Straight Couples Getting Kinky? Blame Gay Marriage.
More arguments that gay dudes getting married hurts straight women
When Mark Regnerus, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin, published a study in 2012 claiming that the children of gay parents are worse off than the children of straight parents he was heavily criticized for his poor methodology (read about the problems here, as it's too complicated to easily summarize). While most critics were unhappy with standards he used to contrast gay parents versus straight parents, I noted at the time he had some odd ideas about what counts as having "worse" experiences. He classified having more sexual partners and smoking marijuana as among the negative things children of gay parents may experience. While lots of sex and marijuana use could potentially become damaging experiences, their inclusion as inherent negatives didn't exactly seem sociologically sound.
It seems that sort of judgment is not an anomaly. Jeremy Hooper, over at gay blog "Good As You," took note of a recent speech by Regnerus at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. A portion of his speech is devoted to explaining how it's gay marriage's fault if straight men start to stray or get kinky, as gay men, even in committed relationships, are statistically less likely to be monogamous and are accepting of this. And then, I guess, straight men are going to see this and want it, too. And this, Regnerus says, is what will happen:
If gay marriage is perceived as legitimate by heterosexual women, it will eventually embolden boyfriends everywhere and not a few husbands to press for what men have always historically wanted but were rarely allowed – sexual novelty, in the form of permission to stray without jeopardizing their primary relationship. Discussion of openness in sexual partners in straight marriages will become more common, just as the practice of heterosexual anal sex got a big boost from the normalization of gay men's sexual behavior in both contemporary porn and the American imagination. It may be spun as empowering women, but it sure won't … sure doesn't feel that way.
Is Regnerus saying that gay sex is now a normal thing that pops up in the imaginations of heterosexual Americans now? Is that true? Are you thinking about it right now? Did I cause you to think about it by asking you if you're thinking about it?
The whole Regnerus speech can be watched here for those inclined. Note that these arguments again feed into the idea of society as caretakers of women's sexuality and the assumption that women cannot make appropriate decisions for themselves. I mentioned this when analyzing the arguments the state of Utah has put forth to defend its ban on gay marriage recognition (which included references to Regnerus' study). The primary arguments presented were all about making sure heterosexual women got strong messages from the state to get married and have children so that we don't run out of humans.
