The other group presentations really got me thinking about a number of issues. The following is what I thought about each topic with regards to sexual ethics
The Ethics of Sex with Robots
This presentation was really interesting. In the beginning of the course I mentioned that I was not prepared for this new technology. I still don’t think that I agree with robots that you can have sex with, because the thought of it is scary in many ways. For example, where does consent come into play? If a robot is very human like, and you have sex with it, is it unethical because the robot can not consent? I think that because it is not human or a real live thing, that it would not be unethical to have sex with a robot without its consent. The reason I have this opinion is because you don’t need consent from a dildo in order to use it without it being unethical.
I personally think the idea of having sex with a robot is uncomforting because it seems very real but its not. Is it possible to rape your robot? Again, because it is not a real thing I think that rape does not play into this context. Some people may believe that by raping your robot, you may go out and rape a person. It’s possible but I feel the chances are minimal. Basically what I believe about the ethics of sex with robots is that it is ethical/moral but unnatural.
Polyamory
This presentation was something I had never really considered before. Polyamory is living by the principle that it is possible to love more than one person at a time without deception and betrayal. This contrasts monogamy where it involves two people in a committed and sexually exclusive relationship. After the presentation, I was not convinced that polyamory is ethical. I think it is both immoral and unnatural. The reason I think it is immoral is because I think that if the relationship was to have children, it would be harmful for the child to have such an unnatural, untraditional family life. I think if I were to live in a family who practices polyamory, that I would be very uncomfortable and confused because most of society is monogamous. I believe that a romantic relationship should be monogamous.
The Ethical debate on swinging
Swinging is the agreement between partners to have sexual relations with other people in context which they both engage in such behaviours at the same time and usually in the same place. There were a lot of things I disagreed with on swinging. For example they said that swinging improves marriage. I disagree with this because I know that jealousy can and probably will get in the way at some point. Also, I think that if you and your partner needed to go out swinging to keep the relationship interesting, than it probably isn’t that great of a relationship to begin with. They also mentioned that swinging is not cheating because the damaging aspect of cheating (the secrets and lies are removed) I agree that it is not cheating if the two partners agree to it. I would personally not engage in this activity, however if people like it than I think it is ethical. If someone gets hurt by it and is kind of forced by the other partner to engage in it than I believe it is unethical. Here context really plays a role in what I think about swinging.
Sex Addition
With sex addictions, I think if the person keeps engaging in sexual activities impulsively and is hurt by these sexual relations both physically and mentally than I think a lot of it is unethical. I think it is more unethical for the person who has the sexual addiction because it can be a break down in their character which can lead to other things i.e. depression. Just like any other addiction i.e. drugs, I don’t think a sex addiction is either moral or natural.
Neonatal Male Circumcision
This topic is literally something I never once thought about in my life. I thought it was really interesting to see how ethics played into it. I really had a hard time seeing where I stood with this issue. Is it ethical to circumcise a little baby who is not able to consent? I really can’t decide if it is ethical or not, because to think of hurting someone and manipulating their body without their consent sounds really unethical, however I could see myself getting my son (if I had one) circumcised. The reason I would consider getting my son circumcised is because it seems to be the norm in my society. However, once I considered this presentation, I am not 100% sure I would circumcise my child. This is something I still need to take more time to think about.
