In the New York Review of Books, I read a summary of four books that explore the subject of sexuality in our culture today. The books’ four titles are:
The End of Love: A Sociology of Negative Relations by Eva Illouz
The Case Against the Sexual Revolution: A New Guide to Sex in the 21st Century by Louise Perry
Rethinking Sex: A Provocation by Christine Emba
Bad Sex: Truth, Pleasure, and an Unfinished Revolution by Nona Willis Aronowitz
Do you see a theme here? Don’t get me wrong; I’m here all day for four female secular writers dissing the sexual revolution. I’ve been dissing it for decades myself. It is refreshing, though, to read from individuals who, despite not giving a hoot about biblical values, arrive at conclusions that align with what the Bible has been asserting all along.
One writer seized my attention when she described how sex has evolved in our culture into a series of transactions reflecting the worst aspects of the economic marketplace, including “inequality, precarity, [and] impersonality. Commodities are exchanged. Bodies are dehumanized as well as spirits.”
This diagnosis does not surprise me. Another finding from these works echoes the writings of George Gilder, the Harvard-educated sociologist, decades ago: sexual liberation liberated men. To get sex in another age, men had to promise to love, cherish, and provide financially for the woman until death. With the advent of sexual freedom, sex became free—for the man. What became catastrophic for women—no romance or intimacy—turned out to be the typical male’s dream. This is why Louise Perry in The Case Against the Sexual Revolution, states, “In order to change the incentive structure, we would need a technology that discourages short-terminism in male sexual behavior, protects the economic interests of mothers, and creates a stable environment for the raising of children. And we do already have such a technology, even if it is old, clunky, and prone to periodic failure. It’s called monogamous marriage.”
Bingo! Marriage harmonizes relationships in a way that brings dignity and respect to the sexual marketplace. Even in a secular, cynical, and materialistic environment, marriage offers a more equitable arrangement for women.
A key takeaway from these four works is: women, guard your sexuality. James Dobson, who earned his doctorate at USC and taught at their medical school, once wrote that “sexual freedom is expensive, and most of the bills are paid by women.” He further stated that women who offer their sexual love for free lose all their bargaining power.
God’s way, from the Garden, has always been the best way: “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24 NASB.)*
I’m Mark Edge; thanks for reading.
______________________________
You can purchase Mark’s new book Holy Chaos How To Walk with God in a Frenzied World here:https://www.amazon.com/s?k=mark+edge&crid=3B1BM6W3LHOG0&sprefix=%2Caps%2C137&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_2_0_recent
*Thanks, Grammarly, for your editorial insights.