Women and Christianity

Throughout the first few pages of Margaret A. Farley’s book “A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics” she references the differences in understanding of sexual ethics between Ancient Greeks and today’s modern society. Farley tells us that although we are seemingly following the same set of Christian sexual ethics as the Ancient Greeks, our modern society has reconstituted these guidelines to meet several different frames and needs of understanding. Farley explains that our modern society’s new understanding of what it means to maintain a level of socially acceptable sexual morality has caused “the rise in self-consciousness among women” which “has been a significant factor in the loosening of traditional sexual ethical norms” (Farley, 6). Typically, you would think that with a greater strain on the self-consciousness of women that there would be a tightening of morals that are related to anything they feel committed and/or comforted to/by, whether it be religion, family, or self-values. However, the opposite of this has taken place. With self-consciousness came a loosening of morals, which may cause one to question where the value is being assessed in these societies. Like we have previously discussed in class several times before, woman have become subjected to unrealistic expectations. Society wants woman to take on every role or character at once. I believe and understand this more as woman need to take on different roles in relation to the person that they are dealing with. Women are expected to act differently depending on who they are communicating with. This idea would seem to take quite a detriment on a woman’s understanding of self and value, and therefore a loosening on traditional ideas society once valued.