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Leather folk or not, we all have some perilous or disturbing desires, and we all have, at least once, acted on them.
According to a poll I read a few years back, the mean number of sexual partners per lifetime for Americans is six. Yep, six. I have had many friends who have done that many in one gathering, though I personally drew the line at five. I am not a multitasker.
So, I'm willing to bet that the line quoted, above, is less true than its author might like to admit. Those of us who have had really adventurous, even somewhat dangerous, sexual experiences can often fail to notice how utterly plain the world around us really is. Perhaps it's appropriate to assess what is "perilous or disturbing" relative to the person experiencing the desire, but that might reduce the meaning of those terms to some fairly ridiculously low thresholds. A hand-job in an open convertible would probably send a lot of folks into near cardiac arrest.
I'm gay, so reading explicit straight sex scenes has about as much effect on me as watching a mime troupe perform Shakespeare. The mental gymnastics of merging myself with the narrator and his passions are exhausting. Nevertheless, I found Ms. Minkowitz's enthusiasm for Elliott's writing very infectious, and I wish him well with his book, his advocacy, and his perilous journey.
