Sex Without Love Has Become The Norm For Too Many Teenagers In This Century

Sex without love has become the norm for too many teenagers in this century. Sharon Olds illustrates this fact in a very beautiful way in her ironic poem "Sex without Love." Olds was born in San Francisco, but she lived most of her life in New York. She received numerous awards for her writing. This particular poem describes sex without love in a rather questioning way, wondering how those indulging in this sex without marriage can do it. Olds criticizes sex without love while evoking it in terms of emotion and passion, and the attitude taken toward the couple involved changes as the poem progresses. In the beginning, the reader will accept the lovers and their actions, but in the course of the poem, the reader will come to see that the poet is in truth making fun of them. This is what makes the poem ironic.
Olds did a good job in creating the image of the lovers having sex without love and suggests what is wrong with this without actually stating it in so many words. At first, she seems to be envious of these young people, but soon it is apparent that she is going to take a different tone and imply that sex with no love is wrong. Sharon Olds begins the poem with a tone of astonishment as she raises the ironic question, "How do they do it, the ones who make love without love?" (1). The reader is not certain if this is a description of beauty or ugliness, but it is far less beautiful than the image of the dancer on ice and so suggests that the face of the person having sex without love is not properly formed. Repetition is used to show antipathy toward the sex act in these circumstances and to add to the irony of the whole. What Olds is saying is that they are not choosing a lover at all but are instead dedicated to their own pleasure alone -- they seek pleasure, not union with a lover.
Sex without love has become the norm for too many teenagers in this century. This is what makes the poem ironic and interesting. She then creates a stark contrast when she sets their bodies against her description of their faces as red and wet: Red as steak, wine, wet as the children at birth whose mothers are going to give them away (5-8). This mixture of images is organic, bloody, and basic, showing the faces to be a mixture of wine and steak, mixed with an image of birth. She seems to be asking why she cannot do the same thing, but clearly she is amazed that they can do it because she herself does not know how. She then begins to make fun of what they are doing and of the seeming dedication with which they are doing it: How do they come to the come to the come to the God come to the still waters, and not love (8-1). Here, the poet questions how these lovers can have sex constantly and not love. For instance, she writes, these are the true religious the purists, the pros, the ones who will not accept a false Messiah, love the priest instead of God (13-16). The poet here suggests that these are people who are religious and who worship God, knowing that in fact they are the opposite. They have intercourse for their own pleasure and not because they love one another. The poet further suggests that it is foolish to have sex without love because that would be only for your own relief and so would lack these essential components of love making from the start. Olds writes, "They do not mistake the lover for their own pleasure"(16-17), and she applies this to people who have sex without love and so choose a new lover every time they make love. She accordingly uses an ironic characterization to create one impression then dash it as she pokes fun at these people for appearing to be religious when in fact they accept a false Messiah and love the priest instead of the God.
Sex affords more pleasure and more comfort when done with someone you love, and these people are therefore perverting the role they should be playing in life. They know they can go to their priest for forgiveness, and expressing this preference how that they are naive about the meaning of their religion. At the end of the poem, Olds reveals what sex without love really means: Single body alone in the universe against its own best time (23-24).These lines show what the two people care about during sex -- each of them thinks of his or her own feelings as if alone in the world. Having sex without love or marriage is one of the things Jesus does not want people who follow him to do.

“Sex Without Love,” by Sharon Olds passionately describes the author’s disgust for casual sex. She vividly animates the immortality of lustful sex through her language variety. Olds’ clever use of imagery makes this poem come to life.

Olds frequently uses similes to make the audience imagine actual events. For example, Olds describes making love as “Beautiful as dancers.” (Line #2) In this line, she questions how one can do such a beautiful act with a person whom one is not in love with. Olds also describes sex as “gliding over each other like ice skaters over the ice.”(Line #3,4) She is referring to sex as a performance. Imagine an ice skating performance. Each ice skater is performing for judges and an audience to win an award. Olds uses this simile to relate people performing for one another. When two people truly are in love, there is no need for any special show or performance. Another simile the author uses is “As wet as the children at birth whose mothers are going to give them away,” (line #6,7,8) to simulate a sweaty lovemaking scene. The simile “light rising slowly as steam off their joined skin” (line #11,12,13) can also be used to perceive the same image of a hot, sweaty, and passionate love making scene. The author repeatedly questions how two people who are not in love can perform such a spiritual act. The simile “As wet as the children at birth whose mothers are going to give them away,” can also be used to represent the outcome of lustful copulation. When two people engage in sexual activities, a large percent of the mothers choose to ignore the outcome and either abort or give their children up for adoption. Olds compares the lovers with “great runners.” (Line #18) In this simile, she implies that lovers are alone with their own pleasures. Olds’ questions this selfishness throughout the poem. How can two people be alone in pleasure, when sex is supposed to be both physically and emotionally shared between lovers?

Olds uses hyperbole to describe her belief that sex and God are entwined. “These are the true religions, the priest, the pros, the one who will not accept a false Messiah, love the priest instead of the God.” (Lines #13-17) In these lines she says that sex is more than pleasure, and if one is merely using sex for pleasure they are accepting a false God. She describes people as hypocrites who claim to love the lord, yet engage in immoral sex. In the lines, “come to the come to the come to the God come to the still waters, and not love the one they came there with,” (lines #8-11) Olds describes two people climaxing. Olds perceives sex as spiritual, and wonders how people can bring a person with whom they are not in love with before God. Olds uses hyperbole to share her disgust of casual sex with her audience.

In conclusion, Olds clearly despises people who engage in sex without being in love. She is able to emphasize her view in a tasteful manner by using imagery throughout her poem. Olds is able to express her disgust by using imagery to portray her objection to casual sex.