Venereal: From Venus, the goddess of love, this word refers to the reality of desire. With the rise of Protestantism and science, the word 'disease' was tacked on in a revealing combination of categorization and moralizing. 'Which disease?' 'The disease of love.'
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The word venereal mixes desire with disease and morality.
- In plain terms
- Venereal disease combines love and sickness in its name.
- What can you take from it?
- Language shapes how we view bodily realities.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does language affect health?
- When does morality enter medicine?
Another view
Some see the term as medically neutral now.
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