Sex, United States, literature, discourse, media

In his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon distinguishes several clear indicators that an imperial society is unraveling. Among markers such as economic inequality and conspicuous consumption, Gibbon designates obsession with sex as a warning sign revealed by history. Despite its past Puritan roots and repressed Victorian attitudes, America has, arguably, begun to indulge this obsession on an unprecedented scale. It is estimated that over 100 million Americans—one third of the population—watch pornography daily. In other realms the story is much the same. Fifty Shades of Grey, Donald Trump’s famous line “Grab ’em by the pussy,” and the Jeffery Epstein saga all collude to capture the current Zeitgeist of imperial decline. More than ever, Sex in the States seems a topic worth considering.