I recently finished Louise Perry’s book “The Case Against the Sexual Revolution.” Although I don’t agree with everything she says, and as a Christian I think Louise Perry lacks the metaphysical/moral foundation necessary to make her arguments (she borrows from Christian worldview), I agree with quite a bit of this book and think it can do much good in society if we are willing to listen to her.
The sexual revolution has brought about changes which are VERY DESTRUCTIVE to women and it is ‘privileged men’ who benefited most from the changes we see (easy access to contraception and abortion, wide-spread pornography use, a culture that approves sex as long as it is between consenting adults) rather than women.
Here’s some of my favorite quotes from it.
Sexual Disenchantment is One Result of Sexual Revolution
“This is the idea that sex is nothing more than a leisure activity, invested with meaning only if the participants choose to give it meaning. Proponents of this idea argue that sex has no intrinsic specialness, that it is not innately different from any other kind of social interaction, and that it can therefore become modified without any trouble… Sexual disenchantment is a natural consequence of the liberal privileging of freedom over all other values, because, if you want to be utterly free, you have to take aim at any kind of social restrictions that limit you, particularly the belief that sex has some unique, intangible value— some specialness that is difficult to rationalize.” p11
Prioritizing Virtue over Desire and Goodness of Repressing Evil Desires
“We should prioritize virtue over desire. We should not assume that any given feeling we discover in our hearts (or our loins) ought to be acted upon.” p 67
Harm that Hook-up Culture Has Done to Women
“Hook-up culture is a terrible deal for women, and yet has been presented by liberal feminism as a form of liberation. A truly feminist project would demand that, in the straight dating world, it should be men, not women, who adjust their sexual appetites.” p79
Promiscuity Viewed Differently if Practiced by Men or Women
“Among adults, promiscuity in men is generally viewed neutrally, whereas a woman’s reputation among her peers is damaged as her number of sexual partners increases. People may be reluctant actually to say so outright, but privately there is a social penalty suffered by women viewed as promiscuous.” p86
Destructive Nature of Porn
“Porn trains the mind to regard sex as a spectator sport, to be enjoyed alone, and in front of a screen. It removes love and mutuality from sex, turning human beings—as Terry Crews has put it—‘ into body parts.’” 113
No Good Reason to Use Porn
“There is no good reason to use porn.” 113
Marriage is the Solution!
“in order to change the incentive structure, we would need a technology that discourages short-termism in male sexual behavior, protects the economic interests of mothers, and creates a stable environment for the raising of children. And we do already have such a technology, even if it is old, clunky, and prone to periodic failure. It’s called monogamous marriage.” 181
Summary:
“Sex must be taken seriously. Men and women are different. Some desires are bad. Consent is not enough. Violence is not love. Loveless sex is not empowering. People are not products. Marriage is good.” 189
