Sexual Ethics and Various Reactions from Different Kinds of People - Admission/Application Essay Example

Sexual Ethics Sex is a topic that invokes various reactions from different kinds of people. Most people nowadays tend to linger on the idea that sex is consummated to prove one’s love and devotion to his or her partner. In this sense, all sexual acts are thought to be done within the context of marriage and fidelity to one’s partner. As such, those who have been sexually unfaithful are looked down upon or ostracized. The same sexual issue seems to have been the cause of numerous divorce cases as well that it is difficult to exclude the majority from these sexual issues. Meanwhile, others think that sex is a mere demonstration of one’s physical desires or lust that it may be done without any affection for the other person at all. This group of individuals thus believes that polygamy is but a course of nature that should not be taken personally against them. Consequently, some people believe that sex is necessary to keep a relationship strong while the others consider sex to be part of human nature. In the same way, when sex is related to ethics, it becomes a controversial issue because it will then lead to what will be considered proper and improper when it comes to sexual conduct. Whether individuals accept it or not, this widespread issue has already affected everyone in the world. Men and women alike are confronted with the ongoing dilemma of sexual ethics. Even homosexuals and prostitutes are also affected by this predicament. This subject has also been introduced to the world’s young generation, in one way or another. The fact that most people have access to the television, radio, newspaper, the world wide web and other sources available to man, technology has made it easy for anyone to acquire information regarding the sexual revolution. In addition, religious groups have been quite strong in their stand in a number of moral issues that sexual ethics is an easy target. In the article, Goldman did a good job identifying the main points in his essay. He well represented sex, reproduction and love as the initial factors of what the society thinks about sexual ethics. He defined clearly what the differences are for each word by incorporating the views of the public, the Christian society and the mass of critics. Goldman recognized that there is no right or wrong answer when looking in depth on a person’s enjoyment of sex, may it be due to love, simple reproduction or other reasons to attain ones pleasure (183). He characterized morality to be something that should not be rated by anyone as this contains several meanings that are diverse and broad, especially if featured in line with sexual ethics. However, I do not agree with his manner of pointing out that sexual pleasures can be gained from other parts of the body such as the mouth and the hands as this can only be one of the functions of these body parts in the same way that if serves to facilitate eating or expressing. In this manner, sexual use of the body seems to have been degraded into a machine that can be used for instant gratification. Similarly, Goldman also defined sex at one point as something that may be equated to food consumption (181). Whatever the issue is, I believe that one should not equate the nourishment people get from food with the pleasure they get from sex. Meanwhile, views about sex and sexual ethics spell a big difference between genders. There has been an on-going debate about men and women and if the male species can be considered more sexually active than the females who rely more on their emotions. In this sense, I do not concur with the author’s statement that “It might be objected that the claim that love and sexual desire are distinct and separable reflects a male bias” (Goldman 182). In general, it is quite acceptable for men to be the domineering and aggressive. It seems that it is more likely for women to be more sexually ethical than men since women, most often than not, stick to one man for activities including sex while the story becomes different for men. It is rare for the males to have sex with only one partner as it is acknowledged for men to be polygamous. On the other hand, every man or woman is entitled to his or her own decisions and should be held responsible for every action he or she makes. Whether or not there is sexual ethics involved, one’s behavior is always bound by trust, respect and privacy. As with his views on privacy, Goldman mentioned that if two consenting adults engage themselves in a sexual act, then they are entitled to their own privacy (183). This means that they can do everything they want provided that the same sexual activity will not pose any danger to other individuals or tend to eat up other’s private area. With this statement, I believe that he embodied the sexual principle of the modern generation. With consent, any private act, including sex, becomes a restricted area of concern. With restrictions come the underlying meanings of sexual ethics identified by Goldman with regards to the four issues including homosexuality, harassment and rape, prostitution and adultery. As mentioned in Goldman’s essay, homosexual acts have been considered by the majority of the American people to be morally wrong (184). Homosexuals are tagged as immoral based on their sexual practices and ethics. Even if the author believes otherwise, I would have to agree with the Catholic Church’s stand that sexual acts should be done with the main purpose of procreation. Since two people of the same gender cannot procreate, then homosexual acts can be considered sexually unethical. Besides, human beings are not just any other animal who will involve himself in a homosexual activity without much thought or will power. I believe that even if human beings have their instinctive drives and desires it does not mean that they are incapable of keeping them under control especially when the behavior only reflects a pleasure-seeking individual. I further believe that human beings are created not only to seek constant pleasure but to overcome their weaknesses in pursuit of higher objectives. When it comes to the issue of rape, Goldman believes that having sex with a minor is considered a wrongful act not because of the sexual act itself but because a minor doesn’t seem to have the maturity required to give his or her full consent in its proper context (186). With this, the author can be quite confusing in his stand because he seems to veer away from the important argument as he tries to chop them to pieces. This segregation of ideas is not helpful in establishing his arguments because I believe that a minor’s age cannot be separated from his or her maturity or ability to consent to a sexual act. Any individual at such a young age will never be able to agree to sex in the truest sense of the word because their mere understanding of the act is insufficient. Thus, any sexual act done with a minor should be considered as rape regardless of consent given. In the meantime, when it comes to the issues of sexual ethics on prostitution and adultery, it is distinct how Goldman has morally defined both. People who get paid for sex are called prostitutes and those who have sexual affairs outside of their marriages are adulterers. Goldman upholds that prostitutes are not really selling a part of their self but are merely offering a sexual service (188). In the same way that other individuals get into the business of rendering a website development service, a prostitute is only bound to the service he or she gets paid for but is not really enslaved by it. I beg to disagree with Goldman in this respect because, no matter how hard these prostitutes deny that they do not get affected by what they do or they are just doing their job, a big part of them is actually being abused with each forced sexual activity. It is more possible that prostitutes have become callous to the negative feelings that they feel but it doesn’t mean that they are devoid of the same feelings as well. Because of this, I believe that the practice of prostitution is sexually unethical as it is self-injurious. The only flaw I observed in this part of Goldman’s discussion is his repetitive comments that have seem to have veered away from the focus on sexual ethics. Dividing the reader’s attention to what he thinks are the norms of sexual ethics, seemed awkward and confusing. An average teenager may either agree or disagree with some of his points; a middle-aged working man may totally have the same opinion as his; while a stay-at-home retiree may differ. Nonetheless, what matters is that Goldman successfully broke through the spreading nuisance on the issue at hand. He deliberately gave realistic scenarios that happen in daily living. In doing so, he made me aware that not all documented articles need to be believed or agreed upon as we all have different views and opinions. Goldman’s manner of pointing out the effects of society’s idealism towards sexual ethics was concrete. He successfully made me understand his stance on sex, ethics, and both combined. Having the opportunity to review this essay on sexual ethics made me realize the real value or essence of sex. The article also made me understand that ethics is not just making logical and moral decisions or actions accepted by the society, but concentrating on one’s existence and fruitful becoming. With open-mindedness, precaution and acceptance, people may enjoy the limitless possibilities of managing their own sexual ethics. Work Cited Goldman, Alan. A Companion to Applied Ethics. Ed. Raymond Gillespie Frey, Christopher Heath Wellman. Malden, Massachusetts: Wiley-Blackwell, 2003. Read More