The Concept of Plastic Sexuality and Its Significance

Running head: PLASTIC SURGERY
PLASTIC SURGERY
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1PLASTIC SURGERY
The ways ‘sexuality’ come into existence or in being and the connection it have with the
changes that have impacted personal life more generally is answered by Giddens in the late 20th
century. The concept of plastic sexuality was developed in the year 1993 by Anthony Giddens.
The term ‘Plastic’ refers to the malleability of erotic expression for individual choice as well as a
framework of social norms (Becker et al., 2018 p. 22). While answering the questions the
sociologist disputes various dominant interpretations of the role of sexuality in the contemporary
culture. In the same discourse, the paper aims to discuss and critically assess the concept of
‘plastic sexuality’ along with its significance.
For Giddens the consequences of effective contraception of the social and economic
independence of women that also ‘liberated’ men from constraints of traditional gender
expectation is plastic sexuality. According to vast majority of population, contraception is a tool
that develops social good for the fact it helps people in avoiding unplanned children. They
presume that these children will be either poorly treated or they will be unprivileged in terms of
having a healthy and peaceful life. Also, it is considered as one of the ways women would avoid
abortion. It is a simple statement that people come across regularly. In many places the critics or
contraception argue that contraception might be adopted with the perspective that it is a
subsequent temptation of abortion. However an intervention of altering the actual meaning of sex
not only must have but also does have consequences of wide-ranges. In fact it is one of the
concept that is most celebrated by the contemporary minds of sociology (Ford et al., 2017 p.47).
Giddens feels that considering the intimacy the changes that have taken place certainly
possess a chance in the present society. However, much of it is yet to be realized in the society as
well. Arguing on Foucault’s perspective, Giddens states that by limiting his discussion on
modern sexuality, one cannot account for changes adequately that have occurred in the last few

2PLASTIC SURGERY
centuries, specifically focusing on the last few decades. He believed that the root of all the
changes occurring over the last few decades is the spread of romantic love and contraception. A
plastic sexuality is created that describes a sexuality split from traditional sexuality.
Anthony Giddens is one of the most well-known modern sociologists of the
contemporary era. He is the author of minimum 34 books that have been published
approximately in 29 languages. He is also scheduled as the fifth most-referenced author of books
available under the category of humanities in 2007. Anthony Giddens have presented his
perspective on this aspect too where he wrote exceptionally regarding sex before and after
contraception (Segre, 2014 p. 140).
For Giddens, Plastic sexuality is the result of powerful contraception of the economic and
social autonomy of ladies that additionally "freed" men from the requirements of habitual sex
desires. Plastic sexuality is what can be molded by individual sensual needs and needs. It can
likewise fill in as a marker of individual character as well as the methods by which to make
radical sexual requests. In this way, the result of separating sex from multiplication is to expand
the prominence on joy and reduction the prominence categorical sexuality (Pirc, 2013 p. 135).
According to Giddens, when sexuality is directly inter-related with reproduction, it
becomes a medium of transcendence. Sexual activity forged a tie with the individual’s finitude
and in the same time it carries the promise of its irrelevance. It is so as it is seen in relation to a
cycle of generation, the individual life was part of embracing symbolic order. For human,
sexuality is an echo of the transcendent. However, after contraception since the six has become
severed from reproduction it became ‘plastic’. It has become moldable that can be done or add
meaning to anybody. This meaning can vary in its meaning from person to person and encounter