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While the kind of courtship described in that link may seem extreme in our culture, there have been many cultures (and still are) that allow(ed) no or very limited physical contact between sexes prior to their marriage. Generally, marriages and families in those cultures have probably been as successful as in our own. While taking the specific vow described in the article may be extreme, it is important to realize that physical intimacy has a sort of cascading aspect to it. As in the article, people need to figure out where their own limits are before ever getting to them, and not allow themselves to get caught up in the powerful feelings and responses that would take them further than they ought to go. An article linked below describes 12 steps or stages of intimacy in a fairly comprehensible way. One thing about viewing physical intimacy in terms of steps, it is very hard to move backward in a physical relationship, and those who've been at step 10 or 11 are not likely to want to move back to step 6 or 7. People who've been to one of the later stages in a failed relationship tend to hurry toward them in a new relationship. There is some wisdom in setting strict limits for courtship and sticking to them.
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