From: wolfe@wolves.uucp (G. Wolfe Woodbury)
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc
Subject: Sexual "Norms" (was: Philosophical objection to homosexuality)
Date: 12 Aug 92 17:28:22 GMT
Organization: Red Wolfe @ The Wolves Den
X-Md4-Signature: f6ee4a2435ea4a83bc4097526e17a1e9

rescorla@rtnmr.chem.yale.edu (Eric Rescorla) writes:
><12871@inews.intel.com> pharvey@mipos3.intel.com (Paul Harvey) writes:
>
>> The Western mainstream
>>culture is sexually disfunctional, so this should not come as a surprise.
>What does it mean to have a culture which is "sexually disfunctional?"

First, not all of "western mainstream" culture is sexually immature or
dysfunctional.  The puritanical mindset is mostly American.

The dysfunctional aspects of this sexual immaturity lie in the
paradoxical ways in which sex is viewed and used by the culture.

On one hand, sexuality is viewed as the natural expression of the
procreative urges of nature, and it "proper" use is seen as limited to
the act of procreation  -- any other use is "immoral" or "unnatural".

On the other hand, sexual tittilation is seen as one of the most
powerful of human urges and is used to manipulate the "masses."

The "organized" religions use this dichotomous view of sexuality as a
manipulative tool.  They use the narrow definition of sexual behaviours
as "procreative use only" to create and induce guilt feelings in their
followers, offering the particular beliefs of their moral system as the
only true way to be "cleansed" of the guilt that they themselves have
induced.  To do this, they have to deny the observed reality of the
natural world that sexual behaviour is NOT limited to "procreative use
only"  and that much of what is labeled as "sexual behaviour" is the
stimulation of the flesh to induce "pleasureable" sensations.

Quite a few of the older "western" cultures are relatively free from
this puritanical view of sexuality.  The choice of a person to be
"sexual" or not is seen as an individual matter.  The choice of a
persons living companion is seen as an individual matter.  In short, the
actions of an individual are limited only by what is seen as harmful to
others, which is not defined by simple conformity to the "norm."

The "American Melting Pot" is in fact part of this problem.  The
insistence of a conformity to some mythical "norm" is a tyranny.  When
this "norm" is also something that less than half of the culture really
binds itself to, then there is a real dysfunction.

As an example, look at the "norm" of heterosexual coitus.  The
definition of this is seen as the "missionary position" and done only
for the purpose of procreation.  Yet fully 80% (or more) of the
population in surveys admit to using "non-missionary" positions and even
more admit to enjoying coitition with no intent of procreation.

Additionally, consider the "co-dependence" movement.  It has made
statements like "80% of families are dysfunctional."  This is simply
supported by laying out a definition of "non-dysfunctional" behaviour
that is an "ideal" totally ignorant of the reality.

Specification of a "norm" that places more than 50% of a population
outside of that "norm" is statistical lying of the worst kind.

The definitions of the sexual "norms" are the most hypocritical.

-- 
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