[lbo-talk] Re: Weird ideas of freedom

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

On 1/10/07, Brian Charles  Dauth <magcomm at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> > You merely arrogantly assert that one group of people (those who engage in
> > 'vanilla' sex) are inferior to another group of people (those who are
> > "sexually liberated"). It is supreme arrogance on your part to dare to
> > judge the internal state of those engaging in "vanilla sex." You don't
> > know a fucking thing about any of them but a merely engaging in the
> > delusion that you can read minds.
>
> In 2006, the Journal of Homosexuality produced a double issue (2/3) on the
> subject of bdsm.
>
> One of the articles is an "empirical investigation of four perspectives" on
> bdsm.  While acknowledging that more research must be done to confirm their
> preliminary findings, at the conclusion of their paper the authors write
> that: "Sadomasochists in this research reported having had more sex partners
> and a greater likelihood of having explored non-herterosexual experiences.
> They were also more likely to be sexually active relative to
> non-sadomasochists . . . One might wonder whether SM ought to be understood
> best as a game explored by the sexually sophisticated and adventurous,
> involving the manipulation of power for erotic purposes."
>
> If one can acknowledge that a person can have a more sophisticated
> understanding of Marx, classical music or Impressionist painting, what is so
> difficult about acknowledging that there are levels of sophistication at
> play in sexuality as well?  Chuck's innocuous comment that "kinksters are
> more sexually liberated and enjoy more freedom than people who just muck
> along" may well be a simple statement of fact rather than the arrogant
> assertion that Carrol's hyper-defensive response would lead one to believe.
> (The study also showed that "dominant men were more likely to hold
> pro-feminist attitudes than 'normal' control group participants."  Maybe
> getting men into bdsm is a strategy for increasing their pro-feminist
> tendencies.  You might have to abandon your celibacy if you truly want to
> help women Charles).
>
> Another study indicated that "gay male participants showed a preference for
> hypermasculinity and straight men respondents for humiliation" (gays also
> seemed to prefer dildos while straight men opted for gags).  There is also
> an interesting article about "lessons from the edge" and the transformative
> potential of intense erotic intimacy.  Maybe that wishful thinking is not so
> wishful under some circumstances.
>
> Brian

If the survey is correct and dominant men tend to be pro-feminist but
straight men into BDSM prefer humiliation to domination, it doesn't
seem as if the result would be an improvement for women or feminism.

As for numbers of actions and partners, most surveys show that men are
more sexually active than women and gay men are more sexually active
than lesbians.  Does that mean men are more sexually sophisticated
than women and gay men are more sexually sophisticated than lesbians?
Or could it be that quality can't be inferred from quantity?
-- 
Yoshie
<http://montages.blogspot.com/>
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