I found Greta LaFleur’s presentation “Toward an Environmental Theory of Early Sexuality” on April 1 quite enlightening. I believe the topics she discussed are very relevant in our modern day discussions and as someone who has recently taken a Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies course at Colby I found that it connected and intertwined to what we would talk about in class. I also thought it was very interesting how she connected the theory of sexuality to the environment and climate, since that is a theme we have been seeing in nearly all of our Presence of the Past lectures (unsure if that was some kind of necessary requirement to be included in the lecture series but regardless it’s nice how they all connect in some way).
The theories Greta LaFleur covers were interesting because I had never heard of some of them before. I like that she defined all the theories before she went into detail on them, for that was very helpful as an audience member. She started with Humoral Theory which understood the human form as a “porous envelope” and was vulnerable. She then went into Climate Theory which is the idea that particular bodily arrangements and types, particular characters, and particular qualities were endemic to (and perhaps produced by) the relative heat or cool of different regions. I found this theory most interesting because it was the most relevant to modern times. For instance, within this theory she talked about “cuffing season” which is where people get into relationships in the colder months and then break up during the warmer months. (I still remember David Greene telling us on our first day that Colby has a high marriage rate, probably because it gets cold here—cuffing season!). She also talked about the Geography of Questionable Sexual Decisions which means that people’s sexual decisions change based on where they are located. The modern day example of this was Vegas, and what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. I also found this example interesting, because we have all heard that phrase before but don’t really think about the underlying theories of it. That example was also interesting when someone in the audience asked about how environmental things and geographic locations could have an effect on people. Greta LaFleur explained that architecture, state, or location, can all have an effect on people and their view on sex and sexuality. Once again, an example of this was Vegas and that the atmosphere and environment of Vegas may have that effect on altering people’s views on sexuality for while they are there.
All of these examples were enlightening, for it allowed us to see that sexual decisions can be the products of the environment around us. Also, the presentation pulled real life examples to make it fun and interesting to listen to. She ended by saying “ how sex becomes sexuality and how sexuality became human” and i thought that was an interesting way to end the presentation, wrapping up everything. I thoroughly enjoyed Greta LaFleur’s presentation and think it was an excellent addition to our presence of the past lecture series.