The Semiotic Regulation of Sexuality from a Microgenetic Perspective

Abstract

On the level of collective culture, sexuality and sensuality are interpreted as zero signifiers, i.e., areas of human life, which gain their power through being purposefully kept invisible and unverbalized. Explicit transgressions (e.g., curse words) only refer to culturally “illegitimate” forms of sexuality, while the respective figure – in terms of the figure-ground principle – of “legitimate” meaning and feeling fields has to be constructively inferred by the person him- or herself. The present paper gives some examples of personal meaning making in the field of sexuality. For studying the semiotic regulation of sexuality and sensuality on the personal level, microgenetic investigations are proposed. Only they can offer an online access to the powerful process of culturally mediated sign construction and reconstruction.