Is Sex Sacred?
The two opposite views of sex in our culture: precious and intimate, or without intrinsic meaning
Far lack of a better adjective, I use the word “sacred” not with its religious meaning, but as something worth of special consideration. I propose here that modern culture is torn between two opposing views of sex, with opposing answers to the question in the title:
Yes, sex is sacred and deeply meaningful. It is the most intimate act because sexual pleasure and orgasm make us enormously vulnerable. Sex also establishes a deep bonding, producing romantic love. That is why sex is called “making love”. By making love, a couple develops a monogamous bond, an alliance that helps them to stay united to confront life’s vicissitudes and to care for their children. Therefore, sex should not be degraded by doing it outside a committed couple or for banal reasons.
No, sex can be whatever you want it to be. What matters is not sex itself but the meaning we attach to it. Hence, sex can be anything between a banal act for pleasure or a spiritual quest, as in the ancient discipline of Tantra. But there is nothing intrinsically sacred about sex; that is just a relic of sexual repression by religions and puritanical ideologies. Sex leads to bonding only if that is what you want it to do. In fact, masturbation is a sexual…
