Lust By Susan Minot Analysis

“Lust” is a story of great detail, powerful emotion, and perfect accuracy. Riding along with the feminist movement, there has recently been a wave of opposition against the notion that women can't have and enjoy casual sex. While this may be correct in some rare cases, there is a definite difference between men and women's perspectives on sex, both inborn and nurtured. Susan Minot delves into the disconsolate feelings attached with casual sex from a general woman's point of view. She explains the feelings of detachment and disassociation that are affiliated with casual sex. The short, symbolically choppy paragraphs in “Lust” embrace the universal theme that men and women view sex in a different light and feel it in a different darkness. Psychology …show more content…
We realize that we do not need to reproduce to keep our system flowing, as we are actually overpopulated. We also understand that it is possible to override these subconscious goals and have casual sex, but unfortunately, our society has created a double standard. As a society, we have taken these generalizations and pushed them into gender roles that are assigned to our children from birth. We have decided that women having casual sex is against their nature, and should be frowned upon, and that men should be praised for each girl they “get”. Women are deemed whores for having sex and men are labeled legends. Women are taught that they should be proper and innocent, and not give it up to men, so when they do, it feels wrong and immoral. Women are also taught that men only want sex, so it feels as though they are using women for sex, and no one wants to feel used. Society's thoughts on casual sex must change before our own feelings on it do. Minot illustrates the negative connotations around sex by observing that, “the more girls a boy has, the better. He had a bright look, having reaped fruits, blooming”, while, “for a girl, it's as though a petal gets plucked each time.” Even if the character in “Lust” wanted to sleep around, some part of her is telling her that it is wrong to do so, which causes her to feel even worse about it. Her feeling “...a little off-kilter...like a piece of pounded veal.” is a perfect example of society's thoughts influencing her own thoughts. She easily could have felt happy and accomplished, but instead, assumes she is the one being used and delves deeper into her emotions. The interaction between a woman's emotional character and the negative feelings regarding casual sex pair to further the assertion that men and women feel differently about