srparedon – editorials (archive)

October 1998

Many gay groups and women's organizations have hailed two recent Supreme Court decisions that expand the definition of sexual harassment. But these are decisions only lawyers could like. By reinforcing the notion that sex is fraught with unique, malevolent, criminal– and increasingly profitable– danger, the court actually retards our arrival at the saner sexual values that would truly advance women's and gay people's status.

In Oncale v Sundowner a man claimed that male co-workers repeatedly harassed and assaulted him. The court held that federal law did not require him to be a woman in order for sex… Continue reading →

September 1998

Elizabeth Birch, head of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a gay rights organization, has been quoted calling Sex Panic a "kind of lunatic fringe group." Birch may have been referring to a recent conference called Sex Panic which addressed issues of sexual freedom. Or she may have been talking about Sex Panic!, a New York-based group resisting efforts to eradicate, police, and criminalize ever more sexual expression. Whichever "Sex Panic" Birch was criticizing, her comments were meant to suggest that the gay cause was being hurt by those focusing on basic sex issues.

And Birch is not… Continue reading →

August 1998

Top on the agenda of many gay and lesbian groups is enacting "hate crime" laws. Such laws require courts to evaluate language used during a crime to determine if the offense was motivated by "hatred" of the victim's religion, ethnicity, or– in some jurisdictions now– sexual orientation. If the crime is deemed "hateful," these new laws mandate harsher punishments.

Gay collaboration with drives to enact such measures is a terrible mistake, for hate crimes laws are incompatible with justice. Moreover, it is short-sighted for gay people to further arm the state with more ways to punish people… Continue reading →

July 1998

The erection-enhancing drug Viagra has garnered enormous attention. Talk shows, editorial pages, and the Internet have been inundated with news, humor, and comment about the drug. Two messages emerge from all this Viagra hoopla. 

First, American culture has made significant progress towards more rational and less destructive sexual attitudes. Two generations ago religious-based injunctions against all non-procreative sex were so pervasive that laws banned pharmacists from dispensing birth control even to married couples. But the sexual revolution won the right to reproductive choice, thus uncoupling sex from baby-making. The success of that revolution can be seen… Continue reading →

June 1998

New York City's 1994 gay pride celebrations marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Stonewall riots. Amidst the rainbow hoopla, a large contingent of marchers insisted on keeping the focus on sexual freedom. Their banners didn't boast of corporate sponsors nor tout mainstream affiliations. Instead, they demanded liberation from laws and attitudes that seek to punish those whose sexuality offends uptight sensibilities. Prohibitions against pornography, prostitution, so-called "public sex," and age-of-consent laws were among their targets.

This radical contingent urged confrontation instead of conformity, and they upset many other gay parade-goers. One angry, agitated woman shouted, "We may… Continue reading →

May 1998

What is the gay and lesbian political agenda? If you read the mission statements of our national groups, you'll find lots of talk about ending discrimination and of securing equal rights. And if many of our spokespeople are to be believed, equality with straight America is best won by demonstrating that we can be monogamous spouses, tidy neighbors, and loyal soldiers.

After centuries of homophobia, it is seductive to think that social and legal parity with heterosexuals is our goal. And, indeed, ending discrimination and presenting society with new, non-psychopathic images of homosexuality are effective tactics in… Continue reading →