Sexual Hang Ups In the GOP and America
Hot on the trail of Jack Ryan's spicy marriage revelations it appears that a potential replacement for Ryan, Chicago physician Andrea Grubb Barthwell, has some sexual repression of her own. In a memo recently released for public scrutiny it appears that Barthwell joined in some naughtily inappropriate banter with a co-worker. Read more here.
Ya know, it has always been a joke that Republicans are uptight about sex, and the truth is that many are, it comes part and parcel to the more socially conservative breed of Republican. While being cogniscent of sexuality it seems that any form of sexual innuendo or playful talk has come to bite the GOP in the behind (no pun intended). This is ironic because Republicans are revered for being sexual prudes.
Now I don't think that sex and sexuality ought to be taken lightly as there is a time and place for all of that, but many Republicans (like alot of more socially conservative Americans) have allowed sex and sexuality to become a very powerful and forbidding entity in their lives to the extent that they freak out about anything remotely sexual.
All of this is unfortunate, and in my opinion I believe that it is a result of the demonized side of sex that we are taught from the time we are little. As an ex-Catholic I know a bit about this, and while do laugh a bit at Jack Ryan and Andrea Barthwell (stoic "conservatives") I sympathize with them because they have fallen victim to the dualistic approach to sex and sexuality.
Rather than being taught to understand that sex is a natural part of the individual that should be appreciated and nurtured in a responsible, adult context, many like Ryan and others are taught that sex and love are separate and that desire and experimentation are wrong and incompatible with moral living. In fact, the opposite is true: The need for sex and enjoyment of sexuality are a natural and necessary part of being alive and enjoying life. While there is potential for abuse and twisting of sex and sexuality, such abuse is not an inherent primary aspect of such sexual enjoyment, appreciation of the human body, and learning want turns you on.
While America does benefit from aspects of our Puritanical roots in terms of being more cautious about things sexual, such caution is also an aspect of being more reasoned in our approach to sex. At this point seeing all the unnecessary sexual hang ups by GOP members and other Americans, we need to ditch the Puritanism and be open and honest with ourselves about sex, acknowledge that it is okay and a very good thing, and learn to enjoy what we like in a responsible context, and to hell with those too afraid to do so who try to shame us.
Posted by Kyle Sing | Comments (2) | TrackBack
chicagoreport.net
(a response)
This is simply a little bit of political Darwinism at work. Ryan could have probably sustained his campaign and answered to the "charge". Other than fumbling and fidgeting around with the party leadership, he had actually done nothing wrong. But he caved at the first wave of real pressure. Does Illinois really need a senator that goes muddle-headed during a crisis?
As for the GOP being puritanical, every farm boy knows that the most stridently uptight, marked-by-original-sin, self-loathing preacher's daughter is hotter than a two dollar pistol on a Saturday night and squeezing out febrile tears at the alter on Sunday. Lefty feminist chicks can be languid to the point of literally phoning it in; the puritanically righteous multi-task at their sinning. |
