The Human Body, A Hot Commodity
Let’s talk about bodies. You have one, I have one… but where is the value in our bodies? And how does the source of their value affect other aspects of society? The Bible speaks of the human body as being a temple. In a fallen world, our bodies are not perfect, but we steward them in ways that respect their holiness. In a society that has rejected God and His design, we see the human body being commercialized and capitalized upon in a way that was never intended. This reverberates throughout several areas of life: the push for decriminalizing sex work, the LGBTQ movement, the entertainment industry, and many others. The extent to which the human body is commercialized is far and wide, but perhaps the most pertinent examples are the sex work and abortion industries.
Since movements like the sexual revolution began, there has been a gradual growth in the mindless acceptance of exploitative industries like sex work. The sex work industry is an immoral machine that capitalizes on the human body, specifically women’s bodies. It is fueled by sex traffickers, groomers, and others who have no issue exploiting and mistreating people. It is further driven by society’s lust but disguises itself as a freeing industry that allows women and men to profit off a very immodest state of being. Most Christians can agree this industry is evil and unbiblical, but how does the commercialization of the human body come into play?
When the human body is valued by a monetary amount rather than its holiness, it leads to the commercialization of the human body. It is turned into a commodity to be bought, sold, used, and displayed publicly. Even more worrisome is the growing cry to decriminalize and destigmatize sex work. Former Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan once said in United States v. Bitty, “The lives and example of such persons are in hostility to the idea of the family as consisting in and springing from the union for life of one man and one woman in the holy estate of matrimony; the sure foundation of all that is stable and noble in our civilization; the best guaranty of that reverent morality which is the source of all beneficent progress in social and political improvement.” (United States v. Bitty, 1980).
Along with discouraging the traditional family unit that is so integral to American society, the commercialization of the human body feeds the abortion industry. In a society that is accruing a profit from women’s bodies for lustful desires, the true intent of carrying and bearing children becomes a hindrance to the distribution of the product. Pregnant women are not marketable in a society that views the human body as a commodity. Abortion is a tool used by the entertainment industry, sex work industry, and human traffickers alike to promote the product that is a woman’s form.
Commercializing the human body does not come without consequences. Like with anything, when man corrupts God’s design it does not produce good fruit. Though the sex work industry may be voluntary, it has led to forced sex work through sex trafficking. Another consequence, the strategy of the LGBTQ agenda has run off onto children with the encouragement of transitioning before adulthood and Drag Queen Story Hour. But consequences have resolutions when there are people still willing to stand for Biblical values and God’s design. Sage’s Law is a prime example of this resolution.
Sage is a girl in Virginia living with her adoptive mother/biological grandmother. She was heavily bullied and pushed towards transgender ideology. She did not tell her mother about her new male identity and neither did the school. She was later sex trafficked as a result of issues stemming from school and her secret transgender identity. After being sex trafficked once, the courts tried to profit on her pain. They held her in a boys home in Maryland as they took her mother to court for abuse over misgendering her. While she was sex trafficked a second time while she was being held in the boys home.
Thankfully, Sage is home safe now, and her story, while tragic, produced the testimony behind the development of Sage’s law. If this law was passed it would inform parents of any gender incongruence demonstrated at school and would also mean teachers had to report suicidal thoughts or behavior to parents. Other states like Montana and Texas are advancing legislation to combat the commercialization of the human body, such as pushing back against Drag Queen Story Hour. The Family Foundation is also working on legislation that protects youth from potentially dangerous situations at school by advocating for and developing policy such as parental informed consent of speakers, field trips, and after school clubs.
As the push to decriminalize the sex work industry, prioritize the LGBTQ agenda, and promote abortion continues, I encourage Christians to reflect on what the human body is -- a temple for the Holy Spirit created and designed by the Living God in His own image. It is an unfortunate reality that people are benefiting from the lust and flesh of the fallen man. We see the consequences of this reality in the exposure of children to sexually explicit behavior and content, something evident by events such as Drag Queen Story Hour. Commercialization is also a driving force for the radical push for unrestricted abortion. Commercializing the flesh denies the soul and spirit within, and when one can deny the soul and spirit, they can also deny humanity.
1. https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/5448/text?format=txt
2. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1522&context=hon_thesishttps://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/5448/text?format=txt
Written by: Makayla Donnelly (2023 Policy Intern)