Of Lechery

The post below has inspired a conversation in the dusty aviary.

I’d always thought of a letch as an old man who ogled little girls. (side note here, is it kind of weird that lechery has its base in the Germanic word to LICK? Yukk.) But apparently, it’s not just inappropriate sexual thoughts. It’s any strong sexual thoughts. So, I guess most people are letches.

So, we were discussing my guilty feelings upon ogling one I thought was so much younger than I. I tried explaining to John. He looked at me with confusion. He didn’t understand my guilt.

“Men look at this differently than women,” he patiently explains. “We realize that as long as it is not making anyone uncomfortable, and we don’t act on it… well, it’s natural for us to look at young women that way. They’re titillating.” (no joke, he used that word. Talk about ironic!)


So, all of you readers older than 28 – is it natural? Should you feel guilty?

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