Dear EmailNation Subscriber,
As the self-appointed champion of gay marriage, fidelity and "normal" homosexuals, former New Republic editor Andrew Sullivan has made a career out of railing against the "sexual pathologies that plague homosexuals," disparaging gay activists for their radical "liberationist" agenda and attacking gay male culture for its "libidinal pathology." So when a scandal erupted over Sullivan's placement of a personal ad on a website called Barebackcity.com, which advertises itself as the "one stop source for bareback [i.e. unprotected anal] sex," accusations began to fly across the internet-- Sullivan is a reckless and irresponsible hypocrite, a pundit who never had any intention of adhering to the moral standards by which he has so often judged others.
But queers and leftists should pause before nailing Sullivan to his own cross, writes Richard Kim in "Andrew Sullivan, Overexposed," a provocative web-only essay available exclusively at:
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=special&s=kim20010605
If we delight in discovering that Sullivan the moralist doesn't follow his own prescriptions, we need to ask whether excoriating him for his hypocrisy risks concurring with Sullivan's original understanding of sin-- if only to turn the tables on him. Instead of fomenting sexual fear and revulsion, Kim argues, we should be building sexual communities and working within them to promote safe sex while respecting sexual freedom.
Don't forget that you can send this or any other article you read on the site to friends, family or political antagonists using our Email-To-A-Friend feature.
Best Regards, Danielle Veith Director of Publicity