Who is more at fault - men who are too horny or women who are trying to be too sexy?
This was the question posed by Carl Thomas of XXX Church on their website, after he read an article in USA Today about a dispute over the "right" of girls to wear yoga pants at Haven Middle School in Evanston, Illinois.
"In a nutshell, the school claimed that they were just trying to minimise visual distractions for the school's male population while the other side argued that the school, by instituting such a policy, was promoting a 'rape culture,' or the idea that some blame victims of the exploitation instead of the perpetrators," he said.
This led Thomas to ask: where does responsibility lie when it comes to our sexual decisions? If a man cheats on his wife because his sexy secretary keeps throwing herself at him, who is at fault? If a woman is wearing tight yoga pants, can the men be blamed for staring?
Thomas recommends people remember that they should worry first about themselves, before making judgments about what other people are doing.
There will always be visual distractions and opportunities to cheat on one's spouse, he reasoned, so it's up to people to make wise decisions.
"Just because these things are out there doesn't mean you get an 'out' and can plead 'not my fault' when you act out in a sexually irresponsible way. You are the only one responsible for your decisions," he said.
Thomas also said that people should take more time to consider how their actions might influence others. Think on a larger scale rather than simply focusing on how you feel about things, urged Thomas. If people recognise how others could react to their choices, then maybe they will rethink their options.
"People should take more time considering how their actions may influence others when choosing to do something. This doesn't mean that we are to live our lives entirely around the sensitivities of other people," he said.
"But, it does mean that we need to understand that our choices can have an influence on other people."
He also advised that people simply "own" their choices.
"Whether it is our own poor choices, our unwise decisions that may influence others, or our responsibility to those we've been given care of... it's ours to own," he said.
