On Politics, Sex, and the Politics of Sex

Surely most of you have heard by now about the admitted extramarital affair of former Senator and both VP and presidential candidate John Edwards.

I admit to some disappointment in the man. I also believe that he acted quite hypocritically engaging in this behavior while still speaking often on the strength of his marriage and value of his family - to say nothing of his remarks regarding President Clinton's "remarkable disrespect of his office, for the moral dimensions of leadership..." with respect to Clinton's involvement with Lewinski.  The bloggers of Feministe talk about these points quite eloquently.

Nonetheless, I find myself quickly dismissing this news for two reasons.  First, this so-called scandal only detracts attention from more important happenings. Russia and Georgia are on the brink of war, and it's getting worse by the minute. World records are being broken by the fistful in the Beijing Olympics. A new car is in the works that runs on compressed air with a potential mileage of 106 miles per gallon. A global summit is taking place in Mexico City on the ongoing AIDS epidemic, which is now nearing thirty years, thirty million victims, and thirty-three million more currently infected. The attention paid Edwards (including this unread blog entry) far outweighs the consideration given to any of these and other far more relevant matters at hand.

Secondly, this seems (to me at least) not really about John Edwards.  It is less indicative of the moral fiber of politicians or the cynical predictability of inspirational figures in the spotlight, but rather of our society's discomfort with and distance from a realistic understanding and acceptance of sex and sexuality. I think I can safely say most of society believes sex is a private matter, not to be discussed or displayed in public in any fashion. Indeed, many of those who consider themselves gay-friendly or -neutral adopt a stance of "Just keep it in the bedroom and out of my face."

When sex and sexuality are confined to the bedrooms (and closets), knowledge ebbs.  Ignorance grows.

We become surprised at the reality of an individual's sexuality. Expecting adherence to codes of normalcy and tradition, we are dismayed to find sex occurring outside of the idealized context of heterosexual marriage, and especially by those we admire and esteem as beyond reproach and corruption. We are disappointed by his inability to control his actions, and we may even wonder what this could mean about our own behavior, or that of our spouse or partner. We publicize this man's failings in monogamy, and we make a spectacle of his sexuality, all the while continuing to tell ourselves sex is a private matter.

When sex is demonized and hidden, it becomes synonymous with corruption and those bereft of morality. The methods and performance of the most basic and imperative human experience becomes the (faulty) basis for which everyone - not just John Edwards - is judged, understood, and labeled in our society.