To Carole and Gordon: Let me clarify myself here. I am not one who advocates, like some of the more exotic sex radicals I've seen, that particular sex practices or orientations are inherently "revolutionary" and should be force upon everyone on the Left; nor do I believe that sexual freedom should in any way reduce the importance of all of the other inequalities (class, race, ecological, political, etc.) to the central project of the Left. My theory of sex-positivism incorporates more of a broad-based belief that human beings shoulf have both the resources and the education to make informed and consensual decisions concerning their own sexual behavior; and that their choices should be more respected and accepted.
As for Carole's notion that the "anti-sex left" is only a figment of some outsider's imagination: I invite you to check out a recent article that appeared in Counterpunch by Professor Robert Jensen called "Rape is Normal" (http://www.counterpunch.org/jensen0904.html); it clearly states his complete absorption of the Dworkin-MacKinnon theory of male sexual rapicity/female passivity in order to sell his analysis of pornography and prostitution as a grave threat to women and a tool of "capitalist patriarchy". And I won't begin to mention the numerous anti-abortion leftists who appear on this list from time to time. (In my personal view, the centerpiece of anti-abortion activism (whether left or right) isn't about protecting the fetus; it's controlling women and their sexuality; it's no surprise that most "pro-life" leftists also happen to be staunchly sex-negative and erotophobic.)
And to Carole's blast about "Bleacher Bums": whether we like it or not, we on the Left will have to admit that we are indeed currently on the outside looking in; if we are to gain any relevance with the real world -- and not just criticize it from the outside -- we must be willing to accept the fact that real people do have sex, that most men and women do have real sexual feelings and fantasies, that they will use the erotic medium to express those feelings and fantasies, and that those feelings and fantasies need to be acknowledged and respected. Sex is an integral aspect of human life; it needs to be acknowedged with the full treatment it deserves.
I'm not saying that everyone should grab their nearest sex toys and do themselves five times a day; I'm simply saying that some elements of the Left are incapable of acepting the basic fact of sexual liberation as a vital part of the human liberation project.
I'll have more on this as the debate develops.
:-)
Anthony
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