Vale Chambers

It always surprises me when someone who helped define my world turns out to be more or less my age. As yet of unknown causes, Marilyn Chambers recently died at 56. Ms. Chamber's evidently naive belief that hardcore sex films were part of a natural evolution and would enhance her career as an actress parallels other influences that led me to have a similar outlook. Of course, this outlook coupled with the shyness and social fear that, looking back, I simply can't believe I had, led to enormous frustration. But somehow I've always held a sense that society's progress could in part be measured by sexual openness, quite apart from whether or not I could actually participate.

Of course I still feel that way -- "of course" not because it's obviously the right attitude, but because it is something I grew up with and therefore forms a part of my worldview and is unlikely to change. When the internet came along I thought some of the Reagan-era regression would get corrected, and to some extent it was, but unfortunately a lot of ugliness blew in on the same breeze and society as a whole reactively maintains its conservatism. And now religionism and social conservatism are resurgent, and what healthy openness we have is likely to fade away yet again.

This likelihood is not countermanded by the trend towards gay marriage. My prediction would be that gay marriage will become the norm while the public face of homosexuality becomes more and more conservative. The crazy acting-out antics of the past will fade in memory, and gay couples will be accepted as just as unspectacularly normal as the rest of us. This is fitting, of course. I'm only saying that this trend, and others that also appear to be the dreams come true of us old 1970s Boomers (legal pot anyone?), are easily balanced in the global zeitgeist such that what we used to wish was a license to have more fun will just be another uninteresting life option. Details may change, but the big picture probably will not. Too bad: I like to think that so long as we are open about our feelings, careful with others', and proceed with honesty and integrity, there's no limit on what behavior is acceptable; or at least, exploration of this should prevail in the art world without penalty. But there are penalties, society yet being what it is, and Chambers (and Mapplethorpe and a host of others) can be counted among the unfortunates who have had to learn it.