The American Spectator

Another Perspective

p>The "Free for All" page of the Saturday Washington Post has become mainly a forum for the politically correct to complain that their exquisite sensitivities have been rudely violated by some Post reporter or editor who has failed, say, to include the pronouns appropriate to both sexes or who has made the mistake of mentioning a woman's appearance. Last Saturday, one Bill Crews of Washington wrote to remind us that, as he put it, "Not Everyone Is Straight": br> /p>

A certain strain of heterosexism -- a belief that everyone is or ought to be heterosexual -- was alive and well in "Let's Talk About Sex," on the March 27 In the Loop page. "Every last one" of the male interns in Congress "will probably be" at an appearance by "Grey's Anatomy" TV star Kate Walsh, reporters Mary Ann Akers and Paul Kane wrote. They seemed to totally discount that there are gay male interns who might not be all that interested in Walsh. Maybe they'd be more interested in her co-stars, Eric Dane and Justin Chambers. Maybe some lesbian interns would want to see Walsh. Your literary device demeaned and discounted gay men and lesbians and contributed to the social stigma placed on them. It had no place in The Post.

br> Imagine! It is now to be thought demeaning to a young person if it is assumed that he (or she!) might leer at one sex rather than the other. Equal opportunity ogling! What is wrong with this picture? What happened to the official culture's stern insistence that it is wrong and shameful to ogle anyone? Oh, right. I forgot. There is no more official culture. Or rather, the formerly unofficial culture that once had to hide away in corners and feel ashamed about yielding to unbridled appetite has now become the official culture. Like Mr. Crews, it's out and it's proud -- which is what produces such new problems as that of, say, the gay scout. When I was a scout, it was pretty generally understood that the promise to be "clean" somehow included the promise not to engage in sex of any kind, gay or straight. Not that we had much choice in the matter anyway. But now his sexual feelings, gay or straight, are thought to be an essential part of even quite a young child's identity.

topics:
Law, NATO