September 2002 Cover
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Why defend the Church?
Bill Andriette's Castrating the Church [August 2002] is a tissue of error, false logic and analogy, and muddy writing.
But they all stem from his premise. Is there not something basically homophobic about defending the masculinist ethic of our culture, and specifically of the Catholic Church, when gays have suffered so much on account of it? In emphasizing the "underground" part of
the "homosocial processes by which boys become men," the Church and Mr. Andriette create and defend an unhealthy atmosphere, to say nothing of a hypocritical one, given the Church's official condemnation of homosexuality. To be sure, not all boys have been damaged by
sexual activity with priests. But is that "[getting] your blow job and [going] on your merry" mentality really conducive to truly growing up sexually?
J
.C.K.
via the Internet
You certainly got to the nub of what I was trying to argue. In the end, we probably disagree about how much sex can be governed by reason, and how much people require spaces of privacy and invisibility to grow, develop, and live. I fully grant and maybe should have said
louder that bad things can happen in the 'underground.' But surely you have to grant that the process of subsuming sex to reason by the very culturally-specific categories by which the West now defines and imposes its 'reason' worldwide involves bad things, too. The West's
current crusade to eliminate from every society on earth gay men who manifest relationships or desires for teenagers, counts among these bad things.
Perhaps we could agree that the priest scandal is not being handled by the media, courts, prisons, etc. in a way intended to minimize harm. It is rather being handled to produce as much bile and hate toward those categorized as demons (some of whom doubtless did
bad things), and extract as much money as possible for lawyers, scandal-mongers, and those who say they are victims. If this hatred and opportunism were damped down, then maybe there could be a discussion about the right mix of 'underground' and visibility when it comes to
sex, the right mix of gender differentiation that's culturally necessary and useful. But to my mind, not before. B.A.
A broader vision
Just read Blanche Poubelle's article Fingering Machismo [January 2002] and your description of the Tongan third gender, the 'fakaleiti.'
Why do such things always seem to surprise and amaze Westerners? In most of Asia these are everyday facts of life. Judeo-Christian hype has warped our way of looking at life more openly. But hey, there was a time when being able to read was considered heretical. I
now happily live in Thailand here you may substitute the word 'fakaleiti' with 'katoey' (lady-boy).
Charles
Thailand
Why Ghana?
I am an American, currently residing in Australia, and am glad that I found your magazine. The informational content is impressive.
Being very interested in finding an African "husband," I am curious as to why there are so many personal submissions from Ghana. Is someone on your staff connected there? Did the magazine actively pursue Ghana's men (and a few women, which is a little confusing). I
am planning on moving to Capetown next year and wonder why they are not represented. Wish they were.
Chase
chasemeround@hotmail.com
Australia
How The Guide caught on in Ghana is a mystery to us, but the many Ghanaian men (and few women) who advertise seem to get a good response, so our readers must be interested in making West African contacts. We have had personal ads from Capetown, and you might find
some at www.guidemag.com/personals.
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