I have long thought that America is still encrusted with Puritanical guilt, and rife with Puritanical "opinions" about sex. Such opinions are the root of many people's seeming disgust over any "sex" that is outside the norm.
Puritanical thinking establishes that norm as a strict pseudo-biblical aversion to sex outside of marriage, any sex that uses contraception, any "gay" sex, any sexual positions or placements outside of the "missionary," and any sex that challenges the current "within the contract" thinking. Sex is bigger than religion -- more basic, more human, more of our nature -- it is as essential as eating, sleeping, or any elemental physiological function.
Every constrictive religion (like Puritanism, Catholicism, Muslim teaching, etc.) tries to shape sex within and only within its own cultural habits. So all birth control is forbidden for use by Catholics; and yet the majority of Catholics use and understand the necessity for birth control. All sex outside of approved rituals is forbidden to Muslims; and yet Muslim women continue to strain the bonds of gender-driven control.
What should we as individuals be doing about our sexual desires? We should be using our intelligence, our emotions, and our own innate understanding of our human nature
to dictate and control our own actions. That should be the reason why certain acts should be forbidden: incest, or sexual snuff films, or sex with children for example.
Sex is not a sin -- it is a gift that humans have been given to use, wisely and in respectful control. Men and women should have equal control over their own sexuality.
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