2001-06-11 20:41:06+00 by Dan Lyke 1 comments
Charles Taylor has a great article about the morality police who are hiding behind children in which, among other things, he takes on the "click on and jack off" Salon article that I found distasteful.
"...we are still awaiting the great piece of social criticism about modern society's fetishistic construction of childhood as a time of asexual innocence."
[ related topics: Children and growing up Sexual Culture ]
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#Comment made: 2002-02-21 05:31:48+00 by: dhartung
No slight intended, but reading his article, I understood what you were talking about. On reflection, I still think there's something entirely understandable about her actions as a mother -- I've known far less permissive parents -- but at the same time there's a borderline creepiness about it. I think a missed opportunity would have been for more self-reflection on the author's part, and perhaps a recognition that the internet changed her interaction with her son. The anonymous e-mail was sort of a cyber version of having a friend from work sidle alongside your kid and test how enticeable he is. "Hey, I got some candy! I know your mom!"
At about the same age, I answered the phone while my parents were working outside, and ... I can't remember whether there was a legitimate call or not, but it turned into an obscene phone call. "You ever see your mom naked?" I eventually ended the conversation, my discomfort overcoming my natural, uh, politeness talking with grown-ups, told my dad, and he freaked out and called the police. Nothing ever came of it, but in these days of *69, I wish I could remember whether it really was someone who really seemed to know my mom or not. They did a lot of community work and knew a *lot* of people and it was pretty common for me to take phone messages from strangers. Was one of them bent?
I have a feeling this kid will live with that e-mail in the back of his mind, nothing major, just ... there, for a long time.