GENDER AND MARRIAGE: Sam Schulman replies to Maggie

Yes, I think I would say that your formulation is just--that marriage is in some essential way dictated and shaped by the conditions of female sexuality, and that men--in choosing marriage--do surrender to the conditions of female sexuality--although our friends Eve and Lynn Gazis-Sax will hasten to point out that many men marry and use the occasion to impose their will--sexually and otherwise--upon women.

A point I haven’t made adequately is that marriage is dangerous--it allows a man and a woman to put themselves in one another’s power--and, human nature being what it is, this will create the opportunity to commit many a crime in secret. This, I think, is a further argument one could make to gay people who wish to obtain the privilege of marriage: Marriage between people who are not and cannot be kin, but merely lovers and friends, will even more often aspire to the married state of Terri Schiavo--become an opportunity for the young and strong ruthlessly to loot and victimize the old and weak who are sexually needy. Between men and women this condition is still the exception--dear Mr. Schiavo and Anna Nicole Smith are notable rarities.
posted by Eve at 10:58 AM VOTE

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home