Slave Society Struggles (on Sex)

Beloved is set in a tumultuous time, when former slaves are struggling to fit into a free society and their children are just beginning to grow into people of their own. The focus of this book is on the problems that arise from that integration, which carries over into all aspects of the book, including how the main characters deal with sex.

There is tension between two different societies' expectations and roles. On the slave side, sex is expected and not really shamed, and it doesn't have very many limitations (there is no question that Sethe will eventually have sex with one of the slave men and there's no hesitation that they have sex with cows while waiting). The mores present at Sweet Home (no rape, respect the sanctity of marriage) were upheld, and that seemed to be what justified the men as civilized.

But in the society they must fit into after they are free, bestiality is for savages and rape is allowed as long as it's not paraded or is against a "lesser" being (as Schoolteacher's nephews demonstrated on Sethe). In the mainstream society side, sex and virginity is something to be protected and not given freely, and there are lots of rules and regulations you are supposed to observe--but it's okay to ignore them as long as you aren't caught.

The mainstream relationship with sex is one that in many ways seems flipped from what Sethe previously was used to. There are numerous guidelines for how often to have sex and with whom to have it with, and even more caveats on those rules based on one's gender, age, economic status, etc. This is in conflict with the very simple rules that applied when Sethe was a slave, basically only warning against infidelity. The focus of the mainstream social structure to sex seems to be most focused on maintaining one's social status, but the slave rules were created primarily as a way for the slaves to feel and prove themselves civilized. The question of whether the characters are sticking with the old slave way of viewing sexual attraction and the act itself or shifting to the more amoral, "don't-get-caught" attitude comes up whenever they view another person in a sexual light or do the act.

My views on sex are complicated, but I think they align more with the moral nature of the slave rules than the social purpose of the mainstream ones. The issue of sex is a complicated thing for any person to face, since what society dictates one should think about leaves out so many ways of expressing with it. Though, as an asexual, I don't have to worry personally about the social and moral consequences of having sex, it is an interest of mine especially because I know that many women struggle to escape the condemnation that comes if they have "too much" sex and many people of both genders face difficulties expressing themselves because they like kinks. Seeing characters in a book similarly struggle with a strange and imperfect system of regulating sex connects with the knowledge of that struggle I read before this book.