# Why are conservatives so interested in controlling other people's sexuality? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 21, 2018, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950 "2018-03-21T05:47:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950/41 "2018-03-22T00:06:29Z")
Sex outside of marriage leads to… - STDs (bad) - children out of wedlock (bad) - abortions (bad) - weaker families (bad) - goes against the tenets of the majority of religions of the US - has been looked down upon for quite awhile. Pretty easy to see why the conservatives would be limited in their view of proper sexual behaviors. [note - I don’t fit into their camp, but I grew up with it] ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950/42 "2018-03-22T00:38:41Z")
Lots of actions have demonstrably bad consequences **for the person who chooses to do them**. That’s not a reason to legislate against those activities. ---
**Author:** ![LAZombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b38774/32.png) [@LAZombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LAZombie)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950/43 "2018-03-22T01:07:07Z")
Most people, liberals and conservatives, need their beliefs affirmed and validated. They also have ulterior motives, agendas, and insecurities. Surely, you don’t believe that liberal women fight against prostitution and pornography soley because it exploits females. They do it because they can control men by limiting men’s sexual options. They’re insecure about their own sexuality and ability to keep a man. Heck, they even want to ban sex robots. [https://campaignagainstsexrobots.org](https://campaignagainstsexrobots.org) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950/44 "2018-03-22T01:10:33Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > The religious right, short of something extreme like an active eugenics program, is part of what we are as a species. Those who want, at most, tiny changes made at a glacial pace will naturally come into conflict with those who want massive changes yesterday. People who most value our differences will clash with those who are most disposed to value our areas of sameness. Homosexuality is just the latest proxy war, IMO. This used to be true. But today lots of conservatives want to make massive changes yesterday - destruction of the government, eliminating or weakening programs that have been around for most of a century, religious influence on government which has been absent for well over 50 years. Going back to the way things were 50 years ago means reincarnating hippies and free love. And long hair. I doubt many young conservatives want to go back to a time when cohabitation was scandalous. Old ones, maybe. And a big difference today is that when conservatives violate their supposed principles and screw around just like anyone else, it gets reported. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950/45 "2018-03-22T01:16:23Z")
> [@LAZombie](#): > > Most people, liberals and conservatives, need their beliefs affirmed and validated. They also have ulterior motives, agendas, and insecurities. Surely, you don’t believe that liberal women fight against prostitution and pornography soley because it exploits females. They do it because they can control men by limiting men’s sexual options. They’re insecure about their own sexuality and ability to keep a man. Heck, they even want to ban sex robots. > [https://campaignagainstsexrobots.org](https://campaignagainstsexrobots.org) I don’t see anything in that cite that links the people opposing sex robots to those who oppose prostitution and pornography. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950/46 "2018-03-22T01:45:15Z")
Saying that sex outside marriage goes against majority religious beliefs may be true, but it’s cherry-picking. It’s not difficult to find other things that go against majority religious beliefs but that no one would currently think of proposing legislation against, such as the biblical prohibition against charging interest on loans. (Note that while it’s easy to weasel out of that one, it’s equally easy to weasel out of the sex one.) ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950/47 "2018-03-22T02:00:25Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I think deep in their hearts, conservatives don’t give two shits about any of this. But there is a vocal minority in the Republican camp that really really really really hates abortion and same sex marriage. Republicans learned long ago that they could harvest cheap votes quite easily by giving lip service to being against abortion, so that’s what they did. Just Darwinian selection, those that expressed the desire to end abortion survived, those who didn’t, didn’t. This is why you see Republican congressmen telling their mistresses to get abortions, they simply don’t care about the issue other than the easy votes they get from it. You just described electoral politics in general. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950/48 "2018-03-22T13:08:39Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > You just described electoral politics in general. No, I think in general, Democratic politicians believe in the positions they advocate whereas Republicans will pay lip service to whatever gets them elected. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950/49 "2018-03-22T13:32:34Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > I’ve said this in other threads: many allegedly-“religious” conservatives hung up on sexuality have a worldview in which there is normal, healthy heaven-approved sexual expression (marital, cis-het, private, exclusive) on one side, and on the other side not only is _everything else_ perversion/deviance, but furthermore, _ **everyone is tempted by one form or another** _ of perversion/deviance and it is nigh irresistible save by special grace but still must be struggled against. Well, personally I have never felt at all tempted to have sex with another guy, and it would never occur to me to assume that any other straight (as far as I can tell from demeanor and behavior) guy is so tempted. What that suggests about the answer to the OP question is left as an exercise for the student. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950/50 "2018-03-22T15:52:44Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > You are asking why are conservatives conservative. That’s true, but it doesn’t get to the root of the question. Why are some people conservative like that? If you go back one step, we find that people who are conservative generally score high on tests of authoritarianism, and of valuing purity. From that observation, you could predict why they want to control others’ sexuality. You could also ask why they are that way, and I guess it gets down to the fact that there’s a lot of variation in how people think, and the subset of people who tend to be more authoritarian and purity-valuing are the ones we’ve drawn a circle around and labeled as conservative. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950/51 "2018-03-22T15:53:53Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Cite? Might be hard to find, since there have been no societies where this is the case. Our society, with increased rates of sex outside of marriage, has reduced crime rates - not that they are connected in anyway. > Conservatives real view of this issue is shown by their continued support for the most blatant adulterer ever in the White House. Others have done it - both Republicans and Democrats - but only Trump brags about it. As crime rates have fallen so have rates of teenage sex. [From 1991-2015](http://recapp.etr.org/recapp/index.cfm?fuseaction=pages.StatisticsDetail&PageID=555) they fell almost 25%. Sounds like you are trying to control someone else sexuality? Why is that. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950/52 "2018-03-22T16:56:45Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > Lots of actions have demonstrably bad consequences **for the person who chooses to do them**. That’s not a reason to legislate against those activities. Laws we have purely for the individual Helmet Laws Drug Laws Schooling under ~16 or 18 state dependent Laws we justify due to a claim of spillover effect Vaccine Laws Seatbelt Laws Smoking Laws Speed Laws Please - people LOVE passing laws for people who don’t know better. ---
**Author:** ![Egnu\_Cledge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@Egnu\_Cledge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Egnu_Cledge)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950/53 "2018-03-22T20:15:04Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > Sex outside of marriage leads to… > > - STDs (bad) > - children out of wedlock (bad) > - abortions (bad) > - weaker families (bad) > - goes against the tenets of the majority of religions of the US > - has been looked down upon for quite awhile. You can get an STD in or outside of a marriage. In 2014 (last cite I could find) 14% of women who obtained abortions were married (31% were cohabitating). Marriages fall apart for all sorts of reasons aside from infidelity. Of those"bad" results, children born out of wedlock is the only one that can logically result from unmarried sex alone, and that’s just by definition. I know you don’t ascribe to these beliefs, I just meant to point out how poor this rationalization is. The thing that astounds and appalls me about the Conservative/Religious way of approaching sex is that, by declaring one one type of sexual relation the “right” one, all others are declared equally sinful and wrong. This seems to be why Conservatives are completely blind to the concept of consent. A loving gay couple is just as bad as a rapist, to them. Here’s Rush Limbaugh, as an example: > [@](#): > > You know what the magic word, the only thing that matters in American sexual mores today is? One thing. You can do anything — the left will promote and understand and tolerate anything — as long as there is one element. Do you know what it is? Consent. If there is consent on both or all three or all four, however many are involved in the sex act, it’s perfectly fine. Whatever it is. But if the left ever senses and smells that there’s no consent in part of the equation, then here come the rape police. But consent is the magic key to the left. I assume that’s the authoritarian mindset—the horror that anyone (almost always a woman, or a gay man) has the ability to choose for themselves who or what is allowed access to their body. ---
**Author:** ![Egnu\_Cledge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@Egnu\_Cledge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Egnu_Cledge)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950/54 "2018-03-22T20:56:10Z")
> [@Egnu\_Cledge](#): > > I assume that’s the authoritarian mindset—the horror that anyone (almost always a woman, or a gay man) has the ability to choose for themselves who or what is allowed access to their body. Thinking about this a little bit more, it occurs to me that this could be the “why” the OP was asking about. You, as a person are the most basic locus of control. Everything else flows from that. If you can convince people that you have the power and authority to police the actual boundaries of their body, then you have the power to control any other aspect of their individual lives, as well as of the community as a whole. Sexual freedom strikes at the very root of their concept of control. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950/55 "2018-03-22T21:02:22Z")
What was that about sex robots? ---
**Author:** ![Egnu\_Cledge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@Egnu\_Cledge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Egnu_Cledge)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950/56 "2018-03-22T21:44:44Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > What was that about sex robots? [Electrogonorrhea: the noisy killer](https://youtu.be/IrrADTN-dvg) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950/57 "2018-03-22T22:33:11Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Conservatism is linked with believing in a big guy in the sky who tells you where to put your penis. [roy moore]God tol’ me to put it ina fourteen ye-ah ol’ ah tha ma-ahl![/roy moore] Curiously, those convervatives that are so hard on prevention abortions tend to take a more, uh, ‘liberal’ view [when it comes to their own unwanted offspring](https://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/04/tim-murphy-abortion-mistress-243456). So…principles. _“Have you noticed that most of the women who are against abortion are women you wouldn’t want to fuck in the first place, man? There’s such balance in nature.”_[RIGHT]— George Carlin[/RIGHT] Stranger ---
**Author:** ![LAZombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b38774/32.png) [@LAZombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LAZombie)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950/58 "2018-03-23T01:46:16Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > What was that about sex robots? Liberal women don’t want men to have sex robots unless they are programmed to nag also. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950/59 "2018-03-23T01:51:17Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > No, I think in general, Democratic politicians believe in the positions they advocate whereas Republicans will pay lip service to whatever gets them elected. You have a vastly more charitable view of human nature than I do. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950/60 "2018-03-23T03:03:08Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > “Society works best when everybody knows their own and everyone else’s proper place and sticks to it.” Knows their place? Like, in the kitchen? Or the cotton fields? Or the ghetto (in the original sense)? And when people know their place, are they a credit to their race? Knowing one’s place is a breathtakingly offensive concept. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-conservatives-so-interested-in-controlling-other-peoples-sexuality/810950.md?page=4)