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Thursday, December 10, 1998. No. 139

Letters

p. 4.

Ask the boys

Obviously, David Kennedy (Boys were Victims, Issue 136, Oct 29) has never known any stroll boys and listened to their concerns. He sees the boys as vulnerable victims through the lens of feminist theories of gender Marxism and thus unable to make autonomous decisions. Has he ever listened to their ribald tales of parties, tricks and sugar daddies? Has he ever laughed with them? The correct ideology of generic abusers and victims is totally foreign to their experience of reality. He cannot see the boys as individuals. He would control their behaviour to conform to his theories rather than derive knowledge and theory from their behaviour.

As for his "Hello???" I would point out that in London, Ontario the police pressured both the men and the boys. The men, in custody until their trials and probably scared, chose to cooperate. And the boys? I tend to think that pressuring the boys to compromise their sense of honour and loyalty is far worse abuse that anything likely to occur in bed with men. As I said, "their victimization really got underway when the police became involved."

Perhaps David Kennedy believes that since boys are not capable of giving consent they are not capable of a sense of honour or loyalty, either. Or telling the truth? We should respect boys and not denigrate their claims to autonomy.

Robin Sharpe
Vancouver, BC

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Created: December 19, 1998
Last modified: August 27, 1999
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