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'Nathy Quote:
Mar. 10th, 2003 03:02 pmon sex:
"As I have found myself Director of Interpol, I realize I am surrounded by predators--as I have always been. The difference is that I have the dubious distinction of being alpha wolf of this particular pack, instead of some lowly omega diplomat. Instead of being at leave to indulge my desires, so long as nothing in the bedroom spilled over to my political career, I find myself having to watch every step, every word I say.
"People don't care what you prefer between the sheets. They do care when your behavior doesn't match up with the societal expectations of you, your position, your biological sex. I've never had difficulty conforming with trivialities; I don't have any need to 'prove' anything to anyone about who and what I am. The first lesson a diplomat learns is to be a chameleon; even if you hold outspoken opinions that directly contradict everything else in the world, you should be as obsequious as you can in person. Nondescript. Another face in the crowd of diplomats around you. Even with that, I had my work cut out for me.
"But the situation has changed. Sex is, as it's always been, just another form of power. Even artificial life can't escape it, for all they have no part in the physical act; take half the Robot Masters on any given day as an example. Something about about the ability to screw, the emotional baggage most people carry with the act, the moral constrictions demanded upon it (and who am I to say my way is right and another's is wrong?), is enough to stratify society and tear that stratification apart, all on the weight of a few minutes of grunting and sweating with another being.
"Biological sex becomes immaterial at this point. I've heard it argued that the 'sexual revolution' put ultimate control in the hands of women; my experience with the exploits of my own sex in hunting potential lovers has conviced me that this conclusion is incomplete, to say the least. I've met women who are in much better control of their own biological destiny than any man; I've known men who've been ruined several lives through their own promiscuity, and came away none the worse for wear. In the political arena, anyone who wants to succeed is expected--as far as sex is concerned--to either become a predator, a sycophant, or remove him or herself from the game entirely. Again, I've seen as many male hangers-on as I've seen predatory women--and there are many of those.
"The lines begin to blur when power is added to the mix. Opportunity to succeed overrides biological drive and personal preference. Some--not all, but some--who aspire for power have bargained away their gender as just another coin. There are fewer who elect the path of complete celibacy and uninvolvement; and fewer still who maintain a love life untainted by their politics. I have never seen any individuals capable of the lattermost. Politics and power will always damage relationship with the least trace of instability. The integrity of a bond between two human beings is even more friable than an individual's own integrity, and as power corrupts, so we are all a little tainted.
"So what side to I choose? Between my own preferences, the needs of my daughter, and my own acknowledged difficulties in maintaining a normal relationship--to say nothing of the fragility of the world's trust in me--celibacy is the best course. I am only human; I'm faulted and flawed and fallen. I can be tempted.
"But fighting the temptation, no matter how difficult and uncomfortable, is always better than the complications giving in would bring."
"As I have found myself Director of Interpol, I realize I am surrounded by predators--as I have always been. The difference is that I have the dubious distinction of being alpha wolf of this particular pack, instead of some lowly omega diplomat. Instead of being at leave to indulge my desires, so long as nothing in the bedroom spilled over to my political career, I find myself having to watch every step, every word I say.
"People don't care what you prefer between the sheets. They do care when your behavior doesn't match up with the societal expectations of you, your position, your biological sex. I've never had difficulty conforming with trivialities; I don't have any need to 'prove' anything to anyone about who and what I am. The first lesson a diplomat learns is to be a chameleon; even if you hold outspoken opinions that directly contradict everything else in the world, you should be as obsequious as you can in person. Nondescript. Another face in the crowd of diplomats around you. Even with that, I had my work cut out for me.
"But the situation has changed. Sex is, as it's always been, just another form of power. Even artificial life can't escape it, for all they have no part in the physical act; take half the Robot Masters on any given day as an example. Something about about the ability to screw, the emotional baggage most people carry with the act, the moral constrictions demanded upon it (and who am I to say my way is right and another's is wrong?), is enough to stratify society and tear that stratification apart, all on the weight of a few minutes of grunting and sweating with another being.
"Biological sex becomes immaterial at this point. I've heard it argued that the 'sexual revolution' put ultimate control in the hands of women; my experience with the exploits of my own sex in hunting potential lovers has conviced me that this conclusion is incomplete, to say the least. I've met women who are in much better control of their own biological destiny than any man; I've known men who've been ruined several lives through their own promiscuity, and came away none the worse for wear. In the political arena, anyone who wants to succeed is expected--as far as sex is concerned--to either become a predator, a sycophant, or remove him or herself from the game entirely. Again, I've seen as many male hangers-on as I've seen predatory women--and there are many of those.
"The lines begin to blur when power is added to the mix. Opportunity to succeed overrides biological drive and personal preference. Some--not all, but some--who aspire for power have bargained away their gender as just another coin. There are fewer who elect the path of complete celibacy and uninvolvement; and fewer still who maintain a love life untainted by their politics. I have never seen any individuals capable of the lattermost. Politics and power will always damage relationship with the least trace of instability. The integrity of a bond between two human beings is even more friable than an individual's own integrity, and as power corrupts, so we are all a little tainted.
"So what side to I choose? Between my own preferences, the needs of my daughter, and my own acknowledged difficulties in maintaining a normal relationship--to say nothing of the fragility of the world's trust in me--celibacy is the best course. I am only human; I'm faulted and flawed and fallen. I can be tempted.
"But fighting the temptation, no matter how difficult and uncomfortable, is always better than the complications giving in would bring."