On Sexuality

It may be a crude teenage comedy, but I think the message of Eurotrip is a valid one: Puritan ideals of sexuality in America have created a prude culture that overlooks the beauty of sex and the human body. This is not a research essay, so I'm not going to try to find the roots of our Puritanical culture, but from personal experience, I have seen the obsession with abstinence and the vilification of sex. Meanwhile, the glorification of crime and violence infiltrates our daily lives. Here, I think America has gone down the wrong path. Instead of writing a critique of American culture (I'll do plenty of that later), I would like to simply define what I think of human sexuality.

Sex, being the physical act of stimulating the sexual organs for the purpose of pleasure or reproduction between two or more people, is one of the most natural things in all the natural world. After all, this was the event that started the process of creating all of us. When we were born, our bodies were literally all that we had. In the physical sense, our bodies are the one thing that no one can take from us (well, I suppose they could take parts of it without killing you, but we'll overlook Theon Greyjoy-like torture). With this undeniable truth, it should follow that we have a right to control what we do with our own bodies (as long as it does not harm others). Because our bodies are our own, how and with whom we use them should be the concern of only the parties involved, and in no way should our bodies be a source of shame.

I feel like I need to make a developed argument here, but there's nothing to develop. The concept is self-explanatory. Our bodies are our own possessions, and they should be our most prized possessions. Being completely natural in themselves, indulgences of the body should be no source of shame. To harm or care for one's body is their own decision. We can all agree on the pleasurability of sex, and no person should be ashamed for desiring it. Like any other pleasure in the world, done responsibly and in moderation, it's only effect is to increase the quality of life of a person. Like indulging in a well-earned vacation or sugary dessert, there is no shame in one's sexual exploits. We have the right to define how public or private the information of our sexuality is. In terms of morality, exercising our free choice in a responsible manner is morally neutral. Sexual infidelity becomes an issue because it requires the breaking of trust (see On Being a Husband) in a relationship, but any act that jeopardizes the trust within a relationship is of the same moral turpitude. For individuals not bound by an agreement (or in an open relationship), their sexuality should remain completely under their control, and no one has the right to judge that aspect of their lives.

This could easily turn into a rant against the overreaching policies of both church and state, but I'm going to leave it at this: the human body is a beautiful and wonderful thing. It can bring great pain and great pleasure to a person, and avoiding that pleasure is only fighting our nature.