I think our current obsession with all things sexual is something of a cultural phase. It’s not that human beings won’t always be obsessed with sex, of course. But I think what’s happening now (and by "now" I mean for the last 100 or 150 years or so is that sex has become charged and burdened with carrying all sorts of cultural and political baggage. And the load has only become heavier in the last 50 years or thereabouts. Almost everyone’s hopes, dreams, fears, and concerns about where society is heading seem to be wrapped up in sex.

We’ve gone through similar infatuations with “sin” before. Usury used to be a sin. Wearing overly fine clothing was once a crime, depending on one’s station. Heck, once upon a time gluttony was considered a major vice, a moral failing, and deeply symptomatic of society’s declining virtue. Now we consider it an issue of mental and physical health. I think the same progression will occur with sex.

In the meantime, we all get to listen to a seemingly never-ending parade of sanctimonious blowhards that love to harangue us on the evils of sex that they don’t enjoy (or don’t want to be known for enjoying).

Goody.