10/18/2008

A Question About CyberSex

The other night my mother very graciously agreed to baby-sit so that I could go see Hot Guy in a play reading. The reading was for a playwright's competition and Hot Guy is a friend of the author. I'd been dying to see (this was the second or third reading that Hot Guy's done for it) this play, as it's about soccer moms in our area. And how one of them totally loses it.

I really enjoyed the play. It was funny and absurdist, but the characters rang very true. My kind of thing. Afterward, there was a question and answer session with the audience. And two - self-professed former soccer moms - women complained about a scene in the play. In the scene, the main character has a monologue where she talks about having cybersex. By this point, it's clear that the character is already losing it and feeling abandoned by her husband. The monologue is not graphic at all and at the end she even talks about wanting to wash her hands because they feel dirty. But these women felt that it was "out of character" for such a devoted mom. (Side note: One of the women also complained about the swearing in the play. Let me tell you, this was no Quentin Tarantino type dialog. The only swearing was when a few of the characters were very, very pissed off. It totally fit.)

I was appalled by these audience members and their attitude. I didn't say anything, though. Mainly because I it would be a bit unseemly for a hugely pregnant woman to start arguing the side of cybersex. And a guy who works with my parents was there. And I feared getting the audience discussion off track from the play, because I'm a huge fan of digression.

But since I didn't say anything that night, I have to say it now. I don't think being a good mom and being curious about cybersex are mutually exclusive. Most people I know have tried cybersex. Most of them tried it long before they became parents, but I don't think the character's trying it is so weird. In the play, she is feeling isolated and that she's lost her sense of self. She feels powerless and alienated from her husband. She has nothing beyond being a parent. It is late at night, her chores are done, her children are asleep and her husband isn't home. Curiosity gets the better of her.

Do you guys think that's so shocking?

Or am I just being defensive because I'm pretty sure I too would go over the edge if I didn't spend too much time blogging and reading?

8 comments:

mkate said...

I think it is shocking that they are so shocked! In fact, it makes me think they might be protesting a little too much!

Becky said...

I find nothing whatsoever shocking about that. I can be a mother and a wife without being a puritan. And do so happily!

Travis Erwin said...

I think it's believable and maybe that's what scared those women.

Simone said...

I think if they are protesting so much, it is because they have these deep desires they are suppressing in an attempt to be all things to all people. But deep down inside, they want to get their kink on, but either don't know how, or aren't able to allow themselves to relax long enough to enjoy the fullness that is life.

Colleen Katana said...

The soccer moms complaining of the language and the cyber sex scene need to remove the sticks from their poopers.

The scene from what you tell me about the character etc sounds like it could absolutely happen. I find that the people who get most offended by those types of things are the people who are embarrassed by something they have done as well.

Cuz said...

God save us from the forced morality of others. Whats interesting is a lot of time these people who set themselves up as our moral barometers are either hypocritical, or simply not smart enough to appriciate irony, satire or an actor simplybeing true to a character.

Cowboy Bob said...

You li'l ladies are goin straight to hell.

mkate said...

I think it is shocking that they are so shocked! In fact, it makes me think they might be protesting a little too much!