Category: Politics
My kid is at the stage in life where fart jokes and mooning someone are just about the most hilarious things he can think of. I’ve frequently found myself surprised by a scrawny 10 year old backside while doing chores. Even a waggly full-frontal, on occasion. He is uncouth. Now, I don’t care a whit about this. I’ve been seeing him naked for a decade now, after all. What this sudden onset of flashing has reminded me of is junior high, high school, and college team sports. I cannot quantify the number of times that my peers and I tricked each other into seeing someone’s body or bodily function because we thought it was hilarious. In college, the onset of shock sites like Goatse, Tubgirl, & Lemon Party upped the ante a bit.
None of the guys ever really wanted to see any of that, but none of us ever really cared either. The distillation of all of these interactions is basically:
*normal life*
“Hey, look at this hairy gum I sat in!”
“What the… son of a bitch!”
*laughter*
*normal life resumes*
Kind of a weird way for guys to develop camaraderie/intimacy, but it’s not like we have had much else to go on. When that behavior continues into the adult world, and is performed around folks who haven’t been inured to it (i.e. women), it’s an issue. Locker-room & dorm mischief just don’t hunt. Clearly, plenty of men haven’t practiced any other way of communicating, or just don’t know their audience. What engendered attention & eye-rolling laughter during formative years is sexual assault when you’re supposedly grown-ass.
The last time my kid flashed me, I explained how I don’t personally care about him doing that kind of stuff in our bachelor pad. I’m used to it. But I did explain how that behavior, when directed at someone you do not have a close relationship with, could be considered sexual assault. Man did his eyes get big. I’m not sure he has a full grasp on what constitutes “sexual assault” but he at least apprehended it. Hopefully he won’t end up as a man-child who thinks sending unsolicited dick pics or whipping it out in front of people is hilarious.