Bisexual Women as Emblematic Sexual Healers and the Problematics of the Embodied Sacred Whore
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12759372 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Doraine Jiutchins (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2001 |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue | 2-3 |
| Pages | 205-226 |
| Publication date | 2001-10-17 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Bisexuality (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1529-9716 • E-ISSN: 1529-9724 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1300/j159v02n02_15 |
| OpenAlex | W2330204652 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 3 |
The image of woman as Erotic Priestess or Goddess- sometimes seen also as Sacred Whore-is a central part of new popular sacred sex cosmologies. The Sacred Whore, as we know her, originated during the second waveoffeminism during the Seventies. She was imagined as an archetype evocative of ancient times when Erotic Priestesses plied their sexual healing arts in temples dedicated to female deities. Since the 1990s an expanding range of people-from sex workers to nurses, massage therapists, ministers, counselors, and New Age tantra practitioners-have all begun to call themselves holy prostitute or something similar; taking their place among artists, activists and philosophers redefining contemporary cultural constructs of sexuality, spirituality, and the connections between them. For centuries bisexual women, closeted or not, have been prominent in the ranks of sex educators and erotic healers since we love beyond gender and teach others to serve as societal/erotic change agents as well. However, we often work within a system of heteronormativity and male dominance which eroticizes us more as objects than as representations of divinity. These adverse conditions cause the very sacred sex practices meant to facilitate gender transcendence to instead reify gender and re-enforce constrictive roles of gender and sexual orientation. This article examines current feminist theorizing on The Sacred Whore. It analyzes (1) why she has become embodied now, especially in bi women, (2) the pros and cons of her embodiment, and (3) the prospects for developing inclusive, egalitarian erotic communities within current constraints of gender and sexual orientation that dictate an erotic healer role that is still gender-bound. Key Words: Sacred prostitutesacred whoresexual healingsacred sexsexworksex therapyfeminist therapyqueer feministbisexual womenTantra
Art · Embodied cognition · Epistemology · Sociology · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Gender Studies · Philosophy · Race, History, and American Society
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,25 |
| Citation span | 2010 - 2023 (14) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |