Susan Bordo On Love's Labour

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One of the most common questions to date is whether humans have free will, meaning do we feel as if we have the choice to do what we want with our lives. This thought has brought me to question whether humans are able to choose their own path or if we are subject to cultural norms that influence our actions. Having read three essays with similar views on this subject I have been able to shape a thought process about this issue. Cultural critic, Laura Kipnis concentrated her studies on sexual politics and gender issues, which can be seen in “Love’s Labor”. In her polemic she explained how perceptions of love have been shaped by beliefs that are propelled by the culture of our society. Feminist philosopher, Susan Bordo, focused her studies on …show more content…

In each of the writings all the authors discussed oppression in different perspectives, which can be understood as the state of being subject to unfair treatment or control. Foucault’s essay specified the panopticons purpose, which was to “induce in the inmate a state of conscious and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power” (187). This quote leads me to further believe for the fear of being disciplined individuals act accordingly to coincide with the higher authority. For instance when individuals have adopted cultural norms we act as if we are being watched at all times, whether it is through a surveillance camera, the government, or law enforcement. As these behaviors become standard, how we act in public will soon convert into how we act in private. Kipnis’ polemic is a great example of how cultural norms and the media come into play with oppression. It is clear that we are not born with love we are taught to love through the media constantly interpreting if they can love you should love. As stated by Kipnis “Consider…millions of images of lovestruck couples looming over us from movie screens, televisions, billboards, magazines, incessantly strong-arming us onboard the love train” (402). From this quote I can take away that the constant publicity of love as monogamy makes us identify monogamy as an essence of love.

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