Brave New World by Alduous Huxley is a futuristic conception of a world where drugs and sex rule society, keeping it stable and sustainable. Chastity is an abnormal practice as orgies are held daily, and the constant intake of “soma” keeps people in a happy and care-free mood. In the real world, it seems the farther into the future we go, the more drugs and sex become acceptable, whereas history has shown us that conflicts and wars have been fought over these sensitive subjects. Society is moving into a brave new world where men and women can indulge in pleasures that have been denied to them for years. Because of this shift, the world is improving socially and economically every day, making the Earth a much better place to live.
The freedom of sex can make society function better socially. Sex has been proven as a way to relieve stress, and it is a great way to bond with someone. One example for a better change socially is this: in Brave New World there is, as is in most societies, a class system- they are Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon. Each class has different tasks and jobs, and seemingly different ranks on the social ladder (although a person in their class is programmed to not want to be in any other class). While it was obvious people would view themselves as better than others, such as a Beta refusing to talk to an Epsilon, people never actually wanted to change their class. This led to an absence of a constant problem in modern society: sexism. It had been replaced by a programmed discrimination as opposed to stereotype discrimination. Basically, people might not talk to someone of a different class because they are programmed not to, whereas with sexism a person might not talk to a woman because women are stereotyped as not being good at fixing cars, or something along those lines.
They were programmed because the person needed to love there own job, and there own role in society, not to wish they were someone else, or should do something different. The reason sexism had disappeared was because of sex. It is widely accepted that women are freaked out by sex more that men, and with good reason. A man cannot get pregnant. The book has fixed this by making women infertile. There are also many hormonal factors that come into play and can make women more emotional, as well as society and history of sexual abuse directed at women. The feminist movement began because of women being viewed as inferior, and that stemmed from sex. They have been sexual slaves, and for thousands of years have had to deal with practices such as polygamy and enslavement. Men abused women not just physically, but emotionally, and women have been fighting against that. In the book though, every person is grown to accept sex as normal, and therefore this tension between the genders has been annihilated. A person is less likely to sexually abuse someone if they know they can just have sex with them later. So while discrimination exists, it is for the greater good. It has improved society socially because while there is difference of opinion, people want to be who they are, so therefore everyone is happy in there positions.
Along with sex, another subject that is brought up very often in the book is the use of the drug soma. It seems to have similar properties to the drug ecstasy, making the users content and nonchalant about the world. The book uses a direct connection many times between the use of soma and sex. They come hand and hand. When Bernard stops taking so much of the soma, there is a significant drop in his sexual desire. Lenina meanwhile does both in abundance, and at one time in the book has to take the soma so that she has the courage to attempt to be sexual with John. John on the other hand, does not take the soma and therefore does not partake in sex. This use of the drug drastically affects the world economically in the book. Everybody is having sex, and if soma must be taken to achieve maximum pleasure from it, then the manufacturers of soma are going to be very rich men.
“As a happy, hard-working, goods-consuming citizen…” (Huxley 236) This quote is important to understand because citizens are looked upon as “goods-consuming,” obviously referring to soma along with other sexual products that are taken such as the gum. This is not the only place that a chemical has been used to enhance sexual pleasure. There are several drugs in modern society as well as in ancient society that have been used. Viagra and Lipitor are big ones today, and people might even consume more hardcore drugs such as marijuana, heroine, or cocaine to make sex easier and more enjoyable. Comparing Asian and European ancient civilizations, there are drastic differences in the outlook of sex. From Asia there are old techniques and practices such as Japanese bondage, and Indian Kama Sutra, but in Europe, there are no sexual art forms. Actually, aside from the Romans and Greeks, it seems to be a wonder that Europeans seemed to breed at all. A major difference between the two places that could explain the difference is in the food. Many Asian and Indian foods are considered aphrodisiacs, along with a lot of Roman and Greek foods. Along with the food, there were potions and mixtures that were taken to enhance pleasure that many people used. Chemically it is understandable how the civilizations could differ sexually. The concept of drugs and sex perseveres in Brave New World, and while sex could not be bought, the drugs could. So as long as sex kept happening, soma will continue to be purchased, just as history has also shown us, people always purchase something that will enhance there sexual pleasures.
