Sex radical communities and the future of sexual ethics

SUMMARY Many urban-based gay male, lesbian, and mixed-gender sexually radical communities (such as leather and/or S/M groups) portray their interests in sexuality in terms of arousal and pleasure. The writings of many gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and queers involved in such communities suggest that sexual pleasure is based on individual preference, and that all sexual activities need only the consent of participating individuals to render those activities moral and good. Thus, as long as people consent, a wide variety of practices can be authorized in this system, such as non-monogamy, group sex, anonymous sex, domination, etc. In this paper, I will suggest that something much more radical is happening in these communities, that "individual preference" and "consent"-although present -are perhaps not the most interesting way to describe what is happening here. Rather, I will explore the possibility that these sex groups are in the process of providing for us a new kind of ethic based not on individuality, but rather based on community.