R E C E N T L Y
Deconstructing the Kennedys
Should an economist wear a short, tantalizing black dress to work?
Prozac is for wimps
The nanny trial, "Boogie Nights" and feminist writing about men
Martha Stewart, I salute you
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A L S O
About Camille Paglia
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Dear cyber guru:
Is it necessary to "come out" to your parents? I am a bisexual femme and have
never felt compelled to share my dating life with them at all, but now that I
am in a relationship with a woman (again), I wonder if I'm right in thinking
it's none of their business unless we get married. Or am I a chicken? To me,
sex and parents are on two completely different life planes. What do you think?
Puzzled in Brooklyn Dear Puzzled:
I applaud your mature reserve! The generations in America have become
unnaturally chummy, to the detriment of both. It's nauseating to watch the
endless, smarmy, talk-show displays where parents boast they are their
children's "best friends." Such a thing, if it occurs, can only paralyze and
stunt the child and turn the parent into a youth-cannibalizing vampire.
Unseemly, tell-all intimacy is a style epidemic in America, even among
strangers swapping cancer and divorce stories on buses.
Those who have a highly visible, public life have an obligation, in my view,
to be as honest as possible about their private passions. That's the only way
we will get deep social change over time. But otherwise, I agree with you,
it's no one's business, including your parents', how you pursue your love
life. Compulsive blabbers are usually Nervous Nellies desperate for adult
approval. European discretion (see any early Jeanne Moreau movie) is the
sophisticated way to go!
Do you seek the wisdom of the ancients? Ask Camille.
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