Anti-Sex is Anti-Science
When someone expresses an anti-sex viewpoint, I assume that underlying their opinion is an anti-science bias.
Anytime you read or hear someone who attacks our right to express our sexuality as we see fit, underpinning their viewpoint is often an overt or unconscious anti-science bias.
When someone demonstrates disdain for science and its ability to improve and guide our lives, it’s not unlikely they also don’t believe in a woman’s right to choose or bodily autonomy generally, and it’s likely they also hold anti-LGBTQ opinions or believe the only “correct” and “good” sex is that which is missionary position sex between a man and woman in a married bond for the sole purpose of procreation, or some similar narrow view of what’s “appropriate” versus “inappropriate” sex.
Sure, not every anti-science person is also anti-sex, but the correlation arises so often that it’s difficult to not at least anecdotally link the two mindsets.
During a discussion I might point to a book such Tell Me What You Want: The Science of Sexual Desire and How It Can Help You Improve Your Sex Life by Justin Lehmiller, PhD, as I discussed in “Everyone Is A Little Bit Kinky,” that is loaded with an abundance of solid sexuality data indicating such things as 47% of people have fantasies about multiple partners, 46% about BDSM, and 30% about non-monogamous relationships, and the naysayers will still stamp their feet proclaiming “Well, all those people are bad for having such fantasies.”
No, they’re not bad. They’re human. People have a wide array of fantasies and many of them explore those fantasies in real time in consensual and beautiful ways.
Scientific data or informed theories do little to sway someone hellbent on judging people’s consensual sexuality choices for whatever reason. I contend one of those reasons is that they often distrust science itself.
Matthew Sheffield interviewed Savannah Sly, founder of the New Moon Network, on the Theory of Change podcast about, among other things, the anti-science and anti-sex connection. That discussion can be found at “The right-wing wars on science and sex are linked.”
Host Sheffield opens the podcast with this.
The Trump administration’s war on federal employees is getting a lot of headlines, but there’s also a war on science that’s being conducted by Trump as well. But there’s a third war that’s being conducted by the radical Right that doesn’t get nearly as much attention as it should. And that is the Right’s war on people’s freedom to express their sexuality.
Whether it’s trying to outlaw abortion, even in cases of rape or incest, or trying to place restrictions on birth control, or lowering the age for child marriage, Republicans everywhere across the country are trying to remove people’s ability to decide for themselves how they want to express themselves sexually.
And that war that they’re conducting on sexuality is actually linked to their war on government employees and on science because all three of these things are expressions of knowledge. Knowledge about the world through science. Knowledge about how government works. And knowledge about ourselves and who we are and who we love.
I have often considered anti-sex and anti-science attitudes directly related. So, it was great to hear that discussed on this excellent podcast episode.
I recommend listening to the entire hour-long interview. I enjoy both the Flux Substack newsletter and the associated Theory of Change podcast. When I see their emails in my inbox it’s one of the messages I immediately open to see what interesting things they’re discussing currently.
Sly also sits on the Board of an organization I vehemently support, Woodhull Freedom Foundation. If you have some money to toss their way, they do important work that few other organizations are doing.
You can use this link to access all my writings and social media and ways to support my work. My content is usually open and free to view, but for those who are able your paid subscription (click the Subscribe button) or patron support are always appreciated.