Myra-Breckinridge-Gore-Vidal

no more children into the world. But of course I was playingdevil's advocate since I am secretly convinced that we shallsoon be purged by a chiliastic fire, and so, in the long run,current behavior will best serve us by hastening ournecessary end. Yet efforts must still be made to preservelife, to change the sexes, to re-create Man. There is an offchance that my mission may yet succeed. Mary-Ann wasmost depressed. I took her hand in mine. "Don't worry," Isaid. "What will happen will happen. Meanwhile, all I ask isthat you be happy... and you, too, Rusty." I gave him abeautiful yet knowing smile like Ann Sothern in the first ofthe Maisie films. "But to be truly happy, I think you must bothbegin to think a little bit about changing your sexualattitudes, becoming more open, less limited, abandoningold-fashioned stereotypes of what is manly and what isfeminine. As it is, if you, Rusty, should ever find a boysexually interesting, you might or might not do somethingabout it but whatever you did do or did not do you'dcertainly feel guilty because you've been taught that to be aman is to be physically strong, selfreliant, and a lover ofgirls, one at a time." "So what's wrong with that?" Rustygave me a cocky grin. "Nothing." I was patient. "Exceptmodern man is not self-reliant and as for making love togirls, that is only one aspect of his nature..." "It's my onlyone. Why, just the thought of boffing some hairy boy makesme sick all over." "Not all boys are as hairy as you," I saidgaily, recklessly. Mary-Ann looked surprised while Rustylooked uneasy at this reminder of our old intimateencounter. I turned to Mary-Ann. "It's positively coquettish