Abstract

In this article we argue that the open and clear presence of the regulation of sexuality for women in Orthodox Judaism allows for a remarkably conscious choice of sexual conduct. We listened to young Orthodox Jewish married women speak about their experience and understanding of their sexuality (past and present) as they gravitate from forbidden to permitted and back again, from their pre-marital state, to their first sexual experiences, to the sexual prohibitions of nida, and back to permitted sexual relations. Whereas one’s first assumption concerning women living under strict rules governing their sexuality might be that these women are out of relationship with themselves and their bodies, this was not the case with the Israeli Orthodox Jewish women whom we interviewed. Whether they rejected or accepted a particular rule, partially or fully, they did not do so under the gaze of a male Over-Eye. These modern Orthodox Jewish women, who live within a framework of laws detailing what is forbidden and permitted concerning their sexuality, developed a sexual subjectivity that conducts an open and conscious dialogue with those laws. In our Conclusion, we suggest how our work here could be of use to therapists.

摘要

在这篇文章中，我们认为正统犹太教中对女性性行为的公开和明确的规定允许对性行为进行非常有意识的选择。我们听年轻的东正教犹太已婚妇女讲述她们的经历和对性行为的理解（过去和现在），因为她们从被禁止到被允许再回来，从婚前状态到第一次性经历，再到性禁忌奈达的，然后回到允许的性关系。关于生活在严格的性行为规则下的女性，人们的第一个假设可能是这些女性与她们自己和她们的身体没有关系，但我们采访的以色列东正教犹太女性并非如此。无论他们是部分还是全部拒绝或接受特定规则，他们都不会在男性 Over-Eye 的注视下这样做。这些现代东正教犹太妇女生活在详细规定了关于她们的性行为的禁止和允许行为的法律框架内，发展出一种性主观能动性，可以与这些法律进行公开和有意识的对话。在我们的结论中，我们建议我们在这里的工作如何对治疗师有用。