Power of the Pussy

No, not the angst of an enraged feline. The ability, or inability as it were, of human beings to recognise the inherent weakness built into our species through genetics, of our sexual desires.

In the news of late, as so many bloggers seem to have taken note of, is the so-called scandal surrounding New York State governor, Eliot Spitzer.This is yet another example of the hypocritically puritanical culture of the United States society in that legislation is used time and again against powerful figures whose only weakness is surrender to the power of the pussy. In Spitzer’s case, he used the services of sex workers. Prostitutes. So what, say I? It’s the world’s oldest profession, and one which has catered to a need in societies across the eons. In some societies, the profession has even been held in very high regard, wielding a power of its own, over and above that wielded by the individual exponents of the profession itself, on their clients. Ancient Greek society is an excellent example. Prostitutes served a legitimate purpose assisting that society in maintaining a relatively low incidence of adultery and rape, those two crimes being deemed capital and dealt with accordingly.
Whilst the desire for sex is stronger in the male then the female of our species, primarily through genetics, our evolution from ape descendant to supposedly civilised, 21st century modern homo sapiens sapiens seems to have neglected to recognise the baser drives of our species, placing a far greater emphasis on outwardly influenced societal mores. As a species, as with all other lifeforms on this planet, we are driven to procreate, thereby ensuring the continuance of our kind. Of all our genetic drives, that single urge overwhelms all others, whether we choose to recognise it, or not.
Whether it is to our detriment as a species or a self-satisfying side effect, the urge to procreate in human beings has that pleasing hormonal benefit we know as orgasm. The titillation of our supposedly highly developed brains by release of neuro-stimulant hormones. It’s known that large areas of our brains literally shut down immediately before and after orgasm, such is the focus of areas of the brain on achieving this pleasurable response. It’s this drive which seems to get so many people into trouble because it conflicts with so many broadly accepted societal restrictions on what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour, and yet, that very same drive is what maintains the human race. Quite ironic, really.
We seem not to be overly ashamed of where or how we go about achieving this plateau of self-satisfaction either. In direct contravention to the ancient Greek view of prostitution, ‘modern’ human beings seem to be much more comfortable with the idea of slipping into another human being’s relationship as a cuckold, than with the idea of utilising the services of dedicated exponents in the art of sexual pleasure. How many of us know of someone, perhaps even ourselves, who have sought a sexual relationship outside the accepted monogamous relationship which society says is good, right and proper? I have. I didn’t intend to and certainly didn’t deliberately go seeking it, but as the classics state, shit happens. As Stephen Stills wrote, “If you can’t be with the one you love, love the one you’re with”. It’s all about self-satisfaction, or rather, selfish satisfaction. Look after number one in this life, because no-one else is going to do it for you. Perhaps this is why so many relationships fail? We expect a significant other to look after urges and desires which we really ought to be taking care.
Even on the train to work this morning – of all places to hear this kind of thing – I could not possibly avoid over-hearing the nitty-gritty details of a man speaking of his philanderings with a woman-friend during the 40 minute journey. She sat beside me and he, diagonally opposite. For the ENTIRE 40 minute journey. It was akin to a psychiatrist’s session for him. She was asking intimate questions and he was answering them. He was married; supposedly happily from what he stated about his sexual relationship with his wife, and yet was also concerned about a relationship he was conducting with another woman, for whom he clearly had intense feelings. As an aside, I felt a twinge of jealousy at one point. He was getting jiggy-jiggy more often each week than I do. I believe he may have wanted to exit the marriage in favour of this other woman, but she had issues he wasn’t comfortable with. I’d suggest he also had issues. Issues which would occupy an entire psychiatric convention, to paraphrase John Cleese. Suffice to say, his current extra-marital relationship wasn’t his first. Neither was his current marriage his first. The entire 40 minute journey was filled to the brim with this tawdry detail. I was glad to get off the train, but the revelations did give me food for thought. Hence this post, I suppose.
So, my questions to broader society are these. What’s so wrong with utilising the services of dedicated sexual professionals? Why are we, as a society or culture, so aghast that males, and to a lesser degree, females so driven by their baser desires that they seek to use these services? Should it matter one way or another if our elected representatives indulge in a little hokey-pokey if that’s what satisfies them? What harm is done, especially if, as is highly likely in the Spitzer case, satisfaction of sexual urges is sanctioned, or at least tacitly acknowledged, by both sides of a relationship? Is seeking a sexual relationship with another individual such a bad thing, even if that individual happens to have a sexual relationship with another? Why are we so prudish on such issues?
In short, who cares about who fucks who, how often they do it and whether it’s good, bad or indifferent? Surely if both fucker and fuckee are adult enough to recognise and accept the individual, personal consequences of their actions, why should greater society be called upon to judge or voice negative implications? We are what we are, which is sexual beings. We need it, both to continue the species, and to satisfy those areas of our psyche which drive us to obtain a peak of pleasure. In the final analysis, it feels good and if something feels good, we’ll become addicted to it. Frankly, there are worse addictions.
I’d rather not hear all about another human being’s proclivities on the morning commuter train though.