Tag Archives: Sexuality

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No hooking up, no sex for some coeds

Here is an interesting article about life within the hook-up culture in college over at CNN. It is possible and wise to save sex for marriage. (see below)

“Almost every weekend, there is a tradition called raging at Vanderbilt University.

It’s a recurring, drunken activity that isn’t the proudest moment for student Frannie Boyle. After consuming large quantities of alcohol before a party, her night would sometimes end in making out with a stranger or acquaintance.

Casual hook ups fueled by alcohol may be the norm across college campuses, but Boyle, now a 21-year-old junior at the school, chose to stop. Her reasons to quit hooking up echo the emotional devastation of many college students, particularly girls whose hearts are broken by the hook-up scene.

“I saw it [hooking up] as a way to be recognized and get satisfaction,” said Boyle, shaking her blond ponytail. “I felt so empty then.”

The hook-up culture on campuses may seem more pervasive than ever, especially as media outlets, books and documentaries rush to dissect the subject, but some college women and men are saying no.

Some, like Boyle, experimented with hooking up and quit. Though she is Catholic, she says her reason for disengaging herself from the hook-up culture had more to do with the unhappiness she experienced afterward. Others influenced by religion have abstained from casual physical activity from the moment they set foot on campus.

The idea of rejecting hook-ups may not be as strange as it sounds in a generation surrounded by sex. Pop star Lady Gaga recently announced she was celibate and encouraged others to follow. In Kelly Clarkson’s song “I Don’t Hook Up,” she addresses the dominant hook-up culture: “I do not hook up, up I go slow, so if you want me I don’t come cheap.”

The term “hook up” is ambiguous, usually defined as a no-commitment, physical encounter with a stranger or acquaintance. Hooking up can range from just a make-out session all the way to sex. Other lingo for the no-commitment sexual encounters are “booty calls” or “friends with benefits.”

Various academic studies have cited at least 75 percent of women have engaged in hooking up on campus, and the number is usually higher for men. The activity is most likely precipitated by alcohol, studies show. Boyle’s decision to quit hooking up leaves her in the minority.” (read the rest of this article at CNN)

The view that sex is just a private, consumer based, physical act that can be detached from the rest of the human person with no consequences for the future is a myth that modern neuroscience (and sociology) obliterates. Every parent, student, youth pastor, pastor–well everyone–needs to read “Hooked: New Science On How Casual Sex Is Affecting Our Children” by Joe Mcilhaney and Freda Bush.

Their conclusion? “But now, with the aid of modern neuroscience and a wealth of research, it is evident that humans are the healthiest and happiest when they engage in sex only with the one who is their mate for a lifetime.” I guess the Bible is not as outdated as people think.
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New Study: Abstinence Education Reduces Sexual Activity

Dr. John B. Jemmott candidly admitted, “I think we’ve written off abstinence-only education without looking closely at the nature of the evidence.”

“A new landmark study shows that abstinence education is more effective in reducing sexual activity among youths than other programs.

One-third of students who completed the abstinence program had sexual intercourse within two years of the class. By comparison, more than half of those who participated in safe sex and condom use programs said they had sexual intercourse.

More than 40 percent of students who received either an eight- or 12-hour class combining both abstinence education and safe sex said they had sex within the two-year period.

The study, which appears in the February 2010 Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, published by the American Medical Association, followed black middle school students for a full two years after their completion of the abstinence class.

“Finally, a study that proves what those of us who have been teaching abstinence have known for years,” said Leslee Unruh, president and founder of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse. “These programs help develop self control and self esteem, teaching kids they do not need to fall prey to the game of Russian Roulette with condoms….” (Read the rest)

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Neuroscientist Explores How Porn Hijacks Male Brain

Pornography is a big problem for men in America–both inside and outside the church. What commonsense has led us to believe all along is being confirmed in spades in the field of neuroscience. This is flat addictive and dangerous stuff–beyond the dehumanizing effects it has on perceptions of women.

Here is an excerpt of an interesting article:

“Neuroscientist and researcher Dr. William M. Struthers explores that question in a new book, where he approaches the pervasive problem of pornography as not only a spiritual matter but also a physical one.

“Pornography is … a physical matter, rooted in the biological intricacies of our sexual design,” Struthers, associate professor of psychology at Wheaton College, writes in Wired for Intimacy: How Pornography Hijacks the Male Brain. “In my opinion, nowhere is the complexity of our sexual nature seen more than in the wiring of the brain.”

While acknowledging that women are increasingly becoming consumers of pornography, the biopsychologist says there’s little doubt that it is primarily men who are hooked on it. Even among Christian men, surveys have found that half of them are struggling with pornography.

“Men seem to be wired in such a way that pornography hijacks the proper functioning of their brains and has a long-lasting effect on their thoughts and lives,” he states……..

“The male brain is built like an ideal pornography receiver, wired to be on the alert for these images of nakedness,” he lays out. “The male brain and our conscious visual experience is the internal monitor where we perceive them. The images of sexuality grab our attention, jumping out and hypnotizing a man like an HD television among a sea of standard televisions.”

Constant exposure to pornographic images, however, comes with major consequences, especially for men.

“The way that a male brain is organized in being one-track, goal-oriented and visuospatial (mentally manipulating objects) make it the perfect playground for sexual fantasy,” he cautions.

“As men fall deeper into the mental habit of fixating on these images, the exposure to them creates neural pathways,” the professor explains. “Neural paths become wider as they are repeatedly traveled with each exposure to pornography. …They become the automatic pathway through which interactions with women are routed.

“Every woman they come into contact with is objectified, undressed and evaluated as a willing (or unwilling) mental sexual partner.” (read more)

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Sex objects: Pictures shift men’s view of women

Here is an article that talks about the neurological / mental effects of sexual images on the male brain and perceptions.

by Ian Sample / The Gaurdian UK

“Men are more likely to think of women as objects if they have looked at sexy pictures of females beforehand, psychologists said yesterday.

Researchers used brain scans to show that when straight men looked at pictures of women in bikinis, areas of the brain that normally light up in anticipation of using tools, like spanners and screwdrivers, were activated.

Scans of some of the men found that a part of the brain associated with empathy for other people’s emotions and wishes shut down after looking at the pictures.

Susan Fiske, a psychologist at Princeton University in New Jersey, said the changes in brain activity suggest sexy images can shift the way men perceive women, turning them from people to interact with, to objects to act upon.

The finding confirms a long-suspected effect of sexy images on the way women are perceived, and one which persists in workplaces and the wider world today, Fiske said.

“When there are sexualised images in the workplace, it’s hard for people not to think about their female colleagues in those terms. It spills over from the images to the workplace,” she said.

Speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Chicago yesterday, Fiske said the findings called into question the impact of sexualised images of women that might be pinned on workplace walls or sent around offices where there was a strong locker-room culture.

“I’m not saying there should be censorship, but people need to be aware of the associations people will have in their minds,” Fiske said.

In the study, Fiske’s team put straight men into an MRI brain scanner and showed them images of either clothed men and women, or more scantily clad men and women. When they took a memory test afterwards, the men best remembered images of bikini-clad women whose heads had been digitally removed.

The brain scans showed that when men saw the images of the women’s bodies, activity increased in part of the brain called the premotor cortex, which is involved in urges to take action. The same area lights up before using power tools to do DIY. “It’s as if they immediately thought to act on theses bodies,” Fiske said.

In the final part of the study, Fiske asked the men to fill in a questionnaire that was used to assess how sexist they were. The brain scans showed that men who scored highest had very little activity in the prefrontal cortex and other brain regions that are involved with understanding another person’s feelings and intentions. “They’re reacting to these women as if they’re not fully human,” Fiske said.”

To see this whole article at the Gaurdian, click here

This is another reminder that people must gaurd what enters their minds. I am not trying to be puritanical, but you and I are simply being naive if we think we’re are not being effected by the media we are regularly exposed to. For those who may not take religious or biblical admonitions seriously, perhaps neuroscience will do the trick.

“Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”–2 Cor. 7:1

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Ethics has fallen on hard times these days…Moral Choices by Scott Rae can help us recover our moral foundation

How does a Christian think about ethics? How can we make thoughtful, biblically informed decisions about:

  • Abortion and Embryonic Stem Cell Research
  • Reproductive Technologies
  • Biotechnology, Genetics, and Human Cloning
  • Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia
  • Capital Punishment
  • Sexual Ethics
  • The Morality of War
  • Ethics and Economics
  • The Environment

If you are not sure how to answer these questions or are not convinced that the Bible has / should have anything to say about, then you need to have this book on your shelf.

On a personal note, Dr. Scott Rae was one of my professors in graduate school and he is the real deal. I have huge respect for him. Also, this book is very accessible. There is no better introduction to Christian ethics out there.