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Ryan has nothing to be ashamed of

Well, Jack Ryan has dropped out of the senatorial race, his campaign eviscerated by the response of his own party members and the common voter to the allegations made against him.

If we pay close attention to these allegations, it should become clear that Ryan's ex-wife, Jeri, had not accused him of physical, emotional or sexual abuse. Nor did she allege that he had been unfaithful to her.

The only thing Ryan was accused of is sexual deviance. That these charges destroyed Ryan's campaign is unfortunate and serves as a sign of just how asinine our common mythology of sex still is.

We must bear in mind that these allegations were made in the process of a child custody dispute, a scenario during which negative allegations concerning the partner are par for the course. Given the situation in which these allegations were made, reasonable people must consider them suspect until some significant degree of support is given to them. I do not know if these allegations are true, but neither do any but a small handful of people.

But even if Jeri's accusations are true, they do not in themselves speak against either Ryan's ability to perform the duties of the office for which he was running or his character. That they do not speak against his ability to perform senatorial duties should be clear.

But for many, such alleged deviance is a reason for thinking his character is defective. This connection is highly questionable. Even the impression on which this is based, that Ryan's behavior was sexually deviant, is questionable.

If visits to strip clubs and the desire for public sex appear deviant, this is only due to our general tendency to hide our sexual practices from each other. Both of these behaviors are far more common than many think.

Those who feel scandalized by these allegations should keep in mind a wise warning from psychologist and pioneer sex researcher Havelock Ellis: "Everyone is not like you, your loved ones,...

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