Glittery prizes

I feel obligated to disclaim this post by stating upfront that this will be more graphic and mature-oriented than ever before. I do not mean that I shall entertain gratuitious sexual themes or violent ideas, but merely that I will address sexuality with much greater attention than every before.
It occurred to me today that there is and always has been something inherently wrong in our society when it comes to sexuality.
We are taught by every theologian that sex is an issue of serious nature. Promiscuity is never religiously accepted. In fact, most faiths preach that sexual activity without the bonds of marriage is strictly prohibited. Even in faiths where men are allowed to have more than one wife, the justification that allows that is that the man is still faithfully committed to each of his wives and that those marriage unions will be used to build families.
Catholicism takes an even more extremist approach than other faiths. Not only is it impermissible to have sex outside of marriage within the Catholic faith, but religious must take on a vow of chastity. Furthermore, divorce isn't allowed, and if one wishes to remarry, he must have previous marriages annulled, or made to not even exist.
While this may seem like a highly constrictive view of sexuality, consider the counter society poses. In contemporary American culture, not only is sex outside of marriage considered to be ok, but even "casual sex," or uncommitted sex is fine. It is even the case that many go specifically to bars and nightclubs for the sole purpose of hopefully meeting a stranger that he/she can take home for a "one night stand."
While I'm not willing to go into the logistics of why this is wrong, suffice it to say that contemporary American culture has a very laxed view on sexual conduct and what is permissible in the realm of sexual experiences and encounters.
However, I would like to discuss more the idea of sex as a prize. This might sound ridiculous or heinous, but in all actuality, it happens more often than not.
Most modern cultures readily admit that prostitution is disgraceful and that the practice is quite shameful, both for the women involved and for those who patronize as well as the culture that encourages it. However, I have heard it reported that prostitution is the oldest documented occupation. Thus we see that granting sexual favors for some kind of gain is one of the oldest vices of humanity.
One would have to be ignorant to suppose that prostitution is outlawed today. Rather than being outlawed, it is thriving in some places. In addition to this, with the publication of magazine such as Penthouse and Playboy, and with such easy access on the internet today, being paid for sex doesn't even necessarily involve having sex with the client.
To add one more, and in my thinking, the most despicable, sexual practice is that of awarding sex to those who we think merit it. This sounds very odd, but let me explain what I mean. There are members of society who achieve renown and fame. In addition to paying them gratuitous sums of money and showering them with undue attention, we further them along in their egotism with sexual favors. This I would call the "Rock N' Roll" ideal of sex.
This is more common than we might imagine. Think, for a second, how many times in recent memory somebody expressed in so many words that they would enjoy sexual relations with insert celebrity here. Yes, it is true that many people might fantasize a celebrity but have no real intention of ever wanting to engage in sexual activity with said person, but there are those who would and do.
While for some reason this doesn't seem to be as big of a thing in Hollywood, consider music artists. How often does a rock band, or a hip-hop artist, or even a pop star come to town and seduce some of the local women while they're in town? Gene Simmons, the famous bassist of the rock band KISS reportedly has had sex with over 4500 women. That is more than the entire female population of Notre Dame undergrads. That is one woman per night for 12 1/2 years. Granted, Gene Simmons is probably the high end of the spectrum, but imagine how many other musicians have pulled off similar stunts where they sleep with multiple women while on tour.
Athletes are no exception to this either. Think of such fiascoes as the one Kobe Bryant went through a few years ago. Many other athletes do the exact same thing. Similarly, so do politicians. In reality, nobody that has achieved celebrity status is above the ability to seduce people.
This angers me for one specific reason: it seems to me that this is the most obvious way in which sex is shown to be cheapened. What bond is there between the star athlete and the fawning fan who will undoubtedly be forgotten the next day? What relationship can be built between the star-eyed groupie and the rockstar who is on tour? What kind of emotional support is the secretary who drags the executive away from his family and into public scandal?
While sexuality in the religious world is often a controversial issue, I think very few who are engaged in the debate would readily state that there is nothing in sex. Sex builds and destroys families, it strengthens relationships often and often times, in the wrong setting, can ruin relationships.
Thus, while it is often a controversial subject, and the chief object of censorship, we must admit to ourselves that our culture is structured, and indeed our own lives in many cases, on the principle of sexual meaning and significance.