Casual Sex
In an essay in the 2011 British newspaper, The Guardian released data from studies on one-night stands. It explained how women face more psychological affects from one night stands than men do. The data from this essay is relevant to the issues discussed in chapter 3 of our book because of how it relates to the huge issue discussed in chapter 3, which is sexual morality. The author of this essay, Maura Kelly, writes on the side of all four of the sexual morality answers (Utilitarian Answer, The Natural Law Answer, The Kantian Answer, and the Virtue Ethics Answer.)
Maura Kelly begins the essay by explaining that the women felt “used” or that the women felt as if they let themselves down after having a one night stand with a man. This directly relates to the Kantian answer in how it is always wrong to “use’” another person. What Kelly is explaining about her data also can be related to the rest of the answers to sexual morality. For example, the women feeling negative or hurt by the experience is related to the Utilitarian answer in how the sexual behaviors from the man and the woman are leading to pain and unhappiness for the woman. In the Utilitarian viewpoint, this is morally wrong. Kelly does not relate much to the natural law answer but her attempt to encourage women to not settle for one night stands and unhappiness in a way can relate to the natural law answer. If the women stick to the “natural” meaning of sex, which in the natural law answer is the pro creation and unitive sex, then they will not be lead to being felt “used,” having negative feelings, or being un-happy with their sex lives. Lastly, Kelly relates to the Virtue Ethics answer in how she writes about how women should stop lowering their standards and not settle but instead seek to gain better moral values.
This essay lends to support a more moderate view of moral sexual morality than a liberal’s view. The reason is because from a moderate viewpoint, sexual intimacy is morally acceptable as long as the sex takes place in a loving and emotionally intimate context, where Kelly is encouraging these ladies to do so. A liberal’s view would be the complete opposite of what Kelly’s purpose in this essay is. A liberal believes that sex is neither intimate nor special. Liberals’ only moral constraints are to not harm or deceive.
The authors in our textbook all have different views on sexual morality but I believe the majority of the authors would back the voice of Pope Paul VI. The Pope is a conservative and a natural law theorist meaning that he believes in the bioglocal and natural meaning of sex, which also involves pro creation and unitive sex. In the textbook on page 91, the pope’s conservative views come out when he discusses premarital relations and how sexual intimacy is morally correct when it occurs in the context of a marriage.