sex and marriage

Chapter 1 Preface
Bertrand Russell was a famous British philosopher and thinker in the 20th century.Russell left more than 70 books and countless articles in his life, and he dedicated all his wisdom and strength to mankind. "Sex and Marriage" is a book on love, marriage and happiness, and it is one of Russell's representative works. It is worth reading and savoring for every kind-hearted person who yearns for beautiful love and happy marriage.

In the 19th century, Europe was deeply influenced by the strict religious imprisonment of Queen Victoria in England: the chastity requirements for women were very strict; women were severely discriminated against: strict life-long monogamy bound people, and even couples with completely broken feelings Divorce was not allowed; masturbation was considered a blasphemous sin; talking about sex was not allowed: scientific research and artistic creation related to sex was not allowed.For this reason, people generally suffer from heavy sexual repression.In the book "Sex and Marriage", Russell attacked unreasonable religious confinement, advocated sincere and pure love and freedom of marriage, and put forward the proposition of marriage revolution.

Russell himself can be called a model of marriage revolution.He strongly pursues love.In his long life of 97 years, he has loved more than one woman, but his love is always sincere.He said: "In love I saw the heaven in the eyes of poets and saints, and for that ecstasy I would sacrifice everything in my life."

As a master of thought, Russell advocated the equality of men and women and women's liberation.Russell's mother was a feminist advocate who gave speeches for women's suffrage in the 19s.When giving birth to Russell, she insisted on having a female doctor attend the birth, which was arguably the first move in history at the time.due to the influence of the mother.The ideas of gender equality and women's liberation are deeply rooted in Russell's mind.

In this book, Russell discusses the status of women, analyzes the root causes of women's discrimination in society, and discusses the issues of equality between men and women and women's liberation from the aspects of social status, sexual morality, and women's education.

Russell saw that almost all ages and peoples placed women in a lower social status than men.He believes that male dominance originally originated from their physical advantages, but with the progress of civilization, this advantage has gradually disappeared, so the call for equality between men and women has become increasingly strong.He also believed that the closer the relationship between men and women, the less each other should deprive each other of their autonomy, and the less they should hurt each other's self-esteem and self-reliance.He believes that love without mutual respect is degenerate, both for the lover and the loved one.

Russell was an advocate of women's emancipation.In his view, women's liberation was part of the democratic movement.In this book, he states: "Women's rights are not actually based on the belief that women are morally or otherwise superior to men; their rights are based solely on their rights as human beings, or rather According to the general concept that is conducive to democracy.” This perspective on women’s rights from the perspective of the democratic movement and human rights is indeed extraordinary.

In order to achieve women's liberation, Russell also talked about women's education in this book.He believes that in modern society, every capable person should be educated through various methods. The ideal education system is democratic, and a democratic education system should be an education system that enables every child to obtain the best opportunities.In order to produce qualified citizens, women should also be educated, especially how to be a qualified mother.He believes that the process of social civilization will greatly reduce women's motherhood, unless women can get a lot of money to raise children.Therefore, Russell proposed that the state should pay for working mothers.

In this book, Russell also discusses the significance of women's education from the perspective of sexual morality.He believed that a society of men and women endowed with liveliness, courage, intelligence, and reason by education would be radically different from all societies that have existed in the past.Unhappy people must be very few.And he identified the main causes of unhappiness as: unhealthy, poor and unsatisfying sex.Sex and the greatest pleasures in human life are closely linked.However, traditional moral education makes women regard sex as a sin, which greatly restricts their nature.Sexual fear education has always been considered the only way for women to remain "virgin", so women are always taught to be physically and spiritually cowardly.Just as Russell described in this book: "Women with status generally believe that sexual intercourse is not a pleasant thing for most women, and the reason why they can endure the pain of sexual intercourse in marriage is only out of a sense of obligation. Therefore, Russell advocated that girls should be educated in courage and sports as boys, instead of teaching them to be cowardly and dependent on others.Otherwise, it will mess up their future family life.

In Russell's views on women's liberation, there is an important aspect that must be mentioned, which is his advocacy of sexual liberation and sexual freedom.He saw an important connection between women's political emancipation and the morality of marriage.In ancient societies, women have been bound to maintain their morals, never trying to cultivate her inner self-control.Therefore, the original demand for equality between men and women not only involved political issues, but also related to sexual morality.At that time, some advocates of women's rights believed that the morals of men and women were the same, that men and women had the same rational capacity, and that women's historical disadvantages in the past were artificially caused.Those who hold this view pursue equality in moral freedom, and believe that women should strive for all historically deprived equal rights, including sexual morality.As Russell wrote in this book: "Those pioneers fighting for women's rights are a group of extremely strict moralists. They hope to bind men with the moral chains that bound women before." Russell does not agree with this view, he From the feminist theory, the moral equality of men and women and the conclusion of equality between men and women in marriage are derived.Therefore, the sexual morality he advocated is actually a sexual morality that liberates both sexes. Instead of binding men with the moral ropes that bound women in the past, it loosens women's bonds so that they can gain the same freedom and rights as men.But Russell also went to the extreme because of this, advocating the sexual liberation and freedom of both sexes, believing that women can also have an open sexual attitude and sex life like men in the past, and legalizing phenomena such as "extramarital affairs".These views made him popular with some feminists, but also suffered bad luck, and even lost his teaching position in American universities.

As a thinker who grew up in the "patriarchal" ideology, Russell can talk about and support women's liberation from the perspective of liberalism, democratic rights, and human rights, advocate women's education, criticize the "double standard" in morality, and advocate the morality of men and women. equality, these were revolutionary moves at the time.

However, Russell's arguments on the equality of men and women and the emancipation of women have certain era limitations.For example, when he emphasized women's education, the reason he gave was that women are to be mothers and men's partners in life and sexual relations, so they must have culture, instead of discussing this from the perspective of women's own independence and perfection of personality. one problem.In addition, as a man, it is impossible for Russell to have a real personal experience of women's suffering, and he can't help showing masculine thinking characteristics in the process of calling for equality between men and women and women's liberation.

In this book, Russell also discusses social issues such as prostitution, prostitution, population, and eugenics.By reading this book.Readers can understand the situation of human love, marriage and family more than 100 years ago.

Translator

May 2004 in Beijing
(End of this chapter)