Authority, Agency, and Female Sexual Pleasure in the Catholic Tradition

Authority, Agency, and Female Sexual Pleasure in the Catholic Tradition

 

Abstract:

 

                  In the Catholic tradition, authority has historically been vested in the male hierarchy of the institution. As the “authentic guardians and interpreters of the whole moral law” (Paul VI, 1968, §4), the magisterial teaching office of the Church claims authority on all matters of faith and morals. With regard to sexuality, the teachings promulgated within this authoritative structure have been inattentive and frequently detrimental to females’ experiences.

                  I explore two points with regard to Roman Catholic moral teaching about masturbation as a means of demonstrating its lack of attention to female sexual pleasure and experience, and to forward female sexual agency and authority within Catholic theology. First: the official teaching’s androcentric focus on the disordered nature of masturbation fails to facilitate female sexual wellbeing because it creates a barrier to female sexual self-awareness and pleasure (a facet of sexual health). Second: because sexual self-awareness facilitates sexual pleasure, any impediment to either is a barrier to female sexual agency and capacity for consent. If prohibited by an external authority from sexual self-exploration and pleasure, females lack information needed to make informed choices about their sexual behaviours, which limits their agency to upholding the expectations of others. Females then face sexual decision making in a context of male sexual privilege and female sexual diminishment.

                  Method: Feminist theological method: examination of official Church teachings, with an exploration of both contemporary theological discourses and empirical data regarding female sexual development and flourishing.