Adultery = Criminal in South Korea

Upon first reading this article, I had to double check which Korea it was about. It may be an over-simplification, but when one thinks of how the two Koreas are different, it can be said the North is backwards and the South is more forward, like the US.

But wait – in parts of the US, adultery is still punishable by law, which leads me to ask: Should an extramarital affair be deemed criminal?

Of course not. The only time adultery should ever be considered in a legal proceeding is whilst negotiating a divorce settlement, as the adulterer did break his/her oath. Anything past that is ridiculously outdated in the western world.

Can the same be said about South Korea? I am not in a position to confidently say that revoking the Anti-Adultery Law would be ‘damaging to social order’. Taking the circumstances in which the law was originally enacted into consideration (namely that it happened in 1953 and only applied to married women), I think the main question becomes: Does South Korea consider itself a forward-oriented country?

Image source: blinkbing.blogspot.com

Playboy apologises

Are you offended by this magazine cover?
I am not. All I see is the typical Playboy cover; a suggestively clad woman with enough exposed skin to be scandalous, yet enough covered skin to be permissibly printed on the cover.

I do not see the need for Playboy Enterprises Inc. to apologise. Is not every single Playboy cover offensive to a group of people? Why single out Mexican Catholics as worthy of an apology?

Let’s get it on… Let them eat cake!

Let’s get it on…
I know this is another article about pastors and sex, but I could not resist commenting on Reverend Ed Young’s advice. Simply put, Rev. Young believes it is time to “put God back in the bed” by means of a week of “congregational copulation”.

Before you call up your fellow parishoners and set up a holy orgy, I should clarify that the reverend’s advice is intended to help promote and improve monogamous marriage (sorry Utah). He delivered this message in front of and on a large bed. To really bring the point home, his wife was with him in jeans and **GASP** knee high black boots.

In all earnestness, the message is not completely silly. I do believe that a healthy sex life is vital in any relationship. The key in it, however, is that the sex should be fun and spontaneous, not forced. If you need orders from a reverend to have a reason to want to have sex with your partner, then you have issues that a week of pastor-prescribed fornication most likely will not solve.

Let them eat cake!
Unsurprisingly, this advice is aimed solely at married members of the congregation. I think it is a safe bet that one could extend that description to heterosexual, married members. The reverend went all Marie Antoinette on everyone else. His exact words:

I don’t know, try eating chocolate cake.

Er, excusez-moi? He did not just compare sex to chocolate cake, did he? Oh, yes he did. You hear that Lindsay Lohan? When you get an urge to do the mattress mambo, head to the kitchen for some chocolate cake instead.

Open to anything but sex

The Catholic Church is not always behind the times. In fact, it has a history of reversing aspects of its doctrine to keep up with the zeitgeist. It renounced usury in the 16th century, slavery in the 19th century and capital punishment in 1995.

When it comes to matters concerning sex, however, the Church shows no indication of budging. Be it marriage of members of the clergy (after having been ordained), homosexual marriage and intercourse or artificial contraception, the Church says NO.

Mandatory celibacy was not always a must for those wishing to dedicate their lives to the Church – it was made universal Church law only by the Second Consilium of Lateran in 1139. Despite that, there are exceptions. Men who are married before entering priesthood can do so and maintain their marriage. Is the devotion of an unmarried, celibate priest worth more than that of a married one? With fewer men entering into priesthood whilst the global Catholic population grows, will allowing young priests to marry not help to stop this shortfall? The Church says NO.

I am sure that there are those who will quote scripture forbidding homosexual marriage and intercourse. To them I say – I am sure many scripture-quoting individuals have coveted a neighbour’s wife. Amongst all the adultery, murder, lying and stealing, why pick the homosexuality guideline to stick to so closely? Is it not more Christian to grant everybody a legal relationship of mutual love, care and affection? The Church says NO.

Even more pressing is the rejection of artificial contraception. The Church cannot ignore the physical suffering from the AIDS epidemic in Africa, or the uncontrolled population increase in the Philippines, where it still has an overwhelming influence on daily politics. The means to limit the effects of either dilemma giving rise to a more hopeful generation are so simple. And yet, the Church says NO.

How appropriate!

This week is International Babywearing Week. According to an email sent to me by Beate Uhse online, it is also National Climax Week.

I find this hilarious! Participation in National Climax Week this year would likely cause you to join International Babywearing Week next year. =P


Only in Continental Europe would you have a week dedicated to orgasms. And maybe, perhaps, also in Japan.

Gay Gay Gay

Gay TV
All I seem to be running into today is news linked to homosexuality. A new gay television channel called Timm was launched last Saturday here in Germany. It struck me as odd that Germany, a country seemingly more accommodating towards it homosexual population than countries such as the US, launched a channel created specifically for them later than the US. What particularly piqued my interest is the channel’s slogan – “Wir lieben männer”, which translates to “We love men”. Whatever happened to lesbians? Are they not gay as well? If the induction of such a channel was done in the interest of general inclusion in the world of television, I believe that should have been reflected in their slogan.

Gay on TV
My enthusiasm for Grey’s Anatomy has been wavering this past season, but I was happy when the show introduced homosexual relationships into its storylines. Portraying normal, ordinary people in homosexual relationships on screen is a wonderful way to counter the obtuse belief some have that homosexuality is an aberration. For that reason, I am annoyed that Brooke Smith has been written off the show. (Her character, Dr. Hahn, was exploring her homosexuality with Dr. Torres, played by Sara Ramirez.)

The official reason behind her dismissal is that the character was not received well by the majority of the viewership. Many people believe this to be a prevarication and feel the producers have submitted to the will of homophobic America. Whatever the rationale, I mourn the exit of a storyline that finally entered territory that is, for the most part, woefully unexplored on mainstream television.

Gay in Real Life
Arizona, California and Florida have taken a big step forward with America in the election of Barack Obama for President. They, however, have taken a big step back when they became part of thirty states that ban same-sex marriage. Arkansas has also passed a measure banning parents in homosexual relationships from adopting children.

This has been called a victory for religious conservatives. That very description exemplifies why such bans should not even be pursued at all - the propositions were put forth by religious conservatives, who appear to enjoy scorning the principle of the separation of church and state.

I do not agree that issues surrounding homosexuality should be left to be dealt with separately in each state. I believe politicians take this stance with the sole purpose of avoiding disapproval in certain states. There should be a country-wide acceptance, not intolerance, of homosexuals, and because the rejection claims it roots in religious belief, there should be no place in the law for such discrimination.

Only the Japanese...

...would come up with a toy/commercial like this. This is a commercial for those electronic pets taken to the next level.

WARNING: Not safe for work!

The contents of the video are not explicit, so to speak, but you might want to lower the volume if you do not want others around you to think you are watching Japanese porn. =P

Making money by not having any sex/babies

No Sex

In Georgia there is currently a marriage contest in progress. An engaged couple can win $10,000 provided they open their wedding ceremony to the public, live separately before getting married and undergo premarital counselling. Oh, and they have to abstain - as in no premarital sex. Supposedly the goal of the contest is to promote marriages which will "really last a lifetime". That some people actually think preventing premarital sex is preventing divorce is beyond reason.

The contest is run by a non-profit organisation called MATURE - Marriage Appreciation Training Uplifting Relationship Education. (I wonder how long it took someone to come up with that?) Since 2006 they received yearly federal grants of $455,510, which will continue until 2011. What a preposterous way to spend tax revenue. Given a choice of having their tax dollars spent on health care or teaching abstinence, I believe most Americans would choose health care.

So how many couples have signed up for the opportunity to replace premarital sex with premarital counselling?

Zero. Shocker.

No Babies

A Louisiana legislator has suggested paying $1000 to women on welfare and food stamps if they have themselves sterilised. This is just WRONG. Never mind the fact that this is a lawsuit of discrimination against the poor waiting to happen. Dangling money in front of the poverty-stricken is not the way to go. They will make the decision based on the fact that they need the money, not thinking of possible future consequences.

Again, this is potentially a waste of tax revenue. $1000 is not going to take the destitute off of welfare or eradicate the less fortunate. This money is better spent on education.

Sex or No Sex?

Ahhh, yes. The fountain of youth. The secret to longevity. Who doesn't want in on such hot news?

Apparently the secret lies in sex, but that's where it gets complicated. I ran into this article about Clara Meadmore, a 105-year-old virgin in the UK. She claims her long life is a result of complete, untainted celibacy. This made me think of Harvard Professor Walter Willett, who stated in 2002 that the key to a long and healthy life is Greek cuisine and plenty of sex.

Personally, and I am willing to bet that almost everyone is with me on this, I prefer option b. A life without Greek food and sex? Scary.

Who are you more inclined to believe - the 105-year-old virgin who is still living her long life, or the Harvard Professor with all of his research? What is the key to longevity - sex or no sex?

(images from flybenji.org, teamsugar.com and menumagazine.co.uk)