Re: Big gay essay
Posted by Bill S
on 7/27/2006, 6:35 pm, in reply to "Re: Big gay essay"
64.121.198.115|
Maybe it is semantics, which are never a trivial thing. As far as I'm concerned, there's no meaningful difference when it comes to having an attribute like race or sexuality and acting upon it, since even nonaction can be interpreted politically. --Previous Message--
: Maybe I'm not making myself clear,
: or maybe it actually IS just
: semantics in this case. I'd say
: it's the power gap itself which is
: political, not necessarily the
: factor which has caused it.
:
: Granted, there are numerous
: cultural and even political
: factors which have been attached
: as a reaction to sexuality, but
: sexuality itself is neither
: political nor man-made.
:
: Labelling oneself as homosexual
: may be a poltical act. Acting on
: one's homosexual desires may be a
: politcal act. Fighting for one's
: rights as a homosexual is
: definitely a political act. But
: merely being homosexual is not a
: political act.
:
: --Previous Message--
: Sexuality (from the basic
: hetero/homo to a taste for
: backrooms) is composed of a
: mixture of biological and
: sociological factors that become
: so blended that I think it's
: problematic to call it
: "inherently" anything
: except human. The
: homo/heterosexual divide is in
: itself man-made (in the 19th
: century, I believe), and so,
: according to your definition,
: political anyway.
:
: I think any factor that
: differentiates people or groups of
: people from one another,
: especially when it creates a power
: gap, is political.
:
: --Previous Message--
: Law, etchics, discourse, morality,
: etc., all of which are man-made
: concepts and all of which may
: somehow be related to sexual
: orientation are inheretly
: political. Anything that can be
: argued is inherently political.
:
: Sexuality cannot be argued. It's
: just there. It's biolgical and
: instinctive. The only thing that
: can be argued is our REACTION to
: sexuality, which is a different
: thing entirely.
:
: Thus, again, my point that having
: a specific sexuality does not
: equate to having a specific
: political viewpoint.
:
: --Previous Message--
: What issues are "inherently
: political"?
:
: --Previous Message--
: Sexual orientation has been
: POLITICIZED, to be sure, just as
: race, ethnicity, and dietary
: preference. These things, however,
: are not INHERENTLY political,
: which is what I was pointing out.
:
: Once again, the fact that two
: inidividuals share a sexual
: orientation (or a skin color) does
: not mean that they share a
: political philosophy. You and I
: are proof of that.
:
: While there may be cases where it
: might be politically expedient for
: all homosexuals to speak with one
: political voice, it clearly isn't
: going to happen, what with that
: pesky free will and all.
:
: --Previous Message--
: I had lots of reactions to your
: essay, most of which I think I'd
: better address at my own site
: someday. One question for now,
: though: how can sexual orientation
: be politically neutral when
: discrimination based on that
: factor is alive and well? Doesn't
: the fact of that discrimination,
: and that "enemies of sexual
: freedom must be fought off,"
: make sexuality political?
:
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