Writing Seminar

You walk into the small classroom and are greeted by some familiar faces. There’s Annalise, who enthusiastically pats the empty seat next to her when she sees you, and there’s Charmaine, who’s on her phone. She doesn’t seem to have noticed your arrival.

Then, there’s Lisa. She discretely flips you off as you give her a wave, and you’re tempted to give her the finger back, but there are too many eyes on you. You don’t want to be making a bad impression on… on everyone, you realise with a start, as you notice that you’re the only guy in the room.

There are only nine students in the classroom, counting you, but it still comes as a bit of a shock to you. As you take the seat between Annalise and a dark haired girl dressed in all black - she is slim but very busty, you begin to think of all the possibilities that this class will bring. Eight girls and one guy? Unless you fuck up massively, this is the dream.

The professor, an old man in a tweed suit with thick rimmed glasses, ambles in, and takes a seat in the front of the room.

“I see that the prodigal boy is back,” the professor says, stroking his beard. “Well, just in time for us to get into the meat of the discussion. We wrapped up the last class talking about how individual views on sexuality have shifted over time. This weekend, you read more about the technology of the state and its link with the production of knowledge in Foucault’s History of Sexuality… so let’s dive right into it. Do people think this is an accurate description of how the world works?”

Several hands shoot up, and the professor points a bony finger at the girl dressed in black sitting next to you. “Lucille? What do you think?”

Lucille

“I think Foucault is dead on. You only have to look at China and its former one-child policy to see how prevalent biopower is, but it’s sex where I think it becomes even more devious and subtle. Sex used to be a deeply private act, individual and personal between participants. Nowadays? Just look at Pornhub,” Lucille says, to giggles from several girls in the class. You manage to keep a straight face, though one of your eyebrows arches slightly. “Come on, even if you’ve never been on the site, chances are that the next time you have sex, your partner will have - and you can bet those mannerisms and habits and conventions that they pick up through the site will manifest themselves.”

Lisa shakes her head, butting in. “Come on, you’re just being pessimistic for no good reason. We’re in a renaissance of sexuality right now. People have more of an ability to express themselves than ever. Like it or not, the internet has created a community for any fetish unimaginable, and there are even websites like Chyoa -“ there are some appreciative nods at the mention of a site that you are rather familiar with - you didn’t know that Lisa knew of it too… “websites like Chyoa that let people take control of these sexual narratives into their own hands. People are free to push against society more than ever before,” Lisa finishes.

The professor nods. “You both make very valid points, but I can see that Charmaine is dying to get a word in. What do you think?”

“Lucille and Lisa have got the framing wrong,” Charmaine says. “They focus on the clash between individuals and society, without realising that the two are fundamentally different perspectives on the same thing. Society is nothing more than the sum total of our collective actions and beliefs, so to argue that there’s some massive distinction between the two and to say that they’re in conflict is a mistake in my book. The real proof that Foucault’s thesis is right is that you both fell for the fiction that they’re distinct in the first place. The state works through the people, and the people work through the state, forming a continuous whole.”

It’s a heated discussion, for sure, and you see this as your chance to make a favourable impression on the girl you’re most attracted to. You raise your hand. With the entire class’ attention focused on you, you begin: “I think only one of the girls is really right…”

Lucille +5
Lisa +5
Charmaine +5