Corruption and sex

Abstract

Taking into account the difference between the ancient and modern (even postmodern) understandings of corruption, I am curious to explore why the bond linking corruption and sex seems so obvious. I have no intention of investigating both phenomena in the context of any moral category. What then did Flaubert have on his mind when he wrote that Rodolphe “treated Emma quite sans façon. He made of her something supple and corrupt.” What underpins the irresistible attraction between corruption and sex? Why is it impossible to eradicate corruption and repress sex and perceive them as solely functional strategies of generation and reproduction? This short outline follows certain philosophical remarks of Luce Irigaray and her thematization of the sexual difference in the demarcation of generation and corruption.

Keywords

• corruption
• sex
• sexual difference
• generation
• Aristotle
• Irigaray
• Madame Bovary
• Flaubert