This is written on vacation. My brain has possibly been addled by sweet lake breezes and a sudden plethora of sleep.
A reader writes (abridged):
[Evangelical marriage bloggers] use the term "sex positive" to describe the time when a woman owns her sexual identity and moves to do something about it. ...she transcends certain limitations (often self-imposed or due to training) and begins to appreciate sex in the way that a woman can (or should) given that she...was outfitted from the first with sexual drive and a heart for sexual relationship. Of course, it is not exactly a mirror image of the male modality.
I do not wish to get personal here, but you seem to have made a similar sort of transition in your Catholic way. What can you say about this transition--with respect to yourself or with respect to Catholic women in general?
I do not mean to suggest that there is a direct Catholic "translation" of what the evangelicals are saying, but, then again, there might be. There might be some "sex positive" reality that each group is trying to describe.
I do not wish to get personal here, but you seem to have made a similar sort of transition in your Catholic way. What can you say about this transition--with respect to yourself or with respect to Catholic women in general?
I do not mean to suggest that there is a direct Catholic "translation" of what the evangelicals are saying, but, then again, there might be. There might be some "sex positive" reality that each group is trying to describe.
I do not enjoy answering questions on behalf of 'womanhood' so I cannot respond to this question with respect to "Catholic women in general." Catholic women are a diverse group and I believe they are capable of speaking for themselves. That they do not speak on this topic is perhaps more owing to their innate sense of propriety rather than any sort of sexual prudery.
At the risk of being pedantic, I object to the question. You assume that a Christian person must make a "transition" to being "sex positive" (googling this term was fraught with tragedy; I am going to assume it means viewing sexuality as good and a woman's enjoyment of it good as well). This assume implies that if a woman is raised with good Christian ethics, she will need help to see sex as positive. Although undoubtedly true for some women from some families, this is not true for all women - certainly not young women. This seems to have been more of a problem for baby boomers or, in my experience, for Evangelicals. Prudishness and/or shame have been all but banned in our Western world post-1960s (how sad).
I'll set aside my objections to your question to answer you personally. I never had to be rehabituated into seeing sex as a good because I was raised in no particular religion, and thus with a more or less post-sexual revolution view of sex. The first I learned about sex from a Catholic point of view was in my late teens and the message was robust: God made bodies, bodies are therefore very good, and when they come together to make babies, it is EXTREMELY good as we then share in the Trinity's creative power. It was one of the first teachings that attracted me to the Church, and obviously, that has endured.
If young people are raised to truly believe what the Church teaches, then there is no need for a transition. The Church is body-positive: she embraces and loves our incarnational reality, just as much as she recognizes it's inherent limitations and struggles. I am fairly certain that if that was ever a question, Blessed Pope John Paul the Great blew the doors off that misconception with great skill. Catholics enjoy our embodied selves - drinking, dancing, fighting, having sex and lots of messy babies. Aren't those the stereotypes bandied about by our brethren? They do have roots in something!
I cannot be blind to the fact that such women do exist, however. How can they come to a richer understanding of the true teachings of Holy Mother Church? How can they embrace their messy embodiment? I think a great deal of this comes by simply living married life - becoming more comfortable with one's husband, with the sexual act, and of course, after children, realizing the great joy of having a body and bringing forth life. I do believe that the mere act of living out one's vocation can often correct any errors in instruction - that and a good confessor, of course.
But, as an academic, I always have some suggestions for books! St. John Chrysostom's sermons on marriage are some of my favorites, any of the lay guides to Theology of the Body, and maybe some of then-Karol Wojtyla's books, if someone is up to it. A woman so affected with wrong-headed notions about sex must do what anyone must do to correct an error in mental perception: consciously correct wrong thoughts, read correct thoughts repeatedly, and then beg her Creator to renew her mind. Also, being surrounded by the like-minded is helpful, if at all possible. If problems are severe, counseling may be required.
I hope this answers your question, dear reader. Forgive me if I am at all obtuse, but as a woman who has found the Church to be far more positive about my sex life than any secular authority, I am a bit confounded to explain what seems obvious.
