Psy/240

Personal Response on Sexual Identity

Diane McCleary

PSY/265

March 26, 2011

Personal Response on Sexual Identity

Sexuality is hard to define in one-dimensional ways because a variety of factors including gender identity, values and critical thinking about sex, past history and current environments, personal feelings on attraction and experiences with love, affects the development of one's sexuality. The author of this paper has allowed her sexuality to flourish without having to compromise her virtue. The author wants her sexuality to be more than just the presence of flesh, without passion, intimacy, or commitment. Her sexual decision to abstain from sex is based upon her desire to be in a committed relationship. Before taking this course, the author had already established her value systems and critically thought about the importance of sex in her life. She used ethical relativism and rationalism to analyze any decisions she made about sex. As an ethical relativist, she believes that our diverse environment, encourage us to live by differing moral rules about sex. Ethical relativism is unbounded by moral restrictions and the author being an ethical relativist herself, understands that "the essence of human morality is to derive one's own principles and apply them according to one's own conscience" (Rathus, Nevid, Rathus-Fichner). In addition, she has always been a rationalist matters concerning sexual relations. To apply rationalism in sexual decision-making is to be a thinker about sex, making decisions from a logical perspective by evaluating its many benefits, but also its many repercussions.

Critical thinking, like being rational about sexual decision-making, requires scrutinizing personal values, thinking about whether or not it is the right time to engage in sex, and most importantly, contemplating the difficulties of sex. Critical thinking before this course has helped the author decide that it is best for her to abstain from sex...