The philandering politicos John Ensign and Mark Sanford, the Iranian revolution, the death of Michael Jackson. And you were all worried what I would do without George Bush!
On this the 40th anniversary of Gay Liberation, it’s one big sexual revolution out there.
Heterosexuality is in crisis. What if Ensign and Sanford were in open relationships with their partners and had to negotiate honestly with them, without benefit of giant civil and religious institutional support like say, oh, gay people? The necessary fluidity of gay relationships often allows for more understanding of a partner’s concealed mid-life crisis affair. Okay maybe not the four-day break-up sex, I mean crying in Argentina. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it does acknowledge human sexuality. With Ensign and Sanford defending the sanctity of marriage, who needs to be against it?
In Iran, strict gender roles are under assault. The brutal crackdown on the Iranian opposition ordered by the supreme cleric Ali Kahemeni, is being aided by a fiendish caller ID system sold to Iranian security by Nokia-Siemens. What twittered the brave opposition to critical mass is now being used to track them down. Women are never shown in the crowd of the election-stealing, Holocaust-and-gay denying Ahmadinegad supporters, while Mousavi, who campaigned with his outspoken wife, has inspired Iranian women to be out and visible in the streets. I am so glad we don’t have one of those caller I.D. plans here in the U.S. We don’t, right?
Watching the life of Michael Jackson, looped endlessly following his death was like watching a sad gender train wreck. Performance footage showed Jackson to be a precocious then genius entertainer, dancer, and singer. In interview footage he revealed the abuse he suffered as a child, his desire to mother a child and his feminine side. His very appearance revealed obvious physical transformations he denied. A whole lot of people abused him under the ruse of helping him. I just wish the poor transman could have gone to a few support groups in our burgeoning trans movement.
We are watching the openly closeted secret of the failures of heterosexist supremacy. They’d prefer we not ask nor tell about it. Too late.