The sex police state
William F. Buckley reminisces about a dinner in Monaco with Prince Rainier and David Niven: "Waiting for the first course to arrive, David Launched into an autobiographical account of his seduction at age 15 by an accomplished lady of the night. The words spoken were lightly ribald, amusing, evocative. Before the second course was served, the prince was a rollicking companion..." (William F. Buckley, "10 Friends," Forbes FYI, Fall 2000, p. 138.)
Obviously, in telling this "ribald" and "rollicking" tale, Niven didn't think of himself as a "victim" of "rape" or "child sexual abuse." Nor did Buckley, Rainier, or anyone else, male or female, think any such thing. Nor, apparently, did Buckley and the editors of Forbes FYI think any such thing in 2000, when this article was published. And indeed, even today, many people would react like the prince or with a more subdued amusement.
But if Niven were alive today and had "launched" into this "autobiographical account" as the guest speaker at a convention of "mental health professionals," social workers, police investigators, victim's advocates, prosecutors, and judges, virtually no one would be "rollicking," or even mildly amused. At best or worst, there might be some nervous laughter concealed by hands over mouths. Almost to a man, and especially woman, poor David would be viewed as a "victim" of "child sexual abuse," and his delight in telling this story would be attributed to "denial" and/or "male socialization." The virtually unanimous response would be indignation, for many even rage, directed at the "rapist" and especially a society that could brainwash a "victim" and "survivor" into believing he enjoyed a heinous and life-destroying violation.
If Niven's joyous "rite of passage" or "coming of age" had occurred in America today and was reported to the authorities, the "accomplished lady of the night" would be sentenced to anywhere from 6-months in county jail, if lucky, to 10 years in prison. At sentencing, prosecutors and psychiatrists would compare his trauma to that of people who've experienced warfare, torture, vicious beatings, dog attacks, gruesome car accidents, and internment in concentration camps. The woman would be classified as a deviant and compelled to underago "sex-offender treatment" as well as register with the police for 20 years if not the rest of her life so people could be notifed that a "convicted sex offender" is living in their community or neighborhood. And so, too, with the woman played by Jennifer O'Neal in The Summer of 42. [...]
Carol Tavris summarizes, only somewhat satirically, a dogma of the "child sexual abuse industry": "Teenagers, whom we all know have no sexual feelings of any kind until they are 16 (at which time they magically become mature adults), are incapable of wishing to have sexual relations, so if they do have seuxal relations before age 16, said relations must be oppressive, traumatic, and coerced." (Carol Tavris, "The Uproar Over Sexual Abuse Research and it Findings," Society, May/June 2000, p. 15.) Tavris is wrong about one thing. Increasingly, the magical age is now 18. [...]
source: Article 'The Sex Police State' by Michael Kuehl; www.counterpunch.org/kuehl04152006.html; 15, 16 April 2006; First published in 2000