Section B·Page 4
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, July 14, 1999
Society and cultural reluctance keeps sex a subject in-the-closet
By Katie Burford
Kansan campus editor
Gore Vidal showed unparalleled acumen when he said in a 1979 Playboy article: "Today's Americans are in a state of terminal hysteria on the subject of sex in general, and of homosexuality in particular, because the owners of the country (buttressed by a religion that they have shrewdly adapted to their own ends) regard the family as their last means of control over those who work and consume."
Twenty years later, not much has changed.
Twenty years later, not much has changed. The book in which the Playboy article appeared, "Gore Vidal: Sexually Speaking, Collected Sex Writings," left me with the
impression that, when it comes to resolving our nation's sexual hang-ups, we have been treading water in a stagnant pool for the last 50-years.
I couldn't find any proof to the contrary when reading a recent Washington Post story about Washington, D.C. parents' indignation at finding that their middle-class.
Katie Burford
Kansan campus editor
middle-school-aged children were engaged in oral sex as a substitute for intercourse. I imagined Vidal shaking is head despondently, muttering, "Those parents just don't get it."
Vidal wrote, "Between the economics of the city and the taboos of the tribe, we have created a monstrous sexual ethic. Not to mention the most notorious paradox: It is not economically convenient for the adolescent to marry; it is not tribally correct for him to have sex outside of marriage.
In other words, give the kids a break. He most likely would have applauded the D.C. youngsters' ingeniousness in sidestepping society's tacit constraints on their sexual
Commentary
awakening.
His premise is this: "For a ruling class to rule, there must be arbitrary prohibitions. Of all prohibitions, sexual taboos is the most useful because sex involves everyone," he wrote. "That is why we have allowed our governors to divide the population into two teams. One team is good, godly, straight; the other is evil, sick, vicious."
The philosophy is the common thread that runs through all of his essays, regardless of theme — feminism, pornography, literature — or publication — The New York Review of Books, The Nation, The Advocate.
From the book jacket we learn that Vidal was born in 1925 at the United States Military Academy, West Point. Vidal's essays tell little about his life other than that he was the grandson of an Oklahoma senator, and his father was a military man.
The gauzy black-and-white cover photo of Vidal in his younger days captures him in all his Calvin Klein-modesque beauty. His gaze is penetrating.
Periodically, while reading the book, I return to that gaze. I see him engaged in palaver with others in his era's literary vanguard, "Gore," someone beckons, and the picture is snapped. The look is casual, sensual and daring all at once.
His is a radical, but without the usual reactionary rhetoric or cynical tone. People were drawn to him. Tennessee Williams, Somerset Maugham and Eleanor Roosevelt were just a few of his notable confidants whose presence and wisdom are woven into the pages of his anthology.
Sex is politics, he wrote, yet he is so at peace with his sexuality as to be the exception to his own rule. An interview with Vidal is reprinted in the book, Larry Kramer, interviewing for Gay Sunshine in 1974, lament "we just want you, wholeheartedly and full-blown—if you pardon the pun—on our team." While Vidal recognizes that sex (whether it be in the coitus or gender
sense) is a political issue, he doesn't see why who he has sex with should be made into a political statement. Especially, he points out, considering that most of us are bisexual by nature anyway, according to Alfred Kinssey, the grand-saddgardd of all sex research.
Vidal's mantra was that there was no such thing as a homosexual person, only homosexual acts.
To date, he has penned novels (23 of them), plays, essays and a memoir. His work eludes classification — just look at the gamut of keywords "Sexually Speaking" is listed under in the Library of Congress: American literature; history and criticism; 20th century American authors; English literature; homosexuality and literature; and sex in literature.
Vidal was thinking outside the box, before doing so was cool.
Burford is a Lawrence graduate student in journalism.
By Karen Schwartz
Associated Press Writer
It doesn't matter if you're traveling for business or pleasure, you've got to eat.
new or we are willing to endure hotel dining rooms for every meal, but finding a restaurant that serves good food can be a challenge.
To help separate the gastronomical delights from the simply gaseous, a good guidebook can help. Here are a few:
"Zagat Survey 1999: America's Top Restaurants"
(Zagat Survey, New York, 1988, 236 pages.
$12.95 paperback.)
This book is a compilation of the nation's best restaurants. In all, it includes 1,140 restaurants in 38 cities.
The book is arranged in alphabetical order, and each city includes reviews for the top restaurants.
Each entry includes the restaurant name, address and phone number, the hours and credit cards accepted. It also includes numerical ratings for food, decor, service and cost, as well as excerpts from some of the surveyors' comments.
The drawback to the book is that there's no geographic reference for restaurant locations. That information, as well as limited restaurant review information, may be obtained from the Zagat Web site at www.zagat.com.
■ "Where the Locals Eat"
(Magellan Press, Nashville, Tenn., 1998. 1,200 pages, $19.95 paperback.)
The book is arranged alphabetically by state, then by city. A "Best Of" list is included for each city, giving the restaurant name, telephone number and street address.
In all, there are 75 "Best OF" categories, covering such choices as all-you-can-eat buffet, atmosphere, places for kids, wine list and vegetarian food.
The authors included the occasional chain restaurant in their entries, even
though some food critics may look down upon that.
"We know that in some smaller cities, the best burgers are at Sonic," the authors write. "And we know that sometimes travelers don't want to experiment with dinner — they just want a decent meal at a reasonable price."
"Mobil Travel Guide: America's Best Hotels and Restaurants"
(Fodor's Travel Publications, New York,
1999. 242 pages. $12 paperback.)
This book includes the winners of the Mobil four-star and five-star rankings for 1999.
The evaluations take into account quality of food, preparation, presentation, freshness of ingredients, quality of service, and attitude and professionalism of the staff and management. Decor, ambiance and style also are taken into account, as are historical, cultural and artistic variations.
Each listing includes the name, address, phone number, e-mail and Web site, type of cuisine, specialties, hours of operation, reservation policy, price range, children's meals, credit cards accepted and handicapped-accessible entrances. It also includes a description of what makes the restaurant distinctive, and any special features, such as chef ownership or entertainment.
** "Vegetarian Journal's Guide to Natural Foods Restaurants in the U.S. and Canada" (Avery Publishing Group, Garden Park City, N.Y., 1998. 368 pages) $12.95**
This book, a third edition, includes more than 2,000 restaurants, juice bars, delis and other places where vegetarians can dine with pleasure.
The book is arranged alphabetically by state and province, then by city, and then by restaurant. Entries describe the type of cuisine, house speciality, special dietary menus such as vegan or macrobiotic and whether alcohol is served. The restaurant phone number and address is provided, as is information on days closed, meals served, credit cards accepted, style of service and approximate price range.
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