Hypocritical Sexual Society: Focused on the Petty Sex Scandals, Ignoring the Ones That Really Matter

In a year when America has been otherwise austerity-obsessed, we are still sex-scandal rich. But while we certainly flock like moths to the scandal flame when that flame is a photo of a Congressman's penis, isn't it just as much of a scandal when Congressmen (and women) want to redefine rape, criminalize abortion and sex work, and chip away at our rights to control our bodies and our sexuality? Why is the media so easily obsessed when casting aspersions on the real or imagined sex lives of the already powerful, but not when the powerful target the rest of us? Before we get all misty-eyed with nostalgia – or tear gas – let's look back on some of 2011's sex scandals, with attention to the ones that should have scandalized us all.

Cops Got Bailed Out, We Got...?

New York's infamous "rape cops," officers Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata, were acquitted by a jury this May of charges that they raped an incapacitated woman in her own apartment after escorting her home. The case was a rallying point for feminist and anti-violence activists, their outrage at police abuse carrying through to October's contentious New York debut of SlutWalk, itself inspired by the comment of a Toronto police officer that women would not be raped if they weren't “dressing like sluts.” There's a deep and troubling connection between the cops who claim we won't be raped if we follow their rules, and the cops to whom the rules rarely apply.

Anthony Weiner, Sext Addict?

Who was surprised when Democrats called for the resignation of New York Rep. Anthony Weiner, over his misguided yet not uncommon use of Twitter, Facebook, and SMS to swap sexy messages? (There was the questionable dick pic, too, made public by the Right's famed pornographer, Andrew Breitbart.) Yes, Weiner fantasized about being “behind” a Vegas woman as they watched, at her suggestion, “back to back episodes of the daily show and colbert.” But why did Weiner have to pack up to sex addiction recovery while, say, Republican Senator David Vitter can admit to hiring sex workers to stage his mommy/boy fantasies, and get re-elected? As former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer before him, Weiner harbored an unshocking amount of hubris. The digital paper trail generated by his sex-arranging was perfect political linkbait. Worse, enough people took it. This didn't just guarantee his resignation. It set a moral standard for policing how elected officials' communicate their sexual fantasies, a standard that -- given their track record -- only Republicans seem capable of skirting around and staying in office.

Trafficking in Lies

Remember Lila Rose? The right-wing indie media darling who helped send people posing as “child sex traffickers” into Planned Parenthood health centers in six states? The Breitbart-promoted joint Live Action claimed Rose's videos showed “explosive evidence” that Planned Parenthood staff were party to sexual exploitation by even speaking with the fake traffickers about how to get birth control for (again, fake) sex workers. Not shown on tape? Planned Parenthood staff had informed the FBI, US Attorney General Eric Holder, and local law enforcement about the suspicious visits and the suspected trafficking enterprise. Still, Breitbart featured the videos, deceptively edited to make it appear that answering questions about sex and health were somehow the same as promoting the rape and abduction of minors.

But this is what was almost impossible to suggest at the time: even people who are trafficked have real sexual health needs that need compassionate care. In particular, young people who are involved in the sex trade already face huge obstacles to disclosing that part of their lives with their healthcare workers, for fear of stigma or being sent to jail. In other words, at the same time as Planned Parenthood rushed to defend themselves, they should feel no need to shy from wanting to offer good care to people in the sex trade and to people who are survivors of trafficking. In the main, did the sting actually damage Planned Parenthood's reputation? Did it risk their Federal funding? Not as directly, perhaps, as earlier efforts by Breitbart affiliate James O'Keefe to take down ACORN. But the attempt to connect Planned Parenthood to an issue like trafficking, already a highly charged issue across the political spectrum, was a nasty tactical move.