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Are We Having
Fun Yet?
By Kate Burch
In the early days of the flood of stories about Harvey Weinstein’s
sexual predation we read that fashion designer Donna Karan, an old
friend of the Weinsteins defended him, suggesting that some of the
young women he targeted might have been “asking for it” by dressing and
behaving seductively. She quickly was harassed and shamed into
apologizing for her remarks by accusations that she was “blaming the
victim.” I even heard a nationally famous conservative talk radio
host express outrage about this victim-blaming.
Let me say right now that I agree with Donna Karan. She stands on
the shoulders of numerous social critics, secular social scientists,
and other people of good sense and accurate perception who see the ugly
outcomes of the sexual revolution.
Separating sexual congress from reproduction was supposed to make us
all happier. It was supposed to reduce rates of abortion, make
marriages happier and more stable, decrease poverty, and empower
women. Instead, we have seen our population and those of other
Western countries age and birth rates fall so low that some European
ethnic groups are beyond salvaging. In some large cities, such as
New York, more babies are aborted than are carried to term. The
negative psychological impact of abortion on the women who have them is
well-documented. The “hook up” culture is convincingly linked to
increased rates of anxiety and depression among female college
students. Sexually-transmitted diseases, of course, cause great
physical and emotional harm. There is subtle coercion by
governments to get people to use contraception. I can foresee the
day when prenatal testing for genetic abnormalities could be mandated,
and coerced abortion of “defective” fetuses. It is inarguable
that the institution of the family is in serious trouble, and this fact
is directly related to female impoverishment. Would anyone
dispute that the level of morality and respect for women have been
lowered?
Apparently, many girls and women want to have it both ways: they
blatantly advertise their wares and more or less overtly offer sex
without any expectation of commitment or even of a meaningful
relationship; then they affect injured innocence and claim victim
status. I am reminded of the situation in California two years
ago in which a college athlete was prosecuted and his life pretty much
ruined after he was discovered, drunk out of his mind and having sex
with a young female who was herself drunk to the point of insensibility
outside of a fraternity party. Mind you, this young woman had
gone to the party well-fortified (with alcohol) before she arrived,
drank more at the party, and then stayed on when her female companions
left. We don’t know exactly what happened leading up to the
sexual encounter, but to my mind she was at least playing with
fire. Males have an insistent sex drive for the good reason that
it is in support of species preservation, and a young woman who is
drunk and without an armada of sisters at a fraternity party is not
exercising even a scintilla of sense. Add the disinhibiting
effect of the young man’s intoxication, and disaster is likely.
The irony is that attitudes that people are entitled to have sex
without responsibility or consequences, and that men and women are the
same in their sexual desires and that women want sex without attachment
has led, not to liberation, but to victimization and degradation of
women. This is not going to be solved by protests, marches, and
legislation, but only by women reclaiming the moral high ground and
respecting themselves.
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