Well, well, well. Dan Savage gets all squirmy and horrified about incest. You came down pretty hard on Please Help for having sex with his sister. But can you tell me why incest is any more horrifying than male homosexuality? At least incestuous intercourse follows the natural function of the sexual organs! You may reply that incest causes genetic problems. However, statistically, the danger of that is far less than AIDS from gay intercourse. In the gays I have known, I have often sensed a deep personal dishonesty, and part of that may be the refusal to acknowledge that homosexuality is in fact abnormal. –You’re the Freak
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First off, pointing out that homosexuality isn’t normal doesn’t wound me. While homosexuality is a naturally occurring abnormality, I’ll cheerfully admit that it is an abnormality. As for the relative dangers of gay and straight sex, an individual gay man’s sex life is only as dangerous as he decides to make it–and, hello, I get hundreds of letters every day from straight people whose sex lives are infinitely more dangerous than mine.
Incest fans would have us believe that since gay people have rejected the ancient taboo against homosexuality, any gay person who supports the taboo against incest is a hypocrite. But there’s an important distinction between homosexuality and incest, one that defensive incest fans can’t seem to grasp. To wit: homosexuals are people, and incest is an act. The taboo against gay sex was irrational because it denied gay people the right to any sexual expression or romantic attachment, and consequently it was as unjust as it was unenforceable. The taboo against incest, however, is not an attempt to deny people access to love and intimacy but an attempt to direct our sexual feelings toward healthier, more appropriate targets.
“If, after you’ve moved out and spent some time away from your sister–at least a year–you decide you simply can’t live without her, and if by some chance she feels the same way about you, you can do what other siblings in your shoes have done. You can move far, far away from your parents and everyone you know, cut off all contact with your immediate and extended family, change your names, and live happily (if creepily) ever after.”
OK! Enough with this creepy incest stuff! Savage Love readers have one more week to vote in the My Man Sure Looks Hot in His Tighty Whities contest at www.tightywhitiesarehot.com and send me to Vegas with someone who looks really good in his TWs. And don’t worry–I’m not related to any of the contestants.
