Globe and Mail on The Sex Party
Sex Party added to campaign's fringe festival of bit players
TOM HAWTHORN April 23, 2009 at 11:42 AM EDT
VICTORIA — In an election campaign, it's hard to beat the Sex Party when it comes to pressing the flesh.
The group's declaration that it will be contesting seats in the May 12 provincial election gives rise to two questions.
What is a Sex Party?
And why wasn't I invited?
The party stands for better sex education in schools, as well as the repeal of laws prohibiting sex work and public nudity. The party demands sex shops be treated as ordinary retail businesses, which is not a surprise considering party leader John Ince, a lawyer and author, owns such a store in Vancouver's Kitsilano neighbourhood.
The media comes in for criticism in the party's manifesto for such prudish behaviour as presenting sexual terms with a letter followed by dashes, a policy even some columnists think is f------ nonsense. (Foolish. Foolish nonsense.) It also calls on media outlets to assign journalists to a sex beat. Just think of the overtime, not to mention road trips.
Finally, the party insists Valentine's Day be an official holiday, while Victoria Day, which honours a prissy monarch, should be renamed Eros Day. No word yet whether the provincial capital should be renamed Eros, B.C. That might improve the tourist trade, but it's not likely to fool the rest of the province.
However serious the party's goals, its presence on the campaign trail adds a certain inevitable levity to the proceedings. Every entendre is doubled.
In a statement on the party's website, candidate Dietrich Pajonk writes: "I don't look like Brad Pitt." (Who says there's no honesty among politicians?) "What I can tell you is that in spite of my shortcomings, I manage to have a pretty darn fulfilling sex life." That strikes the proper note of self-deprecation, narcissism and exhibitionism common to those of his ilk, which is to say politicians.
Scarlett Lake, 56, is a former exotic dancer and escort who plans to file paperwork before tomorrow's deadline to be the Sex Party's standard-bearer in Vancouver-West End. She is a self-described madam as proprietor of a business in which she matches customers to escorts.
"Your average party and politician is reluctant to touch anything of a sexual nature," she said. "It can be such a hot-button area."
At least the Sex Party's candidates do not worry much about being exposed by compromising photographs.
An NDP candidate stepped aside on Sunday after his Liberal opponent drew attention to photographs on his Facebook page that were "racy" (Times Colonist), "raunch" (Winnipeg Sun), "dodgy" (The Province), "offensive and demeaning" (his Liberal rival), "inappropriate" (the candidate himself). The Globe was alone among the print media in reporting the candidate displayed "bulging underwear." That was shocking, as underwear normally billows, or balloons, and cotton is not known to become tumescent.