Sex, Love, Hate, and Politics

Now that the midterm elections are over and the results are (mostly) in, we can turn our attention to all the other hot back-burner issues:  like sex, and the political ramifications thereof.  Most of these issues are of particular concern to the so-called LGBTQ+ community, and what the government is doing, or not doing, to either defend or destroy said rights.  Today your favorite blogger will inject his libertarian wisdom into a potpourri of related hot sexual topics.

I suppose I should start out by declaring my relevant demographic:  I am a 100% heterosexual male.  I was born thusly, and always will be.  I know that there are those who, upon said declaration, will jump to all kinds of conclusions, such as that I am homophobic, transphobic, and hate anyone that is not a hetero “binary” such as me.  Let me assure you that I do not “hate” anybody.  I may disagree with your politics or your religion, and your lifestyle choice and sexual orientation may not be my cup of tea, but hey, it’s your life, and how you run it is your business, not mine, so long as your actions are peaceful and honest.  I will judge you by the content of your character, not all that other stuff.

Now onto the issues!  This election season, one really hot topic was our schools, and what was being taught therein.  Nationwide, many parents were aghast to discover that schools were grooming their children with “woke” ideology.  However, this problem, like so many others, is a predictable result of trying to establish a one-size-fits-all public school system run by politicians, bureaucrats, and teachers’ unions. 

Education should be provided by the free market, not the government.  If we actually had an open market in education, then you’d have some schools that would say something like: “We welcome students of all genders and lifestyles, without judgement. Each student chooses their preferred pronoun.  Our faculty includes all types of sexual non-binaries.  Our curriculum includes classes in Diversity, Acceptance, and Tolerance.”  

At the other end of the spectrum, you would have schools that ... well, let’s just say that their main focus would be reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic.  Then parents could then choose the school that best represents their values.

Girls’ Sports

Closely related is the nagging problem of girls’ sports.  If a person was born male but “feels” like a female, should that person be allowed to play on girls’ teams and compete against girls?  And shower and dress in the girls’ locker room? Here again: the optimal solution is to let the free market work this out, where different schools set different definitions of gender identity, and parents get to choose.

Kids Are Curious

And now let’s visit the issue of transgender children.  Most of the time, these are just normal, curious kids with ordinary questions and fantasies.  But sometimes, their parents conclude that the kid needs invasive medical procedures such as surgery or puberty-blocking drugs.  My colleague Peter has written on this topic, denouncing the horrors of this, and I agree whole-heartedly.  So, some states have passed legislation banning said medical interventions, calling it “child abuse”.  Unsurprisingly, the LGBTQ community retorted that governmental action such as this demonstrates hateful transphobia.  Regardless, this is not really “child abuse” because the kids aren’t being forced into it.  Rather, it’s just bad parenting.  Hideously awful parenting.  Let’s avoid the temptation to fix this problem with bigger government and yet more state-imposed regulations.  Yes, real child abuse exists and should be a crime, but this kind of governmental overreach just consumes scarce law enforcement resources and turns parents into criminals.  A better solution is to get the kids out of the government schools where they learn this stuff (see above).

And then there’s discrimination against LGBTQs, in areas from employment to education to purchasing services.  I wrote about the “crime” of discrimination in this article.  In short:  discrimination is merely the act of saying “no”, and should never be a crime.  If an employer or a businessman says “no”, then that should be the end of it.  Anti-discrimination legislation means that every time a businessman makes a decision, then a lawyer and a bureaucrat must look over his shoulder, with the authority to override it.  Is that what we want?

Gay Wedding

No article on sexual liberty would be complete without touching on the heated topic of gay marriage.  More than anything else, “marriage” is all about love, sex, and romance, and those things should definitely be out of government’s scope of responsibility!  Now, if two people want to sign some legal contract covering matters such as inheritance, survivor’s benefits, medical decisions and such, then that should not be a problem.  The parties involved could have any type of relationship:  lovers, family members, business associates, neighbors, friends, enemies, whatever.  Simply call it something other than a “marriage” contract.  Then the controversy goes away.

And finally, let’s touch on anti-sodomy laws.  Admittedly, this has been a lukewarm topic since 2003 when the Supreme Court struck down a Texas law.  But sadly, in eleven states, the sex police can still enter your bedroom and arrest you for making love with someone of the wrong gender.  This must change!

Sex Issues Best Not Solved Here

In conclusion, note the common thread in all the above discussions: that these societal problems related to sex originate with government doing things it should not be attempting to do.  No, I don’t hate anybody for their sex-related lifestyle choices.  If there’s anything out there I do hate, it’s oversized, all-powerful government trying to run our lives and private affairs and control everything.