Tan Lines XXXV

Subject: Rafael Branciforti.
Photographer: Unknown.

Not a Weapon or a Mere Tool

. . . but a means of making contact

The following is noted in From Wild Man to Wise Man: Reflections on Male Spirituality.


Let's be honest, every man is proud of his erect penis, but perhaps, strange as it sounds, he should meditate on it and see what it is telling him about his deeper nature. Let's for a moment look at our male genitalia as a metaphor for manhood.

. . . The male penis is, first of all, both soft and hard. That is its first message. There is a proper place for both in our lives, vulnerability and strength, letting go and firmness. Wisdom is to know when, where and how.

The male penis is not a weapon or a mere tool, but it is a means of making contact, literally "reaching out" for the other, not to hurt or invade, but to pleasure and delight – mutually! . . . Not just me, and not just the other, but both simultaneously.

Is that not an ideal metaphor for what all human relationships should be? And maybe even what morality should be. I bet you never imagined you could learn that from your male body.

See also:
• Soft
• Hard
• Body and Soul
• Tools of Attraction
• Affirming Our Essential Goodness
• The Gay Male Quest for Democratic, Mutual, Reciprocal Sex (Part 1)
• The Gay Male Quest for Democratic, Mutual, Reciprocal Sex (Part 2)