Some of us from the “sex, drugs and rock-and-roll” generation were
honestly only into the music, but the tidal wave of adolescent revolt
demanding permission to give and get “free love” splashed up onto
everyone, regardless. We’ve gone from a society where our mothers
whispered “don’t get pregnant” without telling us how that happens (or how
to make sure that it doesn’t happen) to one where we have relentless
prime-time TV commercials for Erectile Dysfunction medications but no ads
for birth control of any kind.
Which brings me to the subject of Stormy Daniels and the reaction to her
recent performance in Martinsburg, getting top billing on the marquee of
“Lust” as well as on the front page of this Sunday newspaper. Because of
her alleged affair with the future President and his pay-off to her, she has
become both victim and perpetrator in this sordid episode of the 45th
administration of the Oval Office.
As personally likeable and credible as she seems, Stormy Daniels is a
professional pornographer, which is a rank above merely acting in “adult
films.” If we disapprove of how she profits from her Constitutionallyprotected
business, then we also should similarly judge her clientele.
Instead of seeing her riding piggyback in her little fluffy red skirt, I would
rather have seen a photo of the nightclub's parking lot, overflowing with the
truckloads who came to see her.
The so-called “sexual revolution” was meant to equalize male and female to
have the same power in any relationship, be it a one-night-stand, a pole
dance, or a marriage; the idea was that women should have the knowledge,
the power and the responsibility to make their own decisions. Back then,
we thought we were being invited to a buffet of equal participation, but
somehow we ended up being the waitresses, cooks and dishwashers,
rather than taking a seat at the table. Half a century later we still see more
of the same pattern; women are being blamed for the bad-boy behaviors
that have never changed. And in the mean-time, encouraged by
magazines like Playboy and Cosmo, women now seem to be eager to give
themselves away for free, even though the demand and value of our
“services” have not abated. That’s not how economics should work, even in
this age of de-regulation.
For many of us, discussing sex-related issues doesn’t necessarily mirror
our own personal attitudes. But that’s the only message some people hear,
and justifiably why some don’t want to discuss it at all, like my own mother.
I’ve had comments from readers of my abortion-related columns calling for
me to be “neutered” (I already am, many thanks to nature!) and to control
my “proclivities” (I had to look that up in the dictionary). But worse yet are
comments from pro-choice responders who assume that since I speak for
the right to abortion, I also share their support for legalized prostitution,
pornography, womb-renting, orgies, polygamy and strip clubs.
Evidently, the past 50 years has taught us nothing if the message of the
Sexual Revolution has been diluted into “if men can be bad, so can
women.” For many, the Women’s Movement suffered its final fatal blow
after Madonna (the pop singer) was described as a “feminist” because she
cut out the middleman of the worlds’ oldest profession by becoming her
own Madam. Like Stormy, she took financial control of her own
objectification, and became a twisted icon for “women’s liberation.”
It’s examples like these that can make a girl realize that if the woman still
gets the blame and the shame, she might as well get the money, too. Men
have been raking it in by the truck-loads, without having to bear the same
level of guilt and public scrutiny, since day one.
Judging from the comments printed in this newspaper, the Old-School
Rules that slander only women for sexual misbehavior but give male
participants a “pass” are still very much in effect. Women, anatomically,
risk disproportionate consequences from sexual activity that are not
shared by men. But if there is to be public shaming, it should be pointed
equally towards both.
Anothercarolwilliams
Shepherdstown, West Virginia