During another Adam Lambert thread, I was generally supportive of Adam Lambert's AMA Performance, thinking that this kind of overt sexuality, by heteros at least, is a fairly commonplace thing, and so, therefore, Adam should be able to perform a gay version of unbridled sex just as Madonna and others routinely do.
But this judgement isn't sitting well with me. I keep thinking about it. Gays are in a struggle right now for marriage equality and adoption rights --- all the stuff of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" that other americans enjoy.
Adam simulating oral sex onstage is a bit over the top and, I think, hurts the cause for the larger gay rights struggle. We are still fighting social cons in states with gay marriage propositions on the ballot who love to bring up the effects of the "gay lifestyle" on children. There are still Anita Byrants out there (check the right wing websites) that continue to view gays as trolling for random sex in public parks, restrooms, adult bookstores.
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A month ago, there was a discussion here in the midst of an "adult bookstore" thread (How Do You Get A Blow Job in a Bookstore?) which centered around the thrills of sticky floors and dark booths and anonymous BJ encounters.
To my mind, the anonymous encounters in these video jack-off booths were actually an extension of the gay sex of the 1940's & '50's: clandestine rest stops and furtive sex in park bushes. I kept thinking to myself: we don't have to live like this anymore. There are all kinds of mainstream ways of obtaining sexual contact.
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In this thread, I made the following comment:
"Bookstore sex" is the same kind of randy sex - like public-park-sex-in-the-bushes - that people like Bill O'Reilly and social conservatives love to point to as gay depravity. Or zeroing in on the 2 or 3 drag queens at the gay parade.
Bookstore booth sex, bathhouse sex, public park sex, restroom sex --- they're all activities the gay movement must evolve past. It's not about being puritanical. It's about being practical in order to advance the gay agenda in today's politics.
Bbucko, a sensible commenter, posted this: I'm actually kinda surprised by your puritanistic attitude, WT. Jason's an adult and fully capable of testing and pushing his own limits.
And part of the erotic charge is precisely the clandestine nature of the encounter; not everyone fantasizes about lover sex on cool blue sheets with soft jazz playing on the hifi. Leave him be.
Jason Els, also an insightful poster, wrote: Why must we evolve past anything to satisfy homophobes? I agree that public park and restroom sex are inappropriate but I take complete exception to bath houses and adult books stores where age of entry is restricted.
What you're saying is that we have to assimilate to be accepted. Meanwhile straights are boinking each other all over the place including public parks, parking lots, and restrooms (albeit usually in age-restricted bars and clubs) without any comment from the homophobic press. What you're actually advocating is a double standard and that doesn't advance anyone's agenda beyond those who believe that if society is to accept gay people that it requires that they hide their sexuality outside of private (or even in private in the case of bath houses and bookstores). These pernicious people want gay people to appear straight, restrict their sexual obviousness, and essentially become acceptable by being house niggers to straights. "If you want acceptance you'll have to do it on our terms," is bullshit and not a single civil rights victory has ever been achieved by pretending to be something you're not.
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Yes, in general, "assimilate to be accepted".
I do not think Adam Lambert is doing the gay movement any favors at this time with in-your-face displays of simulated oral sex and gratuitous kissing in front of an audience of 14 miilion.
And it's not just Adam. The struggle for gay equality is not going to be derailed by a cheesy AMA performance. I'm trying to get at something deeper and larger than Adam Lambert. We need to modify our public displays of (perceived) lewdness -- whether at the Pride parades or Award shows -- until equality gains full momentum.
But this judgement isn't sitting well with me. I keep thinking about it. Gays are in a struggle right now for marriage equality and adoption rights --- all the stuff of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" that other americans enjoy.
Adam simulating oral sex onstage is a bit over the top and, I think, hurts the cause for the larger gay rights struggle. We are still fighting social cons in states with gay marriage propositions on the ballot who love to bring up the effects of the "gay lifestyle" on children. There are still Anita Byrants out there (check the right wing websites) that continue to view gays as trolling for random sex in public parks, restrooms, adult bookstores.
--------------------
A month ago, there was a discussion here in the midst of an "adult bookstore" thread (How Do You Get A Blow Job in a Bookstore?) which centered around the thrills of sticky floors and dark booths and anonymous BJ encounters.
To my mind, the anonymous encounters in these video jack-off booths were actually an extension of the gay sex of the 1940's & '50's: clandestine rest stops and furtive sex in park bushes. I kept thinking to myself: we don't have to live like this anymore. There are all kinds of mainstream ways of obtaining sexual contact.
----------
In this thread, I made the following comment:
"Bookstore sex" is the same kind of randy sex - like public-park-sex-in-the-bushes - that people like Bill O'Reilly and social conservatives love to point to as gay depravity. Or zeroing in on the 2 or 3 drag queens at the gay parade.
Bookstore booth sex, bathhouse sex, public park sex, restroom sex --- they're all activities the gay movement must evolve past. It's not about being puritanical. It's about being practical in order to advance the gay agenda in today's politics.
Bbucko, a sensible commenter, posted this: I'm actually kinda surprised by your puritanistic attitude, WT. Jason's an adult and fully capable of testing and pushing his own limits.
And part of the erotic charge is precisely the clandestine nature of the encounter; not everyone fantasizes about lover sex on cool blue sheets with soft jazz playing on the hifi. Leave him be.
Jason Els, also an insightful poster, wrote: Why must we evolve past anything to satisfy homophobes? I agree that public park and restroom sex are inappropriate but I take complete exception to bath houses and adult books stores where age of entry is restricted.
What you're saying is that we have to assimilate to be accepted. Meanwhile straights are boinking each other all over the place including public parks, parking lots, and restrooms (albeit usually in age-restricted bars and clubs) without any comment from the homophobic press. What you're actually advocating is a double standard and that doesn't advance anyone's agenda beyond those who believe that if society is to accept gay people that it requires that they hide their sexuality outside of private (or even in private in the case of bath houses and bookstores). These pernicious people want gay people to appear straight, restrict their sexual obviousness, and essentially become acceptable by being house niggers to straights. "If you want acceptance you'll have to do it on our terms," is bullshit and not a single civil rights victory has ever been achieved by pretending to be something you're not.
----------
Yes, in general, "assimilate to be accepted".
I do not think Adam Lambert is doing the gay movement any favors at this time with in-your-face displays of simulated oral sex and gratuitous kissing in front of an audience of 14 miilion.
And it's not just Adam. The struggle for gay equality is not going to be derailed by a cheesy AMA performance. I'm trying to get at something deeper and larger than Adam Lambert. We need to modify our public displays of (perceived) lewdness -- whether at the Pride parades or Award shows -- until equality gains full momentum.