Things are getting worse. For a responsible, sexually active citizen, these discussions serve more or less as sources for facts, guidance, ruminations, and entertainment. This is how we inform ourselves. I have sometimes wondered how people put this fearful, somber, practical information to use while exciting, invigorating, primal sensations are racing through their minds, hearts, and bodies. As a young urban adult, I know many like myself do not copulate along party lines.
Sex is more complicated and, equally as often, more simple than that.
It also means questioning the way our society assigns privilege based on adherence to its moral codes, and in fact makes every sexual choice a matter of morality. Considering the depth of fears, myths, and taboos about SM, it is easy to comprehend the personal strength necessary for budding sadomasochists as we strive to accept desires too strong to ignore against enormous moral, social and psychological odds. We are swimming against a strong social tide in a society that places much emphasis on image and material achievement in its concepts and identity. If sex is repressed, that is, condemned to prohibition, nonexistence, and silence, then the mere fact that one is speaking about it has the appearance of a deliberate transgression. I disown that distinction completely.