Reenvisioning Sexual Ethics

In Reenvisioning Sexual Ethics, Karen Peterson-Iyer applies a feminist Christian framework to practical sexual issues facing young adults today, from “sexting” and “hook up” culture to sex work and sex trafficking. This feminist, justice-based approach to sexual ethics will facilitate meaningful discussion about sexual agency and flourishing.

In Reenvisioning Sexual Ethics, Karen Peterson-Iyer's profound feminist Christian reframing of sexuality examines contemporary social practices and ethical sex, facilitating meaningful discussion about sexual agency and flourishing.

"These days sexual sin is far less about sex and far more about the misuse of power and exploitation of vulnerability. It's time to redraw the ethical map. But how should a contemporary Christian ethic of sexuality be formulated? Marvin Ellison, a pioneer in contemporary Christian rethinking of sexuality and sexual ethics, uses a series of provocative questions to increase readers' skills and confidence for engaging in ethical deliberation about sexuality. Students and all adults will welcome this book for enabling their personal clarity, approach to relationships, and mindful participation in respectful moral debate." -- Publisher description.

In his treatment of the issues raised by the movements of women for equal rights a century ago, Michels anticipated controversies and conflicts about which people care deeply today. He took a clear position in support of the desirability of equality between the sexes. In consequence, it remains relevant to current debates within feminism over equality and difference and the corresponding challenge to, and feminist critique of, social science arising from the (re) emergence of "difference" feminism.Sexual Ethics constitutes both an analysis of the "woman problem" and a document describing the wars between the sexes during this period and an important and overlooked piece of history of the classic sociological tradition. Michels observed that the national and economic conflicts in modern Europe were vast in scale and revealed sharply sensed injustices, and also that sex antagonisms are becoming more acute. He presented an argument, consistent with his theoretical position, about the seriousness of women's rights. Michels' discussions of sexuality, sexual morality, and the relations of the sexes had as its stimulus "the new sexual ethic" advocated by feminists. He pointed out that true equality required equality of rights to sexual liberty for women or chastity prior to marriage for men.Michels supported premarital chastity for men as an ideal, but he doubted that very many would practice it. Michels was virtually alone in the sociological tradition in seeking to illuminate the "struggle for love" between men and women by reference to the "erotic coquetry" in the sexual behavior of "lower animals." Despite his stand for equality of men and women in sexual matters, a recurrent theme in Sexual Ethics is that men are sexually more aggressive than women, at least in part due to social structures and cultural traditions. Michels advocated family planning (but opposed abortion) in the interests of marital and family happiness and economic well-being, especially for the poor.In his new introduction, Terry R. Kandal discusses Robert Michels' life. He explores, among other topics, Michels' treatment of the woman question and the reactions of Michels' contemporaries to the same question. He also discusses the feminist critique of social science, and the place of Michels in and the gender questions of our times. The book will be of particular interest to those interested in the history of relations between men and women as well as those interested in questions of biological determinism.

Christian sexual ethics operates from a place of privilege when it does not consider those impacted by its moral prescriptions. A large majority of publications on Christian sexual ethics consider choices and images abstracted from lived conditions of the people called to make these decisions. As such, it leaves out many for whom sex is neither welcome nor a choice. As such, these same texts present images of sexual subjects that marginalize those that do not fit. As the book presents, sexuality, both Christian and otherwise, prioritizes a language of purity that strangles the life of those imaged impure. The present book remedies this emphasis through the language of iconoclasm that blasphemes these images and opens theological reflection beyond the boundary of image-based approaches. Utilizing a qualitative study of survivors of trafficking and those who grew up under evangelical purity teachings, Spaulding narrates sexual ethics in light of their testimonies and the theological resources of iconoclasm to articulate a more just and loving sexuality. The new emphasis on sexual ethics not only resists the prescriptions that create the conditions of sex trafficking but the creation of new communities capable of solidarity and mutuality with those caught in the web of trafficking.

“Grabowski offers a compelling rationale for the virtue of chastity that takes into account the sensibilities and challenges of the contemporary world” (Raymond Dennehy, Professor Emeritus, University of San Francisco). “A welcome addition to an often contentious literature,” Sex and Virtue provides a theological foundation for consideration of the moral dimensions of human sexuality from a Roman Catholic perspective (Catholic Books Review). In the hope of contributing to the ongoing renewal of moral theology sparked by the Second Vatican Council, John S. Grabowski discusses the systemic application of biblical and virtue-based categories on the topic of sexuality. A number of issues are examined including: the historical setting regarding attitudes and practices concerning sexuality; key biblical, historical, and contemporary resources for articulating a virtue-based approach to sexual ethics; current issues with which such an approach must wrestle; and some description of how to foster growth in moral virtue, particularly chastity. Ultimately, Sex and Virtue offers a compelling vision of human sexuality in the light of Christian faith that can provide a viable alternative to dominant cultural ideologies that trivialize sex and concrete practices that can enable growth in moral freedom. “Sex and Virtue is a splendid result of Grabowski’s response to the call of Vatican II to find scriptural support for Catholic moral teaching. The ecumenical potential of this book is tremendous; Christians can only marvel at the resources in scripture for establishing sexual morality—a morality that puts sexuality in service of love, life, and salvation.” —Janet E. Smith, former professor of moral theology, Sacred Heart Major Seminary of Detroit

Two principles capture the essence of the Catholic tradition on sexual ethics: that each and every marriage act must remain open to the transmission of life, and that any human genital act must occur within the framework of marriage. In the Catholic tradition, moral sexual activity is institutionalized within the confines of marriage and procreation, and sexual morality is marital morality. But theologians Todd Salzman and Michael Lawler contend that there is a disconnect between many of the Church’s absolute sexual norms and other theological and intellectual developments explicitly recognized and endorsed in the Catholic tradition, especially since the Second Vatican Council. These developments include the shift from a primary static worldview to a historically conscious worldview, one that recognizes reality as dynamic, evolving, changing, and particular. By employing such a historically conscious worldview, alternative claims about the moral legitimacy of controversial topics such as contraception, artificial reproduction, and homosexual marriage can faithfully emerge within a Catholic context. Convinced of the central role that love, desire, and fertility play in a human life, and also in the life of Christian discipleship, the authors propose an understanding of sexuality that leads to the enhancement of human sexual relationships and flourishing. This comprehensive introduction to Catholic sexual ethics—complete with thought-provoking study questions at the end of each chapter—will be sure to stimulate dialogue about sexual morality between Catholic laity, theologians, and the hierarchy. Anyone seeking a credible and informed Catholic sexual ethic will welcome this potentially revolutionary book.