Women struggle with pornography and sexual fantasy. There. I said it. It’s high time someone did. I’ve known the truth of that statement since I was in middle school, but while there is plenty of helpful information available for men who are caught in the current epidemic of prurient sexuality, there is almost nothing for women. Therefore, I present to you Shannon Ethridge’s intriguing analysis of the meaning behind the stories in our heads. Written especially for women, the material could certainly be helpful to men, as well.
Beginning with the Fifty Shades of Grey phenomenon, Ms. Ethridge notes the pervasive reality of sexual distortion in today’s entertainment, and then she discusses some of the ways that reality has invaded our churches, our homes and our thoughts. Each of the later chapters in the book tackles a slightly different type of pornographic obsession, from bondage to multiple partners to same-sex attraction. However, she manages to do so in a way which neither inflames imaginations nor judges strugglers, humbly numbering herself among them. In each case Ethridge applies the Gospel as the ultimate fulfillment of every woman’s false fantasies.
My only criticism of this much–needed tool is that the author brushes rather lightly over the subject. I felt it could have included more foundational material on the near-universality of taboo sexual fantasies and their spiritual significance. The book left me wanting to know more about additional themes and to be given more practical tools for prevention, analysis and correction. Perhaps those will come later in a study guide so that we women can share our struggles in support groups, the way men often do these days. This book is a good first step, and I highly recommend it to anyone who struggles with their sexual thought-life.
If you would like more information, visit the author’s website at http://www.shannonethridge.com.
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