P is for Pervert

What is a pervert? The stereotype is the flasher in the park or something similar and seems to indicate someone who is creepy.

According to the dictionary, it is pretty hard to describe:

Pervert
noun/ˈpərvərt/

a person whose sexual behavior is regarded as abnormal and unacceptable.

So what is normal and acceptable? And does it change depending on where you live and how old you are? Let’s face it–experimentation is “supposed” to be done by young people and then you should “grow up and settle down.”

My feeling is that perversion is like porn–people know it when they see it, but it’s not the same definition for any two people. Obviously, we are talking about things that don’t exploit people or infringe on someone else’s sense of safety. Those are crimes and not what I’m talking about.

I think the term tends to be used with sexual ideas and acts that make another person uncomfortable. Pushing boundaries has always made society uncomfortable, but that’s no reason to stick with the way things have always been. Progress is uncomfortable, but necessary for growth.

It’s much easier to label something as perverted and ignore it than it is to try to understand and accept. But is “normal” where we want to live? And, for that matter, what is normal except a setting on an appliance?

What’s the point, Charmer? Perversion is just another word for people not acting like you do most of the time. Trying to push people back to a comfortable normal. And that’s just not where I want to live.

“If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.”

Maya Angelou