Sexual ethics

Sexual ethics or sex ethics (also called sexual morality)

are ethics that concern issues from all aspects of human
sexuality, including human sexual behavior. Broadly
speaking, sexual ethics relate to community and personal
standards regarding the conduct of interpersonal relationships. This includes issues of consent, sexual relations before marriage or while married (such as marital delity,
premarital sex and non-marital sex), questions about how
gender and power are expressed through sexual behavior,
how individuals relate to society, and how individual behavior impacts public health concerns.

in a selsh morality, or with utilitarianism to seek maximization of happiness for everyone. Some religions derive a normative sexual ethics from their texts or teachings, and these range from nihilistic utilitarianism to more
complex, xed systems for determining right and wrong.

Many practical questions arise regarding human sexuality, such as whether sexual norms should be enforced by
law, given social approval, or changed. Answers to these
questions can be considered on a scale from social liberalism to social conservatism. Considerable controversy
continues over which system of ethics or morality best
Ethical dilemmas which involve sex can often appear in promotes human happiness, and which, if any, is inhersituations where there is a signicant power dierence or ently right.
where there is a pre-existing professional relationship between the participants, when there is an age dierence, or
where consent is partial or uncertain. Sexual ethics can 2 Flirting
also include the ethics of procreation.
Main article: Flirting

Terminology and philosophical

context

Flirting is an expression of sexuality and a common form

of social interaction whereby one person obliquely indicates a romantic and/or sexual interest towards another.
However, irting undertaken for amusement, with no intention of developing any further relationship, poses ethical dilemmas and sometimes faces disapproval from others, either because it can be misinterpreted as more serious, or it may be viewed as cheating if the person irting
is already in a romantic relationship with someone else; or
if the person to whom irting is directed is in an exclusive
or a serious relationship.

The terms ethics and morality are often used interchangeably, but sometimes ethics is reserved for interpersonal
interactions and morality is used to cover both interpersonal and inherent questions.[1]
However, not all approaches to applied ethics agree that
there is an inherent morality:
Moral nihilism is the meta-ethical view that nothing
is inherently right or wrong, and that all value judgments are either human constructs, or meaningless.

3 Consent

Moral relativism is the meta-ethical view that moral

judgments are subjective. In some cases this is 3.1 Present and historical perspectives
merely descriptive, in other cases this approach is
normative - the idea that morality should be judged Further information: Adultery, Fornication, Sodomy
in the context of each cultures convictions and prac- law, Marital rape and Laws regarding rape
tices.
From a human rights and international law perspective,
Moral universalism is the meta-ethical view that consent is the a key issue in sexual ethics. Neverthemoral judgments are objectively true or false, that less, historically, this has not necessarily been the case.
everyone should behave according to the same set Throughout history, a whole range of consensual sexual
of normative ethics.
acts, such as adultery, fornication, interracial or interfaith
sex, 'sodomy' (see sodomy laws) have been prohibited;
In philosophic terminology, hedonism is the idea that the while at the same time various forced sexual encounters
only intrinsic good is pleasure, making selsh pleasures such as rape of a slave, prostitute, war enemy, and most
their primary goal. This may be combined with nihilism notably of a spouse, were not illegal. The criminalization
1

of marital rape is very recent, having occurred during the

past few decades, and the act is still legal in many places
in the world. Outside the West, in many countries consent
is still not central. For instance, adultery and homosexual
acts remain illegal in many countries; and in ve countries and in parts of two others homosexual acts carry the
death penalty.[2]

EXTRAMARITAL SEX

Iran,[9] Kuwait,[10] Maldives,[11] Morocco,[12] Oman,[13]

Mauritania,[14] United Arab Emirates,[15][16] Sudan,[17]
Yemen,[18] any form of sexual activity outside marriage
is illegal.
As the philosopher Michel Foucault has noted, such societies often create spaces or heterotopias outside of themselves where sex outside of marriage can be practised.
According to his theory this was the reason for the often
unusual sexual ethics displayed by persons living in brothels, asylums, onboard ships, or in prisons. Sexual expression was freed of social controls in such places whereas
within society, sexuality has been controlled through the
institution of marriage which socially sanctions the sex
act. Many dierent types of marriage exist, but in most
cultures that practice marriage, extramarital sex without
the approval of the partner is often considered to be unethical. There are a number of complex issues that fall
under the category of marriage.

Almost all modern systems of ethics insist, as a minimum,

that all participants consent to a sexual activity. Sexual
ethics (which is reected in laws) also considers whether
a person is capable of giving consent and the sort of acts
they can consent to. In western countries, the legal concept of "informed consent" often sets the public standards
on this issue. Children, the mentally handicapped, the
mentally ill, animals, and people under the inuence of
drugs like alcohol might be considered in certain situations as lacking an ability to give an informed consent. In
the United States, Maouloud Baby v. State of Maryland is
a state court case ruling that a person can withdraw sexual When one member of a marital union has sexual interconsent, and that continuing sexual activity in the absence course with another person without the consent of their
of consent constitutes rape.
spouse, it may be considered to be indelity. In some culSexual acts which are illegal, and often considered uneth- tures this act may be considered ethical if the spouse conical, because of the absence of consent include rape and sents, or acceptable as long as the partner is not married,
while other cultures might view any sexual intercourse
molestation.
Enthusiastic consent is typically the focus of liberal sexual outside of marriage as unethical, with or without consent.
ethics, rather than marriage.[3][4][5]

3.2

Age of consent

Main article: Age of Consent

Age of consent is also a key issue in sexual ethics. It is
a controversial question of whether or not minors should
be allowed to have sex for recreation or engage in sexual
activities such as sexting. The debate includes whether
or not minors can meaningfully consent to have sex with
each other, and whether they can meaningfully consent
to have sex with adults. In many places in the world people are not legally allowed to have sex until they reach a
set age. It is often debated whether or not people under
the age of consent are capable of having consensual sexual relationships. The recent legal case regarding former
Senatorial Candidate Eric Bodenweiser of Delaware has
explored this issue.[6]

Marriage

Furthermore, the institution of marriage brings up the issue of premarital sex wherein people who may choose to
at some point in their lives marry, engage in sexual activity with partners who they may or may not marry. Various
cultures have dierent attitudes about the ethics of such
behavior, some condemning it while others view it to be
normal and acceptable.

5 Premarital sex
Main article: Premarital sex
Premarital sex is sexual activity between two people who
are not married to each other. Usually, both parties are
unmarried. This might be objected to on religious or
moral grounds, while individual views within a given society can vary greatly.[19][20]

6 Extramarital sex
Main article: Extramarital sex

See also: Marriage and Fornication

In all cultures, consensual sexual intercourse is acceptable within marriage. In some cultures sexual intercourse outside of marriage is controversial, if not totally unacceptable, or even illegal. In some countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan,[7] Afghanistan,[8][9]

Extramarital sex is sex occurring outside of marriage,

usually referring to when a married person engages in
sexual activity with someone other than their marriage
partner. Commonly there are moral as well as religious
objections to sexual relationships by a married person
outside of the marriage, and such activity is often referred

3
to in law or religion as adultery. Others call it indelity work women are able to extract psychological and nanor cheating.
cial power over men which is a justied correction of the
In contrast, there are some cultures, groups or individ- power unbalance inherent in a patriarchal society. Some
ual relationships in which extramarital sex is an accepted feminists regard sex work as simply a form of labor which
norm. In todays western cultures some people prac- is neither morally good or bad, but subject to the same
tice "polyamory", otherwise known as responsible non- diculties of other labor forms.
monogamy, or "open marriage". The ethical practice of If sex work is accepted as unethical, there is then disthis necessitates honest dialogue and consent of all those pute over which parties of the contract are responsible for
involved.
the ethical or legal breech. Traditionally, in many societies, the legal and ethical burden of guilt has been placed
largely on the sex worker rather than consumers. In recent
decades, in some countries, such as Sweden, Norway and
7 Individuals and societies
Iceland, the legal burden of prostitution has been moved
solely to the consumer.
See also: Abuse of power, Sexual harassment, Incest and
Pedophilia
Most societies disapprove of a person in a position of
power to engage in sexual activity with a subordinate.
This is often considered unethical simply as a breach of
trust. When the person takes advantage of a position of
power in the workplace, this may constitute sexual harassment, because subordinates may be unable to give proper
consent to a sexual advance because of a fear of repercussions.

9 Homosexuality
See also: Homosexuality and Sodomy
In ancient Athens, sexual attraction between men was the
norm with writers as Plato and Aristophanes writing extensive treatises on the benets of homosexual love. In
the Levant, however, persons who committed homosexual acts were stoned to death at the same period in history
that Socrates dallied with young Alcibiades. As presented
by Plato in his Symposium, Socrates did not dally with
young Alcibiades, and instead treated him as his father or
brother would when they spent the night sharing a blanket.
And in Xenophons Symposium Socrates strongly speaks
against men kissing each other, saying that doing so will
make them slavish, i.e., risk something that seems akin to
an addiction to homosexual acts.

Child-parent incest is also seen as an abuse of a position of trust and power, in addition to the inability of a
child to give consent. Incest between adults may not involve this lack of consent, and is therefore less clearcut
for most observers. Many professional organizations have
rules forbidding sexual relations between members and
their clients. Examples in many countries include psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, doctors, and lawyers.
In addition, laws exist against this kind of abuse of power
by priests, preachers, teachers, religious counselors, and
Most modern secular ethicists since the heyday of Utilicoaches.
tarianism, e.g. T.M. Scanlon and Bernard Williams, have
constructed systems of ethics whereby homosexuality is
a matter of individual choice and where ethical questions
8 Sex work
have been answered by an appeal to non-interference in
activities involving consenting adults. However, ScanVarious sexual acts are traded for money or other goods lons system, notably, goes in a slightly dierent direction
across the world. Ethical positions on sex work may de- from this, and requires that no person who meets certain
pend on the type of sex act traded and the conditions in criteria could rationally reject a principle that either sancwhich it is traded, there are for example additional ethical tions or condemns a certain act. Under Scanlons system it
concerns over the abrogation of autonomy in the situation is dicult to see how one would construct a principle conof tracked sex workers.
demning homosexuality outright, although certain acts,
Sex work has been a particularity divisive issue within such as homosexual rape, would still be fairly straightforfeminism. Some feminists may regard sex work as an ex- ward cases of unethical behavior.
ample of societal oppression of the sex workers by the The human rights of homosexuals are still contested in
patriarchy. The ethical argument underlying this position most parts of the world.
is that despite the apparent consent of the sex worker, the
choice to engage in sex work is often not an autonomous
choice, because of economic, familial or societal pressures. Sex work may also be seen as an objectication 10 Religion
of women. An opposing view held by other feminists
such as Wendy McElroy is that sex work is a means of See also: Religion and sexuality
empowering women, the argument here being that in sex

14 NOTES

Many cultures consider ethics to be intertwined with religious faith. Along with all those activities listed above,
some acts that might be considered ethical or unethical
from a religious standpoint:
Contraception
Religious views on birth control
Christian views on contraception
Jewish views on contraception
Masturbation
Promiscuity
various Paraphilias

10.1

Paraphilia

Main article: Paraphilia

Covert incest
Religion and sexuality
Catholicism and sexuality
Sexual objectication
Swinging lifestyle

14 Notes
[1] See usage note on wiktionary:ethics.
[2] http://www.bbc.com/news/world-25927595
[3] Friedman, Jaclyn; Jessica Valenti (2008). Yes Means Yes!
Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without
Rape. Seal Press. ISBN 1-58005-257-6.
[4] Corinna, Heather. What Is Feminist Sex Education?".
Scarleteen. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
[5] Corinna, Heather (2010-05-11). How Can Sex Ed Prevent Rape?". Scarleteen. Retrieved October 3, 2010.

11

Public health

In countries where public health is considered a public

concern, there is also the issue of how sex impacts the
health of individuals. In such circumstances, where there
are health impacts resulting from certain sexual activities, there is the question of whether individuals have an
ethical responsibility to the public at large for their behavior. Such concerns might involve the regular periodic testing for sexually transmitted diseases, disclosure
of infection with sexually transmitted diseases, responsibility for taking safer sex precautions, ethics of sex without using contraception, leading to an increased level of
unplanned pregnancies and unwanted children, and just
what amount of personal care an individual needs to take
in order to meet his or her requisite contribution to the
general health of a nations citizens.

12

Public decency

[6] http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2014/
06/16/mistrial-declared-bodenweiser-trial/10629535/
[7] Human Rights Voices Pakistan, August 21, 2008.
Eyeontheun.org.
[8] Home. AIDSPortal.
[9] Iran. Travel.state.gov.
[10] United Nations Human Rights Website Treaty Bodies
Database Document Summary Record Kuwait. Unhchr.ch.
[11] Culture of Maldives history, people, clothing, women,
beliefs, food, customs, family, social. Everyculture.com.
[12] Fakim, Nora (9 August 2012). BBC News Morocco:
Should pre-marital sex be legal?". BBC.
[13] Legislation of Interpol member states on sexual oences
against children Oman (PDF). Interpol. Archived from
the original (PDF) on 15 December 2007.
[14] 2010 Human Rights Report: Mauritania. State.gov. 8
April 2011.

See also: Decency

[15] Dubai FAQs. Education in Dubai. Dubaifaqs.com.

Legal and social dress codes are often related to sexuality.

[16] Judd, Terri (10 July 2008). Briton faces jail for sex on
Dubai beach Middle East World. The Independent.

13

See also

Kantian ethics#Sexual ethics

Anti-pornography movement
Antisexualism
Bugchasing and giftgiving

[17] Sudan must rewrite rape laws to protect victims.

Reuters. 28 June 2007.
[18] United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Refworld | Womens Rights in the Middle East and
North Africa Yemen. UNHCR.
[19] Premarital sex Denition. The Free Dictionary. http://
legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Premarital+sex
[20] Sex and Society. New York: Marshall Cavendish Reference. 2010. ISBN 0761479074.

15

Further reading

Bertrand Russell. Our Sexual Ethics, 1936

Janet Smith. Natural Law and Sexual Ethics
John Jeerson Davis: Evangelical Ethics. Issues
Facing the Church Today. Presbyterian and Reformed Pub. Co., Phillipsburg, N.J., 1985. N.B.:
Over half of this study is devoted to issues of human sexuality, reproduction, and biology. ISBN 087552-222-X
Dag istein Endsj: Sex and Religion. Teachings
and Taboos in the History of World Faiths. Palgrave
MacMillan, New York 2011.
Philosophy of sexuality. Internet Encyclopedia of
Philosophy

16

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