Been wanting to write this for some time. I just never have the time to sit down and "just do it." So I'll take a stab at it now and try to be brief.
Like many of you, I've been following the Larry Craig public restroom scandal and even thought we can all point the finger, laugh, and show how hypocritical Republican lawmakers can be, it worries me how the media, bloggers, and other armchair enthusiasts are framing the incident.
"He's gay!"
"He was caught engaging in homosexual acts!"
"He toe-tapped the guy! That's what gays do when they proposition for sex!"
The problem I have with what's being said (in the general discourse) is that people are equating anonymous sex as a homosexual act. By framing it as such perpetuates the idea that homosexuals engage in perverted sex and it therby perpetuates predjudice, stereotypes, more homophobia and on and on. What happened to Senator Larry Craig may very well not be a case of gay sex but rather a sexual disorder common among heterosexual men.
My wife used to work with sex offenders in western Massachusetts and I was amazed to learn the high number of heterosexual men who engage in anonymous sex with other men. It likely stems from sexual abuse as a child or the person has a sex addiction that they're willing to go to any lengths to get "their high," and that means crossing the gender line.
Let's get this straight. This DOES NOT ENTIRELY constitute as homosexual sex. What I've oftern heard or experienced in most discussions is homosexuals (for the most part) engage in anonymous sex. I get upset because this premise implies they are incapable of healthy sex and it REALLY pisses me off.
Larry Craig's is a sexual disorder, not gay sex (or at least that's how I interpreted it) and it is important that people out there recognize this slippery slop of associating homosexuals with anonymous sex. Sexual disorders don't discriminate... and it doesn't mean that mean that heterosexual men get "their highs" from prostitutes, like Senator David Vitter (GOP-LA).
I wish the rest of America would make this connection because instead, we continue to perpetuate myths about gay sex, and thereby persist in homophobia, prejudice, and hate.
I hope this was clear. Let me know if not. I just had to get this out!
Crossposted at Green Mountain Daily: