Sexuality and Religion Daniel Bergner describes the workload and run-ins of Jewish sex counselor, Bat Sheva Marcus; in an article from the New York Times called, The Orthodox Sex Guru. Orthodox Judaism, like many other orthodox religions, can describe sex to be calamitous and shameful. In this article sex is used mainly to describe: copulation, fornication, coitus, or the act of hanky-panky. Marcus is raised and remains to be a modern Orthodox Jew. This article outlines the various tactics Marcus uses to guide, mainly Orthodox Jewish, women through sexual desire. A bride’s manual is mentioned in this article, given to the modern Orthodox woman. There is an immense emphasis on how it is the wife’s duty to keep the marriage on “the right side of the law.” I have recently attended a Jehovah’s Witness wedding, which is a strict practice or Christianity. I dressed in a modest manner, and sat quietly in observance of the ceremony. Listening carefully to the Sermon explaining the responsibilities for the husband and wife, I noticed the ambitious responsibilities given to a wife in comparison to those given to a husband. I find similarities between that and what was mentioned in the bride’s manual for modern Orthodox women. Marcus could even recognize that there was plenty of room for improvement in the bride’s manual. In the article, the author notes the contradictions within Marcus’ religious observance and her stance on female sexuality. Marcus mentioned her awareness of these contradictions and does not dwell on them. Her inclination to help her patients recognize and experience their sexuality is admirable and in my opinion, it is of greater importance. Bat Sheva Marcus’ practice in New York has expanded to Manhattan, meaning it will reach an even greater population of women. She strives to reach out to the ultra-Orthodox women of New York, which will take a tremendous amount of patience and effort. Reading the article has only strengthened my resolve on becoming a sex educator. Here is a link to the article, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/25/magazine/the-orthodox-sex-guru.html . It has given me ideas on explaining human sexuality and its significance to two of the most important women in my life, my mother and grandmother. If you have ideas on how to open up this kind of dialogue with people of conservative religions, I would love to read them!
