Drunken Sex High

So you’ve finished your last HSC exam and need to blow off some steam. You’ve had your graduation dinner and perhaps even a function at the pub instead of the alcohol-dry, police-monitored formal.  Perhaps some teachers decided you’re mature enough to share a drink with them. Perhaps one of those teachers is young, attractive and can’t hold those drinks.

Are tales of teacher/student sex the ultimate online news stories because they appeal to almost every man’s school fantasy (not to mention they are scandalous, forbidden, deal with gender and power relations, etc.)?

Or are they just so easy to write, requiring almost no framing – find out what happened, interview the school, the police and some horny teenagers and presto! Then come back later to hear the court verdict.

The above story is basically a recount of a very exciting evening for one lucky fellow and a rather embarrassing one for the woman. It reads like a story, like any good story of young lust. But the peculiar thing is that because the teacher was rather wasted and confused, she is portrayed as a victim despite the typical zero-tolerance stance towards teacher/student sexual encounters.

I drank all those while writing this post

I must say I find the decision of the disciplinary panel surprising.  Rather than putting the teacher away for sex with a minor in her care, admitting that, in a moment of weakness, the pair had “consensual sex”, shows a lot of guts. It may not have been rape, but what kind of message does it send out to the community?

What’s more, the supplied photo is of 50+ bottles of booze and not of anything related to the story! What an easy journo piece!

Has there ever been a male teacher that got off the hook so easily? Probably not, at least not in high school. Male teachers can apparently get in trouble just by saying things. Perhaps making “obscene comments” about women goes a bit too far, but what exactly is wrong with inviting year 10 students to ask “anything they wanted to know about sex”? Anyone who taught 16 year old boys would know it’s all they want to hear about and satisfying their curiosity via a teacher beats other methods (go to Google and type in “can you get”).

It seems the Victorian Institute of Teaching is quite forgiving to its female teachers – last year a teacher was given back her certificate after an incident in 2005, in which the then-23 year old hooked up with an 18 year old student. But in the space of four years the pair got engaged and bought a house. Even the student’s parent was pleased. What a happy ending.

The accompanying photo makes it all better.

Hi, I'm a sex offender!

The stages of a juicy sexual harassment scandal

In this post I would like to revisit our fascination with sexual harassment in the media in the wake of the recent David Jones scandal.

Sexual harassment is a morally wrong act in which one dominant party (usually a male manager) employs dominance, bullying and bad touch on the subjected party (usually a young, attractive and ambitious woman). Often the subject is too embarrassed to come forward and justice does not always prevail.

But when it does come to light, it sure is enjoyable to read with its sex, money and celebrities (or people more famous than you!).

It tastes like what?!

One Daily Telegraph story starts off setting the scene and the significance of the $37m claim. Then come the juicy details:

-a mouth-watering dessert that tastes” like a f*ck in the mouth”,

-touching of lingerie,

-invitation for sex in a luxurious setting,

-“kissing on the neck”,

-something in the front pocket.

Then, after a phase of moral outrage and satisfying one’s curiosity, there is plenty of time for others to make confrontational comments like those of designer Alannah Hill, who offered herself to McInnes.

Another story (from AdelaideNow) follows a similar pattern of sexy news, putting the negative aspects of the incident aside. Hell, with Hill’s description of McInnes as a desirable hunk, doesn’t that (partially) restore his credibility and trivialise the wrongdoing that he has committed?

Then comes the designer’s apology and a laugh on the radio – the story focus shifts back to entertainment.

The ending of the story suggests that in the world of David Jones, even sexual harassment must give way to the Spring/Summer launch and the latest goss on Miranda Kerr.

Bill Henson may not be a paedophile, but sure acts like it

What?!

Last week, the Herald Sun published this story of controversial photographer Bill Henson rising yet again to defend his infamous photographs of nude children.

Readers will remember the outrage over a set of photographs two years ago that catapulted Henson into the public spotlight. It questioned where to draw the line between art and pornography and whether employing children for such means was fine as long as the outcome was not in the interest of self-gratification.

What is interesting about this particular story, however, is that the author carefully paints Henson’s media image into that of a possible paedophile, not unlike the hum around Michael Jackson, making the reader wonder what kind of a person Henson is.

Wouldn’t it be peachy if Henson was indeed pursuing his passion for self-gratification? In other words, if Henson was revealed to be a paedophiliac, wouldn’t all who accused him experience a self-satisfying feeling of ‘I told you so’ righteousness?

The media is like a poacher, setting a snare that does not guarantee a catch but the temptation is too big to pass up.

The story also made an interesting selection of Henson’s quotes to keep the reader guessing:

The comment that “children consent to all kinds of significant things” is perhaps not unlike those of convicted child molesters who claim that their act was done by consent.

Furthermore, Henson’s argument that children posing nude for artistic photography has no “documented results of physical or psychological damage” and "to say that children can't consent to a thing like that is sheer nonsense" lacks credibility and is rudely dismissive of his critics.

The supplied video has Henson admit that controversial art exists to challenge social norms and that art does not play by the rules – “that’s not how imagination works”. The story thus permits Henson to bend certain rules to allow him to survive this confrontation and set him up for the next. 

here boy!

Woof woof!