Fisting Obama

Last night, I showed a good friend of mine the following video, regarding Fox News’ inadvertant accusation that the Obamas are into fisting:

Needless to say, she encouraged me to make a blog post about it. Are the Obamas really into fisting? Let’s consider the evidence. The woman in the aforementioned news clip has since clarified that by “fisting” she meant the Obamas’ trademark “fist-bump.” She didn’t actually mean to convey that they engaged in the sexual practice.

Still, though, it got me thinking. Firstly, Michelle Obama has received plenty of attention for her now semi-famous “Obama arms.” In fact, she’s quite keen on wearing dresses without sleeves, and many people have made note of her impressive arm musculature. Now, if fisting were my paraphilia of choice, I imagine showing off my arms would be among my highest priorities. Michelle Obama doesn’t need to show off her cleavage to feel attractive; she only needs to show off her bulging biceps.

I would also like to note that Barack Obama is a man who doubtless feels very comfortable with himself. His characteristic, laid-back swagger attests to this. Further, though, he’s among the most unique individuals in America: a black man with fairly far-left politics who is president of a primarily white, right-wing country. Why stop there? If we can accept that a black man can be president, why not a kink fetishist? This is the new millennium, after all.

The next question that comes to mind is, “does it matter?” Would it really matter if the Obamas were into fisting? They do it in private, they’re presumably monogamous, and they presumably do it as part of the spectrum of their affection for one another. Should we care?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the notion of “colour blindness”– not the medical condition, but as a social stance towards racial issues. Should we be colour blind? — See everyone in the exact same way regardless of colour, race, ethnicity, or origin? As we extend tolerance to a black president, would we also extend tolerance to a president who’s into kink?

I don’t know that colour blindness is the answer to race issues.  The presumption there is that our identities are irrelevant. To digress for a moment, I have another friend who’s very interested in science fiction. She told me she once read a debate between a white science fiction writer and several “people of colour.” The science fiction writer said that the way to write an alien is to take yourself an add something to you. For example, Spock from Star Trek– you just take any man and add pointy ears and emotional control. Instant alien! The response is intriguing, however: is a black man just a white man with different coloured skin? Is a woman just a man with long hair and his genitals turned inwards? The question is really: is identity something added onto a base template, or is it constitutive of our core? To be a woman is not to be a man in a different way; to be black is not to be a different shade of white. I don’t think we can ignore Obama’s race– nay, I don’t think we should. His blackness is integral to him.

What if the Obamas are into fisting? Should it be public knowledge? Should we care? Again, I think it’s something integral to them if that is the case.

The other day, I attended the “Rally Against Homophobia.” The message I took from it is an important one: tolerance is not the goal, but rather compassion, understanding, and acceptance. We should not simply tolerate those who are different from us. We should not simply try to look past their differences and see some automaton that functions devoid of identity. Rather, all of us should strive to understand and accept each other’s identities. Tolerance is a cop out– acceptance is the real goal.

If Obama is into fisting, that doesn’t make him any less of a good leader. Rather, we should strive to understand the unique perspective it gives him, just as we should strive to understand the unique perspective he gains in being black.

Should we care if the Obamas fist? Yes. But, that does not mean that we should judge them on it, but rather seek to understand and accept them for it.

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Tags: color blindness, compassion, Fetish, Fist, Fisting, Fox News, homophobia, Identity, Identity politics, kink, liberalism, Michelle Obama, Negritude, Obama, Obama Arms, Paraphilia, Post-Colonial, Post-Colonialism, science fiction, sex, Sexual deviance, sexuality, Star Trek, tolerance