Ponderings on Tom of Finland

“Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing, end them.”

Just in my mind. Had to learn that while studying Hamlet for A levels and it’s kind of stuck. Which is good news in a mind forgetting things by the year.

Just watched Tom of Finland – the film biopic. It leaves me thoughtful. I do not understand the modern – post war – distaste for any sexual activity which is considered different.

How was it that Homosexuality became such a crime? It could only been a notion, and presumably this is also behind Roman Catholic’s dislike of contraception, that sex should not be enjoyable. That its only purpose was the begetting of children.

Presumably in some dim and distant past that must have been an important role. When people were dying in flocks of disease and hunger and the inhospitable nature of the world – off and on – it must have seemed a duty to make sure that the human race survived. But those times have long gone. We have plenty of children, plenty of humans to carry on.

In a very objective way I see that it is quite clear that society’s disapproval led to much of the behaviour that society particularly objected to. By creating a whole strata of people who felt dirty, different and unclean and whose desires could not be met by normal means their subsequent behaviour was inevitable. The inevitability of everything was what struck me most in that film.

It is really time for people and religions to accept that sex is a healthy and enjoyable experience in adult and consensual relationships. Just as we do not consider the sex lives of our parents, we do not need to consider the sex lives of others especially if it takes place in private.

#sex

By Aaron D.Key