I imagine him all frustrated trying so hard, regurgitating theory quotes with glassy eyes and everyone going "OK, CIA brat" under their breath

Really sex pest behaviour.

      • the_river_cass [she/her]
        ·
        4 years ago

        you're confusing sex with attraction and attraction with paraphilia...

        regardless, my point was that these are weird terms to use in this discussion and queer theory has a lot more to offer on this topic than basic philosophy. we can go a lot further than saying attraction is subjective. the idea you're trying to get at is that attraction is complex and most of the things we're attracted to come from society and what we're taught (paraphilias being the usual example - there's no natural equivalent for lingerie).

        however, that's not the same thing as saying attraction isn't real. it absolutely is - however you developed the particular attractions that you did, you are still in fact attracted to them and have to deal with the positive and negative consequences of those attractions.

        so, so much has been written on this topic over the years by queer people trying to prove that they have a right to exist.

        • Orannis62 [ze/hir]
          ·
          4 years ago

          however, that’s not the same thing as saying attraction isn’t real. it absolutely is - however you developed the particular attractions that you did, you are still in fact attracted to them and have to deal with the positive and negative consequences of those attractions.

          On that subject, I will always remember how one of my old teachers explained the way that something being a social construct doesn't mean it's "fake" or lacks power (my teacher did this in the context of race, but I feel it applies here as well).

          Basically, she said "money is also a social construct", took out a $5 bill, and started burning it. She then pointed out that several students had physically recoiled when she did that, and said that we all have some understanding already of how one social construct has power, and we should abstract that out to understand how that dynamic applies to other constructs.

          • the_river_cass [she/her]
            ·
            4 years ago

            yup, the other tangent here is to fetishization - both of the sexual and non-sexual variety. when we objectify our attraction, we create fetishes. in a broader sense, fetishes are objects and ideas we grant power over us - the power to move us and compel us into action or to root us in place in fear.