The facts of life. The myth of the process of civilization, vol. 5
In this last volume of Duerr´s studies on the civilization process, provoked by Elias´ argument of an increasing refinement, Duerr again aims to refute Elias´ view and the idea of a simple progression of humankind towards a "paradise of civilization". He deals with sexuality, development of the body, body functions, and deviant behavior - asking whether these have been increasingly subject to ´concealment´ or were verbally euphemized, and whether they have been banned from public life and were limited to an expanding private sphere. Duerr also inquires into the so-called ´informalization argument´ - i.e. the claim, that formerly strict rules of behavior have been relaxed (since the 1920s) does not mean a real lowering of levels of shame and standards of embarrassment, but are merely the consequence of an all-embracing pacification of public life - which would mean this process does not question the theory of the process of civilization. Fourteen chapters deal with the following topics: public cohabitation, myths of the ´wild sex of savages´, female orgasm in difficult situations, passive women, active women, who is sexually active?, female lust in the 19th century, three chapters on the (male) representation of female sexuality, sexual ascriptions relating to racism, sexuality ascriptions and certain occupations, sex education of children, and cultural aspects of wedding nights. Finally, Duerr replies to criticism.
Keywords: civilization process, Elias, N., sexuality and civilization process, ´informalization argument´, public sphere and sexuality, privacy and sexuality
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