Lust By Susan Minot: The Double Standard Of Sexuality

Double Standard; a situation in which two people, groups, etc., are treated very differently from each other in a way that is unfair to one of them. All throughout history there has been an unfair double standard of sexuality between men and women. The short story “Lust” was written during the time period of the sexual revolution, which holds meaning behind the theme. Susan Minot exposes the double standard of sexuality throughout her short story. The whole basis of “Lust” was the sexual revolution. It was a time for sexual rebellion. PBS.org states, “At the core of the sexual revolution was the concept -- radical at the time -- that women, just like men, enjoyed sex, and had sexual needs” (PBS.org). Susan Minot wrote this short story while …show more content…
The word itself is a representation of the double standard of sexuality. It’s saying that if a woman has the sexual morals of a man she is trash. This word is not only offensive to women, but to men, because if a woman is “bad” for having the morals of a man, than men must have bad morals. Psycologytoday.com states, “women are judged more harshly than men for engaging in some behaviors, especially when those behaviors are casual sex or sex with lots of partners. Men are studs for doing it, but women are sluts” (Psycologytoday.com). This is part of what Susan Minot was trying to address in her short story. She uses an unnamed young girl who attends a religious boarding school to display the theme of sexual double standards. The young girl sneaks around to have sex with multiple young men. She has to sneak around because she will become known as a slut, or whore if she does not. This is a big aspect of the sexual double standard. A guy can have sex with multiple girls at the same time and be “the man”, but if a girl were to do the same she would be named a “whore”. That is unfair because both parties would have been participating in the exact same actions. It seems as if a girl wants to show her sexual desire in the same way a boy does she is not acceptable to society. The story supports this by saying,”QUOTE”. Men like to have pure women, and once a woman is no longer pure she is not as desirable for …show more content…
On the surface a reader might begin to see this as a sad story as it goes along, but if one looks deeper into the meaning it takes on a whole new level. This story will make a reader understand a young girl who loses respect for herself because of the harsh realities she faces. Some readers will find ways to connect with this young girl, and what she is going through. A reader will end the short story with an entirely different thought than the expectation they had. It is a story that will make one think, and realize so many things about the double standard of sexuality. It will connect one to the feelings, and struggles, and hurt the young girl experiences. It will expose a reader to a different side of the double standard of sexuality, and the sexual revolution. Susan Minot chose a relatable situation to get her point across, and to make a reader feel, and understand the discriminatory double standard of