Offences Against One’s Self
Editor’s Abstract: This is the first publication of Jeremy Bentham’s essay on “Paederasty,” written about 1785. The essay which runs to over 60 manuscript pages, is the first known argument for homosexual law reform in England. Bentham advocates the decriminalization of’ sodomy, which in his day was punished by hanging. He argues that homosexual acts do not “weaken” men, or threaten population or marriage, and documents their prevalence in ancient Greece and Rome. Bentham opposes punishment on utilitarian grounds and attacks ascetic sexual morality.Offences Against One’s Self, by Jeremy Bentham
posted by quebeck @ 12:47 AM
1 Comments:
Quebeck, I am impressed by your diverse readings, although would appreciate your thoughts on these matters rather than mere quotations.
As to Bentham, while he was an odd little man who did request that his corpse be preserved in a box and put on display, and did have the gaul to challenge Sir William Blackstone, his thoughts in this matter are quite pertinent.
I see no reason to restrict the bedfellows of Sodom from their corporeal acts. As I am sure you will have appreciated first hand, a good rogering of the sphincter ani externus often has provided many a respectable fellow an entertaining distraction to the tedium of the day.
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