Even though I can’t relate to diaper fetishes or anal beads, I read Dan Savage’s alternative relationship and sex advice column in most issues of the Eugene Weekly. While I’m at it, I catch the letters to the editor section to read the endless, and often mindless, controversy of whether the Weekly should print the column.
For virgins of “Savage Love,” it’s quite profane, outrageous and often funny as hell. It’s everything that makes conservative Christians cringe and require three Hail Marys just for looking at it. Many closed minded-people are shocked by Savage’s column and decide to voice their opinions via the Weekly’s forum. Some write something along the lines of, “I’m as open and understanding as anyone when it comes to sex, but this is smut.” Other prudes chime in with blasphemous retorts about how middle school children can pick up a copy and read about kinky sex acts and the like. Here’s a select few comments:
“Reading it is like being at the carnival freak show…first I laugh a little bit at what appear to be made-up stories; and then I cry, realizing some impressionable (i.e. young) or naive people may be taking this as serious commentary on the topic of human sexuality.”
” While walking into Sundance the other day I overheard three middle school children…discussing and laughing about some part of ‘Savage Love.’ It is wrong and probably not healthy for them to be exposed to such writings in a free and ubiquitous paper?”
“(Savage is an) idiot who is not qualified to write anything, and for sure is not a professional. A slime ball who can only write porn, and you print it. WHY?”
I wish I received such kind comments about my columns.
Personal opinions aside, the fact is that the Eugene Weekly is an alternative publication, and a mediocre one at that. It isn’t a community newspaper, as some enraged citizens state. The Weekly doesn’t report on school events or who won yard of month, like a community paper does. Publications like the EW, such as the Portland Mercury and Seattle’s The Stranger, for which Savage serves as editor, fit somewhere between a magazine and a newspaper, with an emphasis on arts, politics and uncanny personals. These weeklies represent new perspectives on society and “Savage Love” is a healthy addition to this recipe.
The non-tightwad population that reads the EW knows that the openly-gay Savage is intelligent and makes good points. His opinions on gay society are thought-provoking (he once questioned how legitimate gay pride parades are for building a strong community) and he is an advocate of “straight rights,” such as the morning-after pill. He also always promotes safe and consensual sex. Not only does he discuss alternative issues and give hard-to-find advice, he does so with logical thinking and an inviting wit.
As for the kids, there’s nothing in Savage’s columns that cannot be found photographed on the Internet. The content of the column is often taboo, but it is still real-life situations presented in an entertaining fashion. Savage’s column can only make kids giggle (and make me giggle) and be mixed in with an already surging curiosity about sex. Young minds won’t be harmed from reading this, but as one Weekly reader pointed out, “children have been hurt by a ‘community-imposed silence about sex’ according to former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders.”
My guess is that Eugene’s social conservatives won’t be lining up at the WOW Hall tonight, where Savage will give a lecture and answer questions at 8 p.m. The event is free, but there is a suggested donation of $5 – $20.
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