Sex and Death: Part 2 Electric Boogaloo
Henry and Ethan brought up this question about sex and death in their panel presentation: just like in Ragtime, sex and violence are undoubtedly, but very depressingly, connected. In the essay they presented, the author describes the sexual language with which the war enthusiasts describe war, particularly the “post-coital satisfaction” of the process of “mopping up”. The entire concept of war as conquest is associated with an overblown masculinity, and that concept of war is sexualized. Violence and sex are linked, fetishized by men and used to exploit others. As the author says, Vonnegut essentially genders the concepts of conquest and innocence. When masculinity is overblown in this way, the world we live in is ultimately a dangerous and deeply misogynistic one as well. The way sex is described in calmer parts of the novel isn't any less troubling. For Billy, any sex with either his wife Valencia or Montana Wildhack are fundamentally about comfort. They are depicted as comforta...