ISIS captures women and young girls to use as sex slaves because they feel their fighters need sex.
There is an entire underground system for human sex trafficking in the US and other civilized countries because the men who participate think they need sex.
Some conservative Baptists and other evangelicals believe and teach that sex is a need.
On Facebook recently, a friend posted 6 things a mom should teach her son, then she invited others to add to that list. I added a few but only one caused any trouble. I stated that moms should teach their sons that sex is not a need. My friend argued a little, then suddenly wanted to shut the conversation down. I felt I should clarify my position and said as much.
Enter a complete stranger, a man, to set me straight. This man (I assume he's not a boy) told me I am wrong about this issue and accused me of having to have the last word simply because I tried to clarify my position.
I am not wrong. Sex is not a need.
You need food.
You need clothing.
You need shelter.
You need medicine at certain times.
You do not need sex.
(Procreation aside.)
This is not a popular idea among some Christians I've talked to lately. Many people become disrespectful, sarcastic and mean when it comes to hearing that sex is not a need. It's as though they're afraid their wife will find out they are abusing her in the bedroom so they have to protect their lie at any cost.
The man who inserted himself into the online conversation has a few problems. He was immediately defensive and small (indicating his doubt about his own position), he tried to divert the attention off the subject by attacking me, personally (even though he doesn't even know me) and accusing me of having to have the last word (an indication that he thinks he knows my motives) and he misused Scripture to try to prove "his" point, which has no foundation in Scripture.
This is typical behavior, quite predictable. All abusers act the same; they all use the same playbook. This makes them easy to spot, which is good for the rest of us.
Sex is not a need.
It is a wonderful, powerful, God-given, love-expressing privilege.
But, you will not die without it.
It is not a need.
~Tricia
So much yes! My husband never realized how much patriarchal teaching I had absorbed, until recently, and I've been deprogramming for the past two years. At some point I began to see how much these teachings idolize sex and realized people with health issues that prevent physical intimacy can still genuinely good marriages without sex, to pretend sex is a need is a slap in their face.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. The deprogramming process takes time and awareness. I'm so happy for you that you recognized what you absorbed and are taking steps to shed that thinking. Kudos to you! I blog so that, little by little, more people will see this.
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