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RSSThe logic of our sex laws
Inconsistencies and contradictions confuse society
On television, for every 10,000 murders, we see one orgasm. If you understand how ludicrous that is, stop here — you know everything I’m about to say. But if you don’t, if you find that statement objectionable or confusing, then read on.
You’d think that after 200,000 years of abstract thought we’d have discovered a concept of sex that’s a little more consistent than what we have now. But, by god, we aren’t even close.
Around the world, millions of children are simultaneously taught that sex is dirty, and that it is glorious to die for your country. A video game, Grand Theft Auto, was pulled from shelves, not because of the thousands of murders the player invariably takes part in, but because he can get a blowjob.
Atheists blame the Bible, feminists blame the double standard of promiscuity and postmodernists blame our arbitrary grand narrative of history. But they all miss something so much more basic: jealousy. It’s the source of our violence, hate, progress and innovation — and it’s disguised as moral disgust.
How ridiculous that is. We can handle stories about a tractor-trailer on an interstate bisecting a minivan (and it’s passengers), but a debate on the female orgasm is nothing but unbearably offensive. Public displays of affection are incessantly icky, yet we chant “Fight! Fight!” at the slightest hint of hostility between two people.
We’re jealous of the sexual release of others, so we force mainstream society to repress it. Our sexual repression, by the way, is what makes us jealous to begin with — it’s a terrible circle.
It can be fixed, I hope. I’m not saying we should suppress depictions of violence, and I’m not saying we should encourage unrestrained copulation in the streets, but maybe, just maybe, we can stop being outright evil in the way we treat sexuality.
Sex is an irrepressible instinct, but, for some reason, people try to repress it anyway. Abstinence-only sex education teaches women that sex is immoral, and that they’re “worth it.” “Worth the wait,” is what they mean.
After a few glasses of some wine at Jesus camp, however, good Christian girls sometimes find themselves staring down a barrel of sin.
Not only are these kids taught that condoms rarely work, they now think they’re evil. This is how Goths are born, I think.
We need to learn to accept sexuality. I understand this might mean your daughters and sisters (and sons and brothers) might engage in things reserved for professionals, but they’re doing it anyway — they just feel really guilty about it.
They shouldn’t.
Jeff Silberman is the views editor. He can be reached at Jsilbs@gmail.com.
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Good article. It opens up a lot of avenues for further conversation on the topic of gender, standards, and contradictions, as well as hitting the important points in regard to society’s repressive attitude toward sex. The bit “This is how Goths are born” seemed strangely out in left field, though. Not sure how that popped into your head, unless you are referring to that subculture’s uncommon attitude toward sexuality. It is one of the few cultural environments that actively encourages the blurring of gender roles and the healthy acknowledgement of sex. At any rate, I hope your article will be one of many that influence people to reexamine their perspective on sexuality and violence and, hopefully, begin a seachange in society’s approach to both.
Excellent post.”Bravo” You hit the nail on the head. I hate that we can watch all the violence in the world but even the small hint of “orgasm” and the claws come out.Its ridiculous.!