In America, sex is always in the news. (Note: it’s actually not like that in most other countries.)
That news provides a chance for sincere, well-informed people to disagree. But these days, unfortunately, people are using the day’s sex news more as a chance to choose up sides—to define what your opinion means about you and all your other opinions.
~ “I disagree” has been replaced by “You’re misogynist”…
Every year at this time, National White Ribbon Against Pornography (WRAP) Week mobilizes tens of thousands of civic leaders, religious figures, and policy-makers. The goal is to spread lies about the dangers of adult pornography, and its alleged connections with sex trafficking, domestic violence, and child exploitation.
I have written about this cynical, shameful project many times (https://goo.gl/fYS2KE; https://goo.gl/4juJRQ; https://goo.gl/HHkHKo).
Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy magazine, died this week at age 91. He was extraordinarily innovative and influential, and he was reviled by a lot of people for exactly those reasons.
When the 27-year-old Hefner started Playboy in 1953, America was a sexually sick country.
As a lifelong “liberal” it breaks my heart to say this, but “liberals” and “progressives” are making it harder and harder to write about things that matter. Here are examples of facts that I and others hesitate to write about:
Consider the astounding fact that we have more sexual options than almost any other society in the history of the world. And think about the individuals who suffered to create or maintain that freedom.
Sex researcher Alfred Kinsey’s science is still accurate, relevant, and important–no matter how much conspiracy-theorist Judith Reisman and anti-gay crusaders try to discredit the man and his work.