I found these two newspaper reports almost ironically juxtaposed.  One reads, “Women turn to prostitution during economic recession.”   And the other article reports, “Surge in women applying to become nuns to escape the recession.”

The first option is long known.  Prostitution is how many women have been forced to overcome economic hardship or extreme poverty, in cultures all over the world.  While researching for my book Sex and Power, I found that one of the reasons the sex-gurus who wrote the manuals like the Kama Sutras, so enthusiastically recommended that even women learn the art of love-making, is because according to them it would help women in their lives.  They explained that no matter what country a woman visited or lived in, and whatever her personal situation was like, if she was conversant in the art of lovemaking she can have her freedom by working and earning anywhere!

But what was puzzling is why in recent years, there have been more and more women in Europe joining convents to become nuns. (more…)