Health Lessons From Congressman Weiner: Sexting Is Healthy

Insert Weiner joke here….or, like Congressman Anthony Weiner did, just insert weiner here. You’d have to be living under a rock not to know that Weiner got caught online with his pants down and held a tearful press conference to apologize. But frankly, I ain’t got no “beef” with his display of his “hot dog” (I’m going to hell for that one). This isn’t just another instance of a politician using social media to reveal his shortcomings (I got a million of these). Congressman Weiner is just doing what millions of us do online anyway: flirt, send photos, sext, and have naughty chats. Turns out politicians aren’t robots. *Gasp*

There are so many politicians today who are completely out of touch with reality. Billionaire oil tycoons who’ve sat in the Senate for decades are suddenly trying to sell us on the idea that, “Hey, I’m the common working man! I’m just like you.”

You go to Hooters too? Cool!

Congressman Weiner, however, actually is like the rest of us. At his press conference, Weiner admitted he engaged in “inappropriate conversations conducted over Twitter, Facebook, e-mail and occasionally on the phone” with women he’d met online, mostly via Facebook.

Now, dear readers, look me in the eye and tell me you’ve never done the same.

You can’t, can you? (Sorry, rhetorical question)

Weiner isn’t the only one sexting the day away. We all do it, and in fact, it’s so prevalent in modern sexual and dating rituals, that it’s pretty much the norm.  The National Campaign to Prevent Teen & Unplanned Pregnancy conducted a survey on online sexual habits, including sexting, and published the following results:

33% of people aged 20-26 overall are sending or posting nude or seminude images of themselves.

59% of people aged 20-26 are sending or posting sexually suggestive messages (including sexting).

64% of people aged 20-26 said they had received such messages.

Those large percentages aren’t surprising. It’s 2011! Online dating is nothing new, and social media is just picking up the slack. This is how people meet, flirt, date, and explore their sexuality. In fact, I would go so far as to say it’s also a healthy and safe way to explore your sexuality (Consenting adults + Weiner pics + no exchange of fluids=sexy sexy time). Conversely, social media is also how we break up, with Facebook cited in one-fifth of divorce petitions.

We live in public, and we interact, communicate, and engage online. Was Congressman Weiner a jerkface for doing this behind his wife’s back? Sure. But sending weiner-pics to some saucy online ladies isn’t a crime. It may be unsavory to our sensibilities, but he’s not doing anything we all haven’t done before.

Frankly, I don’t care who my politicians are fucking. Or sexting. Bill Clinton got a blow job, Arnold Schwarzenegger had a love-child, Rick Santorum made, er, “Santorum.” Big deal! I don’t give a toss. All I care about is how a politician governs. He can take peen pics all he wants and post them online. It’s not anything I haven’t seen (or done) before.

(Photo: Getty Images)