There are two kinds of sex, classical and baroque. Classical sex is romantic, profound, serious, emotional, moral, mysterious, spontaneous, abandoned, focused on a particular person, and stereotypically feminine. Baroque sex is pop, playful, funny, experimental, conscious, deliberate, amoral, anonymous, focused on sensation for sensation's sake, and stereotypically masculine. The classical mentality taken to an extreme is sentimental and finally puritanical; the baroque mentality taken to an extreme is pornographic and finally obscene. Ideally, a sexual relation ought to create a satisfying tension between the two modes (a baroque idea, particularly if the tension is ironic) or else blend them so well that the distinction disappears (a classical aspiration).
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Sex can be romantic and serious or playful and sensation-focused; ideally they balance each other.
- In plain terms
- Good sex mixes deep emotion with playful fun.
- What can you take from it?
- Balance emotional depth with playful experimentation.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What mode dominates your view of sex?
- Can you blend seriousness and play?
Another view
It imposes binary gender stereotypes on sexual modes.
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