Why Sex Feels Weird to Proud Planet-Conquerors
The surreality and mystical grandeur of sex between people
With all the tribal divisions between religious and secular folks, isn’t it reassuring to know we’re united by an odd experience that hides in plain sight and that has to do with sexuality?
To say that sex is weird for people is an understatement since the entire sexual aspect of life takes on religious or existential significance, thanks to its social context. Even if you’ve never had sex, masturbating, pornography, and sexual desire are commonplace, too, so sexuality in general is a universal feature of living. And the difference between human sex and the kind that animals engage in is what makes for this peculiar, unspeakable religiosity.
We each have our nonsexual gods or idols, so we go to our separate temples, and we bicker about some theological or ideological dogma. But those religious and secular issues are decadent pretensions compared to the religious aspect of sexuality. No faith or even discipline is needed to recognize sex’s power over us.
How does the religious aspect of sex work? It’s simple.
Sex feels weird or joyfully forbidden because it contrasts with the dignity of our public performances. We occupy ourselves in our jobs, hobbies, and mundane…
