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The Outing Question

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For me, one of the most difficult political questions is the ethics of outing for political purposes. It presents a conflict between two important principles: 1)the the profound injustice of systematic discrimination against gay people and the immorality of public officials who are support it, and 2)the benefits of preserving a private realm of intimate behavior. I place a lot of weight on the second; I confess a libertarian streak, and the Starr inquisition makes the consequences of state exposure of private sexual acts clear. Majikthise, who has similar instincts but much more analytic rigor than me (not to mention a cool Johnny Cash t-shirt), comes to a position that seems exactly right to me so far as acts of sexual behavior (and other generally private conduct) per se go. There should be a strong burden of proof on those who would do the exposing, we should not be required to surrender our private lives to make public policy, but there are circumstances in which exposure is nonetheless right. Seems exactly right to me.

But. I think David Ehrenstein raises a good point in the comments (he does at Crooked Timber as well.) There is an important distinction between sexual acts and sexual orientation. Sexuality in the second sense is a major part of almost every political campaign. Every time a politician hauls his or her family onstage, he or she is making a statement about their sexuality, and demonstrating adherence to certain norms (which, as it happens, uphold disgraceful exclusions and injustices.) It’s also important to remember that an individual’s sexuality is not reducible simply to their sexual behavior. It seems to me that disclosing someone’s sexual orientation presents less of an ethical problem than exposing private sexual behavior. We should also remember that in saying that someone is gay, we’re not attacking them in any way; it’s only smearing if one is a homophobe. I’m not confident about what exactly that ethical standard should be (the overlap between sexuality and particular sexual practices can make this a thorny issue), but exposing sexual orientation and sexual behavior poses very different questions, I think.

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