Gender Stereotypes In Sex Without Love

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Sex is a very intimate action, which involves two consenting persons. In recent years, sex before marriage has become more common, yet, many believe that it is impossible to have sex without catching feelings for the other person, especially women. Women in today’s society are constantly used by men for sex and not for a loving relationship. Numerous men view women as easily emotionally attached to people, which contributes to the stereotype. It is because of this action towards women, that many men feel that women cannot have sex without love. However, by examining the religious and gender stereotypes concerning women on “Sex without Love”, the reader discovers how sex without love is actually possible for women, as well as men. Throughout Old’s poem, the speaker discusses how appalling sex without love is. The question asked by the speaker is “How do they do it, the ones who make love/ without love?” (Line 1-2), which illustrates how opposed to this idea she is. …show more content…
Almost as if the speaker is disgusted by the fact that so many men do this to women. The speaker then goes on to ask “How do they come to the/ come to the come to the God come to the/ still waters and not love/ the one who came there with them” (Lines 8-11). This asks how do people claim to be religious, yet still go against what is stated in the Bible about marriage and sex. In the time period of Old’s poem, premarital sex was widely frowned upon, however, in today’s society, more and more people are having sex outside of marriage despite the religious aspects concerning marriage. Many religious groups are still working to fight premarital sex because of how “it promotes promiscuity, can lead to emotional scarring, may result in unwanted pregnancies—and, most important, tarnishes the sanctity of marriage” (Toro). How is one to know if sex outside of marriage will tarnish sex had inside of marriage? Sex outside of marriage and inside of marriage are basically the same thing, except with sex without marriage, one is not bound to the significant other by paper stating so. Many women prefer sex inside of marriage, due to all the risks associated with sex in general, however this does not stop many from what they desire. Though, in the 1980’s, women who would have sex before marriage and become pregnant were considered to be a Slut, especially in the Catholic faith. In recent years, “a study of 40,000 Americans found that 95 percent had premarital sex”, which shows how numerous values concerning premarital sex has changed (Toro). It has become more widely acceptable for women to have sex outside of wedlock now than a few decades ago, which shows how women are still being accepted in society. Women have been used by men for sex since ancient times. Since as early as the 1900’s, prostitution of women in the United States has been an issue, even with the “passage of the federal Mann Act (1910), which prohibited interstate transportation of women for “immoral purposes” (Jenkins). Prostitutes are still around today despite the law, most commonly women are prostitutes, which shows how sexism is still a major issue in today’s society. The act of prostitution exposes women and takes away their dignity, even though prostitution is a perfect example of how

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