Sexuality and Salvation in Protestant Evangelical Sex Manuals, 1950S to the Present Author(S): Amy Derogatis Source: Church History, Vol

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What Would Jesus Do? Sexuality and Salvation in Protestant Evangelical Sex Manuals, 1950s to the Present Author(s): Amy DeRogatis Source: Church History, Vol. 74, No. 1 (Mar., 2005), pp. 97-137 Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the American Society of Church History Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4146314 . Accessed: 18/02/2015 08:05

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This content downloaded from 66.31.143.47 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 08:05:08 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions What WouldJesus Do? Sexuality and Salvationin ProtestantEvangelical Sex Manuals, 1950s to the Present AMY DEROGATIS

God's Word is like His spiritual sperm. Knowing what we do about genetics, we could even say that, like the genes carried in the head of a sperm, God's Word carries God's characteristics. So, for you to be "born again," God's Word, His sperm, must be implanted in your heart by the Holy Spirit. If your heart chooses to receive His Word, a new spirit will be birthed within you.1 When President Bill Clinton testified before a Grand Jury hearing on August 17, 1998 that he "did not have sexual intercourse with that woman, Miss Lewinsky," the American public learned at least two important lessons.2 First, the definition of sex was debatable and second, the authority to define sex as sexual intercourse was the crucial factor in the meaning of that pesky verb "is." The questions of what is sex and, more importantly, who defines it have been studied and discussed thoroughly by scholars of U.S. history and culture.3 In

1. Terry Wier and Mark Carruth, Holy Sex: God's Purpose and Plan for Our Sexuality (New Kensington, Penn.: Whitaker House, 1999), 111. 2. I would like to express my gratitude to the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion for its financial support of this project through a 2002 summer research grant. I thank the members of the 2001-2 Wabash Center Workshop on Teaching and Learning for Undergraduate Religion Faculty, which was directed by Patricia O'Connell Killen and funded by the Lilly Endowment Inc. I am indebted to Allison Andre for her research assistance and to Peter Berg and the staff of Special Collections at Michigan State University. I am especially grateful to the comments of those who attended my talks that were part of the University Libraries Colloquia Series at Michigan State (October 2002) and the U.S. Literature and Culture Group at the University of Michigan (December 2003). Chris Frilingos, Anna Celenza, Maria Sanchez, Alice Dreger, Matthew Edney, Dagmar Herzog, Martha Finch, Gary Laderman, and Julia Grant have read and commented on this article. 3. Ronald G. Walters, Primers for Prudery: Sexual Advice to Victorian America (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1974); John R. Betts, "Mind and Body in Early American Thought," Journal of American History 54 (March 1968): 787-805; Michael Gordon and M. Charles Bernstein, "Mate Choice and Domestic Life in the Nineteenth-Century Marriage Manual," Journal of Marriage and Family 32 (November 1970): 665-74; Sidney Ditzion, Marriage, Morals, and Sex in America:A History of Ideas (New York: Bookman Associates,

Amy DeRogatis is an associateprofessor of Religion and American Culture in the Religious Studies Departmentat Michigan State University.

@ 2005, The AmericanSociety of ChurchHistory ChurchHistory 74:1 (March2005) 97

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American popular culture the social scientific findings published in the Kinsey Reports (1948, 1953) and William H. Masters and Virginia E. Johnson's Human Sexual Response(1966) provided information (or "scientific facts") for lay people regarding the diversity and possibility of human sexual expression: what sex "is." The growing awareness since the late 1950s that sex is more than one specific act has led many people to question whether sex as we learn it from our parents, teachers, clergy, friends, books, and science is "natural" (a matter of biological response) or socially constructed (a matter of cultural control). Opinions vary, tempers flare, and the mountain of sex advice manuals available at local bookstores attests to the U.S. public's insatiable appetite for knowledge about sex. It might be surprising that evangelical Protestants have been among the most vocal participants in this ongoing definitional debate. Con- trary to popular stereotypes that characterize conservative Christians as sexually repressed, Protestant evangelicals did not turn away from the sexual liberation movement begun in the 1960s; they have simply made it their own, publishing sex manuals, running sex workshops

1953); David J. Pivar, Purity Crusade: Sexual Morality and Social Control, 1868-1900 (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 1973); John D'Emilio and Estelle B. Freedman, Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America (New York: Harper and Row, 1988); Elizabeth Reis, ed., American Sexual Histories (Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2001); Merril D. Smith, ed., Sex and Sexuality in Early America (New York: New York University Press, 1998); Roger Thompson, Sex in Middlesex: Popular Mores in a Massachusetts County, 1649-1699 (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1986); Richard Godbeer, Sexual Revolution in Early America (Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002); Sally Banes, Sheldon Frank, and Tem Horwitz, eds., Our National Passion: 200 Yearsof Sex in America (Chicago: Follett, 1976); Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz, Rereading Sex: Battles over Sexual Knowledge and Suppression in Nineteenth-Century America (New York: Knopf, 2002); Jess F. Battan, "'The Word Made Flesh': Language, Authority, and Sexual Desire in Late Nineteenth-Century America," Journal of the History of Sexuality 3:2 (October 1992): 223-44; Carl N. Degler, "What Ought to Be and What Was: Women's Sexuality in the Nineteenth-Century," The American Historical Review 79:5 (December 1974): 1467-90; Peter Gardella, Innocent Ecstasy: How Christianity Gave America an Ethic of Sexual Pleasure (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985); Vern L. Bullough, "Early American Sex Manual, Or, Aristotle Who?" Early American Literature 7:3 (winter 1973): 236-46; Thomas A. Foster, "Deficient Husbands: Manhood, Sexual Incapacity, and Male Marital Sexuality in Seventeenth-Century New England," William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd series, 56:4 (October 1999): 723-44; Michael Gordon, "Sex Manuals: Past and Present," Medical Aspects of Human Sexuality 5:9 (September 1971): 20-37; Janice M. Irvine, Disor- ders and Desire: Sex and Genderin Modern American Sexology (Philadelphia, Penn.: Temple University Press, 1990). 4. Some of the most provocative scholarly work suggests that even the notion of typical genitals and the category of sex (male or female) is the result of a given society's need to arrange people into two categories of male and female. On this topic it is compulsory to cite Judith Butler's groundbreaking text, Gender Trouble:Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (New York: Routledge, 1990). I have also benefited greatly from the insights provided by Alice D. Dreger, Hermaphroditesand the Medical Invention of Sex (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2000), and Anne Fausto-Sterling, Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality (New York: Basic Books, 2000).

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and holding counseling sessions to instruct husbands and wives on the best techniques for a sexually satisfied marriage. The sex manuals run the gamut from suggesting loving language to put your spouse in the mood to providing information about STDs "sexually transmitted demons." As Americans continue to grapple with the definition of what sex is, Protestant evangelicals have provided an answer. Sex is natural, biblically sanctioned, and if practiced in the proper arena of marriage, sex can be salvific.5 Evangelical sex manuals provide more than information about the logistics of orgasm; they present a uniquely Protestant approach to sex. The most authoritative text on sexuality, the authors claim, is the Bible. Scripture contains everything a believer needs to know about sex. Although the authors focus on bodily functions and bodily fluids, they are careful to remove representations of the body from their texts. The images chosen to accompany text are clinical, fragmented diagrams disconnected from human bodies. Evangelical sex manual authors defend their advice as the authentic Christian approach un- sullied by distorted visions of sexuality that arose from misinterpre- tation of Scripture or false Christian traditions that have erroneously emphasized celibacy or denigrated the body. The manuals are devoted to providing in excruciating detail instructions about sexual bodies, but the authors are simultaneously committed to larger theological and social issues of Sola Scriptura,defining themselves against other Christian and secular approaches to sex, and witnessing that long-term sexual satisfaction is only possible when the Bible and the Protestant Christ are also in the marriage.

I. A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEX MANUALS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1950S TO THE PRESENT The sex manual industry exploded in the early 1970s as part of larger shifts happening in American culture. In the previous decade

5. Before I proceed further, a word about terminology is in order. I use the term evangelical as an umbrella term for Protestants who affirm the necessity of a spiritual rebirth, a "born again" experience, during which one accepts personal sinfulness and that Christ's atonement is essential for salvation. While evangelicals may tend toward more or less ecstatic forms of worship (pentecostals, fundamentalist, charismatics, holiness), they are grouped together by their literal reading of the Bible, their emphasis on inerrancy, the imminent return of Christ, mission-mindedness, and in many cases- though certainly not all-their suspicion of "worldliness" and the perils of secular culture. Although evangelicals purport to stand at a critical distance from "worldly" secular culture, they do not refrain from adopting the tools of culture to have their message heard. While I use evangelical to characterize the authors of these texts, it is difficult to ascertain the specific affiliations of the authors and impossible to know that of the readers. Most authors simply define themselves as "Bible-believing" Christians and their work as "biblically centered."

This content downloaded from 66.31.143.47 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 08:05:08 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 100 CHURCHHISTORY the FDA approved the use of the Pill (1960), the Supreme Court affirmed the legal right for citizens to obtain birth control (1965), Masters and Johnson published Human SexualResponse (1966), and the "Sexual Revolution" was underway. The Bible for the sexual revolution was Alex Comfort's 1972 The Joy of Sex: A Gourmet Guide to Lovemaking,a runaway bestseller that encouraged men and women to liberate their minds and explore their bodies. The book provided illustrations and detailed explanations of sexual positions and techniques without assuming a marriage relationship between the sexual partners.6 This was a departure from the typical secular sex manual published up to that time in the United States. The authors of early-twentieth- century sex manuals, according to historian Jessamyn Neuhaus, assume a marriage relationship. The manuals were written primarily for men who were believed to be the natural sexual initiators but who often employ faulty sexual techniques that result in unsatisfactory intercourse for women.7 Female orgasm, the authors claimed, while sometimes an arduous task to achieve, was crucial for sexual success and matrimonial bliss. In her article, "The Importance of Being Or- gasmic: Sexuality, Gender, and Marital Sex Manuals in the United States, 1920-1963," Neuhaus writes, "though they relegated the 'awakening' of female sexual pleasure to the domain of male skill, leaving men firmly in charge of that pleasure, these manuals made female orgasm central to 'successful' intercourse."s Popular texts written by physicians such as Thomas Van De Velde's 1930 English edition of IdealMarriage: Its Physiologyand Technique(1926) and Marie Stopes's Married Love: A New Contributionto the Solution of Sexual Difficulties (1931) emphasized the importance of mutual sexual satisfaction in marriage while placing the responsibility for sexual pleasure squarely on the husband's shoulders. Van De Velde and Stopes

6. It should be noted, however, that Comfort's 1972 book focuses on heterosexual sexual activity and deems homosexuality as a lesser and immature form of sexual behavior. 7. Jessamyn Neuhaus, "The Importance of Being Orgasmic: Sexuality, Gender, and Marital Sex Manuals in the United States, 1920-1963," Journal of the History of Sexuality 9:4 (October 2000): 447-73. 8. Ibid., 450. 9. For general information on early-twentieth-century secular sex manuals, see Peter Laipson, "'Kiss Without Shame, For She Desires It': Sexual Foreplay in American Marital Advice Literature 1900-1920," Journal of Social History 29:3, (spring 1996): 507-25; Barbara Epstein, "Family, Sexual Morality, and Popular Movements in Turn- of-the-Century America," in Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality, eds. Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell, and Sharon Thompson (New York: New York University Press, 1983); John D'Emilio and Estelle B. Freedman, Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America (New York: Harper and Row, 1988); Barbara Ehrenreich, Elizabeth Hess, and Gloria Jacobs, eds., Re-Making Love: The Feminization of Sex (New York: Anchor, 1986);

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present the husband as the leader and educator in the sexual relationship, even though he at times was unprepared for this important office. The wife apparently entered the marriage oblivious to her body and her emotions. "The wife must be taught," writes Van De Velde, "not only how to behave in coitus, but, above all, how and what to feel in this unique act!"10Husbands are urged to "awaken" their wives' dormant sexuality through any activity that brings on orgasm. The most reliable techniques according to these two authors are a combi- nation of constant "wooing" and clitoral stimulation. Women are portrayed as stimulated to sexual peaks first through their minds and hearts. Men are guided entirely by their bodies. Both Van De Velde and Stopes cautioned that a sexually unfulfilled wife would likely develop health problems including nervousness, fatigue, and insom- nia. The message given to men, according to Neuhaus, was clear: "Masculine sexual power was absolutely essential, but husbands were bumbling, ignorant, insensitive, clods who needed a good course of instruction on pleasuring their wives."11 Women in these early manuals have a measure of responsibility for their own sexual satisfaction: they must decide to enjoy sex; they should never remain mentally passive during sexual encounters. Secular sex manuals published in the early twentieth century explain to readers that sex "is" intercourse between a man and a woman who both achieve orgasm. Although women must discipline their minds to enjoy sex and men require an enormous amount of training, under the right circumstances both partners should be sexually satisfied by an orgasmic climax. "Successful" intercourse will ensure a successful marriage and will maintain the health and emotional stability of the wife. By definition, any erotic activity outside of intercourse without mutual orgasm is not sex. By contrast, the secular sex manuals that were published after 1945 tended to emphasize male sexual pleasure and placed the responsibility for a successful sexual encounter (and ultimately marriage) on the woman's ability to find pleasure in sexual intercourse either

Carol S. Vance, ed., Pleasure and Danger: Exploring Female Sexuality (Boston, Mass.: Routledge and Keegan Paul, 1984); Michael Gordon, "From an Unfortunate Necessity to a Cult of Mutual Orgasm: Sex in American Marital Education Literature, 1830-1940," in Studies in the Sociology of Sex, ed. James M. Henslin (New York: Appleton-Century- Crofts, 1971), 53-77; Michael Gordon, "Sex Manuals: Past and Present"; M. E. Melody and Linda M. Peterson, TeachingAmerica about Sex: Marriage Guides and Sex Manuals from the Late Victorians to Dr. Ruth (New York: New York University Press, 1999). 10. Thomas H. Van De Velde, M.D., Ideal Marriage:Its Physiology and Technique,trans. Stelle Browne, rev. ed. (New York: Random House, 1966), 244. 11. Neuhaus, 460.

This content downloaded from 66.31.143.47 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 08:05:08 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 102 CHURCHHISTORY without orgasm or by facilitating her own orgasm.12 Female sexual pleasure was de-emphasized at the expense of deriving personal satisfaction from knowing her husband was sexually fulfilled. As Neuhaus notes, "the burden shifted: husbands were no longer held responsible for their wives' orgasms; that responsibility laT with the wives. A woman's pleasure was now in her own hands."' This shift did not signal sexual empowerment for women. It reflected uneasiness, not present in earlier sex manuals, with female bodies and sexual desires. Women who appeared incapable of sexual climax were described as emotionally and psychologically deficient; frigidity, prudishness, and neurosis became the operating words to describe the nonorgasmic wife. Men were no longer criticized for faulty technique (as they were in previous decades); women were blamed for lack of sexual responsiveness, and far less was written about the importance of clitoral stimulation. Edward Podolsky, author of Sex Techniquefor Husband and Wife, represents this consensus in his chapter on the nature of sexual climax in his statement, "the clitoris, while important, is not nearly as important as many of us have been taught or led to believe."14 The wife in these manuals is responsible for ensuring her husband's sexual success by bringing him to climax and responding to him in ways that reassure him that he is a sexually potent man. A happy marriage, according to the authors, did not rest on mutual sexual satisfaction but on women learning to enjoy sexual intercourse despite their psychological and emotional inability to achieve orgasm. "Normal" or "typical" men are described as easily sexually stimulated and also easily emotionally wounded by a wife that will neither satisfy his urgent sexual desires nor affirm his masculinity by achieving orgasm under his ministrations. The post-World War II sex manuals reflect what many scholars have suggested was a set of American cultural anxieties about gender roles, specifically masculinity. The manuals betray uneasiness about female sexuality and ambivalence about the strength of male virility. Men are characterized as nervous, inexperienced, and sexually vul- nerable. Women have sexual or psychological problems that interfere

12. For general information on post-World War II secular sex manuals, see Michael Gor- don, "Sex Manuals: Past and Present"; Michael Gordon and Penelope J. Shankweiler, "Different Equals Less: Female Sexuality in Recent Marriage Manuals," Journal of Marriage and the Family 33:3 (August 1971): 459-66; Martin S. Weinberg, Rochelle Ganz Swensson, and Sue Kiefer Hammersmith, "Sexual Autonomy and the Status of Women: Models of Female Sexuality in U.S. Sex Manuals From 1950-1980," Social Problems30:3 (February 1983): 312-24; M. E. Melody and Linda M. Peterson, Teaching America about Sex: Marriage Guides and Sex Manuals from the Late Victorians to Dr. Ruth. 13. Neuhaus, 450. 14. Edward Podolsky, Sex Techniquefor Husband and Wife (New York: Cadillac, 1949), 70.

This content downloaded from 66.31.143.47 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 08:05:08 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions EVANGELICALSEX MANUALS 103 with "normal" sexual activity (intercourse) and can damage their husband's fragile egos by admitting sexual frustration or boredom. Sex in these manuals is defined as heterosexual intercourse that leads to male orgasm. If male orgasm is not achieved, the encounter is not sex. The blame for an unsuccessful attempt is placed on the wife's poor technique or lack of appropriate sexual responses to stimulate and encourage her timid husband. Some authors suggest that the wife's unclean body and malodorous secretions might be repulsive to a sensitive husband.15 Women are urged to wash, pluck, shave, and swab every inch of their bodies. Yet even a scrubbed, attentive, aroused wife might fail to bring her husband to climax. By the 1970s, secular sex manuals were shifting toward a liberation model for heterosexual activity that did not assume a marriage relationship for sexual expression. TheJoy of Sex is the best early example of this type of literature, although other titles, including David R. Reuben's Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex*--(*But WereAfraid to Ask!) also enjoyed a wide readership. "Typical" men and women in these manuals are heterosexuals who are eager to experiment with different types of sexual activity without the repres- sive limits of marriage licenses and conventional sexual postures. The majority of these manuals, however, ostensibly were written for married couples eager to spice up their sex life. Alex Comfort, an English biochemist and gerontologist who moved to Santa Barbara in the early 1970s, became a world-renowned sexol- ogist at the age of fifty-four with the publication of his watershed book. In TheJoy of Sex Comfort took to task medical professionals who had authored sex manuals to define "normal" sexual behavior as different from the sexual acts people performed for erotic pleasure. Throughout his book, Comfort mocks the clinical approach to the mechanics of sex that characterized prior sex manuals and proclaimed the bedroom the best laboratory. Calling his work a "manifesto," Comfort eschewed medical professionals' prescriptions in favor of the individual's sexual discovery through personal experimentation. Comfort-like those who would imitate his style in the future- made a point of presenting his book as a radical break from the prudery and repression of the past. Readers could escape the iron grip of Victorian values placed on their minds and bodies and join him in a quest for problem-free, liberated sexual bliss. This approach, Meryl

15. In her article Neuhaus directs readers to these two examples: John Thomas Gill, How to Hold Your Husband: A Frank Psychoanalysis for a Happy Marriage (Philadelphia, Penn.: Dorrance, 1951), and Rebecca Liswood, A Marriage Doctor Speaks Her Mind about Sex (New York: Dutton, 1961).

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Altman reminds readers in "Everything They Always Wanted You to Know: The Ideology of Popular Sex Literature," gives Comfort what Michel Foucault termed the "speaker's benefit."16 Simply by having the temerity to talk openly about what he claims is a taboo topic (sex), Comfort gives himself the "speaker's benefit" of authority and the power of transgression. Indeed, he made himself the critical person in the future sexual liberation by having the power and knowledge to write what he claimed was forbidden. Significantly, the sexual repression that Comfort alludes to remained in a nonhistorical, vague moment of "back then" in Puritan or Victorian times. This enabled him to avoid the pitfalls of being part of a larger historical and cultural process in which restrictive measures might be reproduced in his own work. Placing TheJoy of Sex against the repression of the past, Comfort set about informing a new generation of readers about the "true"and "liberated" definition of sex. TheJoy of Sex is organized like a cookbook, with appetizers, entrees, and desserts to emphasize individual sexual tastes. Sexual desire, Comfort explains, is as varied as cravings for sweet or salty delicacies and can be as complicated as a five-course French meal or as simple as a sandwich. Humor, appetite, and individual desire are the essential ingredients for a satisfying sexual meal. Comfort urged his readers to try new and exotic sensory tastes, textures, aromas, and flavors. The joy comes from sampling from the smorgasbord and discovering new pleasures along the way. Unlike previous sexual manuals that focused on the climax of male or female orgasm, Comfort encouraged lovers to seek other forms of bodily delight and to reject the notion that there is one ultimate goal in sexual activity. Most striking today as when it was first published are the vivid illustrations that accompany his text. The book jacket of TheJoy of Sex is a demure white cover with plain black printing, except that the word Joy is in red. Upon opening the cover and thumbing through a few pages, you find a hirsute and slightly flabby man and woman casually engaged in oral sex.17 This is a far cry from the anatomical

16. Meryl Altman, "Everything They Always Wanted You to Know: The Ideology of Popular Sex Literature," in Pleasure and Danger: Exploring Female Sexuality, ed. Carole S. Vance (Boston, Mass.: Routledge, 1984), 116-17. Altman in this section refers specifically to Dr. David Reuben's 1969 Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sex (*But Were Afraid to Ask), but the article surveys a number of sex manuals including Alex Comfort's The Joy of Sex. The reference to Michel Foucault's term "speaker's benefit" comes from Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality. Volume I: An Introduction, trans. Robert Hurley (New York: Vintage, 1980), 6. 17. For readers who have never seen the first publication of this book, the illustrations will shock you mostly because of how our cultural representations of beauty have changed. It is impossible to imagine a bestselling sex manual today that would picture lovers as

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diagrams that typically illustrated sex manuals showing clinical cross- sections of disembodied penises and vaginas. Comfort's drawings are nothing short of erotic illustrations of a heterosexual couple practicing various sexual poses. The pictures provide examples of particular sexual techniques and positions, but more importantly they cement the message that sex should be creative and pleasurable in all its varied forms. The hairy lovers sprawl across pages of the book, graphically displaying the story of their sexual adventures.18 Comfort also included erotic Japanese woodblock prints to stir his readers' sexual imaginations and to demonstrate that sexual variety has been accepted and enjoyed at different moments and places in human history. Comfort defined his audience when he addressed them as "the adventurous and uninhibited lovers who want to find the limits of their ability to enjoy sex."19 Comfort's openness about sexuality, however, did not extend to homosexual relationships. Both Alex Comfort and David Reuben describe homosexuals as immature, mal- adjusted deviants who need to be cured of their unhealthy obsessions. "Real" sex is between a man and a woman. In Comfort's opinion, "straight man-woman sex is the real thing for most people; ... it may sound brutal, but don't, repeat don't take on a partner with a major sex problem such as homosexuality."20 The repeated "truths" of male and female dispositions and sexual preferences support Comfort's claim that homosexual activity is a "problem." Comfort holds onto culturally accepted sexual distinctions between men and women and informs his readers that "male sexual response is far brisker and automatic than women's; it is triggered by things."21 Further in the text this guru who is widely acknowledged for breaking sexual and social taboos describes the true differences between "normal" men and women. "It isn't the same for the two sexes because male turn-ons are concrete, while female turn-ons are situational and atmospheric."22 For all of the advances in sexual technique and experimentation outside of marriage, the larger cultural truths about the supremacy of heterosexual activity and the ways that "normal" men and women behave (both their desires and

unshaved and untoned. Indeed, recent editions of The Joy of Sex have updated the illustrations to match our current taste in bodily beauty. 18. It is noteworthy that Comfort uses the same couple throughout his text. A larger theme of this book is that sexual freedom comes from experimentation with your committed heterosexual lover not by constant exchanging of partners or through homosexual sex. 19. Comfort, 9. 20. Ibid., 225, 235. 21. Ibid., 40 22. Ibid., 74.

This content downloaded from 66.31.143.47 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 08:05:08 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 106 CHURCHHISTORY their actions), Comfort-perhaps unknowingly-reinforced cultural values about the naturalness and distinctiveness of male and female sexual response as seen in earlier manuals. To return to President Clinton's notoriously enigmatic statement, "it depends on what the definition of 'is' is," sex in The Joy of Sex is normal, healthy, and liberated if it is heterosexual activity seeking pleasure beyond the restrictions of past prudery and a fixation on orgasm. Comfort is not opposed to a heterosexual couple experiment- ing with group sex or same-sex encounters, but only for variety, not as a rule. Despite all of the contortions and stimulating maneuvers he presents to his readers, it is telling that at the end of his book he concludes with the observation that most couples find the traditional "matrimonial position" the most sexually satisfying.23 The best sex, when everything is tried and done, is heterosexual intercourse with the man on top. II. WWJD? EVANGELICALSAND THE SEXUALREVOLUTION Evangelical sex manuals followed the general publishing trend of secular sex manuals and also became bestsellers in the 1970s. By 1976 with the growth in evangelical denominations, parachurch organiza- tions, and nondenominational religious groups, the evangelical books on family and marriage sold at an unprecedented rate. For example, Marabel Morgan's The Total Womanhad sold 500,000 copies by 1975, James Dobson's (the founder of Focus on the Family) What Wives Wished their Husbands Knew about Sex sold 105,000 copies the same year, and Tim and Beverly LaHaye's The Act of Marriagehad sold 178,000 copies by 1976, 500,000 by 1979, and, by 1993, over 1.5 million copies.24 This was just one aspect of a larger media push among

23. Ibid., 124. I am not the only reader to notice this curious statement. Almost all of the scholars that mention Comfort in their work are struck by his inclusion of this "fact" at the end of the book. As Meryl Altman notes, Comfort concedes the "missionary position" is "not the most moral, or the most correct (that would be Puritanism); simply the most satisfying," Altman, 125. 24. Marabel Morgan, The Total Woman (Old Tappan, N.J.: Fleming H. Revell, 1973); Marabel Morgan, Total Joy (Old Tappan, N.J.: Fleming H. Revell, 1976); Dr. James Dobson, What Wives Wish Their Husbands Knew about Women (Wheaton: Ill.: Tyndale House, 1975); Tim and Beverly LaHaye, The Act of Marriage:The Beauty of Sexual Love (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1976, 1998). There is little secondary literature written specifically about evangelical sex manuals. The best overall summary is Patricia M. Lennon, "Bible Believers Have Better Sex: Popular Sexology and Gender Ideology in Biblical Marriage" (master's thesis, Department of Religious Studies, Indiana University, 1993). Other secondary sources include: Peter Gardella, "Sex and Submission in the Spirit," in Religions of the United States in Practice, ed. Colleen McDannell, Princeton Readings in Religions (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2001), 2:173-93; Barbara Ehren- reich, Elizabeth Hess, and Gloria Jacobs, Re-Making Love: The Feminization of Sex (New

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evangelicals to define the relationship between sexuality and biblical principles.25 At the same time that these books were being written, the network for the distribution of sex information grew to include audio and video tapes, lectures, seminars, workshops (most famously Marabel Morgan's Total Woman workshops), and by the 1980s we see the rise in Christian psychologists and marriage counselors who specialize in sex education. While it is hard to gauge the impact of evangelical sex manuals by the numbers of books in print, it is clear that the market continues to bear more and more products that are aimed at evangelicals interested in improving their sex lives. Evangelical manuals that discuss sexuality and sexual technique range in scope and targeted audience and have changed over the past fifty years. I use the term sex manuals for a large variety of publications; however, it might be more precise to refer to these texts as marriage manuals because the majority of the books that I read were written primarily for married couples or for people planning to get married.26 The sex advice is understood to be part and parcel of marital counseling. Evangelical sex manuals are written for a private audience; they contain sexually explicit information that the authors believe is only appropriate for adult readers who are married or engaged. There have been changes over the past fifty years, and there certainly are some differences among the manuals, but in general it is fair to say that evangelical sex manuals support conservative Chris- tian values of heterosexual marriage and family by using a literalist interpretation of Scripture to reinforce these norms. Some writers are shockingly literal in their exegesis of Scripture. Tim and Beverly LaHaye, for example, quote an interpretation of the Song of Solomon 2:6 as guide for the literal mechanics of clitoral stimulation: "Let his left hand be under my head and his right hand embrace me."27 Typically the evangelical sex manuals begin by proving what are scripturally sound desires and linking those desires closely to what

York: Doubleday, 1986); Kenneth L. Woodward with Eloise Salholz, "The Bible in the Bedroom," Newsweek, 1 February 1982, 71; Mark Oppenheimer, "In the Biblical Sense: A Guide to the Booming Christian Sex-Advice Industry," posted Tuesday, November 20, 1999 at 12:30 A.M., P.T. Url: http://slate.msn.com; Michael McMahon, "Come, All Ye Faithful," The Spectator(London) 283, December 15-25, 1999, 18-19. Publishing statistics taken from Patricia M. Lennon, "Bible Believers," 5. 25. This is also the time when Helen Wessel's The Joy of Natural Childbirth:Natural Childbirth and the Christian Family (New York: HarperCollins, 1963), a Christian approach to the Lamaze technique of childbirth, became a bestseller. This book is now in its fifth edition. 26. A list of the evangelical sex manuals that I consulted that are housed in Special Collections at Michigan State University is appended to the end of this article. 27. LaHaye, The Act of Marriage, 111. Quoting from Herbert J. Miles, Sexual Happiness in Marriage: A Positive Approach to the Details You Should Know to Achieve a Healthy and Satisfying Sexual Partnership (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1967, 1982).

This content downloaded from 66.31.143.47 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 08:05:08 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 108 CHURCHHISTORY the authors contend are "natural" sexual behaviors. In all cases the authors insist that their approach to sex is the Christian way to have sex. In contrast to President Clinton, they are not reluctant to give a firm definition of what is and is not sex. Prior to the publishing of the first popular evangelical sex manual, Herbert J. Miles's Sexual Happinessin Marriage:A Positive Approachto the Details You Should Know to Achieve a Healthy and Satisfying Sexual Partnership (1967), most twentieth-century Protestant authors who wrote about sex discussed it in terms of morality and the spiritual aspects of human sexuality, leaving sexual "dysfunction" and sexual technique to trained medical experts. Between the 1920s and the 1960s evangelical marriage manuals that included information about sex tended to focus on the goodness of sex as part of God's creation and the perils of sexual activity outside of a Christian marriage. Miles's Sexual Happinessin Marriagewas exceptional for two reasons. First, he argued forcefully for an understanding of sexual union in which sex always creates a "one-flesh" relationship between the two people involved. This union between husband and wife forged through sexual activity, he explained, was the basis of a Christian marriage. Marriage without sexual union was both fragile and contrary to God's will. Miles's stress on the unitive function of sex as equal to the procreative function of sex for building a Christian marriage was well received by evangelicals who in growing numbers began accepting birth control as a proper form of family planning. This emphasis continues to characterize evangelical sex manuals to the present day. The second exceptional aspect of Miles's book is his focus on the importance of female orgasm during sexual intercourse. By drawing attention to female orgasm, Miles bridges the divisions between the pre- and post-World War II secular sex manuals. On the one hand, he insists that women should achieve orgasm (similar to early-twentieth- century secular sex manuals), but, on the other hand, he agrees with the male and female dispositional stereotypes that became popular in the later secular sex manuals. Women, he writes, must "think" their way to orgasm, and men can have their egos easily wounded if they feel sexually inadequate. The good news that Miles preaches is that sex is only Christian sex if both spouses are sexually satisfied. The majority of evangelical sex manuals like Miles's Sexual Happi- ness in Marriage aim to instruct married couples who are suffering from "sexual dissatisfaction."28 The amount of literature published about evangelicalism and sexuality, however, is tremendous. Some

28. Ibid.

This content downloaded from 66.31.143.47 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 08:05:08 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions EVANGELICALSEX MANUALS 109 books are geared toward providing Christian teenage sexual education and promoting abstinence. There are countless books and web- sites, but undoubtedly the most popular voice is Josh Harris, whose writing endorses premarital sexual abstinence and "biblical courtship." 9 A recent trend in evangelical abstinence manuals focuses on single adults who have never married, are widowed or divorced, or have become "born again virgins." Evangelical author Michelle McKinney Hammond sold more than 150,000 copies of Sassy, Single and Satisfiedin its first year of publication.30 Still other sex manuals provide practical sexual advice about the logistics of consummating a marriage with precise explanations of tried and true sexual techniques for engaged men and women to study prior to their wedding night. Tim LaHaye, the co-author of the bestselling postapocalyptic LeftBehind series, began his career writing sex manuals. In The Act of Marriage: The Beauty of Sexual Love, co- authored with his wife Beverly, the LaHayes urge prospective brides and grooms to read the chapters entitled "Sex Education" and "The Art of Lovemaking" alone as many times as necessary before the nuptials and together during the honeymoon. The two chapters provide clinical fine points of human physiology that seem at odds with passion, but all of the evangelical sex manual authors agree that correct knowledge of human anatomy is the starting place for good sex. The LaHayes remind their readers, "God has never put a pre- mium on ignorance, and that includes the matter of sex education."31 In fact, the LaHayes and others go to great lengths to erase any mystery and spontaneity in the first sexual encounter. In excruciating detail the LaHayes script the entire event. For example, during foreplay on the wedding night, "as the husband is tenderly caressing the clitoris or vaginal area with his hand, the couple will probably be lying on the bed with the wife on her back. If she will spread her legs, keeping her feet flat on the bed, and pull them up toward her body, it will be helpful for them both. The husband finds this voluntary act of cooperation very exciting and it makes her most sensitive areas accessible to his caressing fingers."32

29. Joshua Harris and Rebecca St. James, I Kissed Dating Goodbye:A New Attitude toward Relationships and Romance (Portland, Ore.: Multnomah, 1997); Joshua Harris, Boy Meets Girl: Say Hello to Courtship (Portland, Ore.: Multnomah, 2000); Joshua Harris, Not Even a Hint: Guarding Your Heart Against Lust (Portland, Ore.: Multnomah, 2003). 30. Ginia Bellafante,"Single Evangelical in Need of Advice? Books Have Plenty,"New York Times, Monday, 19 July 2004, 1. 31. LaHaye, The Act of Marriage, 71. The LaHayes make the point that the sexual education they advocate is not taught in the public schools but through books like theirs that stress the Christian approach to sexual education. 32. Ibid., 102.

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There is a reason for this step-by-step instruction. The LaHayes are not simply interested in teaching correct male and female physiological functions; they are deeply concerned with guiding the entire sexual encounter. The authors claim that their motivation for writing these sex manuals is for husbands and wives to avoid some of the sexual frustration suffered by uninformed Christians who have blindly approached the marital bed. But the writers provide more than the mechanics of orgasm; they tell readers how they should feel and what a "normal" response is to sexual stimulation. The most obvious examples of constructing "normal" sexual behavior and feel- ings surface in bold statements that are refuted in secular sex manuals. Regarding female orgasm, for example, the LaHayes write "a woman never ejaculates or expels fluid as does a man; instead he is the instigator and she is the receiver, not only of the male organ, but also of the sperm."33This statement is at odds with contemporary secular sex manuals that discuss female ejaculation and the famous "G-Spot." A few lines later the LaHayes add "a man's ejaculation is almost ensured without benefit of prior experience; a woman's is an art that must be learned by two loving, considerate, and cooperating partners."34 One wonders what an orgasmic bride and a flaccid groom would do with this manual to guide them? Statements that couple physiological differences with assumed typical sexual responses recur throughout these manuals and call to mind Thomas Laquer's won- derful phrase, "destiny is anatomy."35 The particulars of body positions and typical emotions give the reader the unsettling feeling that the LaHayes are not just orchestrating the first sexual experience but watching the entire event. Evangelical parents and well-wishers cannot intrude on the sanctity of a new marriage, but the authoritative voice of the evangelical sex manual can insinuate itself at this most private of times and into the most intimate areas, defining and describing what Christian sex is. Marabel Morgan's The Total Womanand the sequel TotalJoy represent yet another popular type of this literature: sex-specific sex information. Evangelical men and women can choose from countless books that are aimed at their sex-specific questions and needs. Titles such as Tender Warrior:God's Intention for a Man and Fascinating Womanhoodfill shelves in general as well as evangelical bookstores.36

33. Ibid., 91. 34. Ibid. 35. Thomas Laqueur, Making Sex: Body and Genderfrom the Greeks to Freud (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1990). 36. Stu Webber, Tender Warrior:God's Intentionfor a Man (Portland, Ore.: Multnomah, 1993); Helen B. Andelin, Fascinating Womanhood,rev. ed. (New York: Bantam, 1992).

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In this category, men write sex-specific books for both men and women, while female authors generally write only for female readers and tend to focus on defining how a "true" Christian woman behaves in a marriage rather than on the mechanics of sexual intercourse.37 Although Morgan's popularity has waned in recent years, and her advice has been ridiculed as manipulative and childish, Morgan's no-nonsense approach to sexually satisfying your spouse still is rep- licated in many of the more up-to-date manuals. Finally, the last group consists of antihomosexual literature that gives biblical evidence for labeling homosexuality a sexually deviant lifestyle choice and provides advice for reprogramming sexual desires and behaviors toward "healthy" heterosexual relations within marriage. One of the most popular texts in this growing market is Bob Davies and Lori Rentzel's Coming Out of Homo-Sexuality:New Freedom for Men and Women."38 The majority of manuals devoted specifically to Christian heterosexual intercourse within marriage are co-authored by husband and wife teams."39In keeping with the larger evangelical theme of male leadership and female submission in marriage, the authorial voice throughout the text is generally male although in some cases the female co-author pens her own section, such as in Ed and Gaye Wheat's Intendedfor Pleasure:Sex Techniqueand Sexual Fulfillment in ChristianMarriage's chapter, "The 'Perfect' Wife."40 Both partners are responsible for their spouse's sexual fulfillment, but men are addressed more frequently in these books and given more information about female anatomy and psychology. This is simply because the

37. Male authors who write to female audiences include: Gene A. Getz, The Measure of Womanhood,12th printing (Ventura, Calif.: Regal Books, 1983); T. D. Jakes, Woman, Thou Art Loosed, 29th printing (Shippensburg, Penn.: Treasure House, 1997); and Dobson, What Wives Wish. 38. Bob Davies and Lori Rentzel, Coming Out of Homo-Sexuality: New Freedomfor Men and Women, (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1993). Other antigay Christian texts that discuss the sexual side of deprogramming homosexuality include: Stanton L. Jones, The Gay Debate, (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1994); Tim LaHaye, The Unhappy Gays: What Everyone Should Know about Homosexuality (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House, 1978); John Ackerberg and John Welson, The Facts on Homosexuality: Scientific Research and Biblical Authority: Can Homosexuals Really Change? (Eugene, Ore.: Harvest House, 1994); and Anita Worthen and Bob Davies, Someone I Love is Gay: How Family and Friends Can Respond (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1996). 39. Some exceptions include Love Lifefor Every Married Couple: How to Fall in Love and Stay in Love, written by Ed Wheat and Gloria Okes Perkins who are not married; Sexuality by Letha Dawson Scanzoni, and Holy Sex: God's Purpose and Plan for Our Sexuality, co- authored by two men, Terry Wier and Mark Carruth. 40. Ed and Gaye Wheat, Intendedfor Pleasure: Sex Techniqueand Sexual Fulfillment in Christian Marriage, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Fleming H. Revell, 1997), 148-62.

This content downloaded from 66.31.143.47 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 08:05:08 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 112 CHURCHHISTORY authors contend that "normal" men are easily sexually aroused, so their wives need fewer instructions. Despite the variety of evangelical sex manuals and the growing numbers of authors, the content, layout, sources, and "facts"provided in them are surprisingly uniform. There are, however, squabbles among the more prominent writers on the topics of masturbation, oral sex, and "marital aids" (otherwise known as sex toys). Most writers, like the LaHayes, advocate "mutual masturbation," especially for newlyweds, to increase the possibility of orgasm, but caution that solo masturbation or reliance on "artificial"manipulators such as vibrators might lead to lack of interest in intercourse with your spouse, which is the ultimate, sacred goal. Clifford and Joyce Penner in TheGift of Sex approve of oral sex if both parties are willing. The LaHayes and Ed Wheat and Gloria Oakes Perkins, in LoveLife for EveryMarried Couple, cannot find scriptural evidence to forbid oral sex, but they worry that it might transmit disease and distance partners who are not face-to- face during intimacy. But for the most part the writers agree on the value and beauty of sexual intimacy between husbands and wives. Sex is neither forbidden nor shameful. When evangelicals turn their attention to God in the bedroom, the authors agree that the carnaljoys possible between husband and wife are endless. Similarly, the unitive function that can only occur through sexual pleasure between husband and wife brings a couple closer to God's plan for creation. The message of this multimillion dollar publishing industry is clear: evangelical Christians have the best sex. And the reason is simple. According to the authors, evangelicals understand that God created men and women to sexually enjoy each other's bodies within the sanctity of marriage, and the most effective way to do that is to clearly understand the "natural"differences between male and female sexual desires. Rather than labeling men selfish, sex-craved cads, James Dobson uses scientific language to explain that when "true" Chris- tians realize that sex differences are rooted in biology and manifested in social and emotional characteristics, they are better able to understand and please the "natural"desires of their spouses. "Thereis also considerable evidence," Dobson writes, "to indicate that the hypotha- lamic region, located just above the pituitary gland in the mid-brain, is 'wired' very uniquely for each of the sexes. Thus, the hypothalamus (known as the seat of emotions) provides women with a different psychological frame of reference than that of men."41 Ultimately, of course, God is behind the truths found through scientific inquiry:

41. Dobson, What Wives Wish, 114.

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"God designed man to be the aggressor, provider, and leader in his family. Somehow that is tied to his sex drive."42 For readers who have not figured out the basic differences between men and women, the authors go to great lengths to explain the "natural" characteristics that differentiate men and women. Men, for example, are described routinely as stimulated by sight ("visually lustful") unlike women who are viewed as more responsive to aural stimulus such as kind words.43 Although these characteristics might prove tedious to their spouse, the authors of evangelical sex manuals insist that they are both good, because they are given by God, and indisputable, because they have been proven by Scripture, observation, and in some cases formal and informal surveys. A wise spouse, the writers tell us, learns to work with these natural, God-given characteristics and understand that they are directly related to sexual desires. Once both spouses understand their partner's sexual needs and desires, then their role in the sexual union is clarified. The key to sexual happiness in an evangelical marriage, therefore, is to understand each other's "natural" sexual desires and to learn your role in helping your spouse attain sexual satisfaction. All marriages must be sexually satisfying to both partners, these writers explain, and sexual pleasure within marriage is an end in itself. The majority of secular sex manuals agree with this basic premise. In form and content evangelical sex manuals appropriate many of the models of secular sex manuals. In some instances, evangelical writers rely on the same scientific surveys or claim accreditation by participating in secular sex therapy workshops.44 What distinguishes the evangelical sex manuals from their secular counterparts is the insistence on what are natural sexual desires and how those desires are related to a larger theological framework that teaches individuals the meaning of masculinity and femininity. Put bluntly, God created men and women with natural sexual desires, and those desires are related to male and female characteristics and how men and women should behave toward each other in the household, church, and society. A few general remarks can be made about evangelical sex manuals that have been published or reissued in the last twenty years. Their main message is that frequent and mutually satisfying sexual encounters are crucial for a strong marriage. Sex is not only sanctioned by

42. Tim and Beverly LaHaye, The Act of Marriage, 34. 43. Ibid., 125. 44. For example, Clifford and Joyce Penner trained at the Masters and Johnson Institute. Clifford and Joyce Penner, The Gift of Sex: A Guide to Enjoying God's Gift of Sexual Intimacy (Dallas, Tex.: Dallas Word, 1981).

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God, but it is one of the wonders of creation. In most cases, the writers downplay reproduction and focus on mutual sexual pleasure as the fulfillment of God's plan for humanity. The authors employ Foucault's "speakers benefit" in the same manner as Alex Comfort decrying false "Victorian" attitudes toward sex. The difference in these manuals is the theological agenda of distancing evangelicals from "false" scriptural interpretation by the medieval Catholic Church that erroneously connected sexuality and sin or "old wives tales" that perpetuated misinformation by superstitious old women who hated men. Here the evangelical Protestant manuals can awaken readers' sexuality and help them see the true meaning of Scripture that leads to salvation. Erotic pleasure within marriage, according to the authors, includes a variety of practices and positions that allow men and women to express their "natural" sexual desires. But after reading a handful of evangelical sex manuals, one finds it obvious that there is nothing "natural" about sex. All aspects of sexual activity and practices must be taught, and evangelical pastors contend that among all the sex manuals available, they have the authoritative interpretation, the key to sexual ecstasy. They also argue that the best sex manual is the Bible. The Bible, if properly interpreted, shows that sex is not sinful but a godly act. The most commonly quoted Scriptures to support the claim of the sanctity of sex are: Genesis 1:25-31; Song of Solomon 2:3-17, 4:1-7: Hebrews 13:4;Proverbs 5:18-19; 1 Corinthians 7:2-9. For example, from the New Testament 1 Corinthians 7:2-5 reads, But since there is immorality,each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.The husband should fulfill his maritalduty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband.The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband.In the same way the husband'sbody does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not depriveeach otherexcept by mutualconsent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer.Then come togetheragain so thatSatan will not temptyou becauseof your lack of self-control. Sexual activity in marriage controls natural desire by channeling it to one person. True Christians, who interpret the Bible correctly, have frequent and mutually satisfying sex and realize that participating in proper sexual activity within marriage is following Scripture and, therefore, is a form of witnessing to faith. Four particular aspects mark evangelical sex manuals as promoting a specific theological construction of sexuality: what God tells us sex "is." A primary distinction from secular manuals is the sacrality of sex and the critical importance of the first sexual experience. Second,

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unlike secular sex manuals, evangelical sex manuals betray a larger theological anxiety about the role of images in instruction. Third, the biological body represents God's creative will for sexual difference. Fourth, mutual orgasm-preferably through intercourse-is always the goal of sexual activity. As the LaHayes point out, "many pleasurable side effects arise from love-making, but we should not lose sight of the fact that the ultimate objective is orgasm for both husband and wife."45 Bookstores maintain shelves of publications related to sexuality and evangelical marriages, but despite the multitude of authors and the variety of approaches, if you walked into a Christian book store in middle America and randomly chose a sex manual off the shelf, nine times out of ten it will have a section on the wedding night, it will contain few illustrations, much of the discussion about the different sexual needs of men and women is explained by the biological distinctions God created between males and females, and it will contain precise instructions about how to achieve orgasm.46

III. THE WEDDING NIGHT Herbert Miles's Sexual Happiness in Marriage is typical of many evangelical sex guides in his stress on the importance of the first coital experience between a husband and wife. To assure success, Miles provides a detailed map of the evening. Miles begins by urging the newly married couple to travel only forty or fifty miles after their wedding, then find a private motel, lock the door, draw the shades, and open their Bibles. After reading preselected Scripture, the couple should kneel by the bed and pray.47 Miles suggests that the newlyweds undress each other slowly and examine each other's naked bodies, which he believes is normal practice for the first wedding night and in complete harmony with Genesis 2:25: "and they were both naked and the man and the woman were not ashamed."48 Of course, Miles notes, the young wife has spent many years practicing modesty, so this might be difficult for her, and if she is too shy, it is acceptable to leave the undressing until the third or fourth night. In most cases, Miles explains, the husband will not share his wife's

45. LaHaye, The Act of Marriage, 94. 46. I thank Allison Andre for doing this. She drove around mid Michigan (Lansing, East Lansing, Ann Arbor, Detroit) and visited dozens of Christian bookstores. She followed my instructions to refrain from any kind of organized approach. Ms. Andre visited bookstores when she found them, she spoke casually with clerks and sometimes patrons, and she browsed shelves. We talked throughout the summer of 2002 about her impressions, and through these conversations she helped me to develop some of my ideas about the availability and popularity of these texts. 47. Miles, Sexual Happiness, 89-91. 48. Ibid., 92.

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modesty and undress without difficulty. "Normal" men are eager to be naked in front of their new wives. Miles presents a step-by-step description of the physical mechanics of a couple's first sexual experience with commentary on how normal men and women will probably feel and behave. Although he admits that there are many things that could go wrong during the first encounter, "it is well for us to think through, in detail, the procedure of first intercourse.""49After procuring contraceptives, Miles recom- mends that the couple engage in a "love-play" period extending as long as it takes to sexually stimulate the wife (typically 15-20 minutes). Miles describes a few body positions that are aimed at sexually pleasing the virginal woman. Although the wife's arousal might decrease as the husband initiates intercourse, with "ample lubrica- tion" and by the husband using "an iron will to keep his self control," and not prematurely ejaculate, the couple may consummate their marriage.50Miles understands that this process may be physically and emotionally difficult for young women. Therefore, he urges women to "concentrate on the clitoris, the vagina, and the rhythm of the penis moving back and forth" and on ideas such as "I've looked forward to this for a time" and "God has this to be long wonderfully planned part of my life."5 At this critical moment she should not worry about her husband's sexual satisfaction because, as Miles explains, "[h]e will take care of himself."52 Numerous Christian manuals copy this first encounter formula; some also suggest that the woman have a full physical exam prior to her wedding night and have her hymen cut in the doctor's office if the doctor determines that it might be a painful first sexual encounter. "All brides should visit their doctor several weeks before the wedding, discussing with him the advisability of breaking the hymen in the privacy of his office."53In essence the young woman is encouraged to lose the sign of her virginity on the doctor's table. Miles and others assume that the first encounter will be uncomfortable for the young woman and propose this clinical alternative. The authors agree that if the first intercourse is painful, women might resist future sexual overtures. Cutting the hymen ahead of time might prevent future sexual dissatisfaction that would lead to an unhappy marriage. The remainder of Miles's wedding night discussion is devoted primarily to "sexual interstimulation," a practice suggested if the

49. Ibid., 94. 50. Ibid., 95, 96. 51. Ibid., 96. 52. Ibid. 53. LaHaye, The Act of Marriage, 96. Emphasis added.

This content downloaded from 66.31.143.47 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 08:05:08 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions EVANGELICALSEX MANUALS 117 couple is not ready for intercourse on the first night. Miles recom- mends that the wife manually stimulate the husband first and provides a brief paragraph noting only that the wife should use her hands and fingers. There are no descriptions of how one manages this presumably because Miles contends that "[u]sually, there will be little or no problem involved in the wife stimulating her husband to an orgasm." Normal men, according to Miles, are easily stimulated, and women to be learners. After him, appear quick gently stimulating "[s]he will simply observe what happens." 4 Men, however, need detailed instructions on how to sexually arouse women, from hand and body positioning, to timing and descriptions of the multiple emotive and physiological responses that might indicate sexual pleasure. Women are by nature more complicated, and men need more directions. This fundamental distinction between the uncomplicated male sexual response and the complicated female sexual response is repeated in the majority of evangelical sex manuals. A cursory glance at the amount of space devoted to Kegel exercises to strengthen vaginal walls compared to male sexual concerns such as impotency and premature ejaculation amply demonstrate the authors' belief that women's minds and bodies are the loci for the majority of sexual problems. If the couple follows his advice and the honeymoon goes well, Miles and others promise, it will set the standard for a lifetime of glorious sexual intercourse. The fine-tuning of the first sexual encounter stands in stark relief to the growing assumption in secular sex manuals that newlyweds have had some sexual experiences prior to the wedding night.55 But the evangelical writers' attempts to guide the first sexual encounter are not as out of step with the early-twentieth-century manuals when both spouses were presumed virgins at marriage. Edward Podolsky's Sex Techniquefor Husband and Wife focused on the wedding night, arguing that one of the most common causes of lifelong frigidity in women is pain endured during the first intercourse. Young husbands, Podolsky warned, must proceed with care because "every normal woman wants to be possessed. She expects her husband to take her."56 A brutish first encounter or a hesitant, nonperforming husband could ruin the sexual relationship from the start. This sexual truism, lost in later secular sex manuals, is revived in the evangelical literature.

54. Miles, Sexual Happiness, 100. 55. Alan Rusbridger, A Concise History of the Sex Manual, 1886-1986 (London: Faber and Faber, 1986), 21. 56. Podolsky, Sex Techniquefor Husband and Wife, 60.

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IV. SOLA SCRIPTURA AND THE FEAR OF IMAGES One of the most striking differences between evangelical sex manuals and secular sex manuals is the lack of illustrations. Evangelical sex manuals in most cases only use a few anatomical illustrations and rely solely on textual descriptions of sexual positions. Rarely does one find drawn representations of men and women engaging in sexual intercourse.57Instead, the texts use detailed depictions of disembodied genitalia to instruct the readers in male and female anatomy. Herbert Miles's Sexual Happinessin Marriageprovides three anatomical illustrations. Two are of the internal reproductive organs of a male and a female, and one depicts female external genitalia58 (see Figures 1 and 2). Male external genitalia are not represented. The three illustrations represent disembodied genitalia that are highly clinical. Ed and Wheat's Intended[or Pleasure:Sex and Sexual Gaye 9 Technique Fulfillment in Christian Marriage adapts eleven illustrations from FemalePelvic and ObstetricalAnatomy and Male Genitalia;seven depict different views of female and male reproductive organs, one shows a pap smear, and one reveals the logistics of a vasectomy. The remaining four illustrations concern answers to problems in sexual activity. One picture shows a finger stretching a tight hymen; another illustrates a weakened pubococcygeus muscle (presumably from childbirth). The only image that represents people engaged in sexual activity is a modest drawing of a couple positioned to control premature ejaculation. This is accompanied by two illustrations of a female hand (nails manicured) holding a crudely drawn penis in a manner suited to control ejaculation (see Figure 3). These three drawings are noteworthy because the male and female bodies are drawn without sexual characteristics. In the drawing of the reclining couple, the reader can differentiate the naked female from the male by her long hair and curved shoulders. The male is represented as flat chested, with short hair and a pointed chin. Neither figure has sexual organs or facial features. The only distinguishing detail in the two other illustrations is a female hand (identifiable because of manicured long nails) holding a penis. The organ is crudely outlined, providing a hint of the reality of a female hand embracing a real penis but distinguishing it enough to show that it is not a male hand holding the penis.60

57. Of the over thirty evangelical sex manuals I looked at, I found only one exception. Douglas E. Rosenau, A Celebrationof Sex, provided eight explicit depictions of couples to illustrate the textual explanation of different sexual positions. 58. Miles, Sexual Happiness in Marriage, 57, 59, 60. 59. Ed and Gaye Wheat, Intendedfor Pleasure:Sex Techniqueand Sexual Fulfillment in Christian Marriage (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Fleming H. Revell, 3rd ed., Rev. ed., 1997). 60. Ibid., 98.

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FIG. 1. Taken from Sexual Happiness in Marriage, Revised Edition by Herbert J. Miles. Copyright 1967 by Zondervan Publishing House (A292212) 1976 revised edition Zondervan Corporation (TX 938 891). Used by the permission of The Zondervan Corporation.

This triptych, how it is drawn, and the details included and ex- cluded, illustrates the three most problematic features of images for the manuals' authors: viewing pornography, homosexuality, and masturbation. Each of these activities is discouraged, but, also, in a sense viewing pornography and masturbation are allowed and directed through these illustrations. The line between instructional use and visual pleasure is not entirely clear in these pictures. It is worth noting that the only sexual position illustrated is meant to stall premature ejaculation, demonstrating that male sexual pleasure is important enough to merit an illustration that might be construed as

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FIG. 2. Taken from Sexual Happiness in Marriage, Revised Edition by Herbert J. Miles. Copyright 1967 by Zondervan Publishing House (A292212) 1976 revised edition Zondervan Corporation (TX 938 891). Used by the permission of The Zondervan Corporation. pornographic by some of the readers. To avoid appearing pornographic, the male and female characters are drawn without sexual organs or bodily features that might arouse even more visual pleasure. The two diagrams of the hand holding the penis to control another male sexual problem is drawn to indicate clearly a female hand, therefore not suggesting a homosexual or a masturbatory act. The text describing the illustrations and the distinguishing marks indicating the representation of heterosexual sex can direct the reader toward the sexual acts but cannot preventthe reader from responding to the pictures and even learning techniques from the diagrams to perform sexual acts that these writers consider selfish at best and deviant at worst. The majority of evangelical sex manuals provide few images, so those chosen clearly merit inclusion because they represent issues worthy of illustration. In this case male sexual pleasure is illustrated in such a way that a reader is given enough visual aid that he might decide to take the problem into his own hands. Tim and Beverly LaHaye's TheAct of Marriageincludes ten illustrations in their text, all of them clinical, detached from the human body,

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Figure10 Positioningfor premature ejaculation trainingsessionusing squeeze control

FIG. 3. Taken from Intendedfor Pleasure: Sex Technique and Sexual Fulfillment in Christian Marriage. Revised Edition by Ed and Gaye Wheat. Copyright 1999 by Fleming H. Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. looking as though they could also appear in a medical textbook. Two of the drawings depict the male and female reproductive organs in the chapter "Sex Education." The remaining eight, found in the chapter entitled "The Key to Feminine Response," show differing levels of

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FIG.4. Taken from Act of Marriage, The - HC (original edition) by Tim F. LaHaye; Beverly LaHaye. Copyright 1976 by The Zondervan Corporation. Used by permission of The Zondervan Corporation. vaginal muscle tone. Figure 4 (figure 8 in the LaHayes's book) shows an artist's conception of good vaginal muscle development in the drawing on the left and poor vaginal muscle development in the sketch on the right. Two of the LaHayes's illustrations depict a doctor's finger probing the pubococcygeus muscle and highlighting the theme of the female body as the sexually problematic site (see Figure 5). It is remarkable that there are so few visual representations in a text devoted to increasing sexual pleasure through perfecting technical skills. One clue to the reason behind this might be the emphasis the LaHayes place on the male's propensity for "visual lusting." Detailed descriptions of sexual techniques provide instructions, but pictures might allow for sinful fantasies, or the replacement of the sexual act with sexual thoughts (and perhaps acts) ignited by viewing the illustrations. This, however, does not explain why there are so many illustrations of vaginal muscles, including two depictions of a finger inserted into a vagina. The companion chapter, "The Impotent Man," contains no illustrations of various stages of a flaccid penis, nor does it include a depiction of penetration of the male body, by a proctol- ogist's or some other doctor's finger. Although the LaHayes takes great pains to expunge all but the most necessary illustrations, ex-

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FIG.5. Taken from Act of Marriage, The - HC (original edition) by Tim F. LaHaye; Beverly LaHaye. Copyright 1976 by The Zondervan Corporation. Used by permission of The Zondervan Corporation. cluding any depictions of sexual positions or couples engaged in sexual intercourse, nine out of ten of his illustrations are of vaginas, placing the female genitalia on display, the central feature of sexuality to ponder from all angles and to see penetrated, not by a loving husband's penis, but by a medical professional's finger.61 Female authors rarely include illustrations in their publications. Marabel Morgan sprinkles cartoons throughout her books, but like other female writers she does not represent reproductive organs or depictions of sexual positions. The illustrations in the male-authored manuals are provided as clinical or authoritative images from medical or sexual authorities. The female writers adopt no such official tone in their works, nor do they seek to provide medical advice. Depictions of sexual organs or sexual positions, therefore, do not fall under their purview. It is noteworthy that the sex manual that has the most explicit illustrations advocates the pleasures of massage, masturbation, oral stimulation, and forms of sexuality that are dismissed in other man-

61. The illustrations are also literally centrally situated at the midpoint of the book.

This content downloaded from 66.31.143.47 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 08:05:08 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 124 CHURCHHISTORY uals. Dr. Douglas E. Rosenau explains in his 1993 A Celebrationof Sex that seeking varied forms of sexual pleasure is not contrary to Chris- tian values: "The sin is not experiencing pleasure but in calling pleasure sinful and not allowing us to enjoy God's many gifts, including genital sensuality."62 Rosenau argues that although the Bible is silent on masturbation, Christian tradition has denounced it by mis- interpreting Scripture such as Onan's refusal through withdrawal during intercourse to impregnate his sister-in-law (Genesis 38:9) as an indictment against masturbation. Masturbation in the past, Rosenau contends, was also discouraged because it was viewed by church authorities as a form of birth control within marriage, or as a form of uncontrolled lust. Here again we see the radical break from false notions of the distant past-not just any past but a Catholic past- giving Rosenau the "speakers benefit" of truth and authoritative transgression. Evangelical sex manual authors are always operating on the two levels of theological and sexual salvation. Masturba- tion-or he prefers to call it "genital pleasuring"-is an acceptable form of sexual activity as long as the couple follows "God's Guide- lines." Those guidelines include refraining from such activity if it excludes your partner, routinizes sex, sets an erotic standard that the mate cannot duplicate, promotes fantasies, or turns into an addiction. Rosenau, like other evangelical sex manual authors, pays particular attention to the female orgasm. Unlike his peers he devotes an entire chapter to overcoming the problem of women not achieving orgasm. Readers are given a three-part workshop broken down into thirty- minute sessions to examine and address this issue. After the thinking and writing sessions offered under "Exploring your Attitudes," Rosenau takes women through many sessions of "Exploring your Body" to teach women how to pleasure themselves. Besides the simple mechanics of self-pleasuring, Rosenau suggests helpful fantasies: "Now proceed to more explicit sexual fantasy and pleasure your clitoris as you use your imagination and enjoy making love with your husband. 63 The final part of the workshop, "Becoming Orgasmic with Your Mate," allows women to integrate their new attitudes and heightened body knowledge into sexual relations with their husbands. Clearly Rosenau is walking a thin line between teaching women to masturbate (and providing helpful fantasies!) and solving the problem of sexual frustration experienced by some spouses during heterosexual intercourse. That is why Rosenau must not only allow

62. Dr. Douglas Rosenau, A Celebration of Sex: A Guide to Enjoying God's Gift of Sexual Intimacy (Nashville, Tenn: Thomas Nelson, 1994), 150. 63. Ibid., 248.

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fantasies, but also suggest the correct type of fantasies. Through his reading of the Bible, Rosenau finds that most forms of sexual pleasure are scripturally sound. Like masturbation, Rosenau reminds his readers that Scripture is silent regarding oral sex, so it is the couple's responsibility "to sort and pray through certain behaviors as you choose what to include in your repertoire of lovemaking."64 Anal sex and the use of sex toys are more complicated because of risk of infection and setting a standard difficult for humans to emulate, but they are not outside the realm of possible under certain godly circumstances.

V. SEXUAL BODIES AND SALVATION At the beginning of Tim and Beverly LaHaye's evangelical sex manual, The Act of Marriage:The Beauty of Sexual Love, the authors relate the following story about a young married woman who sought Tim LaHaye's pastoral advice: "One loving wife asked what she could do for her husband whose business had just collapsed. Since she had already prayed with him and they had committed their economic future to God, I suggested that she make aggressive love to him, that she dress provocatively and use her feminine charm to seduce him." Men's fragile egos, weakened by financial and emotional setbacks, LaHaye explains, can quickly be strengthened by vigorous sex with their wives. Although the young wife worried that her husband would become suspicious of the seduction tactics because "he was always the aggressor in that department," LaHaye urged her to try clarifying for the readers that he knew that "her dynamic, choleric husband" was "not complicated enough to get suspicious." Like a charm, her sexual wiles worked. Enraptured in sensual ecstasy, her husband perceived no ulterior motive and within five minutes after their steamy encounter, he shared a new business idea with his wife. Today, LaHaye notes, the husband enjoys a successful career.65 The expectations of "typical" male sexual responses in this anecdote reflect larger understandings of natural male behavior. Manhood in these manuals rests largely on the primary male characteristic of aggression connected to his social and religious role as provider and family leader. Because men are naturally aggressive, they also have a strong sex drive. This, according to the discourse of the evangelical sex manuals, is "normal" male behavior and indicates a man who likely is able to perform all of his manly duties and provide for his

64. Ibid., 157. 65. Tim and Beverly LaHaye, The Act of Marriage: the Beauty of Sexual Love, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1998), 37.

This content downloaded from 66.31.143.47 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 08:05:08 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 126 CHURCHHISTORY wife and family. A strong sex drive is not only normal for a man but is tied to his ego, his sense of self. Therefore a man's "natural"drive to satisfy his sexual needs must be constantly met and greeted with approval in order for him to have a healthy ego and perform his obligations to his family. A married man whose sexual needs are not met will have low self-esteem and will be lazy. As LaHaye's advice to the woman whose husband's business collapsed proves, "[a] sexually satisfied husband is a motivated man."66 There are other features of male identity that bear repeating. Men in the majority of the evangelical sex manuals are characterized as uncomplicated, unemotional, noncommunicative, and visually aroused. The authors have compiled this list of "normal" characteristics based on biblical passages, observations made during counseling sessions, and surveys. The primary natural characteristicsof maleness as aggressor, provider, and leader are teamed with the secondary features of "normal" men's characters being uncomplicated, unemotional, noncommunicative, and visually aroused. The natural characteristics of maleness are viewed as positive attributes and directly tied to men's sexual needs and desires while the secondary features are seen as impediments either to be worked around or used judiciously in a wife's efforts to sexually please her husband. LaHaye's sugges- tion that the wife switch roles and be the sexual aggressor was given with confidence because he knew that the husband was "too uncomplicated" to realize that the wife had orchestrated a role swap for sexual play. In this scenario, LaHaye teaches his female inquirer to fulfill her husband's "natural" sexual needs by acting out a domi- nance scenario to aid him in his primary role as provider and leader of the family. To accomplish this, LaHaye and the wife are aided by the "natural" secondary features of his manhood that he is uncomplicated and would lack suspicion. Sex for men in these manuals is a natural force that is just barely kept under control. In How to Be Happy ThoughMarried, LaHaye states, "the sex drive in a man is almost volcanic in its latent ability to erupt at the slightest provocation."67This can lead to premature ejaculation, a situation that a strong man with a focused mind should work to avoid. Ed and Gaye Wheat devote a subsection of a chapter to overcoming this problem: "Some men mistakenly feel that a quick release is a sign of masculinity. Thus they never realize the need to learn to control the timing of their ejaculation so that they can enjoy the oneness that comes with consistently bringing the wife to orgasm

66. Ibid., 44. 67. Tim LaHaye, How to Be Happy Though Married (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House, 1968), 63.

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during intercourse.""68This statement seems a bit implausible partic- ularly given the stress in other sections put on the importance of a man's ability to be strong and control his body. Which readers would think a "quick release is a sign of masculinity"? In chapter 8, "The Impotent Man," the Wheats explain that the inability to sustain an erection can be attributed to a man's fear of failure. The problem is easily remedied by trusting Christ: "God has given us resources far greater than the spirit of fear, and resting on that knowledge will provide the Christian husband with stability and relaxation that can go far in solving almost every impotency problem."69 John Piper in What'sthe Difference?Manhood and WomanhoodDefined According to the Bibleexplains, "mature masculinity expresses its leadership in romantic sexual relations by communicating an aura of strong and tender pursuit."'7 Unlike women, mature, healthy men according to Piper are driven to seek sexual relations. Dr. James Dobson concludes that "men are not very discriminating in regard to the person living within an exciting body... . He is attracted by her body itself."''71While sex for women is emotional, for "normal" men it is simply physical. Only Douglas Rosenau concedes that not all healthy men fall into one category. In A Celebrationof Sex, he modifies the repeated generaliza- tions about male sexuality: "Overall, men seem to be more focused on genitals and explicit sensual activity, and women tend to be more holistic with an enjoyment of sensuality and personality behind the body. But men and women should not be stereotyped. Some men appreciate gentle, romantic ambience more than their wives do. Some women may be very visually stimulated by genitals and enjoy imme- diate, direct sexual stimulation."72 This is a case of an exception proving the rule. Sex for men in the majority of evangelical manuals is a driving force that leads healthy men to desire intercourse with any woman who visually stimulates them. It is only through maturity, fortitude, and prayer that they can control their unyielding desires. Marriage allows men to channel their natural sexual energy to one appropriate woman. Perhaps the most effective missionary who preached the joy of sex within evangelical marriage was not Herbert Miles, Tim LaHaye, or Ed Wheat, but Marabel Morgan, the author of The Total Woman(1973)

68. Ed and Gaye Wheat, Intendedfor Pleasure: Sex Techniqueand Sexual Fulfillment in Christian Marriage, 3rd ed., 93. 69. Ibid., 135. 70. John Piper, What's the Difference?Manhood and WomanhoodDefined According to the Bible. (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossways Books, 1990), 26. 71. Dobson, What Wives Wish, 115. 72. Rosenau, A Celebrationof Sex, 88.

This content downloaded from 66.31.143.47 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 08:05:08 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 128 CHURCHHISTORY and the brains behind the Total Woman Workshops that taught evangelical women how to please their husbands in all aspects of daily life but most especially in the bedroom. Morgan's book is a product of its time, responding to the sexual revolution and the feminist movement by claiming female sexual power while maintain- ing female sex-defined roles in the household. Briefly stated, Morgan urges married women to reprogram their minds to eliminate negative views of sexuality and to learn to be the object of their husband's greatest sexual fantasies. Morgan suggests, for example, that wives dress up in costumes and play roles: "You can be lots of different women to him. Costumes provide a variety without him ever leaving home.... You may be a smoldering sexpot or an all American fresh beauty. Be a pixie or a pirate--a cowgirl or a show girl."73She also encourages women to set sexual scenes in different rooms in the house, to use props such as a trampoline, to be the instigator in sex, and above all to learn to respond positively to sex. Men, she explains, are less complicated than women, and while women want to be loved, men simply want to be admired. It is relatively simple according to Morgan's formula to keep your husband happy. The easiest and most effective way to admire a husband is to openly praise his virility and sexual performance. For women to feel loved, they must make themselves beautiful to their husbands by fully submitting to him: "It is only when a woman surrenders her life to her husband, reveres and worships him, and is willing to serve him, that she becomes really beautiful to him."74 Morgan's primary interest is building strong marriages by exploiting the husband's "natural" sexual longings and reaping the wife's material desires. It is easy to criticize Morgan's balance between wifely submission and nasty girl sex queen as the Christian homemaker's recipe for a successful marriage. And many people objected loudly. After the 1976 publication of TotalJoy, Martin Marty quipped in "Fundies and their Fetishes" that since the typical reader "expects an imminent and literal Second Coming, ... I want to be around to see the enraptured raptured from their trampolines, he as a dime-a-dance ticket taker and she in raincoat and gorilla mask."75 Some evangelicals rejected her approach as manipulative and demeaning to both men and women, while feminists and journalists watching the Total Woman phenom- ena wondered whether she was merely submissive or ultimately

73. Morgan, The Total Woman, 117. 74. Ibid., 97. 75. Martin E. Marty, "Fundies and the Fetishes," The Christian Century (December 8, 1976): 1111.

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subversive in her zeal to perfect her life and get what she believed she deserved.76 The Total Womancame out of Morgan's evangelistic effort to train a network of female leaders to run Total Woman workshops across the country. The classes offered in church basements at a modest price (four eight-hour classes for $75) taught women to reject the notion that sex is sinful. For as Morgan claimed in her infamous statement, "sex is as clean and pure as eating cottage cheese." The lectures and activities in the workshops encouraged women to think about the naturalness of sex as well as the physical and spiritual benefits of mutual orgasm. While all sexual pleasure between husband and wife is good, the goal for a Christian marriage in Morgan's workshops and books is orgasm. According to Peter Gardella, the focus on female orgasm highlighted by Masters and Johnson's number crunching of the female capacity of fifty orgasms per hour and The Hite Report (1976) claims that only 30 percent of women orgasmed during sex set the cultural stage for Morgan and other evangelicals to put the female orgasm at the center of defining true physical and spiritual sex.77 Morgan provides assignments for her readers to help them along the way. Assignment "Sex 201" reads: "Be prepared mentally and physically for intercourse every night of the week. Be sure your attitude matches your costume."78 The way to keep a husband, Mor- gan explains, is to be his sexual fantasy; in Morgan's pragmatic view, a sexually unfulfilled husband is in "a dangerous state. A married man shouldn't be wandering around with an unfulfilled libido."79 Wives who faithfully follow Morgan's plan will find that their sexuality empowers them in ways that far exceed the sexual empowerment of the sexual revolution and the political empowerment of the feminist movement. Evangelical female sexual empowerment can be gauged materially. Morgan related that after she had sex with her husband on the dining room table, he agreed to buy her new curtains. A testimonial from a former workshop student explains that before she took the Total Woman workshops, her husband ignored her. A week after following Morgan's plan, he gave her "two rosebushes and a can opener!"8o

76. Joyce Maynard, "The Liberation of Total Woman," New York Times Magazine, 28 Sep- tember 1975, 47; Claire Safran, "Can the Total Woman 'Magic' Work for You?" Redbook, February 1976, 90. 77. Peter Gardella, "Sex and Submission in the Spirit," 174-75. 78. Morgan, The Total Woman, 163. 79. Ibid., 127. 80. Ibid., 20.

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Morgan told her women readers to initiate sex, but that did not mean that she advocated female authority in marriage. Morgan rejected equality in marriage as contrary to biblical mandate and explained that submission to male authority is implicated in the sexual health of the entire family. In one anecdote, Morgan warns that a mother who paid undue attention to her son caused him to become unnaturally attached to her, and perhaps led him to choose homosexuality. Sex, in The Total Woman,is heterosexual intercourse that leads to male orgasm. Sex is essential for channeling a healthy man's "normal" passions, and frequent sex will guarantee a successful marriage. Women can train themselves to enjoy the carnal pleasures of sex, but, more importantly, they will delight in the material rewards of a sexually sated husband.

VI. APOCALYPTIC SEX AND STDs One of the more unusual and recent evangelical sex manuals that builds on earlier work but takes sexuality in an apocalyptic direction is Terry Wier and Mark Carruth's Holy Sex: God'sPurpose and Planfor Our Sexuality. The book is based on a principle called "God's Law of Sexual Union" that the authors claim is biblically based truth about sexuality in contrast to sexual indulgences that are driven by demonic forces eager to build a "Kingdom of Sexual Perversion."81'God's Law of Sexual Union echoes the theme of "one flesh" found in earlier evangelical sex manuals. In Holy Sex, the authors drive home the point that sex, not marriage, is the unitive force. Once you have sex, you are bound forever to that person, even if you marry another. Sex, is not just a physical act, it is spiritual and emotional. Unlike other evangelical sex manuals, Wier and Carruth are not interested in techniques or poses; they are concerned with the spiritual side of sexuality and the dangers that accompany illicit sex. Sensual fondling and sexual arousal will satisfy only carnal desires. Their book provides more: Many marriagemanuals would recommendat this point that the wife buy a negligee and the couple learn some new lovemaking techniques.But this is only an effort to keep lust alive for a little while longer. Fulfillinglustful desires is never enough to bringtrue satisfaction.What the couple needs is to learn how to touch each other's spirits during sexual union. Even if they eventuallybecome skilled enough to give each other the ultimatein physical stimulation, they still have not gone "allthe way"-to a joiningnot only of bodies and souls, but also of spirits.82

81. Terry Wier and Mark Carruth, Holy Sex: God's Purpose and Plan for Our Sexuality, 13. 82. Ibid., 77-78.

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Going "all the way" has serious spiritual consequences. If the binding is the result of sinful union, the partners will end up as fragmented spiritual beings and expose themselves to demonic infestation. This, according to the authors, is the true meaning of STDs (sexually transmitted diseases): sexually transmitted demons: "It seems that sexual sin-more than any other type of sin except occult practices-opens a spiritual doorway, or breaches some type of God- ordained protective barrier, which allows demonic access to the bodies, souls, and even spirits of persons involved.""83Wier and Carruth write that the only way to exorcize the demons is to be born again in Christ. But their notion of "born again" differs from typical evangelical literature. "Born Again," the authors claim, "is a sexual term."84 To receive God's cleansing spirit, the petitioner must become like a female and open themselves up to God's healing sperm. "God's Word is like His spiritual sperm. Knowing what we do about genetics, we could even say that, like the genes carried in the head of a sperm, God's Word carries God's characteristics. So, for you to be 'born again,' God's Word, His sperm, must be implanted in your heart by the Holy Spirit. If your heart chooses to receive His Word, a new spirit will be birthed within you."85 Holy Sex is not a typical evangelical sex manual. The emphasis on demonic possession and the lack of concern for the mechanics of sex puts this book on the periphery of the growing market. But by focusing on the unitive function of sexual intercourse and God's role in sexual purification, the authors lead us to a final distinction between evangelical sex manuals and secular sex manuals. The last chapter in the majority of evangelical sex manuals is appropriately an altar call. This is a brief restatement of the biblically based reasons why sex was created by God and approved by God within the boundaries of heterosexual marriage. Many of the authors such as the LaHayes and the Wheats say that a full glory of evangelical faith is found in the marital bed and that a proper way to express and witness

83. Ibid., 83. The authors provide a table labeled "Some Typical Symptoms of 'Infections' with a Sexually Transmitted Demon" to chart out the spiritual, mental, emotional, and body symptoms that accompany STDs. The symptoms consist of-but are not limited to-hearing or sensing demonic spirits, an uncontrollable compulsion to repeat sexual sin, unusual, unpleasant, or disturbing sensations in your body. The authors note "Some of these symptoms can have causes other than demonic ones. Having just one of these symptoms does not mean you have a demonic infestation. But having one or more in each category is a strong indication that you might. I (Terry Wier) recommend seeking help from a reputable Christian counselor who has broad experience in dealing with mental, emotional, and spiritual problems, and expertise in deliverance." 84. Ibid., 110. 85. Ibid., 111.

This content downloaded from 66.31.143.47 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 08:05:08 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 132 CHURCHHISTORY to evangelical beliefs is through a mutually satisfying sexual relationship with one's spouse. Like all altar calls, this last chapter invites you to join the community of believers, but in this particular context sexual ecstasy is the road to salvation. In Holy Sex, one must be reborn into a state of sexual purity to receive God's saving grace. The majority of evangelical sex manual readers will never consult Holy Sex for answers to physical and spiritual questions. They might, however, take solace in a Sex Survey that the LaHayes gave to participants of their Family Life Seminars. Twenty-three hundred couples completed and returned a survey that led the authors to conclude: "married Christians enjoy a sex life that is as good as or, in many cases, better than that of the average couple."86 The LaHayes contend that the reason for this is a Christian's relationship with God produces a greater capacity to express and receive love. In fact, "the more love an individual has from God to give his partner, the more fulfillment he will give and receive in marriage."87On the other hand, "the majority of divorces (presumably from sexual dissatisfaction) occurred among those who attended secular colleges or universi- ties."88The more godly a person is, the better performer he or she will be in the bedroom. Sexual satisfaction in marriage is a sign that the participants are in close relationships with God and are following God's desire for Creation as described in Scripture. Sex is a salvific act. It is both a sign and an outcome of being a "true" Christian. The ultimate human joy of "true" sexual ecstasy in marriage will only occur among the saved.

VII. WHAT WOULDJESUS Do? What would Jesus do? This is a dilemma. In almost all aspects of evangelicals' lives-even the most mundane decisions-the faithful look to Jesus as a model of piety. In the context of this most holy and important act, Jesus did not set the example. In fact, Jesus is often characterized in terms that are deeply at odds with the construction of masculinity presented in the sex manuals. He is not characterized as visually aroused, sexually explosive, or needing to orgasm in order to succeed in the material world. As an incarnate man he is simultaneously male but not typically "manly." Evangelicals at moments throughout history have emphasized Jesus' manly features, but the

86. La Haye, The Act of Marriage, 275. 87. Ibid., 287. 88. Ibid., 288.

This content downloaded from 66.31.143.47 on Wed, 18 Feb 2015 08:05:08 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions EVANGELICALSEX MANUALS 133 tough and angry Jesus was not a sexual Christ.89This is a tension that is not resolved by quoting the Song of Solomon and Genesis. Evan- gelicals of course understand that Jesus played a special role in God's plan for salvation and, therefore, his experience on earth as a man was unique. That theological understanding, however, does not solve practical problems. Those who strive to imitate Christ's actions in everyday life by contemplating "what would Jesus do?" could find themselves wondering if celibacy rather than sexuality is indeed the path to holiness. One question remains: If evangelicals really are having the best sex, why do they continue to buy sex manuals?90Looking at the growth in the evangelical sex manual market, we can safely assume that for many book buyers sex is not natural and instruction manuals are helpful. The mechanics of sexual intercourse, described in graphic detail, are crucial for sexual happiness, but understanding the primary characteristics of "normal" men and women is equally important for success in the bedroom. Readers of evangelical sex manuals learn techniques for delaying and accelerating orgasms as well as the parameters of what constitutes a normal, healthy man or woman. It would also be easy to argue that sex manuals are just one more cog in the evangelical wheel to imitate and appropriate secular culture for its own ends. But there is more to it than that. The sex manuals define the limits of "natural" sexual behavior and scripturally sound desires. More importantly the manuals represent a crucial part of evangelical faith and practice. One can (and should) express one's faith not only through spoken testimony but also through the bodily act of sexual intercourse within marriage.

89. For further reading on the image of Jesus as a "manly" man and the Muscular Christianity movement in general, see Donald Hall, Muscular Christianity: Embodying the VictorianAge (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994); Clifford Putney, Muscular Christianity: Manhood and Sports in Protestant America, 1880-1920 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2001); Norman Vance, The Sinews of the Spirit: The Ideal of Christian Manliness in Victorian Literatureand Religious Thought (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985); David Morgan, "The Masculinity of Jesus in Popular Religious Art," in Men's Bodies, Men's Gods: Male Identities in a [Post]Christian Culture, ed. Bj6rn Krondorfer (New York: New York University Press, 1996), 251-66. 90. Historian Randall Balmer has argued that a big concern among evangelical parents is that their children will not grow up in the faith. Although evangelicals vehemently defend the sanctity and privacy of marriage, I wonder if many of these books are bought as wedding gifts by well-meaning parents and relatives who cannot trespass on the privacy of their children's marriages but are still eager to have a role in instructing them in the most intimate aspects of their spiritual lives.

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APPENDIX: WORKS CONSULTED, SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

PREMARRIAGE: TEEN ABSTINENCE Abraham, Ken. Don't Bite the Apple 'Til You Checkfor Worms:A SurvivalGuide to Love, Sex, and Singleness.Grand Rapids, Mich.: Fleming H. Revell, 1994. Andelin, Helen B. The Fascinating Girl. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Pacific Press Santa Barbara, 1970. Board, Stephen C., Guide to Sex, Singlenessand Marriage.Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1974. Brandt, Henry. Whena Teen Falls in Love. Wheaten, Ill.: Scripture, 1965. Butler, John. ChristianWays to Date, Go Steadyand Breakup. Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard, 1985. Christie, John Les. Dating and Waiting:A ChristianView of Love,Sex and Dating. Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard, 1983. Dobson, James. Preparingfor Adolescence.Ventura, Calif.: Regal Books, 1980. Elmshauser, John, ed. I'm in Junior High, But It's Not My Fault: By Senior Highers,for JuniorHighers. St. Louis, Mo.: Concordia, 1992. Kehle, Mary R. N. You'reNearly There:Christian Sex Educationfor Ten-to-Teens. Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw, 1973. LaHaye, Tim. A Christian View of Radical Sex Education.San Diego, Calif.: Family Life Seminars, 1973. Mayo, Mary Ann. Mom's A Bird Dad's a Bee: Raising Morally Responsible Childrenin an IrresponsibleWorld. Eugene, Ore.: Harvest House, 1991. McDowell, Josh and Paul Lewis. Givers, Takersand Other Kinds of Lovers. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House, 1981. McDowell, Josh. Love,Dad: Positive Answers for YoungTeens on HandlingSexual Pressure. Dallas, Tex.: Word, 1988. McDowell, Josh. Why Wait?: Whatyou Need to Know about the Teen Sexuality Crisis. San Bernardino, Calif.: Here's Life, 1987. Miles, Herbert Jackson. The Dating Game.Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1975. Narramore, Clyde M. and Ruth E. Narramore. YoungOnly Once:Secrets of Fun and Success. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1979. Rinehart, Stacy and Paula Rinehart. Choices:Finding God's Way in Dating, Sex, Singleness and Marriage.Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress, 1982. Smith, Jim. Sex and the Single Teen. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1972.

WOMEN Andelin, Helen. FascinatingWomanhood. New York: Bantam Books, 1992. Dobson, James. WhatWives WishTheir Husbands Knew about Women.Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale, 1975. Dobson, James. Prescriptionfor a TiredHousewife. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale, 1978.

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Hunt, Gladys M. Ms. Means Myself. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1972. Jakes, T. D. Woman,Thou Art Loosed.Shippensburg, Penn.: Treasure House, 1993. Morgan, Marabel. Total Joy. Old Tappan, N.J.: Fleming, 1976. Morgan, Marabel. The Total Woman.New York: Pocket Books, 1975. Moran, Miriam G., ed. What You Should Know about Women's Lib. New Canaan, Conn.: Keats, 1974. Peale, Ruth Stafford. The Adventureof Being a Wife. Greenwich, Conn.: Faw- cett, 1972. Rice, Shirley. Physical Unity in Marriage. Norfolk, Va.: Norfolk Christian Schools, 1973. Scanzoni, Letha Dawson. Sexuality. Philadelphia, Penn.: Westminster, 1984. Smalley, Gary. How to Become Your Husband's Best Friend. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1985.

MEN Banowksy, William S. It's a Playboy World. Old Tappan, N.J.: Fleming H. Revell, 1973. Bausch, William J. BecomingA Man: Basic Information,Guidance, and Attitudes on Sex for Boys. Mystic, Conn.: Twenty-Third, 1988. Benson, Dan. The Total Man. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1982. Cole, Edwin Louis. StrongMen in ToughTimes. Orlando, Fla.: Creation House, 1993. Kilgore, James. Beinga Man in a Woman'sWorld. Irvine, Calif.: Harvest House, 1975. Lush, Jean and Pamela Vredevelt. Mothers and Sons: Raising Boys to Be Men. Old Tappan, N.J.: Fleming H. Revell, 1988. Peterson, J. Allan. TheArt of BeingA Man. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House, 1980. Webber, Stu. TenderWarrior: God's Intentionfor a Man. Portland, Ore.: Mult- nomah, 1993.

MARRIAGE Brown, Karin. The Power of Intimate Love: ExperiencingSexual Fulfillment in Marriage.Tulsa, Okla.: Harrison House, 2000. Christenson, Larry and Nordis Christianson. The ChristianCouple. Minneap- olis, Minn.: Bethany Fellowship, 1977. Cuthbertson, Duane. The Marriage Manual. Beaver Lodge, Conn.: Horizon House, 1980. DeJong, Peter and Donald R. Wilson. Husbandand Wife:The Sexes in Scripture and Society. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1979. Dobson, James. Dr. Dobson Answers Your Questions about Marriageand Sexu- ality. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House, 1986. Edwards, Cliff. BiblicalChristian Marriage. Atlanta, Ga.: John Knox, 1977.

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Fryling, Alice and Robert Fryling. A Handbookfor MarriedCouples. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1984. LaHaye, Tim. How to Be Happy ThoughMarried. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House, 1968. LaHaye, Tim and Beverly LaHaye. The Act of Marriage:The Beauty of Sexual Love. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1978. Mace, David R. The Christian Responseto the Sexual Revolution.New York: Abingdon, 1970. McDowell, Josh and Bob Hostetler. KeepYour LoveLife Alive and Well.Dallas, Tex.: Word, 1994. Miles, Herbert Jackson. SexualHappiness in Marriage:A ChristianInterpretation of Sexual Adjustmentin Marriage.Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1982. Morgan, Marabel. The Electric Woman:Hope for Tired Mothers, Lovers and Others. New York: Pocket Books, 1986. Morgan, Marabel. The Total Woman.New York: Pocket Books, 1975. Morgan, Marabel. TotalJoy. Old Tappan, N.J.: Fleming, 1976. Penner, Clifford and Joyce Penner. TheGift of Sex : A ChristianGuide to Sexual Fulfillment.Waco, Tex.: Word Books, 1981. Rosenau, Douglas. A Celebrationof Sex:A Guide to EnjoyingGod's Gift of Sexual Intimacy.Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson, 1997. Shedd, Charlie W. and Martha Shedd. Celebrationin the Bedroom.Waco, Tex.: Word Books, 1981. VanderMeer, Lewis, Arnold Snoeyink, and Sandy Vander Zincht. Biblical Perspectives:Sexuality and the ChristianHome. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Curric- ulum Department of the National Union of Christian Schools, 1975. Wheat, Ed and Gaye Wheat. Intendedfor Pleasure:Sex Techniqueand Sexual Fulfillmentin ChristianMarriage. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Fleming, 1997. Wheat, Ed and Gloria Okes Perkins. LoveLife for EveryMarried Couple: How to Fall in Love and Stay in Love. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan 1996. Wheat, Ed. How to Save Your MarriageAlone. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zonder- van, 1983. Wier, Terry and Mark Carruth. Holy Sex: God's Purpose and Plan for Our Sexuality. New Kensington, Penn.: Whitaker House, 1999.

HOMOSEXUALITY Ankerberg, John and John Weldon. TheFacts on Homosexuality.Eugene, Ore.: Harvest House, 1994. Davies, Bob. ComingOut of Homo-Sexuality:New Freedomfor Men and Women. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1993. Jones, Stanton, L. The Gay Debate.Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1994. LaHaye, Tim. The UnhappyGays: WhatEveryone Should Know aboutHomosex- uality. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House, 1978.

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Payne, Leanne. Healing Homosexuality.Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 1996. Scanzoni, Letha, and Virginia Ramey Mollenkott. Is the HomosexualMy Neigh- bor? Another Christian Point of View. San Francisco, Calif.: Harper San Francisco, 1980. Worthen, Anita and Bob Davies. SomeoneI LoveIs Gay:How Familyand Friends Can Respond.Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1996.

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