No sex for conservative men, says former Florida congressional candidate

I was talking to Pam Keith about her sex boycott. Keith, a St. Lucie County lawyer
and twice-unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Congress, arrived at the Twitter
conclusion on Friday that women ought to stop having sex with conservative men. “I
mean seriously,” Keith Tweeted. “Don’t want birth control covered; don’t want the
morning-after pill available, don’t want sex ed taught to youngsters; don’t want
health insurance parity for women; don’t want to pay for children once born = DON’T
need to get any sex, EVER.” Keith’s sex boycott Tweet, which got 1,500 comments and
2,700 "likes" by Monday, took her by surprise, she said. “Don’t let them anywhere
near you,” she Tweeted. “Give them the hand and keep it moving. Get a B.O.B. But
make it a rule to run, not walk, from men who want to steal your agency over
yourself & your life.” I had a gnawing question. “What’s a B.O.B?” “Battery
operated boyfriend,” Keith answered. That’s what I get for asking. Keith’s sex
boycott idea appeared about 12 hours before actress Alyssa Milano called for a sex
strike in the wake of Georgia passing a “heartbeat” bill which effectively outlaws
abortion before women would be aware of being pregnant. Keith says her boycott is
more universal than Milanos because it encompasses a wider range of issues. “I’m
encouraging my sisters to be more selective,” Keith said. “But I’m not making a
law. If they disagree, that’s OK. I’m not outlawing sex. I am simply advising women
that they shouldn’t have sex with men whose views are antithetical to their own
well-being. “There are plenty of great men out there, and men who stand with women
and see them as equal and don’t do things to keep women from being strong and
independent,” Keith said. “But do other men even like women if the only way they
like them is in a subordinate capacity?” As you might expect, a sex boycott can get
complicated. For example, some LGBTQ advocates say it’s too driven by the abortion
issue, and that it treats sex as a commodity. “A sex strike gives the impression
that women’s primary function is as bodies for cishet (cisgender heterosexual) men
to have sex with,” wrote Lara Witt, editor in chief of Wear Your Voice, a feminist
website dedicated to airing “marginalized voices away from the white, cis-centric,
heteronormative, patriarchal gaze.” Which may mean me. I’m not sure. Like I said,
it’s confusing. Even Keith sees some wiggle room in the boycott. The single, former
U.S. Navy lawyer said she has dated conservative men in the past, and wouldn’t rule
out dating some conservative men in the future. “I think I could go out with a
conservative guy as the the term ‘conservative’ used to mean,” she said. “But it
means something different now.” In the meantime, I’ll be compiling a waiting list
of willing liberal men who are able to keep their patriarchal gazes under control,
and be ready to spring into action to help all those boycotting women who used to
be having sex with conservative men. After all, those batteries can’t last forever.
fcerabino@pbpost.com @FranklyFlorida

Ex-schoolteacher returned to Las Vegas to face counts in sex case

Associated Press Monday, May 13, 2019 | 5:30 p.m. A 49-year-old former high school
teacher has arrived in custody in Las Vegas from Texas to face multiple felony
charges accusing him of sexual conduct with a student. Records show that Alexander
Hunt arrived Sunday and remained jailed Monday at the Clark County jail on eight
counts of a school employee engaging in sex with a student. The former Rancho High
School ROTC teacher is reportedly due to face a judge on Tuesday. Hunt left Nevada
while police were investigating and before a warrant was issued for his arrest. He
was arrested April 25 in Corsicana, Texas. Police say text messages between the
student and Hunt recount sexual encounters. The Clark County School District says
Hunt worked in Las Vegas from February to September 2012.

Alyssa Milano’s Anti-Feminist ‘Sex Strike’

Actress Alyssa Milano at a protest against Trump administration policy in Manhattan

in 2017. (Caro Allegri/Reuters) No doubt, Milano believes that her idea here is a
progressive one. She's wrong. On Friday, actress and liberal activist Alyssa Milano
used Twitter to call for women to go on a “sex strike” to protest new abortion
laws. No doubt, Milano believes that her idea here is a progressive one. The
abortion laws in question are, after all, supported by Republicans, therefore any
act of protest against them must in itself be liberal and progressive, right?
Wrong. Although Milano may not realize it, her attempt at progressive activism was
actually the opposite of feminist. Let me be clear: Calling for women to go on a
“sex strike” isn’t “woke” or cool, it is sexist and harmful. Why? Because it
promotes the antiquated narrative that women have sex only as a concession or gift
to men, not because they enjoy sex for its own sake. This is not feminist; it’s
patriarchal. All too often, we women grow up hearing things that suggest it is
somehow wrong or bad for us to want sex. I remember a friend in college telling me
that her mom had taught her, “It’s the man’s job to want it; it’s the women’s job
to say no.” These kind of colloquialisms can stick with a woman for a lifetime,
making her feel dirty or wrong for wanting to engage in normal, healthy human
behavior. We’ve certainly come a long way in terms of seeing women as being equal
to men, but we are unfortunately still in a place where women who enjoy sex a lot
are called “sluts,” while the same kind of desires and behaviors are not only
accepted, but also celebrated, when we’re talking about men. It’s stupid, it’s
unfair, and Milano is not helping. If Milano is really as concerned about women’s
“bodily autonomy” as she claims to be, then maybe she should start by not telling
other women what to do with theirs. I mean, seriously — the irony is so obvious
that I can’t believe she somehow still doesn’t see it and actually continues to
defend her awful idea. Thankfully, we live in a country where we all have a right
to peacefully protest — and any woman who has an issue with the new abortion laws
should certainly feel free to do so, and yes, even to call on other women to do the
same. The truth is, though, demanding that women surrender their sexuality when
we’re still fighting to have that same sexuality be accepted is about as stupid as
it gets. I know that Milano sees herself as some kind of left-wing hero, but she
missed the mark here. Her idea treats female sexuality not as something to be
accepted and celebrated in itself, but as a cheap bargaining chip, as something
that women only do begrudgingly to please or get something out of men. Suggesting,
as she does, that you’re an inferior feminist if you decide to have sex is no
different from the typical, outdated Puritanical shaming that suggests you’re an
inferior woman if you decide to have sex. Both, after all, suggest that what a
woman decides to do with her body sexually says something about her as a person —
and that’s not “bodily autonomy,” it’s the opposite. The truth is, the only thing
we should be telling women about their sexuality is — to paraphrase Salt n Pepa —
that it is no one else’s business, that it belongs to them and them alone. Sexual
decisions should be made by each individual woman for her own damn self, without
feeling any pressure from any man (or any Alyssa Milano) to make a certain
decision. So, Alyssa — I thought you were “woke” enough to realize this, but since
you apparently aren’t, I’ll spell it out for you: Many women do enjoy sex for sex’s
own sake, they don’t just do it to please or manipulate men, there is nothing wrong
with that, and shame on you for suggesting otherwise.