Jong Rethinks Sex
by Floyd Chappelear
via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 9, No. 11, November 30, 1983
Erica Jong, who has been at the forefront of leading the movement for sexual liberation, is being driven to the conclusion that perhaps she has been wrong. In the October issue of Glamour magazine, the author of Fear of Flying has the following to say:
"Maybe women in the 19th century who said, 'Don't give away sex for free until you're married, ' had something on the ball..."
"I can see my daughter's generation saying, 'I'm not going to give it away. I'm going to wait until I'm taken care of..."
The thrice-divorced Jong suggests that women need to be stingier with their sexual favors. Perhaps, if they were, men would be better motivated to be responsible partners.
"It's really not incumbent upon men to be good providers in order to get a woman. They can get a woman anyway. They can get all the sex they want anyway. The man will always find somebody else."
While I applaud Jong's advice, I would suggest that there is a better motivation than merely material gain. Women should abstain from fornication for the same reason that men should --because God said so (I Corinthians 6:18). Erica also suggests that the stridency of the feminist movement is wrong:
"I've certainly realized that, a lot of times, standing my ground as a feminist, demanding certain from men just wouldn't work."