The US is a prudish country when it comes to issues of sex. While sexuality is rampant in films and TV, and pornography is easily available and consumed widely, in public people tend to espouse a Christianity-based attitude that frowns on sex outside of marriage, same-sex relationships, and the like.
An upcoming election to the Virginia House of Representatives will provide a test of how prudish the people in that district are. It appears that the Democratic candidate for the seat had in the past live-streamed sex acts with her husband. Now people who have obtained footage of the videos are circulating it in an effort to damage her candidacy. To the credit of the Democratic party, they are not backing away from her.
Democrats in Virginia are defending their candidate for a competitive statehouse seat against “desperate” efforts by Republicans to exploit her appearances on an adult porn website.
The state’s Republican party has admitted it sent out several thousand “explicit” flyers to voters in House district 57 containing still images reportedly of Democrat Susanna Gibson engaged in live-streamed sex acts with her husband.
The nurse practitioner and first-time candidate denounced as “gutter politics” the publication of a report last month that the couple had performed on the pornographic website Chaturbate in exchange for electronic “tips”. Videos of their encounters were archived last year, according to a Washington Post report, although it is unclear when they were shot.
Election day is just two weeks away on November 7 and Gibson is in a close race with Republican David Owen. The Republican governor Glenn Youngkin. has weighed in on the issue.
Youngkin told the station he had not seen the mailers, but felt Gibson should be held accountable. “This candidate’s personal life is something that that candidate needs to explain to people, and the Democratic party needs to have an opinion on this,” he said.
What is she being ‘held accountable’ for? Why should she explain her personal life to others? And what is there to explain, anyway? Gibson and her husband did something that was completely consensual and legal. If they had livestreamed the two of them renovating houses or cooking, shows that seem to be very popular,, there would be no issue. It is purely the fact that they engaged in sex that Republicans are trying to exploit.
I would like to think that voters nowadays are sex positive enough, or outraged enough by this dragging of the candidate’s personal life into a political campaign, that they would vote her in. But I am not sanguine. We live in a very prudish, uptight, hypocritical society and Virginia is not noted for its broadminded outlook.
Now people who have obtained footage of the videos are circulating it in an effort to damage her candidacy.
This is perfect for the GOP. On the one hand, that get to shout about how immoral all of this is, and at the same time, by circulating it, they get to titillate their audience. I can imagine many an older Fox viewer screaming at their TV and then wandering off to the bathroom for an extended visit during the first commercial break.
IOW, it’s the usual hypocrisy.
“that get to” -> “they get to”
If the Republicans are sending out pornographic flyers aren’t they at risk of putting them in front of the eyes of children?
There’s also the copyright issues. But breach of copyright in political speech seems to get a pass -- I keep reading reports of pirated music with no consequences.
Revised state motto -- Virginia used to be for Lovers.
The Republican politicians have to be outraged. Isnt sex usually reserved for their mistresses? How dare anyone have it with their spouse.
Youngkin told the station he had not seen the mailers, but felt Gibson should be held accountable.
Did he say the same thing about child-rapist Donald Trump?
It’s misogyny as well, of course.
A man having lots of sex is a stud. A woman, a slut, a whore, a woman of ill repute.
FGM and women being veiled in Islamic nations are just more extreme manifestations of the same misogyny that is on display here.
Well fair enough:
“Hey, Gibson, did you do this thing?”
“Yeah. So?”
“Nothing. As you were.”
Job done.
The next candidate for the post should be a member of the Jainist religion from India.
And everywhere he -or she- goes, bring along the spiritual advisor, a jainist monk.
Those of you who do not know how jainist monks dress should check it up.
BTW Gandhi was a jainist, but not a monk. I don’t think Britain would have granted him a visitor’s visa if he had travelled au naturel.
When you think no one can be worse hypocrites than the Religious Right and the Republicans, the British Conservatives say “hold my beer”
.
“Conservative MP Crispin Blunt arrested on suspicion of rape and possession of drugs”.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/oct/26/conservative-mp-arrested-on-suspicion-of-rape-and-possession-of-drugs
Dang. Here is the correct link.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/oct/26/conservative-mp-arrested-on-suspicion-of-rape-and-drugs-possession
Dang. Here is the correct link.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/oct/26/conservative-mp-arrested-on-suspicion-of-rape-and-drugs-possession …
In fairness, when you actually read the story, it transpires that Blunt reported the incident to police himself three weeks ago in the context of an attempt at extortion. So it’s not a great example. Much better is Blunt’s Tory colleague Neil Parish, who was caught watching porn on his phone. Nothing wrong with that in the privacy of your home, right? Oh, no, hang on, he was caught watching it while sitting in the Chamber of the House of Commons…. TWICE.
The USA just had as a First Lady, a woman who posed naked in a variety of sexually-titillating poses and arrived at this country as a paid sex toy for for wealthy men. As first lady, she went out in public without undergarments in a clinging white dress. The most outrageous thing she wore, however, was a jacket that proclaimed how much she didn’t care…when visiting children locked in cages. Republicans don’t seem at all bothered about this.
SailorStar @ 15
Aaarghh, I had suppressed the memories of the Trump clan, along with my memories of the pandemic…
But let us not forget the first commandment of the GOP:
*It is all right when Republicans [ and their families ] do it* .
Remember Newt Gingrich divorcing his cancer-sick wife and marrying his young mistress?
(And as I am reminded of the anime Sailor Moon -- the American publishers were so prudish as to censor a same sex couple. The goddamn Japanese are more progressive these days… if you are familiar with old Japanese traditions that reflects pretty badly on US media)
Deepak Shetty @5: That was my first thought. No wonder conservatives are very upset. She’s totally upended their tradition of having a scandal with a sex partner outside of their marriage. Now they have to run around and pretend they just don’t like sex again until the next one of them is caught with their mistress.