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Kant's views on sexual morality are traditional and conservative. He opposes every conceivable sexual
practice except sexual intercourse between husband and wife. Whether all of Kant’s views on sex
actually follow from his moral philosophy is less important than the underlying idea they reflect—that we
do not own ourselves and are not at our own disposal. He objects to casual sex (by which he means
sex outside of marriage), however consensual, on the grounds that it is degrading and objectifying to
both partners. Casual sex is objectionable, he thinks, because it is all about the satisfaction of sexual
desire, not about respect for the humanity of one’s partner.
Even when casual sex involves the mutual satisfaction of the partners, "each of them dishonours the
human nature of the other. They make of humanity an instrument for the satisfaction of their lusts and
inclinations." (For reasons we'll come to in a moment, Kant thinks marriage elevates sex by taking it
beyond physical gratification and connecting it with human dignity.)
Turning to the question of whether prostitution is moral or immoral, Kant asks under what conditions
the use of our sexual faculties is in keeping with morality. His answer, in this as in other situations, is
that we should not treat others or ourselves merely as objects. We are not at our own disposal. In
stark contrast to libertarian notions of self-possession, Kant insists that we do not own ourselves. The
moral requirement that we treat persons as ends rather than as mere means limits the way we may treat
our bodies and ourselves. "Man cannot dispose over himself because he is not a thing; he is not his
own property."
In contemporary debates about sexual morality, those who invoke autonomy rights argue that
individuals should be free to choose for themselves what use to make of their own bodies. But this isn't
what Kant means by autonomy. Paradoxically, Kant's conception of autonomy imposes certain limits on
the way we may treat ourselves.