Earlier today, a reader sent me a link to this fascinating interview with gay British Historian David Starkey, which was conducted by The Daily Telegraph newspaper a couple of years ago. My favourite quote in this interview relates to when Starkey was talking about gay life as he knew it when he was at Cambridge University. Starkey said: '... and there was a strange kind of university subculture on the more extreme fringes of the gay scene which operated on the principle of the higher the intelligence, the more perverted the practice.'
As soon as I read that, I immediately thought of the quote by French philosopher René Descartes who lived 400 years ago. Back then, Descartes said: The greatest minds are capable of the greatest vices as well as of the greatest virtues.So I guess not much has changed since Descartes time!
In connection with gay Cambridge guys, early last year a reader who called himself 'bristolgrad' left a comment on one of my posts about dating in which he said:
I'm in my 20s, and I have dated three Cantabrigians, all three of whom turned out to be complete weirdos. Three is obviously not big enough a sample size but sufficient to raise questions in my head. The first slept with probably half of East Anglia. I have casual sex too but this guy takes it to a whole different level. The second was gorgeous and intelligent but was very brusque and rude and the third thought he had the world at his feet and small grammatical errors would trigger very queeny fits of indignation.Bristolgrad's comment just makes me wish that Starkey had gone into a little bit of detail about exactly what practices the higher intelligences of Cambridge university enjoyed!
Do any readers have any experience in dating Cambridge guys? Or guys from any other other well known universities?
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8 comments:
My boyfriend did his PhD at Cambridge; he's one of the most intelligent people I've ever met, and he has everything going for him. Yet he's kind, caring, modest, and affectionate. He's also gorgeous and the best cook in the universe to boot**.
His take on many Cambridge gays: "Often incestuous, insecure, socially inept and frequently odd by average reckoning. Still, the same can be said of most of the UK, and as for most of the UK, the good eggs hiding amongst the weird and insecure are generally wonderful."
**may contain bias
I would say that the high majority of public school entrants in Starkey's day and the rather brutal culture that would have applied then would have accounted for much more. Viz mere children despatched to remote schools and surrogate matrons at an early age and then subjected to an atmosphere of manipulation and bullying would thwart anybody's predilections.
I'm currently at Cambridge and to be honest, I'd just be happy finding anyone gay - perverted or not!
I've been dating a (just finished) second year law student from Cambridge... very hot, and constantly horny. Maybe it's because they work so hard, and sex is such a great stress reliever?
Tom
Cambridge has a small gay scene. When I was a student ten years ago, it was the normal range of gay people - the naugthy, the geeky and the normal acting ones! Wouldnt say it's tat radically different.
I'm left with the feeling that gay Cambridge guys are just like the rest - sometimes too bright and socially maladjusted for their own good: I went to Imperial College a while back and it was just the same.
What is "perverted" anyway? Usually it's just a bunch of sexual practices designed to help people mask themselves (not always literally) and avoid real contact during sex. But I'd still be fascinated to know what was on the perverted list in David Starkey's day... :-)
I think maybe smarter people are more imaginative in bed? Or are more willing to keep an open mind and to try new things? Just a thought.
Cambridge completely screwed me up. I left with no idea what my sexuality was and now, 30 years later, neither does anyone I sleep with of either gender. Plus which, I was left with an unerring and uncontrollable ability to correct grammar in other people's speech. Being worth millions is all very well but the baggage that goes with it is best avoided. Go to a redbrick instead, go clubbing and enjoy life.
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