of interviews conducted with Maltese university students, I first I explore the emphasis on both the health of the individual and the health of the Maltese population as a whole, arguing that there exists not only a struggle to define the parameters of sex education but of the Maltese sexual citizen. I then look at the emphasis on the education and surveillance of youth in Malta by the older generations, asserting that the perceived “repression” of the young by the old has resulted in the a partial rejection of attitudes expressed by the older generations, particularly by well-educated and affluent young Maltese citizens. The final section of this project is concerned with the creation of a gendered moral standard for Maltese sexual citizenship through both individual sex education experiences and the media debates. I show that while an emphasis is placed on women’s emotional health and moral integrity, there is more a focus on physical health and safety in terms of male sexuality, which is validated by the way in which the Catholic Church monitors and punishes “inappropriate sexual behavior. I conclude that the Church as a religious institution in Malta is active in the biopolitical negotiation of sexual citizenship as monitored through the validation of certain patterns of sexual behavior over others. |
| Supervisor | Helms, Elissa |
| Department | Gender Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2011/dumas_hayden.pdf |
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