Ditz

Issue date: 2/2/09 Section: Outside the Bubble

Media Credit: www.topsportleisurewear.com

Media Credit: www.3wishes.com

On Halloween afternoon, I leaned half-awake in a pool of fluorescent light as the Target cashier rang up my costume. She asked what I was trying to be and, without much regard for my response, chuckled, "My daughter is wearing her old school uniform and being a 'sexy catholic school girl.' I'm like, I put you through catholic school your whole life and this is how you thank me?" She threw my items in a bag and added thoughtfully, "then again, I went to catholic school, too, and I did the same thing. Happy Halloween."

I left with bag in hand, considering her sentiment. For a faith that so strongly emphasizes abstinence-only education and discourages any deviation from vanilla, heterosexual, procreative sex acts, Catholicism certainly has spawned some popular fetishes - and as is evident in the cashier and her daughter's case, the sexual mockery of religion provides particularly suspect amusement to those who have actually been raised with its doctrines.

Beyond the superficial blasphemy of bedding the Catholic school girl, and the stale shock value of Madonna humping the ground while draped in rosaries, the Catholic approach to sex and sexuality is truly problematic. The appeal of the pious turning promiscuous is an inadvertent product of sexual repression.

Take, for example, a 60-page edict handed down by Pope John Paul II in 1995 entitled "Human Sexuality: Truth and Significance." An elaboration on the 1968 Humanae Vitae, which condemns the use of birth control among Catholics, the document dictates the wrongfulness of homosexuality, the evils of condom use, and the duty of parents and children to avoid modern sex education at all costs. This includes pulling students from classes whose curriculums mention AIDS and pregnancy prevention methods other than abstinence, which are referred to as "secular or antibirth" ideas.

In part due to unrealistic views on sex, Catholic congregations across the nation are shrinking; according to Stafford Betty of the National Catholic Reporter, over 20 million American adults identify as "ex-Catholics."

Some Catholics, however, have not given up so easily. But at what cost? In Barbara Dority's article "Crimes against humanity," she quotes Bertrand Russell: "That the dogmas of religion do little harm is not true. Opposition to birth control makes it impossible to solve the population problem and, therefore, postpones indefinitely all chances of true world peace." Dority suggests that Third World Catholics who feel compelled not to use birth control end up with more children than they can feed, and accuses the Church of "intimidate[ing] governments at all levels around the world as they seek to provide family-planning services to their citizens." Her criticism may be harsh, but based on the high levels of piety among poor populations, it is important to note the negative effects and the power Church doctrine has over its followers.

While the idea of lives being lost to the cause of abstinence is extreme, there are many smaller casualties. Students who do not receive training in safe sex practices and positive sexual health become victims of their own ignorance. HIV/AIDS and unplanned pregnancies are the obvious issues, but emotional well-being is a concern as well. Occidental professor of Critical Theory and Social Justice Jeff Tobin offers his alternative experience as an example of the benefits of straightforward education on sex. "Well before [sex ed in high school], I began to receive sex ed at home from my father, who is a Freudian psychoanalyst. He taught me to speak frankly about sex, without guilt or shame…that sexuality is based in the pursuit of pleasure." Tobin's 100-level Critical Theories of Sexuality class examines sexuality through the works of theorists like Freud, Foucalt, and Dworkin, encouraging students to approach sex with a level-headed and informed attitude.

For those without access to college classes on sexual theory, there are a variety of websites, such as Scarlateen: Sex for the Real World, and Sex, Etc., which promote sexual liberation and enlightenment for youth, rather than suppression. Comprehensive article such as "Shown Actual Size: A Penis Shape & Size Lowdown" and "Blinders Off: Getting a Good Look at Abuse and Assault" convey in clear and down-to-earth terms the facts about topics in sex, love and relationships. As a former Catholic girl who grew up learning about sex from priests and nuns, each lesson served with a generous helping of guilt, fear, and ambiguity, the idea of such open sexual dialogue at a formative age sounds like a dream come true.

The Vatican may disagree, but the fact is that kids who are better educated about sex are typically better off - both emotionally and physically. As Tobin puts it, "The choice is…whether to teach children (and adolescents and adults) to be ashamed of seeking sexual pleasures or to teach them to seek such pleasures safely."

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