Casual Sex: Moral Implications

Objective

     Through the trend of postmodernism, many virtues that persisted through the ages and different cultures are being discarded. Sexual restraint is one of them. This post will combat the notion that casual sex has no moral implications to it.

Moral Implications

     Most people in the first world consider casual sex to have no moral implications, under the assumption that it is okay to pursue whatever that is pleasurable. However, there is a moral principle at work when two people engage in an act of casual sex. The moral principle at work is "means to an end".  For example, a rapist uses the victim to satisfy his sexual desire. Thus, the victim is a means to his end that is his sexual appetite. The victim, in turn, is dehumanized in the process by being brought down to the level of an object, void of distinct human characteristics. 

     The primary goal of a "hook-up" is to have sex. That is, to satisfy one's sexual appetite, or any other insecurities that rose from lack of however many sexual partners. So to satisfy this appetite by means of hooking up is to use the partner as a means to satify sexual desire. When there is no agape (Greek for unconditional love, or, in romantic terms, true love) related to the act, the partner is brought down to a level of an object, not a person, because there is no stigma toward reciprocal pleasure out of appreciation between the two. 

     Using another person to satisfy one's sexual desire is an act of injustice, since such an act disregards distinctly human characteristics, e.g. spirituality, and dignity; it is a dehumanizing act, thus immoral. But also, submitting oneself to be used as an object of sexual pleasure is also immoral, because by submitting, one depreciates oneself by dehumanizing oneself, an offense against what it means to be sentient and human. 

     Allow me to put this in blunt terms. Perhaps this would make you understand better of the philosophical babble stated above. If a man and a woman engage in a casual sex, the man is just shy of being a dildo, and the woman is just shy of being a porno magazine, because they are but means to an end. By the moral principle that is means to an end at work, one might as well be masturbating with another person's body. The moral principle at work is the same as the one that is at work with rape. 

"He who steals little steals with the same wish as he who steals much, but with less power." - From Laws book XII by Plato. 

The above quote by Plato has an infallible logic. And thus logic dictates:

He who engages in a casual sex to satisfy his sexual appetite does so with the same wish as he who rapes, but with less power.

Social Implications

     While recognizing the moral implications, we must also consider the application of these moral principles in a social setting. As we are all human, we all falter out of ignorance and imprudence; we all harm others and the ideal of justice without knowing. Thus we must restrain ourselves from prejudicial acts against human character, since it is a form of injustice in itself. There is a social stigma that socially penalizes women who sleep around with multiple men. I am referring specifically to "slut-shaming". All deserve to be tolerated and loved. That is to say, the person must not be shamed, but educated upon moral matters.

     However, tolerance of people does not equal to tolerance of their immoral actions. Immoral actions must be criticized for the sake of higher moral order. But in criticizing, we must refrain from offending the person's dignity.

     Also, the society has a habit of romanticizing sex to a level of transcendence, when, in fact, sexual pleasure is nothing but a combination of simple biological functions that propel us to engage in sex and produce offspring. Sex is almost deified in our culture. It is glorified and worshiped by the pop music and trending dance styles. Furthermore, a lot of the pop songs objectify a human being to their physical attractiveness. These examples of modern culture is reflective of sexual habits of many young men and women.

"Sexuality too is depersonalized and exploited, from being the sign, place, and language of love, that is, of the gift of self and acceptance of another, in all the other’s richness as a person, it increasingly becomes the occasion and instrument for self-assertion and the selfish satisfaction of personal desires and instincts" - Saint John Paul II

An example of how media tends to glorify sociopathic, dehumanizing sexual behaviors.
No, it's not legendary, Barney. It's a coerced rape. 

Pornography: Moral Implications

Objective

    In recent news, porn actress and Duke University freshman Belle Knox has been getting an unusual amount of attention. She has been claiming that the porn industry should be socially acceptable. Strengthening her position, a number of individuals support her, saying that there are no moral implications in porn industry, because all have their rights to do whatever they desire with themselves. To combat this view is the objective of this post.

Moral Implications

     The moral concept that will be at work here is "means to an end". Using a person as a means to an end would be to deprive or ignore the distinctively human characteristics vested within that person. Slavery and rape are good examples. 

     To enact the concept of means to an end would be to go against the natural law, which suggests that all beings in existence should be able to live as they were made to function. For example, lions are made to hunt, and zebras are made to prance about the safari. We humans use them as a means to achieve an end that is spectacle. We do the same to fellow human beings. 

     When an individual is jerking off to a porn film, he or she is using the people in that movie as  means to an end. The end being sexual satisfaction. Watching porn for the sake of sexual pleasure is to degrade the actors to their basic animal function - sex. This process deprives individuals of distinctively human characteristics. Depriving what is due to individuals (human characteristics, in this case) is to enact injustice.

     The same goes for the actors. When an actor is working for the porn industry, the individual has degraded his self to his sexuality. They are fully aware of why people watch porn, yet they self-degrade themselves to a level of an object that can be used by others. Such an act of self-degradation is an offense against human dignity. 

     Certainly, all human beings can do whatever they please with themselves and with others. However, can is not synonymous to should.

No it doesn't.