EMBODIMENT OF SPIRITUALITY AND SEXUALITY EMBODIMENT OF SPIRITUALITY AND SEXUALITY: WOMEN’S LIVED EXPERIENCE OF RESILIENCE TO SEXUAL SHAME by KELSEY DAWN SCHMIDT SIEMENS A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES GRADUATE COUNSELLING PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAM We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard …………………………………………………….. Janelle Kwee, Psy.D., Thesis Supervisor …………………………………………………….. Derrick Klaassen, Ph.D., Second Reader …………………………………………………….. Stephanie Martin, Ph.D., External Examiner TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY August, 2015 © Kelsey Siemens and Janelle Kwee EMBODIMENT OF SPIRITUALITY AND SEXUALITY ii ABSTRACT Due to the prevalence of sexual shame among Christian women, this study was designed to better understand the lived experiences of sexual shame resilience and embodiment. Five young, married women were selected for inclusion based on their immersion in Christian culture during adolescence and for their experiences of working through sexual shame. In order to understand the meaning of these women’s experiences, a hermeneutic phenomenological method was employed. Through participant’s narratives, four categories of themes emerged (religious messaging around sexuality, experiences of sexual shame, healing experiences, and experiences of embodied sexuality). When participants were able to work through their sexual shame, they were able to embrace and find freedom in their sexuality. This study’s findings are consistent with Brown’s (2006) Shame Resilience Theory. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the need to provide appropriate support for women struggling with sexual shame. Keywords: Sexual shame, resilience to shame, integration of spirituality and sexuality, embodiment, religion, hermeneutic phenomenology, Christian women, sexuality, spirituality EMBODIMENT OF SPIRITUALITY AND SEXUALITY iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... iii APPENDIXES ................................................................................................................................ x LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... xi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................... 5 Women’s Sexuality as a Research Area ............................................................................. 5 Religion and Spirituality: Conceptual Delineations .......................................................... 6 Historical and Contextual Perspectives .............................................................................. 8 Sacred Sexuality .................................................................................................................. 9 Sexual and Spiritual Embodiment ........................................................................ 11 Sexuality and Sanctification ................................................................................. 12 Experiences of Religious, Spiritual and Sexual Integration ................................. 14 Negative Impact of Religion on Women’s Sexuality ....................................................... 17 Religion as Regulator/Shaper of Behaviour ......................................................... 17 Religion and Mind-Body Dualism ........................................................................ 18 Patriarchy and Religion ......................................................................................... 19 Religion as a Source of Sexual Shame ............................................................................. 20 Shame and Sexual Shame ..................................................................................... 21 Sexual Shame and Religion .................................................................................. 22 The Impact of Shame on Sexuality ....................................................................... 23 EMBODIMENT OF SPIRITUALITY AND SEXUALITY iv Overcoming Sexual Shame ................................................................................... 25 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 28 Rationale of This Study .................................................................................................... 29 The Implicated Researcher ................................................................................... 30 Purpose of this Study and Research Question ...................................................... 31 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY AND METHODS ................................................................. 33 Research Methodology ..................................................................................................... 33 Research Paradigm ............................................................................................................ 33 Qualitative Research ......................................................................................................... 35 Phenomenology ................................................................................................................. 36 Foundations of Phenomenology ........................................................................... 36 Hermeneutic Phenomenology ............................................................................... 37 Hermeneutic Phenomenological Method .......................................................................... 39 Rational for Choosing Hermeneutic Phenomenology .......................................... 40 Applying a Hermeneutic Phenomenological Method ........................................... 41 Steps of Hermeneutic Phenomenology ................................................................. 41 Step one: Turning to a phenomenon ........................................................ 42 Step two: Data collection ......................................................................... 43 Overview of Steps 3-6: Data Analysis ................................................................. 44 Step three: The isolation of themes .......................................................... 45 Step four: Describing through writing and rewriting ................................ 45 Step five: Maintaining a strong, oriented stance toward the question ..... 46 Step six: Considering the parts and the whole ......................................... 46 EMBODIMENT OF SPIRITUALITY AND SEXUALITY v Sampling and Recruitment ................................................................................................ 47 Participants ............................................................................................................ 47 Exclusion and Inclusion Criteria ........................................................................... 48 Marriage .................................................................................................... 48 Immersion in Christian Culture ................................................................ 49 Resilience to Shame .................................................................................. 49 Sampling Strategies .............................................................................................. 51 Recruitment Stages ................................................................................... 52 Informed Consent and Confidentiality ...................................................... 52 Methodological Rigour .................................................................................................... 53 Openness ............................................................................................................... 54 Balancing Integration ............................................................................................ 54 Concreteness ......................................................................................................... 55 Resonance ............................................................................................................. 55 Actualization ......................................................................................................... 56 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS ............................................................................................................. 57 Women’s stories ............................................................................................................................ 58 Kari .............................................................................................................................. 59 Jennifer .............................................................................................................................. 62 Mary .............................................................................................................................. 67 Meg