I'm not at all convinced there's a contradiction here, but if there is, it's one I happily embrace. These are equally important ideals.
If I can't use my nipple clamps, I don't want to be part of your revolution, to paraphrase Emma Goldman.
Liza
> From: Gordon Fitch <gcf at panix.com>
> Reply-To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
> Date: Wed, 16 Oct 2002 12:27:54 -0400
> To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com
> Subject: Re: Towards a More Sex-Positive -- And More Relevant -- Left
>
> Thomas Seay:
>> Anthony, Thank you for bringing up this interesting
>> and important subject and for having the courage to
>>
>> I am going to throw out a few ideas here just for
>> discussion.
>>
>> A) Large sectors of the Left have always found biology
>> and the body problematic. It, the body, somehow did
>> not fit in neatly with utopian schemes. For many, it
>> was a distraction from the urgent matter of "building
>> a revolution" (what kind of revoltion without the
>> body?), hence sexuality, especially erotic sexuality
>> was seen as a distraction, a bourgeois deviation.
>> This part of the Left does not see the fulfillment of
>> human desires as part of the revolutionary agenda.
>>
>>
>> More generally, much of the Left has historically
>> distrusted the topic of biology. They are stuck in
>> rationalism...any discussion of genetics raises the
>> spectre of fascism in their eyes. No, better abandon
>> biology to the Right.
>>
>> B) As part of its general retreat, much of the Left
>> has abandoned any positive demands. Instead, many
>> prefer the safe territory of identity politics where
>> they can be victims and/or framing everything in
>> moralistic terms. Raising a radical demand, like
>> greater sexual freedom would be too risqe'.
>
> I wish you'd be more specific about which parts of the Left
> you believe are anti-sex. It's not something I perceive
> generally, which is remarkable given I'm living in the U.S.,
> a country which has historically been obsessed with sex.
> Note that a lot of lefitsts are concerned with food, housing,
> drugs, medical care and physically livable environments, which
> except for teen-agers, constitute more immediate problems
> of the body than getting laid when they're unavailable.
>
> Also, I'm wondering what you mean, specifically, by demanding
> greater sexual freedom. One of my friends is a sort of
> transsexual, and takes a certain amount of abuse for it, but
> it's typically been from Gay politicals rather than from the
> government, conservative institutions, bourgeois philistines,
> or street thugs. What could be done in the way of expanding
> this person's political space? Again, some of my web site
> clients are professional dominatrixes, who are under a
> certain amount of legal restriction and social deprecation,
> but I'm not sure how we could approach liberating them at
> the same time as we're getting down with the common, not-
> so-rad folk as so many others are advising us to do lately,
> right on this mailing list.
>
>
> -- Gordon
>