Read Online College Sex - Philosophy for Everyone: Philosophers With Benefits by Fritz Allhoff, Michael Bruce - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Fritz Allhoff, Michael Bruce
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rities or politicians get caught in the act; it enlivens otherwise mundane social science research and mind-numbing daytime talk shows. One does not have to search far and wide for examples of this. Recall the media frenzy that unfolded when British pop singer George Michael was offi- cially “outed” after being arrested for lewd conduct in a Los Angeles men’s room, or the more recent political spectacle that unraveled when former Idaho Senator Larry Graig was charged with a similar crime in a Minneapolis restroom.
By contrast, when high-profile gays and lesbians have an opposite-sex encounter, it is perceived differently. Rarely does the act evoke any reac- tion. Whatever media time one might elicit usually dismisses the act as a brush with bisexuality or some harmless PR stunt.The scandalous uproar one might expect to find is entirely missing. Iconic gay and lesbian celebri- ties such as Ellen Degeneres or Elton John should not be expected to ignite similar firestorms because any such acts are publicly non-essential (especially in John’s case, since he was once married to a woman many years before coming out). The trend in high-profile gay and lesbian oppo- site-sex experimentation, being largely a non-issue, applies equally to low- level or commonplace communities. Opposite-sex experiments of ordinary, self-proclaimed gays and lesbians bring forth no social controversy. In fact, virtually no attention has been paid, socially, medically, politically, cultur- ally, or otherwise, to opposite-sex experimentation among gay and lesbian college students. What are the reasons behind such glaring omissions?
Across college towns and university communities, initial departures from the norm merit some scrutiny, though any additional departures from a seemingly unconventional “norm” generate no additional con- cern. It has been customary to describe a sexual norm and simply focus on behavioral modifications that deviate from that norm. Homosexuality, once considered a mental disorder, is now clinically described as a “nor- mal variant.” However, behaviors that depart from the variant, or psycho- logically speaking, “variant of a variant,” do not warrant an equal or serious degree of social or medical attention. That is, opposite-sex exper- iments (i.e., “variant of a variant”) undertaken by self-identified gay and lesbian students are not significant enough to merit sustained analysis; after all, they’re usually dismissed as mere adolescent confusion or evi- dence of latent bisexuality.The idea here is that once you have crossed the normative line (of heterosexuality) it matters little what other lines might be crossed along the way, since you have already been tainted by the
greater stigma of homosexuality. Moreover, it is assumed that mainstream cookie-cutter gay and lesbian personas commonly venture into uncon- ventional fetishistic territory anyway, be it cross-dressing, pederasty, incest, sadomasochism, bestiality, or “polymorphic perversions” widely believed to cross the moral line. According to this line of reasoning, once one is perceived as having willfully renounced mainstream sexual prac- tices, attempting to understand one’s motivations or intentions for exper- imenting with mainstream sexuality is a bit uninteresting, for it adds little value to the study of human sexuality.
For opposite-sex experiments of gay and lesbian college students to go unnoticed as they commonly do, might initially signal the dawn of an uninhibited sexual utopia. This is not the case at all. Today’s gay and les- bian students have not arrived at some great political achievement by over- coming a climate of social opposition to their opposite-sex experimentation. Rather, its absence is cause for concern, likelihood for further neglect, and evidence of severe bigotry. Opposite-sex experiments merit no vilification or public outcry because gays and lesbians are doing what social and cul- tural norms have prescribed
By contrast, when high-profile gays and lesbians have an opposite-sex encounter, it is perceived differently. Rarely does the act evoke any reac- tion. Whatever media time one might elicit usually dismisses the act as a brush with bisexuality or some harmless PR stunt.The scandalous uproar one might expect to find is entirely missing. Iconic gay and lesbian celebri- ties such as Ellen Degeneres or Elton John should not be expected to ignite similar firestorms because any such acts are publicly non-essential (especially in John’s case, since he was once married to a woman many years before coming out). The trend in high-profile gay and lesbian oppo- site-sex experimentation, being largely a non-issue, applies equally to low- level or commonplace communities. Opposite-sex experiments of ordinary, self-proclaimed gays and lesbians bring forth no social controversy. In fact, virtually no attention has been paid, socially, medically, politically, cultur- ally, or otherwise, to opposite-sex experimentation among gay and lesbian college students. What are the reasons behind such glaring omissions?
Across college towns and university communities, initial departures from the norm merit some scrutiny, though any additional departures from a seemingly unconventional “norm” generate no additional con- cern. It has been customary to describe a sexual norm and simply focus on behavioral modifications that deviate from that norm. Homosexuality, once considered a mental disorder, is now clinically described as a “nor- mal variant.” However, behaviors that depart from the variant, or psycho- logically speaking, “variant of a variant,” do not warrant an equal or serious degree of social or medical attention. That is, opposite-sex exper- iments (i.e., “variant of a variant”) undertaken by self-identified gay and lesbian students are not significant enough to merit sustained analysis; after all, they’re usually dismissed as mere adolescent confusion or evi- dence of latent bisexuality.The idea here is that once you have crossed the normative line (of heterosexuality) it matters little what other lines might be crossed along the way, since you have already been tainted by the
greater stigma of homosexuality. Moreover, it is assumed that mainstream cookie-cutter gay and lesbian personas commonly venture into uncon- ventional fetishistic territory anyway, be it cross-dressing, pederasty, incest, sadomasochism, bestiality, or “polymorphic perversions” widely believed to cross the moral line. According to this line of reasoning, once one is perceived as having willfully renounced mainstream sexual prac- tices, attempting to understand one’s motivations or intentions for exper- imenting with mainstream sexuality is a bit uninteresting, for it adds little value to the study of human sexuality.
For opposite-sex experiments of gay and lesbian college students to go unnoticed as they commonly do, might initially signal the dawn of an uninhibited sexual utopia. This is not the case at all. Today’s gay and les- bian students have not arrived at some great political achievement by over- coming a climate of social opposition to their opposite-sex experimentation. Rather, its absence is cause for concern, likelihood for further neglect, and evidence of severe bigotry. Opposite-sex experiments merit no vilification or public outcry because gays and lesbians are doing what social and cul- tural norms have prescribed
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