Men are pigs according to Dan Savage

Men are pigs according to Dan Savage

dan_savage1 420x470American sex advice columnist and gay rights advocate Dan Savage has brought discussion of gay hook-up apps to the national stage in an appearance on the ABC’s Q&A on Monday night, endorsing them because “they’re very popular with gay men because gay men are men and men are pigs”.

Responding to an audience question about whether gay hook-up apps “normalise a culture of instant gratification”, Savage defended apps such as Grindr.

“We need these apps because we have said that it is not okay to hit on people at work, that it is not okay to walk up to somebody on the bus and the street and ask them for their phone number,” Savage said.

“We’ve defined these things, rightly so to make the world safer for women, as sexual harassment. So we need these places that when you enter them you are saying, you may approach me.”

Savage’s response prompted host Tony Jones to ask for an explanation of the phenomenon for the broader audience.

Savage also attracted laughs from the audience when he argued against moral puritanism, saying: “I give a wicked blowjob.”

Marriage equality was a topic of discussion, with Savage arguing the legal framework and protections provided by marriage was a necessity for minority communities.

Feminist and academic Germain who also appeared on the show argued against Savage’s position that marriage as an institution has moved beyond a foundation of power imbalance, saying it should be rejected.

 

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3 responses to “Men are pigs according to Dan Savage”

  1. I think Dan Savage has very simplistic ideas and you just can’t respond to complex issues with popularity seeking pithy sayings that can be quoted in popular media.

    I think the two women on the panel were more erudite in their responses.

    By the way I believe the article has not spelt Ms Greer’s name correctly. It’s Germaine Greer. She is an academic and a foremost intellectual who wrote The Female Eunuch. The least we can do is spell her name correctly.

  2. I thought in general Dan Savage was excellent on QANDA and he is a fierce advocate for equal rights and same sex marriage. His candid talk gets cut through.

    These hook-up apps have positive and negatives. yes it makes it easier for people to get sex etc. No problems with that. But I have to say I have some gay friends who are obsessed with these hook-up apps. They’re on them constantly and they seem to be the most unhappy and lonely people I know. I’m not saying that these apps make you unhappy but perhaps they attract the most lonely and unhappy people who are seeking contact with others.

    I do not like Dan Savages generalisations on gay men though. We are not all the same. Im not a pig, I dont seek instant gratification, and I dont like him projecting all gay men as fitting the stereo-type of being sex crazed pigs.

    But what an awesome QANDA it was.

  3. The apps certainly mean gay men can indeed “hook up” for “sex” pretty much anywhere and pretty much anytime, and simply because it’s something that’s been enabled by a new (and largely profit-driven) technology means that I reckon therefore that it’s fair enough to ask: is that good, is that bad, is that in-between?
    The question that’s always ignored in so many discussions today (like gay marriage etc) is: WHAT IS SEX ABOUT ANYHOW? I have a few ideas but this question isn’t even on the radar. Instead we get orders from any number of interest groups about what’s “appropriate”… It’s no surprise that people are keen to explore the pleasure of their own and other peoples’ bodies, but gee: what’s it all about, Alfie?!