Sexuality Among Modern Orthodox Teenage Girls in Israel
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Sexuality Among Modern Orthodox Teenage Girls in Israel: A Study of the Effects of an Educational Intervention Volume 1 Yocheved Debow School of Education Ph.D. Thesis Submitted to the Senate of Bar-Ilan University Ramat Gan, Israel April 2009 This work was carried out under the supervision of Dr. David Resnick School of Education Bar-Ilan University Acknowledgements I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Bar-Ilan University, the President’s Awards of the University, and the Schupf Foundation. Their generous support has enabled me to become a student again, carry out research and further develop an academically grounded approach to education in the important but neglected areas of intimacy and sexuality for the Modern Orthodox community. I am deeply appreciative of Professor Kaveh’s vision and commitment to the President’s fellowship program which has opened the doors of academia to so many students, including myself, who could not otherwise have considered it. I am encouraged by the confirming support offered by many leading institutions promoting education in the Jewish world. The Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Education, School of Education, Bar-Ilan University supported this research. I thank the Lookstein Center for Jewish Education, Bar Ilan University for providing funding to use in my research and expand it to Jewish communities outside of Israel. When I embarked on this endeavor, I had no idea the magnitude of the project ahead of me, the amount of reading and writing and rewriting and reading and rethinking and rewriting that would be integral to this endeavor. It has indeed been a long and tortuous path, gratifying at many junctures but nevertheless trying too. Throughout it, Dr. David Resnick, my patient advisor, dedicated countless hours for discussion, consultation, corrections (!!) and support. While never compromising on standard, he taught me to believe that I could do what needed to be done next. He guided my research and my writing, sought out materials and people with whom to consult as well as financial support to assist me. He prodded me to think outside of my proverbial box and his voice exhorting excellence of craft is something to which I hope I have become normed. I am indebted to Ulpanat Bina and the various educators and administrators who enthusiastically engaged my endeavor from the outset welcoming me into their school and providing me with whatever they could to make my time at the school productive. To “Adina”, the course instructor, who willingly engaged the central task of this research by teaching the Life Values and Intimacy education course multiple times. In addition, she spent numerous hours helping me become familiar with the school, the students as well as her own philosophy and approach to Family Life education. This doctorate would not have been possible without her keen commitment to the endeavor. Thanks go also to all the individuals who agreed to be interviewed and enriched my thinking. I am deeply indebted to all the participants at Ulpanat Bina who shared of themselves and their experiences honestly and thoughtfully and participated in the intervention. I hope that this work is a faithful representation of their rich inner lives. I would like to thank Dr. Devora Court, the mother of qualitative research in the School of Education, who opened my eyes to the power of qualitative research. Thanks also to Dr. Tova Hartman who generously shared of her time, wisdom and compassion asking thoughtful questions that helped me dig deeper in trying to understand the experiences of the participants. Thanks to Dr. Bruriah Samet who offered warm support and sage advice, sharing from the wisdom she gained from her academic experiences to help me be successful in mine. Thanks to my dear friend Dr. Anna Woloski-Wruble from whose partnership I continue to be blessed. I thank the visionaries associated with Fuchs Mizrachi School, Cleveland for laying the groundwork and entrusting me with the job of developing a Life Values and Intimacy curriculum which was the impetus behind this research. I thank Meira Mintz for her efficient and dedicated editing, Odi Lavi for her help in transcription and Adina Milstone for translating the curriculum. I am grateful to Josh Amaru, Yitzi Blau and Naomi Weiss who each read various parts of this manuscript and offered important constructive criticism. I am so appreciative of Avi Shmidman who is blessed with a technical wizardry from which I always seem to be benefitting, and of Mimi Arbiv for generously sharing of herself and her Hebrew proficiency. Thanks also to my friends and neighbors who have supported me, encouraged me and helped me in so many different ways. And to Shaindy, who had a remarkable capacity to inspire friends to always stretch just a little further, and who is so poignantly present in my life in her deeply felt absence. I thank my parents Professor Cyril and Shirley Domb who exemplify for me a life both Modern and Orthodox, expressed with passion and without compromise. To my beloved cheerleaders, Moshe, Noa, Hillel, Miri, Ayelet and Ariella who have shared in my adventure, patiently asking, “Does your advisor like your doctorate?” I think I might finally be able to say “Yes!” Thanks to each of you for being so wonderful. And a special thanks to Moshe and Noa for accepting added responsibilities with maturity and grace. And to David, for loving me, and believing in me, and supporting me in the darkest moments of my uncertainty when I was convinced this was way beyond me. For thinking with me and reading for me and then explaining to me and always, always encouraging me. For many, many sleepless nights, and hours of discussing and formatting (!!) and being my chevruta as we sought to make sense of the theory in light of the findings. With you, any significant endeavor either of us has embarked on since we have met has always become one that is shared. Here too, whatever is mine – is ours. Ultimately, my thanks are directed to HaKadosh Baruch Hu who has blessed me with so much; I pray that my efforts are pleasing in His eyes. Table of Contents Volume 1 Acknowledgements Table of Contents Glossary Abstract ................................................................................................................. i Principal Theoretical Guidelines .............................................................................................. i Sexuality and Society .............................................................................................................. i Sexuality Education Requires a Moral Context ................................................................ii Sexuality Education: A History ......................................................................................... iii Family Life Education in the State Religious School ..................................................... iv Choosing a Philosophy of Sexuality Education ............................................................... v Methodology ............................................................................................................................. v Findings .................................................................................................................................... vii Pre-Interviews ..................................................................................................................... vii Post-Interviews .................................................................................................................. viii The Nature of Participant Normation ........................................................................... viii Implications for Education .................................................................................................... ix Normation in the School.................................................................................................... ix Educating to Self-Control .................................................................................................. ix The Dialectic of Authority and Autonomy .......................................................................x The Place of Reasons in Life Values and Intimacy Education .......................................x Putting the Struggle in Context ......................................................................................... xi A Coherent and Comprehensive Approach .................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Theoretical Background ..................................................................... 12 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 12 Sexuality and Society .............................................................................................................. 13 The Difference between Gender and Sex ...................................................................... 14 The Essentialist Approach to Sexuality .......................................................................... 14 The Social-Constructionist Approach to Sexuality ....................................................... 15 The Socio-Historical Approach to the Study of Sexuality ........................................... 15 The Influence of Foucault on Ideas about Sexuality .................................................... 16 Feminist Approaches to Sexuality...................................................................................