Kuznicki on the Gay Double Bind

Jason shows once again why he is such an irreplaceably compelling voice in the blogosphere. I should link first to the Dave Jansing essay that Jason quotes from, making similar arguments about the need for a focus on virtue rather than values. Read that one first, then read this essay by Jason. Brilliant writing from both gentlemen.

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I rather enjoyed Mr. Kuznicki's post. (Btw, apologies to Mr. Kuznicki for mangling his name here a couple of weeks ago). We've been discussing some of the issues he raised over at the NYTimes gay rights board over a number of years. Two nits. First, although we might like to believe that there is a "gay community," there really isn't one. There are various communities that center around same-sex sex (or just sexual orientation, since some people apparently really are celibate for some portions of their lives), but, there are also more than a few such people who do not consider themselves to be gay. Second, more than a few people are tired of listening to Larry Kramer scold. Those who agree with him about safe sex--and I'm one of them--have heard him over the last, what is it? 23 years, and we don't need any more tongue lashigs. There are others who might not have heard him but who have heard the warnings and engage in "safer sex" practices. Then there are others who aren't interested in listening to his tongue lashings--for them, the tongue-lashings fall on deaf ears.

raj-
I find Larry Kramer quite annoying myself, though I think the quote that Jason uses from him is hard to disagree with. But for the most part, I find Kramer to be prone to hysterical overreactions. I also firmly agree with you, and I know Jason does too, that there is no "gay community" any more than there is a "straight community". Shared sexual preference isn't much to build a community on, nor should one bother to try.