Notes on Cant XIX
A precursor to the concept of sexual objectification can be found in the thought of Immanuel Kant, who wrote that "sexual love makes of the loved person an Object of appetite; as soon as that appetite has been stilled, the person is cast aside as one casts away a lemon which has been sucked dry." But, to Kant, this kind of "objectification" only occurs outside the context of monogamous marriage, and appears as part of his argument against prostitution and concubinage.
"Coverture", the mystic union of husband and wife, or something very much like that, is what makes legally enforced monogamous marriage magic and keeps objectification at bay: "the two persons become a unity of will." Kant's argument is a sister to the Roman Catholic belief that sex using contraception is no more than "mutual masturbation". The magic just ain't there unless you're makin' babies.
"Coverture", the mystic union of husband and wife, or something very much like that, is what makes legally enforced monogamous marriage magic and keeps objectification at bay: "the two persons become a unity of will." Kant's argument is a sister to the Roman Catholic belief that sex using contraception is no more than "mutual masturbation". The magic just ain't there unless you're makin' babies.