The Procrustean Bed of Women's Spirituality: Reclaiming Women's Sexuality as an Integral Aspect of Christian Spirituality

Abstract

To understand women's spirituality within the Christian framework it is essential to look at traditional cultural attitudes which have contributed to the (de-?)formation of women's sexuality. This article presents an overview of some significant historical influences that have shaped the contemporary western understanding of women's sexuality; it offers a critique of these influences through an analysis of three movements in the liberating understanding of women's spirituality; it also proposes elements of an integral Christian spirituality for women that takes account of the reclaiming of women's sexuality