No on Prop. 8

...to my daughter. I said that I could not accept her husband getting pleasure from causing her pain. She reacted with hostility, first telling me it was none of my business and then denying he behaved in that manner. I didn’t tell my daughter that I had snooped in their home and found his ligatures and spanking porn. I feel that getting pleasure out of causing another person pain and humiliation is not an acceptable form of behavior. Now my daughter and son-in-law are not speaking to me. I don’t ever want to see him again but would like to salvage my relationship with my daughter. Any advice? Distressed And Depressed Apologize. I am a 27-year-old female with an active sex life. I enjoy sex while high, for pot’s ability to help me lose my inhibitions and for the way it makes me feel. The problem is that marijuana leaves my mouth bone-dry—not conducive to a good blowjob. Water barely works to solve the problem. How can I smoke presex and still drum up enough saliva for a good blow? Blowing Smoke Your problem is very interesting, BS, but I have more to say to DAD. Hold tight a minute. Look, DAD, your daughter is right. What she and her husband get up to in bed—or playroom or sex club—isn’t any of your business. And while you may feel that “causing another person pain and humiliation is not an acceptable form of behavior,” someone who finds pain and humiliation erotic—someone like your daughter—might come to a different conclusion. Like the parents of the kinky gay kid whose boyfriend wrote in a couple of weeks back, DAD, you snooped and consequently learned some things about your kid that you didn’t need to know. You learned stuff that you, as a parent, have a right not to know. And guess what? It’s your own damn fault. Your only option now—after you apologize to your daughter and your son-in-law—is to pretend that you don’t know what you damn well do know. And, DAD, that’s an awfully big leap you’re making from “my son-in-law accidentally hurt my dog” to “my son-in-law is intentionally abusing my daughter.” Not knowing how to pull a dog away from another dog isn’t proof that your SIL engages in intentionally cruel, nonconsensual, dangerous BDSM sex. Okay, so he doesn’t know from dogs. But you can rest assured, DAD, that most people into BDSM are careful and considerate and make sure their bottoms or subs are human, for starters, and enjoying the ligatures and spankings just as much as they are because, you see, that’s the only way BDSM tops can keep bottoms and subs coming back for more. While it’s unfortunate that seeing your son-in-law with a leash in his hand conjured up some upsetting mental images—like, oh, your daughter being “violently spun around” —those mental images are, again, your own fault, DAD, and you’re going to have to take some responsibility for ’em. But take comfort. Ligatures and spanking porn are softcore, as BDSM gear and interests go. Spend 10 minutes surfing around www.mr-s-leather.com, www.medicaltoys.com, or www.christiandomesticdiscipline.com to get a taste of how much more extreme your daughter and son-in-law’s interests could be. Then go sit down with your daughter and ask her to explain a bit about her turn-ons to you, because you need some reassurance that she’s not being abused and that her sex life with the son-in-law, whatever form it takes, is mutually pleasurable, consensual, and rewarding. And finally, promise her that you will never, ever bring any of this up again, that you won’t go snooping ever again, and that you won’t hold any of this against your son-in-law. Okay, BS, your problem can be solved with a can of Coke—or, better yet, Pepsi, which just donated $500,000 to Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, all but daring the American Family Association to launch a boycott. Trust me: You’ll find it easier to get cock down your throat stoned if you pour a little high-fructose corn syrup down it first. A NOTE TO MY READERS: I get more letters at Savage Love than I could ever hope to respond to personally and infinitely more letters than I couldå ever hope to fit in this space. There’s really no secret to getting your letter into the column: I just have to find your problem somewhat interesting, basically. (You are, however, better off e-mailing me on Tuesdays, when I sit down to write, than you are on, say, Fridays, when I sit down to drink.) The fact that I can’t respond to every letter leads to a lot of hurt feelings. Every day I get complaints from readers who can’t believe I replied to the dude with shit on his dick and not to them. Well, dear readers, for two weeks—and two weeks only—you can get a guaranteed response from me. Just go to www.noonprop8.com, click “Donate Now,” and do your part to help preserve marriage equality in California. On the left-hand side of the donation page, there’s a spot where you can indicate that you’re making your donation in someone’s honor. Type in “Savage Love,” put my e-mail address— [email protected]—in the space provided, and then send me your question in another e-mail along with the e-mail confirmation that No on Prop. 8 sent you after your donation cleared. The six biggest Savage Love donors get their letters in the October 16 and 23 installments of Savage Love. Everyone who makes a donation of $25 or more by October 16 gets a personal reply to their question from yours truly. The cutoff dates for donations that qualify for a letter in the column are October 9 for the October 16 column and October 16 for the October 23 column. So, Cake Fart Fetishist, you’ve been badgering me with inane e-mails for years. This is your chance to finally get a letter in the column. You too, David in Brooklyn. Put up or shut up. But you don’t have to be a stalker to participate. Got a good question and wanna help fight the good fight? Make a donation at www.noonprop8.com, send me your letter along with your receipt, and you’ll hear from me in print or privately. [email protected]