I have gone back and forth and back and forth about whether to publish this blog post or not. What I say will be completely my opinion and how I feel about this topic, it will also probably upset some people and I know that several people will fervently disagree with me. I also know, based on conversations with several friends, that there are a lot who will agree with me. So it is what it is – here we go.

There are two very popular “entertainment” mediums out right now that is being eaten up like crazy by the female population. One is a trilogy of books called Fifty Shades of Grey and the other is a new movie that just opened this weekend called Magic Mike. This first is a series of books about a dominant sexual relationship between a young woman and an older man that, from what I understand, is very graphic and is being touted across the media as “mommy porn”. Ugh. The second is a movie about a male stripper that involves him stripping in some night club with other men, taking a protege under his wings in the stripping business and falling in love with a girl, of course. Again, from what I understand, it’s pretty heavy with nudity and sexual content.

Now, while I don’t agree with the content of either of these and don’t think they are the best things that are out there representing our culture, I do not expect those who do not know God or walk in His light to live a lifestyle or do things that reflect that relationship. Sin is sin and I can’t expect anything else, so I get it and I get why it is popular, I do. Here is my issue though – why are these two things being purchased, read, and viewed just as much, if not more, by women who claim to be Christians and have a relationship with Christ as those who do not profess a relationship with Christ?

Women get upset with men when they view pornography, ogle women like meat and objects, and even think about participating in something that would even have the words “strip” and “club” in it, and rightfully so. I will be the first person to tell you that we, as men, are called to a much higher standard and have to do our best to protect our ears, our eyes, and our mind from the gutters of junk that surround us on a daily basis and we also have a responsibility to, by doing that, protect the hearts and image of the women in our lives. If that is the expectations that women have for us as men, then why are the same expectations not placed on women too? Why is there a double standard in sexual purity between men and women in the church? Is there a double standard or am I blowing this out of proportion?

I do know that my wife would be hurt, furious, and not just a little angry if the tables were turned and it was me standing in line at a midnight showing of a movie about women stripping being nude on the big screen because it was “well written and had a good story” (which, by the way, is a really nice way of justifying something that we just can’t own up to watching for the real reason we want to watch it – Magic Mike previews do nothing to show a “story”). My wife would never see Magic Mike or read Fifty Shades of Grey, not because she is amazing and awesome (which she is) but because we respect each other and do not want to allow any foothold in our lives or our relationship that would cause division or diminish what God has done.

I’m not trying to get on a platform and say that I’m perfect, honestly. I’m not, I have my own vices and my own struggles and will never reach perfection until I meet Jesus face to face. But I have to do everything possible through the power of the Holy Spirit and living out what Christ has commanded us to do through scripture to be the best husband, father, brother in Christ, and protector of the hearts of those around me. I honestly cannot find a reason that indulging in the two things mentioned in this blog or things similar to it as fulfilling those things – at the very least we have to look at what standards we are expecting others to hold up to and make sure that we are willing to live up to those same standards.

So, there’s my two cents, love it or hate it.

What are your views on this subject? Do you think there is a double standard between men and women in the church? As Christians, is it OK for us to participate in this type of entertainment as long as it has a good story? Am I asking too many questions?