I was going to go to Laura Woodmansee's Sex in Space book signing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Labratory until I learned the event was cancelled; Laura's editorial about how that happened sparked sympathy from me.
I too find that writing about sex and tech makes people squirm, or refuse to take me seriously. As if sex isn't one of the most serious influences in our lives.
Laura is facing resistance because unlike her other two books, which are about women and space (gender issues being a perfectly acceptable academic topic), this time she wrote about – gasp – sex. As she puts it:
It's a book with a serious purpose: part the mists and let us plan ahead (for a change) so we can deal with a natural challenge when it arises. Do you really think we should be sending people in small capsules far from home to spend months and years together seeing only each other without considering their need for touch, love, sex?
Sex is a natural, human function, like eating and sleeping. It can also be really, really fun. Until we are ready to accept that, and stop believing sex can only be discussed in a stuffy, academic manner or not at all, we're not nearly mature enough to venture into space.
Not that immaturity ever stopped us before...
