Sex & Scandal

In what ways can a focus on sex and scandal extend and illuminate the study of past societies and cultures? What are the limitations of such an approach to history?

To answer this question it is important to define what constitutes as a scandal. That is, how a piece of information about some body becomes sensationalised and thrown into the realm of scandal. It is also important to realise that all scandal is culturally and historically situated. Heilmann describes scandal as being both the action and the process of talking about that action. The process of talking about a scandal could also be described as gossip. Gossip can be three things simultaneously. It is the talk, that is the action of discussion, the information or the subject being talked about and the person talking (Heilmann 1976 cited in Russell’s lecture 13.7.2000, Sydney University). Gluckman describes gossip as a form of exchange and reciprocity and uses the Makah Indians as an example of the way in which gossip f...