How do you like your tea?

Listening to: '4 Minutes' by Madonna, ft. Timbaland and Justin Timberlake [Hard Candy]

I take mine with two sugars, no milk...my cousin takes hers with milk, no sugar. To each her own. Some guys like good ol' fashioned missionary-style...Max Mosley likes BDSM. To each his own. Or not, as the present case may be.

The News of the World (I refuse to provide links to trash, Google it if you must) got footage of the FIA boss engaging in a role-playing S&M encounter with five prostitutes, and decided it was their duty to expose it as a 'sick Nazi-style orgy'. Judging by the descriptions I've read, there's no dead give-away that the role-play was Nazi-esque (they spoke in German, yes, and Mosley was a 'prisoner'...but there was no reference to Jews, and no Nazi symbols). Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't...but I don't think anyone can say without a doubt that it was. I believe in 'innocent until proven guilty', so I'll assume that it wasn't.

There are two things about this media exposé that bother me. The first, is invasion of privacy. Yes, Max Mosley is famous. Yes, he is in a position of responsibility. Are his extra-marital activities anyone's business but his and his wife's? No. Should we be concerned that he's getting cosy with prostitutes? I don't think so. I don't condone the behaviour, but it's his private life. As long as it doesn't affect his performance as FIA president, I don't think it affects the general public. There are plenty of men who've engaged in extra-marital activities while being in public office...have we persecuted them? No. So why Mosley?

This brings me to my second point, which ties into the intro to this post (yes, there was a purpose to the 'tea' analogy). BDSM may not be my cup of tea (hehe), but it's not my place to judge those who do enjoy it. What gives the NotW the right to call the incident 'sick'? Who are we to judge other people's likes and dislikes? As long as all parties involved are consenting adults, they shouldn't be judged.

Personally, I think the NotW's reason for bringing in the Nazi angle has more to do with Mosley's father (fascist union founder Sir Oswald Mosley), than anything else. The real issue (as I see it) is the tabloid portrayal of the BDSM scene as something deplorable, disgusting and unbecoming of a respectable official. It shows a level of ignorance and prejudice that one wouldn't expect in this day and age. It shows a lack of respect to those who choose to engage in BDSM, and a 'la-la land' view that all officials are examples of 'model' human beings.

Mosley is suing the pants off the NotW for invasion of privacy, and I think quite rightly so. Some would say that a man who's been cheating on his wife with prostitutes shouldn't be allowed to sue the people who found him out, but I think his fate regarding his infidelity should be up to his wife to decide (hint: she should divorce him and ask for whatever he gets from the payout ;-) ). Anyway, we shall see.