As our research in Villa del Mar and Villa del Sol made clear, both towns are characterized by three dominant sexual discourses, namely those centred around religion, gender and science. In large measure, their hegemony can be explained by the support they receive from some of the country’s key institutions, including the family, the state, the Roman Catholic Church and the mass media. Moreover, given this level of support, one assumes that they are equally hegemonic in other Costa Rican communities, and not merely those which we visited.
In the pages that follow, we will explore the bases of these discourses as they are communicated to, and internalized by, the young people of Villa del Mar and Villa del Sol. While the issues addressed will be broadly similar in each case, it should be noted that we will be drawing upon slightly different sources of information. How so? In short, while our discussion of gender-based discourses will be based principally upon findings derived from the interviews, our exploration of discourses grounded in religion and science will also make use of relevant textual material, specifically the Catechism and literature associated with the fields of sexology and reproductive health.
Principles of religious discourses
Creation is divine and heterosexuality the accepted norm
According to Christian doctrine, God created Man, Woman and the world in which we live. Moreover, sexuality is seen as part of a divine plan, insight into which can only be gained through study of the Bible and other sacred texts. So what precisely do the latter tell us?
As the catechismal teachings of the Roman Catholic Church make clear, "Man and Woman have been created, which is to say, willed by God: on the one hand, in perfect equality as human persons; on the other, in their respective beings as man and woman". (Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church, par. 369)
Thus, not only did God create Man and Woman, but He wills them to be together, a sentiment that is given voice repeatedly in Biblical writings. For example, in Genesis 2:18, God is reported to have said „it is not good that Man is alone. I will make him a helper that is fit for him.’ Needless to say, Woman is to be this helper, whose creation provided the basis for the two sexes, „each [made] for the other’ (Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church, par. 372).
Seen from this perspective, it is scarcely surprising that sexual identity in general, and heterosexuality in particular, are thought to be directly traceable to God and His divine plan. This is underscored by the Church’s official pronouncement on the subject: „everyone, Man and Woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity’ (Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church, par. 2333). Moreover, the implications of this statement are twofold. In short, not only does it serve to remind us why Christian discourses in general are so hostile to change (ie. what right do mere mortals have to question God’s work?), but it leaves individual priests and others in the Church hierarchy with substantial room to interpret official texts (such as the Catechism) according to their own priorities and prejudices.
Significantly, this variability in interpretation was confirmed during the course of the in-depth interviews, with Marianela reporting that, in her church, she was told that women should „always be pregnant because they were created from Adam’s rib and their mission in life is to have children.’ Along somewhat different lines, Kenneth and Santiago indicated that they believe sexual relations to be reflective of God’s work and that, as such, their sanctity must be respected: „if God made them, He must have had a reason.’
Only a fine line separates sexuality from sin
The Roman Catholic Church defines sin as a 'transgression of God's law'. Needless to say, the first such transgression was that of Adam, whose act of biting into an apple from the tree of knowledge resulted in his (and Eve's) ejection from the Garden of Eden, and the tainting of all his descendants until the day of final judgement. Moreover, within this frame of analysis human sexuality is deemed to be part of God's punishment, whereby Man and Woman's union is subjected to 'tensions', and their relations to 'desire and domination'. Indeed, the only mortal who is believed to have escaped the blemish of original sin is the Virgin Mary, who conceived Christ without recourse to sex (Catechism of the Catholic Church).
Thus, as a result of Church teachings, young people in Villa del Mar and Villa del Sol tend to view pleasure in somewhat negative terms, which is not surprising considering the number of times they have been told that 'sexual pleasure is morally suspect when pursued for its own sake, in isolation from its procreative and unitive purposes" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 503). Kenneth, for one, emphasized the degree to which Catholics think that 'sexuality is terrible ... all they talk about is sin'. This point was also reiterated by Hilda, who feels that the Church expects her to seek 'forgiveness for everything ... even if I fart I'm supposed to ask for forgiveness, forgiveness, forgiveness.' Moreover, the overwhelming majority of interview participants indicated that they had received no sex education from pastors, priests or other religious officials.
Of course, the fact that members of Roman Catholic religious orders are themselves expected to remain chaste contributes to young people's difficulty in reconciling sexuality with spirituality. Paula, for example, attended a religious school where the nuns were too 'embarrassed' to discuss sex and, when asked about it, became 'frightened'. Similarly, Jorge indicated that he believed that priests' problem with sex resided in the fact that 'they had to take a vow of chastity'.
Sex is morally debasing
Sex has the power to lead human beings astray and is one of the root causes of moral decay, both at present and in ancient times. Time and time again the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is presented to young people as one of the foremost example of what happens to those who fall prey to sexual depravation. Moreover, as focus group participants made clear, Catechism lessons are full of warnings concerning the corrupting power of sex and sexuality, with Adam and Eve's fall from grace cited as a case in point.
Needless to say, conservative social groupings like the Christian Family Movement are in full agreement with this latter view, arguing as it does that sexual 'permissiveness' is responsible for the vast bulk of Costa Rica's social problems. Thus, if the country is to rid itself of its current malaise, it is critical that respect for 'faithful and fertile love' be instilled in the hearts of all citizens (Christian Family Movement, 1992, p. 26).
As one might imagine, the articulation of sexual practices with the state of the country's wellbeing is used by priests and other religious officials as a way of discouraging youth from engaging in sex prior to marriage. However, as was made clear during the course of the qualitative interviews, in many cases this has had the opposite effect, with Tatiana arguing that many young people have distanced themselves from religion: 'it's become a way of rebelling, sex is the in-thing really, it's like this is the fashionable thing to do now.' Meanwhile, Maikol noted that young people have left the Church because of 'sex, alcoholism and drugs', a view confirmed by Jonathan, who felt that sex was an evil thing that makes people 'go berserk and do dirty things.'
Those who have sex are doing the Devil's work
For Christians, good and evil are forces that wage constant battle with one another on both the physical and spiritual planes. Thus, when a wrongful act is committed, a real figure, embodying pure evil, is invoked as an explanatory device. As the Catechism puts it, 'Satan ... and the other demons are fallen angels who have freely refused to serve God and His plan. Their choice against God is definitive. They try to associate Man in their revolt against God' (Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 414).
In the context of the interviews, it is clear that many participants have internalized this particular belief. For example, Tatiana explained her failure to attend Mass for three months by saying that 'I've got a little devil in me.' Meanwhile, Maikol reported that his mother regularly tells him to go to church in order to 'get the devil out' of him.
Moreover, sex is thought to be one of Satan's favourite tools in inducing men and women to become sinful and perverted. This in turn explains why the young people interviewed tended to describe their sexual peccadillos as instances when 'the devil got inside of them.' In the face of the threat posed by such temptation, the Church makes use of its own battery of magic-religious weapons, including confession, prayer and atonement.
Marriage is a means of avoiding sins of the flesh
Given the tendency within Christian circles to associate unbridled sexuality with the Devil, what avenues are open to believers who wish to express their sexual identity in ways that are consistent with Church doctrine? Certainly, they will find little solace in the writings of the early Church fathers. Paul, for example, believed that abstinence was the only path to a spiritual life; marriage came a poor second in his estimation. A similar position was espoused by Clement of Alexandria, who saw sexual relations as a 'slight epilepsy, an incurable disease ... that is why it's harmful: Man is insane in the frenzy of coitus' (Bullough 1976, p. 198).
However, despite the strongly negative attitude of the early Church, over time its position became increasingly pragmatic, with marital intercourse being eventually accepted as a legitimate expression of human sexuality. Interestingly, many of the interview and focus group participants appear to share the Church's views on the sanctity of marriage, given the extent to which they voiced disapproval of extra-marital sex. While some suggested that the Church's prohibition of such behaviour was fair because 'it's God's will', others simply made reference to their priest's condemnation of the practice.
The purpose of marriage is union and procreation
At the same time that it affirms the sacredness of marriage in the eyes of God, the Catechism goes on to ground the latter's usefulness in its capacity to engender life itself. Needless to say, in doing so it condemns all sexual activities that are not oriented towards reproduction, arguing that 'sexual pleasure...sought outside of the sexual relationship which is demanded by the moral order' runs counter to God's will (Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 2352).
As one might imagine, the young people who participated in this study are very familiar with the Church's position on the purpose of marriage, arguing frequently during the course of the in-depth interviews that sex should serve to 'complement', 'unite', 'attract' and 'create love' among men and women, and that its underlying raison d'être was to allow couples to 'have children and establish a family.'
Virginity is a requirement for marriage
Christianity places great stock on virginity. Everyone who is baptized in a Roman Catholic Church is called upon to follow Christ's example and lead a chaste life, in accordance with their status and situation. Thus, while the clergy take a vow of celibacy and married couples one of fidelity, fiancés are expected to 'reserve for marriage the expressions of affection that belong to married love' (Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 2350).
However, the requirement that one be a virgin on the day of one's marriage is more rigorously enforced for women than it is for men. This is underscored by the interview responses of men like David, who, despite being gay and a prostitute, said that he would never marry a woman 'who isn't dressed in white'. However, this is not to say that men are completely exempt from these pressures themselves. As Jorge put, both women and men should remain celibate before marriage, inasmuch as one 'should give all of oneself to the person one marries.'
Masturbation corrupts
According to the tenets of the Jewish religion, it is a grave sin to waste one's semen, recalling as it does Onan's decision to spill his seed in the desert, rather than impregnate his brother's widow as Levitical law required (Genesis 28:9). Although his crime consisted essentially of disobeying his father and disregarding traditional Levitical requirements, scrupulous Biblical scholars have since argued that the condemnation of Onan encompasses a proscription of all forms of semen emission that are non-procreative in orientation.
As one might imagine, it is on the basis of this interpretation that masturbation, together with oral sex and contraceptive use, are considered serious offenses in the eyes of the Church hierarchy and the Roman Catholic Catechism, with the latter proclaiming that 'the deliberate use of the sexual faculty, for whatever reason, outside of marriage is essentially contrary to its purpose" (par. 2352). Moreover, it goes on to argue that 'both the Magisterium of the Church ... and the moral sense of the faithful have been in no doubt and have firmly maintained that masturbation is an intrinsically and gravely disordered action" (par. 2352).
To a large extent, interview participants appear to have internalized this perspective, with Gisella indicating that she had been taught that masturbation 'goes against Christian values'. As for Jorge, he argued that the practice should be avoided because 'one is not giving love to anyone, while Susan asserted that it is sinful, and thus should simply not be done.
All thoughts of fornication should be banished from one's mind
According to the Catechism, not only does fornication entail 'carnal union between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman' (par. 2353), but it is 'gravely contrary to the dignity of persons and of human sexuality which is naturally ordered to the good of spouses and the generation and education of children' (par. 2353).
Given this view, it is not particularly surprising that so many of the study participants felt that desire was sinful. Yet, even as they expressed this sentiment, they did go on to make a distinction between appropriate and inappropriate objects of desire. According to Leidy, 'desire is sinful if one is not married.' However, as Alenxandra put it, so long as the woman whom a man is undressing with his eyes is his wife, 'it's not a sin.'
Prostitution is a social scourge
In the eyes of Church leaders, prostitution is an assault upon the dignity of the prostitute's body, to the extent that he or she is reduced to an object of sexual pleasure. Meanwhile, the buyer of sex sins gravely by being unchaste and by defiling his (or her) body (Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 2355).
While it was evident in the group sessions and interviews that young people agree with the Church on the sinfulness of prostitution, many went on to temper their condemnation by suggesting that some individuals are driven to the sex trade by factors beyond their control, such as 'the need to feed their children'; 'lack of education'; 'helplessness', or 'being abandoned by her man.'
Pornography is a serious offense
A similarly negative attitude pervades the Church's views on pornography. As the Catechism makes clear, the latter involves the removal of 'sexual acts from the intimacy of partners in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It is an offense to chastity because it perverts the conjugal act ... it does grave injury to the dignity of those who participate in it' (par. 2354).
A significant number of participants agreed that watching pornographic films was sinful, all the while explaining their refusal to watch them by saying they wanted 'to avoid sin', 'to respect their religion', or 'to avoid divine punishment.'
Homosexuality is unnatural
Defining homosexuality as 'relations between men or women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex' (par. 2357) the Roman Catholic Catechism goes on to make the following claims about it: homosexuality has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries ... Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture ... (Gen. 19, 1-29 Rom; Co 6, 1 Tm, 1, 10), tradition has always declared that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered. They are contrary to the natural law. They are an affront to the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from genuine affective or sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved" (par. 2357).
During the course of the in-depth interviews, a number of young people came forward to express their disdain for homosexuality. Kenneth, for example, indicated that 'God didn't make the penis and balls to go into the anus, which is for getting rid of bodily waste.' Alexandra agreed, saying that 'God made Man and Woman to complement each other.' Even David, who is himself gay, said that 'homosexuality should not exist on earth...God made Man and Woman to be together and I chose the wrong path".
Adultery is a serious offense
The Roman Catholic Church takes adultery very seriously, if religious writings and sacred texts are anything to go by. According to Matthew 5:27-28, Christ condemned all forms of adultery, even that of mere desire. Along similar lines, the sixth commandment forbids adultery absolutely (cf. Mt 5, 32; 19,6 mc 10,11; Co 6, 9-10), while the prophets denounced the practice as akin to the sin of idolatry (cf. Os 2,7; jr 5,7;13,27)" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 2380).
For the most part, young people share this view, and deem the practice to be a serious offense against the sanctity of marriage. To cite but two examples, Susana argued that it is 'one of the worse calamities facing religion', while Carlos saw its prevalence as 'proof of the decline in religious values.'
Divorce is contrary to divine law
As Church writings make clear, 'the Lord Jesus insisted that the Creator's original intention was for marriage to be indissoluble (cf. Mt 5, 31-32; 19, 3-9; Mc 10,9; Lc 16, 18; Co 7, 10-11). This in turn has led the framers of the Catechism to argue that no human power other than death can legitimately break up a ratified and consummated marriage among individuals who have been baptized (par. 2382).
Needless to say, young people showed themselves to be very familiar with the Church's prohibition of divorce. Tatiana, for one, argued that 'it does not matter how many divorce papers a couple gets, as far as the Church is concerned they're still married.' As for Maria, she felt that, since the institution of marriage is derived ultimately from God, couples should take to heart the saying 'til death do us part.'
Children should not be avoided
As for matters of family planning, the Catechism is quite explicit in its condemnation of 'morally unacceptable means' of preventing pregnancy, such as sterilization and the use of oral contraceptives (par. 2399). Moreover, interview and focus group participants were clearly well-versed in current debates on the subject, with Vanessa indicating that she knew that the Church was against family planning 'because having children is a privilege that one should not be deprived of.' Meanwhile, both Jorge and Guillermo are familiar with the conflict between Church and state over the distribution of sex education material in schools, and know that the Roman Catholic hierarchy 'opposes condoms and other methods of family planning.'
Abortion is murder
In the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, 'human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person, among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life (cf. CDF, Donum Vitae, 1, 1) Since the first century, the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every produced abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable' (Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 2271).
Clearly, most of the young people interviewed were equally opposed to abortion in all of its forms. In short, abortion and murder were deemed to be one and the same, with the only exception being cases where the mother's life was in danger. As Maria put it, 'abortion should only be considered if the mother risks dying herself, since the child is unborn and what could a child do without its mother?'
Principles of gender discourses
In Costa Rica, religious discourses are complemented by those of gender. Although one might argue that the latter's roots are considerably more diverse than the former, given the degree to which misogyny and sex-based inequity are common strands throughout the Western world, it is clear that the two discourses reinforce one another in reproducing a particular understanding of human sexuality.
Sexual roles are determined by organs, instinct and hormones
Within this frame of reference, masculinity and femininity are determined by the presence or absence of a penis. This is confirmed by Jonathan, who asserted during the course of our interview with him, „I am masculine because I have a penis, let’s say women are feminine because they have a vagina.’ Moreover, being in possession of a penis is thought to render one more aggressive and sex-driven. Thus, not only did Danny and Juan argue that they were „stronger’ because of their penis, but Susana indicated that she thought women were weaker due to the presence of female hormones in their bodies.
Indeed, the importance of hormones cannot be understated in this regard, given the significance attributed to them by study participants. All in all, the vast majority of young people interviewed indicated that they thought hormones, along with instinct and sexual organs, were key determinants of masculine and feminine behaviour.
Sex roles are grounded in biology
In light of the discussion above, it is not particularly surprising that most of the research participants (whether male or female) believed that men, by virtue of their sex, were naturally strong, aggressive, assertive and hard-working, whereas women were submissive, passive, vain and delicate. In Katia’s words, „it’s simply natural that this is the case.’
Role determines function
Along similar lines, many of the young people involved in the study indicated that women’s natural environment is the home, while that of men is the (waged) work-place and the street. In the focus group session, mention was often made of the importance of girls getting married in order to bear and raise children, and of men going to work to support their families. Moreover, several female participants stated that women’s nurturing skills were grounded in biology, with Rosangela and Wendy in particular saying that girls’ fondness for dolls was innate, the product of menstruation which serves to render them more sensitive and care-oriented.
Man/Woman, active/passive
In the minds of most study participants, men are active by nature whereas women are passive, with activity and passivity measured according to one’s ability to penetrate others. Thus, since it is only men who are in possession of a penetrative sexual organ, not only does it follow (in the peculiar logic of dominant gender discourses) that men should be more sexually active than women, but that it is better to penetrate than to be penetrated.
This is underscored by the views expressed by Kenneth, who believes that women who agree to have sex with him are „sluts’ and that they deserve to be abandoned afterwards. As he puts it,
The first week I hug her, the following week I touch her breasts, the week after that I'm getting inside her and by the following week she's already sleeping with me. In one month the work’s all done. It's like arm-wrestling, if she's tough it's more fun because it's more of a challenge.
Moreover, the superior value attributed to penetration is reflected in the language used to describe men and women’s sexual organs. During the in-depth interviews, the penis was typically depicted as a powerful and violent weapon: pistol, rifle, bat, bar, stick, machine-gun, club and nail were only some of the words used in this regard. By contrast, the vagina was generally portrayed in terms suggestive of inferiority and passivity; for example, hole, frog, monkey, pit, crater or crack.
Penetrated women are sluts, unless they are married
During the course of our interview with him, Kenneth described himself as a „male prostitute’, since he loves nothing more than going to bed with women. However, while thinking nothing of this, he went on to say that a woman who did the same would be thought a „slut’ by everyone. To illustrate this point he related an anecdote in which a friend pretended to be drunk, and he started to get all lovey-dovey with a girl. They started to make love, even though she was saying no, and then finally he stuck it in her and she ended up liking it. Later on, when he was telling me about it, he said „that bitch, what a phoney, she said no, it’s disgusting and all that, and then suddenly she's into it.
Indeed, even women refer to other women who have lost their virginity as „whores’ and „sluts’. Susana, for one, argued that a woman should only give herself to her husband; if she has sex with her fiancé, she becomes worthless.
Men who are sexually active are manly and admired
According to Kenneth, being a real man entails having sex as much as possible: „Yeah, I’ve fucked women in the street, on the beach and at home, though if it’s at home I’m always careful to make sure that my mother doesn’t walk in.’ Meanwhile, Carlos indicated that being manly means being willing to „eat out any woman’s cunt or asshole.’ Moreover, he admitted that „feeling girls up’ was his favourite pastime, and that he loves to get together with his friends in order to talk about recent sexual exploits.
Interestingly, not only did most of the other male participants voice broadly similar points of view, but many of the young women interviewed agreed that men should be more knowledgeable about sex, with several indicating that they would find it exceedingly difficult to ask a man out or initiate sexual activity. For these participants, the man should play the role of „guide’ and „teacher’ during the course of their sexual encounter.
Women should never act suggestively or provocatively towards men
Among the male research participants, it was widely argued that women who act suggestively in the company of men run the risk of being raped. As Kenneth put it, „sometimes the eyes tell you, they say no, but their eyes and their body language say yes. In cases like that, it’s okay to use force.’ Meanwhile, female participants like Maria indicated that women must be very careful in how they present themselves, and that they must never go into the street and do things which might serve to „provoke men.’
Principles of scientific discourses
With the development of modern psychiatry in the nineteenth century, a new discourse began to take shape, one that was particularly useful to state actors as a means of regulating and controlling the social (and sexual) lives of their citizens. Internalized and propagated by such groups as psychiatrists, sexologists, physicians, demographers, sociologists, lawyers, economists and criminologists, the tenets of scientific discourse flew squarely in the face of the assumptions built into religious discourses, and frequently those of gender discourses as well.
Sexual health should be a state priority
From the moment that economists, demographers and sociologists adopted the position that population was a key factor in either facilitating or hindering development, public health, the practice of birth control and the spread of STDs took on growing importance in the calculations of state managers.
In short, it is because of this that the latter began increasingly to intervene in areas touching upon citizens’ biological reproduction and sexual practices. In countries where labour power was in short supply, emphasis was placed upon encouraging families to have more children. Conversely, in overpopulated regions, contraceptive use, sterilization and deferral of first pregnancy were encouraged. Meanwhile, at a personal level, the belief that resource availability should determine family size, and that every couple has the right to practice birth control gained wider and wider currency. In the context of the present study, this is seen in Hilda’s repetition of such advertising slogans as „have only the number of children you can afford to make happy,’ and in Jorge’s comment that „these days you can’t make the mistake of having too many children. You have use the methods available.’
Along somewhat different lines, the spread of HIV/AIDS in Costa Rica, what with its tendency to strike down those who are in the prime of their economically productive years, has induced the government to become a keen proponent of both condom use and AIDS awareness among the population at large. To a significant degree, these efforts appear to be bearing fruit, given study participants’ knowledge of risk factors, and statements by individuals like José that „there’s no question that you have to use a glove when you’re having sex, even though it’s uncomfortable.’
Furthermore, at the same time that experts (psychiatrists, psychologists, et al.) have taken it upon themselves to determine the bounds between „normal' and „abnormal’ sexuality (with the latter generally in