Under the guise of a parent’s love
A rejection of the redemptive power of sexual shame in the work of Aquinas
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21691169 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rachel McNealis (0009-0001-4927-1018, Marquette University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 24-38 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Theology and Sexuality (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1355-8358 • E-ISSN: 1745-5170 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13558358.2025.2599724 |
| OpenAlex | W4417305434 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 4 |
The moral and theological implications of chronic shame for LGBTQ + youth reveal the limits of Aquinas’s understanding of shame and love. While Aquinas views shame as a temporary moral affect redeemed through love and friendship, sacramental shame – an identity-based, enduring shame imposed through sacralized heteronormativity – complicates his framework. Drawing on Sara Ahmed’s phenomenology of shame, the analysis shows how appeals to love can entrench exclusion rather than resolve harm. Instead of assuming shame as essential to moral formation, a framework that responds to sexual harm without reinforcing the shaming of non-normative identities is necessary. Challenging Aquinas’s redemptive model of shame opens space for a reconsideration of sexual ethics beyond coercive moral emotions, toward justice that affirms dignity of queer youth
Human sexuality · Shame · Early Modern Women Writers · Medieval Philosophy and Theology · Thoreau and American Literature
| Highly cited | No |
|---|