Postmodern Feminism & Sexuality
Feminism is based in phallocentrism. The idea that men derive all of their power from being men (a.k.a. wielding a penis) forces feminists into vagina-centrism, resulting in the notion that our sexuality is the sole source of our power. Therefore it should come as no surprise that when a female politician is hated, she is obviously a “whore”. Likewise, when an artist seeks to capture the female image, it is presumably in order to draw attention to her sexual power.
Observant Jews and Christians tend to take a rather prurient view of female nudity, due in part to the fact that religious communities hammer away at the idea that nudity (and, therefore, sexuality) is associated with original sin. Going back to the Genesis account, it is God who inquires of Adam and Eve, “Who told you that you were naked?” God, obviously, had no problem with His creation running around naked. Only when Adam and Eve chose to listen to evil did they suddenly find their bodies a captivatingly ripe source for judgement. Possibly because instead of focusing on God and each other (you know, that whole “loving God with all your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself” concept) they suddenly couldn’t stop staring at themselves and wondering, “Well, I ate the apple and I’m still alive. What else can I do with this body I’ve been given?” Human sexuality has been a power play ever since, a wrestle between physical and spiritual, between the will of evil and the will of God, exercised through human choice.
Observant Jews and Christians tend to take a rather prurient view of female nudity, due in part to the fact that religious communities hammer away at the idea that nudity (and, therefore, sexuality) is associated with original sin. Going back to the Genesis account, it is God who inquires of Adam and Eve, “Who told you that you were naked?” God, obviously, had no problem with His creation running around naked. Only when Adam and Eve chose to listen to evil did they suddenly find their bodies a captivatingly ripe source for judgement. Possibly because instead of focusing on God and each other (you know, that whole “loving God with all your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself” concept) they suddenly couldn’t stop staring at themselves and wondering, “Well, I ate the apple and I’m still alive. What else can I do with this body I’ve been given?” Human sexuality has been a power play ever since, a wrestle between physical and spiritual, between the will of evil and the will of God, exercised through human choice.
- Susan M. Goldberg, 'Chicks dig Porn.'
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