In A Wild Constraint: The Case for Chastity, Taylor addresses the provocative subject of celibacy. Too often considered an exclusively religious option, celibacy has been reclaimed by some feminists and sociologists over the last 20 years as a radical alternative in secular society to the liberal sexual lifestyle. What, after all, is sexual liberation when so often the outcome is pain and social chaos? In the context of promiscuity, sexual abuse and confusion, celibacy can herald a different sexual freedom. Jenny Taylor draws on personal experience and interviews with men and women of all ages to demonstrate the impact of the sexual revolution and to make a case for celibacy. She argues that celibacy is a viable alternative that deserves to be taken seriously and challenges the church to speak out for sexual abstinence with confidence and certainty.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
More people remain single longer, if not for life, than ever before. In the face of this, coupled with popular cultural messages promoting an active sex life, Taylors advocacy for chastity is timely and provocative. Drawing on personal interviews, social statistics and references to sources ranging from Freud to Bridget Jones, Taylor (Faith and Power: Christianity and Islam in 'Secular Britain) chastises what she deems to be a dangerous degree of sexual freedom. The book is at its best when describing the possibilities and benefits of chastity for the individual and society. However, it is dominated by a querulous tone, decrying the damages of sexual licentiousness. Weakening her argument, Taylor doesnt clearly distinguish issues of personal choice from issues of criminal pathology. While readers will share the authors anger and disgust with abusive sex, many will remain puzzled about exactly when and how Taylor thinks sex should be limited. This is a thought-provoking book that should have been further developed. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"More people remain single longer, if not for life, than ever before. In the face of this, coupled with popular cultural messages promoting an active sex life, Taylor's advocacy for chastity is timely and provocative. Drawing on personal interviews, social statistics and references to sources ranging from Freud to Bridget Jones, Taylor (Faith and Power: Christianity and Islam in 'Secular' Britain) chastises what she deems to be a dangerous degree of sexual freedom. The book is at its best when describing the possibilities and benefits of chastity for the individual and society." --Publishers Weekly, December 15, 2008
"Celibacy—chosen sexlessness—comes in for lots of ribbing in today's hypersexualized culture, as though it were an illness or a misfortune. Taylor takes a thoughtful new look at celibacy, reminding us that church traditions that once celebrated singlehood and virginity have turned against them. She makes an eloquent case for the faith and power inherent in chastity, which may yet again prove a bulwark within a culture where both closed and "open" marriages seem doomed to failure and where the yearning for connectedness not constrained by sexuality is widespread. Eye-opening and helpful; recommended for most collections."--Starred Review, Library Journal, January 2009
Review in Church Times, April 2009
“More people remain single longer, if not for life, than ever before. In the face of this, coupled with popular cultural messages promoting an active sex life, Taylor’s advocacy for chastity is timely and provocative. Drawing on personal interviews, social statistics and references to sources ranging from Freud to Bridget Jones, Taylor (Faith and Power: Christianity and Islam in 'Secular’ Britain) chastises what she deems to be a dangerous degree of sexual freedom. The book is at its best when describing the possibilities and benefits of chastity for the individual and society." –Publishers Weekly, December 15, 2008
“Celibacy—chosen sexlessness—comes in for lots of ribbing in today’s hypersexualized culture, as though it were an illness or a misfortune. Taylor takes a thoughtful new look at celibacy, reminding us that church traditions that once celebrated singlehood and virginity have turned against them. She makes an eloquent case for the faith and power inherent in chastity, which may yet again prove a bulwark within a culture where both closed and “open” marriages seem doomed to failure and where the yearning for connectedness not constrained by sexuality is widespread. Eye-opening and helpful; recommended for most collections.“–Starred Review, Library Journal, January 2009
"Celibacy—chosen sexlessness—comes in for lots of ribbing in today's hypersexualized culture, as though it were an illness or a misfortune. Taylor takes a thoughtful new look at celibacy, reminding us that church traditions that once celebrated singlehood and virginity have turned against them. She makes an eloquent case for the faith and power inherent in chastity, which may yet again prove a bulwark within a culture where both closed and "open" marriages seem doomed to failure and where the yearning for connectedness not constrained by sexuality is widespread. Eye-opening and helpful; recommended for most collections."--Starred Review, Library Journal, January 2009
"In a society obsessed with sexuality Jenny Taylor's elegant essay comes as a welcome and refreshing change." - Catholic Herald
"The social dimension and implications of individual sexuality...[are] carefully developed and powerfully stated."
(Richard Norman, New Directions )Mention in Church of England Newspaper, February 2009
Mention in Baptist Times, March 2009
"This is an excellent, brave book and one which will delight and challenge in equal measure, and it is highly recommended." -Interserve Magazine
"Very readable, with a good amount of anecdotal material, and an amusing style whish is at times enjoyably risqué ... certain to make an otherwise uneventful train journey pass more speedily." - New Directions
Mention in author's own article in The Times, February 2009
"Jenny Taylor's elegant essay comes as a welcome and refreashing change ... offers an interesting survey of contemporary attitudes."
Catholic Herald, January 2009
Review in Church Times, April 2009
"...it is a well written, scholarly treatment of the subject and it will certainly make you think."
The Irish Catholic, September 2009
All God's Children - Vol 2.2 2010
“More people remain single longer, if not for life, than ever before. In the face of this, coupled with popular cultural messages promoting an active sex life, Taylor’s advocacy for chastity is timely and provocative. Drawing on personal interviews, social statistics and references to sources ranging from Freud to Bridget Jones, Taylor (Faith and Power: Christianity and Islam in 'Secular’ Britain) chastises what she deems to be a dangerous degree of sexual freedom. The book is at its best when describing the possibilities and benefits of chastity for the individual and society." –Publishers Weekly, December 15, 2008
“Celibacy—chosen sexlessness—comes in for lots of ribbing in today’s hypersexualized culture, as though it were an illness or a misfortune. Taylor takes a thoughtful new look at celibacy, reminding us that church traditions that once celebrated singlehood and virginity have turned against them. She makes an eloquent case for the faith and power inherent in chastity, which may yet again prove a bulwark within a culture where both closed and “open” marriages seem doomed to failure and where the yearning for connectedness not constrained by sexuality is widespread. Eye-opening and helpful; recommended for most collections.“–Starred Review, Library Journal, January 2009
"The social dimension and implications of individual sexuality...[are] carefully developed and powerfully stated."
(, ) "Very readable, with a good amount of anecdotal material, and an amusing style whish is at times enjoyably risqué ... certain to make an otherwise uneventful train journey pass more speedily." - New Directions
"…it is a well written, scholarly treatment of the subject and it will certainly make you think."
The Irish Catholic, September 2009
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
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Sex is no longer edgy; chastity is the real subversive option,
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This review is from: A Wild Constraint: The Case for Chastity (Paperback)
Jenny Taylor is a journalist and academic who has been interviewed on Woman's Hour on Radio 4 about her views on chastity. This is a well-researched and well-written book which discusses chastity as radical new lifestyle choice.
The bulk of the book is a review of the position of sex historically and the huge changes to society since the advent of the Pill in the sixties. The book is most successful as Jenny shows how contemporary views on sex shape the way society functions. I also found her discussion of the way that chastity was formerly seen within societies as the freeing and liberating choice as food for thought. She interviews a varied mix of people in the pages who give different impressions of life as sexual people or as those who are currently celibate. Jenny Taylor helpfully highlighted some of the omissions in Christian teaching, where people are told to be celibate while they 'wait for the right person to come along', with the assumption that unless someone eventually finds a sexual partner their life is incomplete. However I felt the book was a little weak on 'life in all its fulness' for someone who has chosen chastity as a life option. The impression of the book was more as a list of what isn't working in society's views on sex and a brief look at a possible alternative which wasn't explored in enough depth.
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