Sexual rights are human rights

I would like commend the clergy of People of Faith for Just Relationships for their call to City Council to take a leadership role in providing equal rights for our brothers and sisters in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. While the church is often an institution that lags behind when speaking out for change, it is encouraging Asheville has religious leaders willing to stand up and fight to end current discrimination against the LGBT community. These actions will make our community healthier.

I disagree with the idea that Christianity and the expression of one's true sexuality are incongruent. A satisfying spiritual and sexual life is tightly interwoven. The Bible describes Jesus' message as being about love, inclusively, and reaching out to the marginalized. As a clinical sexologist, I help heal the many people who have been severely hurt by the treatment they received from their church and people who use Christianity as a weapon. I inform such folks they are made in God's image, and God's creations are good. I believe strongly and to my core that if Jesus were here today, he would be fighting to end discrimination against the LGBT.

Change requires work from all levels — local to global. Our progressive pastors are leading us in the right direction. Below I have summarized global action — a list of sexual rights released at the 14th World Congress of Sexology in 1999. These sexual rights should guide us as practitioners and as human beings.

All people have the right to:

1. Sexual freedom. All forms of sexual coercion, exploitation and abuse at any time are unacceptable.

2. Sexual autonomy and integrity, and safety of the sexual body.

3. Sexual privacy.

4. The right to sexual equity, freedom from all forms of discrimination regardless of sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, race, social class, religion or physical and emotional disability.

5. Sexual pleasure, providing physical, psychological, intellectual and spiritual well being.

6. Emotional sexual expression.

7. Sexually associate freely, right to marry or not, to divorce and to establish other types of responsible sexual associations.

8. Freely make responsible reproductive choices.

9. Sexual information based upon scientific inquiry.

10. Comprehensive sexuality education throughout the life cycle.

11. The right to sexual health care.

What these pastors are doing is a good thing.

Kelley J. Wolfe holds a doctorate in human sexuality. She lives in Asheville.


(2011-2-1/citizen-times)