On Sex and Trees and Other Stuff

The major message of the anti same-sex protest explicitly acknowledges that gays can make love, but that they can never have sex, if understood in the broader, biological meaning of the word. - Andrew McIntyre in 'Oui' to gay marriage, but a big 'non' for restraint

But I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this again: I did not have sexual relations with that woman. - President Clinton, January 1998, on Monica Lewinsky

Upper East Side, Manhattan

What do the Australian right and President Bill Clinton have in common? You may well ask.

And like most things in this world, it all comes down to sex. Read on.

"Quadrant" is a right-wing Australian journal. I don't often read it, my political opinions being a little to the left of most its contributors.

But a friend forwarded me a link to a June article from its QED section - 'Oui' to gay marriage, but a big 'non' for restraint, and respecting that friend's intelligence, I read it. Twice.

Most of the article is about the recent demonstrations in Paris against gay marriage.

Quoting what he calls "an obfuscatory piece" by Mark Mazower of The Financial Times, who wrote "that the protests over same-sex union are really reflecting the deep anxiety over the country’s future, suggesting that the huge demonstrations over the last six months are just a reaction to the stresses of globalization ..." ( France’s struggle is against much more than gay marriage), our QED writer protests. The French demonstators are about same-sex marriage and nothing else he insists.

Fifty Ninth  and Second, Manhattan

But what about the recent demonstrations in Istanbul? Supposedly about the lack of trees in the city. It is a bit hard to believe that the citizens of Istanbul would defy water cannons and tear gas and stay put for days, if the issue was simply about a few trees.

Using France's President Hollande's "Aujourd´hui, le marriage n´a plus de sexe" ["These days, marriage is about more than sex"] against him, the writer goes on agree and closes with

"... The major message of the anti same-sex protest explicitly acknowledges that gays can make love, but that they can never have sex, if understood in the broader, biological meaning of the word."

So there you go, sex is vaginal sexual intercourse, and that's all there is to it.

Bill Clinton was not lying when he said almost 20 years ago, "I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this again: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time; never. These allegations are false."

Of course the QED Quadrant writer is Australian, and so I can't help but remember the 1980's jokes that put down Australian the hetero male.

"What is Australian males' preferred foreplay?" "Are you awake?" and
"How do you stop an Australian girl [sic] fu*king?" "Marry her."

Seriously though, I like it when the far right meets bogan meets American president. It gives me a warm feeling of comfort.

It shows me that despite our differences, when the rubber meets the road, we can all get along after all.

QED.