Casual attitudes toward sex lead to celebrity scandals: Irish columnist

May 27, 2011

Irish Catholic columnist David Quinn looks at recent reports of powerful men who have been charged with cheating on their wives, and argues that modern society is especially vulnerable to such misbehavior because of the general acceptance of recreational sex.

Quinn decries the French reaction to the arrest of IMF leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn for a sexual assault on a maid. The French public seems to take such matters lightly, he says, noting that sophisticated French pundits also dismissed the gravity of statutory-rape charges against film director Roman Polanski. The French elite think their acceptance of such behavior is “mature,” Quinn notes. But he asks:

How, one wonders, is such an attitude 'mature'? Is it really mature to be laissez-faire about sexually assaulting a 13-year-old, or the alleged sexual assault of a chamber maid? Give us American 'prudery' any day.

Traditional social mores regarding sexual behavior protected the powerless and advanced the dignity of women, Quinn adds. He points out that the "mature" approach, in effect, leads to a double standard. He notes: “Even anecdotally, try to think up a few famous women who have been unfaithful on their husbands. It's hard.”

 

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Further information:

• Cheating is the inevitable result of sexual freedom (Irish Independent)