Masculine Power, Feminine Beauty: The Volitional, Objective Basis for Heterosexuality in Romantic Love and Marriage

This book, now in its second edition, presents a theory of heterosexual romantic love. The book argues that heterosexuality enables romantic love in a way that integrates with all aspects of a man and woman, especially masculine power and feminine beauty. Author Ronald Pisaturo identifies differences between men and women while recognizing the utmost intellectual ability, rationality, and resultant moral virtue possible in equal measure to each sex. Pisaturo argues that sexual orientation is the result of volition in the same way that other values pertaining to romantic love are volitional: Although we do not directly choose our sexual orientation, as we do not directly choose what personality traits will attract us, we do make more basic choices that cause our sexual orientation.

Pisaturo debunks the mainstream theories that “affirm” non-heterosexual orientations, and argues that objective cognition—in particular, the holding of concepts that clearly identify and emphasize sex-specific romantic values—requires that the concept of marriage refer only to man-woman relationships. Moreover, the proper role of government in marriage is as protector of individual rights—of the husband, wife, and their children—not as social engineer for the “public good.”

This book offers an objective alternative to the following false alternative regarding the subject of sexual orientation: the authority of religion vs. the subjectivism that has infected much of modern philosophy, science, and culture.

An overarching theme of the book is that every individual should understand the personal, chosen values that are consistent with his own sexual orientation. With deeper understanding comes deeper love.