Sunday, December 9, 2018

Antitoxin

Some people might say that feminism's attack on male sexuality is unjustified. But even giving feminists the benefit of the doubt, and assuming that male sexuality is problematic (e.g., characterized by an instinctively rapacious impulse), any solution we come to has to first understand this sexuality, and be sensitive to those who are "afflicted" by it. This isn't a softened way of saying we should give leniency to rapists, but we must understand what is driving the male sexual impulse, what it means - the value that it has - to the individual male, why it is manifesting in ways that are problematic for society or womankind, and what alternatives are available that enables the male to achieve full sexual satisfaction, and not what essentially amounts to figurative castration.

Saying that "men's sexual urges are wrong and must be curtailed" is nothing less than a declaration of war, and it's not going to inspire anything other than full-scale retaliation (hence: men's rights activism). You'd have to be daft to expect any other outcome. There's plenty of talk out there about how "male sexuality is problematic". I want to hear more understanding of the significance of the sexual drive to a male, and discussion of ways that it can be fulfilled, to a satisfying extent, that are acceptable to society. In other words, you can't just stand there and tell men what they can't do with their penises. You must acknowledge the joy their penises bring them, and then suggest ways they can acquire that joy that we all can be happy with.

For example: don't tell men, "enough with the dick pics already!" Tell them, "yes, penises are fascinating organs. But most people aren't going to want you to stick yours in their face without warning. Be courteous. There are lots of websites on the internet where you can share pictures of your dick with people who will appreciate them. An exciting world of consensual exhibitionism awaits you!" See? Not condemnation. But redirection - into appropriate outlets. It's about learning the contexts in which certain behaviors are or are not appropriate. Not labeling an activity as bad, identifying the male sex drive as the motivating factor, and then tarring and feathering it, demonizing it wholesale, throwing the baby of sexual ecstasy out with the bathwater of inappropriate sexual misconduct.

[description: a man undresses, exposing his erection to a secretary at the office]

I don't want to sound conceited harping on about how dumb the human race is (but if that's what it sounds like, then so be it - I'm not going to hold my tongue for the sake of image) - I know people have accomplished some amazingly intelligent feats, and I'm not half as smart as I wish I could be. But I swear, when I look at society, I see a whole lot of dumbing things down to appeal to the lowest common denominator. I mean, it's just statistics, right? But black-and-white thinking is for people who don't possess the processing power to render a hundred different shades of grey. And it's very frustrating living as a greyscale being in a black-or-white world.