Sexual Misbehavior

Sexual Misbehavior

The news continue to be full of accounts of sexual escapades of prominent men (who cares about the schlump down the street). Ditto from the women named and unnamed. We have entered an era—not of more or more widespread sexual activity, but of vastly more public revelations of such.
   Well, we can do without it. It may briefly change behavior, but not for long. Both men and women will soon revert back to the way things have been for a long time. What has changed is not actual behavior, except the degree of openness and ineffectual, if even genuine, disapproval. If there is any domain where “le plus ça change, le plus c’est la méme chose” makes sense, it is about human sexual behavior.

   What did change is the readiness of getting widespread publicity. It is of course no news that real privacy is a thing of the past: live with it, buddy!

   So, as I now think of it,--contrary to what I said before—I don’t think we are entering into a new era, but into a brief patch of greater openness. Yes, brief, I think. And then we’ll go back to la même chose.

   Change comes easily. Progress is hard.