The sexualization of America is not new as a topic of discussion or observed social phenomenon. Firstly, what does that mean? It used to mean how we observed differences in expected behavior of males/females in terms of using their sexual identity to improve upon their social situation. That is why, it can be argued that over the hundreds of years history has provided many such events 'sexualization' of both men and women. As we often hear, the current discussion is more about women than men these days, at least that is my opinion, given the pursuit of gender equality. So, in view of historical events, we can better understand the sexualization of women in America since they first set foot here with their husbands. They also joined in the march Westward, either pioneering along their husbands or prostituting in the saloons which popped up in boom towns that appeared out on the vast open landscape... offering little security and raw life in daily doses. It could be argued that the greater catalyst of sexualization of America women happened during the Women's Suffragette Movement. Liberation brings new social dynamics between men and women and then again during WWII more so than WWI. As for me, being a live witness, I like to reflect on what I consider to be the most sexualizing social movements of the 60s. Feminism was radically discussed, bras burned, pleasure pursued. Since, we have more divorce, more single moms and more feminization of men, or the female sexualization of men. From a cosmic distance, it seems we have been and remain victim's of our own flesh and confused about its Godly purpose. And, because of that, we try to overcome. The church was good about guiding us in that purpose with the aim of keeping us in line with our identity and purity through abstinence and or marriage; again which was thought to be a good thing, even a 'best practice'. But nowadays, abstaining is not the popular option. It is now thought wiser to overcome and thus grow identity by giving into the flesh; after all, its natural, part of nature and abstaining from what is natural seems ridiculous and maybe even more harmful in terms of really knowing and loving yourself (liberal/progressive jargon), at least I am thinking that is the logic. Perhaps, that is why we see on campuses across the nation events like - Sex Week. Just recently, U of Wis at Madison hosted a "Sex Week". The mission of such an event was to educate of course; to get people to dialogue, to open themselves to experience, to be tolerant and to be engaged in their inner self. The later has been the greater topic of discussion among Christians.
Today, on Janet Parshal Moody Radio Program, Dr. Linda Mintle, Christian
psychologist and counselor,spoke out on such events on America's campuses. She said "It’s no secret that sex and violence 'sell' in the media and this spills out into everyday life. What price are
we paying for this constant assault on our hearts?" I agree absolutely with Dr. Mintle and know that the price is high. On the program, the question = how to stand firm in being a 'frontline' for your kids and how to guide them if they are in college, away from home? Difficult to answer and manage when faced with powerful external progressive institutions.
Yes, you can keep your kids home, you can even homeschool their college years if you are well read and ambitious and have time. You can send them to Christian schools, but I can tell you that I taught at a Christian school and the liberal/progressive agenda had seeped in to the point that Christian values could not be discussed since others in class may not have the same values. This made it very hard to discuss sociological topics such as the traditional family, marriage as an institution and necessary gender roles...as in expectations we put on male/female roles.
Sexualization of the person has been around, as I wrote earlier on; in that, we have observed differences in role expectations in different historical periods. But, today's sexualization is not about that. It is about coming out of the closet in terms of one's sexual preferences introduced as a liberating experience. There is no discussion about whether or not this is good for a person or society in respect for gender roles that play a vital role in sustaining society in numbers and in identity. There is no discussion about the harm that comes with promiscuous sexual activity no matter what age / no matter with who/what. And, moreover, when there is no respect for the relationship between distinct physical body features and the mind that cause male/female identity and role stability, society will deteriorate into social obscurity. I am sure that universities such as U of Wis thinks that their aim is simply to educate. Yes and No. I have yet to hear a positive discussion about what I related here - stable gender identity and abstinence til marriage. The modern discussion is simply about sex, the act, the experiences that one can enjoy with any partner without social expectations as it is all about uninhibited physical pleasure. There is no discussion of social consequences. Many of today's young people are sadly led into identity obscurity and into sexual bondage by corrupt information much of which came out of the 60s and including, the 70s and 80s as more and more sex and violence got into mass media.
What can Christians parents do? What can we do as Christians/American citizens? Firstly, male/female gender identity and role expectation must be modeled for children and sexual sin has to be talked about. God is a loving God and He did send His Son to redeem and it is this knowledge that we have to embrace and share as it alone allows us to move forward away from sin. We can still sin though we struggle not to. This does not mean we should preach that sin does not exist. It does and recognizing it is out there is the way forward in this fallen world. We have to be consistent, we have to let our children know that God created male and female and that He his intentions for us matter most.
No comments:
Post a Comment