Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Why not sex before dinner?
Friends of the TasteGuru have asked, why don't I write about sex? Everybody, they say, wants to read about sex. For food, they can turn anywhere. So, I will concede just a little. I will write about why I don't write about sex.
I am too old.
Haha! Just kidding. Nobody is too old to think about sex. It is one of the cruelties of the ageing process that our ability fades as our ardour remains pretty much the same. This is why old men with heart conditions will happily risk their lives to ingest Viagra.
The thing is, while sex is wonderful in practice, and even better as a subject of daydreams, it makes for lousy conversation and worse writing, unless it is comedic (which means it is no longer sexy). This explains why almost every cynically sex-drenched drama Hollywood ever produced is a bore. Sex is far to personal to be shared widely in discussion. It's that personal appeal that makes it so great, er...in person. Whatever that little switch is we all have inside, good sex will trip it like nothing else. The same experience, though, shared with someone who has different switches, will be tawdry, boring, or even pathetic. We all know this, and yet most of us still cannot resist sharing. Unless the other party shares the same kinks, discussion is pointless and circular. ("Uh...you mean you actually LIKE when that happens?")
I am no exception, and I will slip from time to time, but for the most part I prefer to focus on the second most powerful human compulsion. Food. Unlike sex, there is always a good chance of converting someone to your tastes, and unusual experiences will draw in, rather than repel, listers. Besides, my wife is unlikely to divorce me over something I write about food, no matter how weird.
I am too old.
Haha! Just kidding. Nobody is too old to think about sex. It is one of the cruelties of the ageing process that our ability fades as our ardour remains pretty much the same. This is why old men with heart conditions will happily risk their lives to ingest Viagra.
The thing is, while sex is wonderful in practice, and even better as a subject of daydreams, it makes for lousy conversation and worse writing, unless it is comedic (which means it is no longer sexy). This explains why almost every cynically sex-drenched drama Hollywood ever produced is a bore. Sex is far to personal to be shared widely in discussion. It's that personal appeal that makes it so great, er...in person. Whatever that little switch is we all have inside, good sex will trip it like nothing else. The same experience, though, shared with someone who has different switches, will be tawdry, boring, or even pathetic. We all know this, and yet most of us still cannot resist sharing. Unless the other party shares the same kinks, discussion is pointless and circular. ("Uh...you mean you actually LIKE when that happens?")
I am no exception, and I will slip from time to time, but for the most part I prefer to focus on the second most powerful human compulsion. Food. Unlike sex, there is always a good chance of converting someone to your tastes, and unusual experiences will draw in, rather than repel, listers. Besides, my wife is unlikely to divorce me over something I write about food, no matter how weird.
