I happen to believe that for too long the Left has avoided confronting the main issue of sex -- not just the civil rights of some sexual minorities (and some not so minor, such as the GLBTs (gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered)) or the issues of birth control, contraception, abortion, or teen pregnancy -- but the relevance and legitimacy of sexual feelings, desires, and interrelationships; as wel as the use of the erotic medium (i.e. erotica and pornography) to express those desires and feelings. It seems that sexual passion and eroticism appears to be seen by many of our intellectuals as either a passing fad that will be "cured" with the revolution, a trivial distraction from the "real" issues of race or class or gender, or at the most Puritan worst, a cancer to be exercised in the name of promoting politically correct notions of "egaitarian love" or "non-degradation". I see this trend particularly in the sex-hating, man-hating rhetoric of the anti-pornography and anti-prostitution "feminist" movement and some sections of the more conservative "gay-marriage" movement.
I am not saying that their main professed concerns about nonconsensual sexual acts and everyday boorishness about sex are not legitimate and worthy of action. (Indeed, as a working sex radical and a progressive, I share the very same concerns as they do about rape, abuse of children, coerced prostitution, and unwanted pregnancy, particularly among adolescents.) Where I part company with the erotophobic Left (and their allies on the Right and Center), however, is in their conclusions that suppression and censorship of consensual erotic expression and behavior is the ideal solution. I also take great exception with their viewpoint that the erotic medium is inherently oppressive to humankind (especially to women), and that all men who view the erotic medium are automatically predisposed to acts of violence and/or beliefs of subordination toward others.
If the erotophobes ever manage to take off their blinders and actually view the erotic medium, they will find that it is actually a diverse, sprawling medium of people, many of whom have a variety of visions for themselves. Some visions are certainly quite misogynic, racist, and reactionary, and should be loudly condemned as such. However, the majority of the images of the erotic realm are generally quite vanilla, non-threatening images of people having or thinking about sex (albeit often within the context of the Madison Avenue/Hollywood standards of "beauty" exploited mostly to sell their goods and products....in this, no different really than the usual mainstream pushers of capitalist culture). And in some cases, there are even some true revolutionaries within the medium who utilize the principles of sexual pleasure and erotic passion in its best and most transgressive form as a tool for not just healing and consensus between the races (and genders, and classes), but al! so!
as a means of radical education of people about their bodies....education that has been deied by the forces of reaction for way too long.
I can attest to this because I have been a follower and a fan of the erotic medium -- both in its hardcore (XXX) and softcore (B-movie/late-night cable TV/Internet) forms -- for well over 15 years. It was pro-pleasure and progressive activists like Nina Hartley (whom I consider my personal mentor in all things progressive and sexual), Susie Bright, Dr. Betty Dodson, Margo St. James, and Dr. Carol Queen -- and sex radical theorists such as Wilhelm Reich, Emma Goldman, Gayle Rubin, and Scott Tucker -- which greatly influenced my own philosophy on sex and its relationship to humankind; many of these people have or have had strong ties to the Left. Yet, it seems that despite the many successes of sex radicals and sex-positives in demystifying the relationships of sex and sexual freedom, much of the Left continues -- sadly, I must conclude -- to revert to rehashed, recycled, outdated, and disrespectful theories about the essential evil and danger of sexual thought; especially ! co! n cerning women. Parroting the half truths of the Religious Right on sexuality does not make for effective policy making.
This is not to say that the prevailing view of some on the right-wing libertarian side that sexual relations shoudn't be even discussed and that wholesale abandoment of concerns about racism or sexism or fair worker treatment and compensation shouldn't apply. But I believe that just as a comprehensive sex-positive, sex radical theory of the overall system of sexual repression and sexual liberation will, IMHO, benefit the Left as a whole, I also believe that a dose of progressive analysis will just as likely benefit the overall sex-positive movement by giving it some sense of continuity with the outside world. And everyone -- whatever their political, social, or sexual variation -- could benefit greatly from the ratcheting down of the heated rhetoric that passes for present debate.
I could go on ad nauseum....but I don't want to monopolize this list's valuable space, and besides, I have my own clubs and newsgroups to ramble on ad infinitum.
OK, fellow and sister leftists......REACTION???
I apologize for the lengthy rant; I simply had to state my views for all of you.
War Aphrodite, War Lady Chatterley, and War Progressive Sex Radicals!!!
:-)
Anthony
P.S. If you like or dislike what you just saw, reach me at my House of Chatterley Club at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HouseOfChatterleyClub
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