I like to think of Oprah as the black Jesus.
Now that she has "Super Soul Sundays" on OWN, I'm even more convinced that she may very well be the second coming of Christ.
Ms. Winfrey has built a cult of followers much like the Son of God. Her disciples believe what she tells them and go where she goes. I know this, because I am a closeted Oprah-ite. Yes, it's true. I have been gobbling up the bits of wisdom doled out every night during her new show, Oprah's Lifeclass. However, I am not to the level of dorkdom that I would sign up and participate on Facebook; that would be going much too far.
Thanks to Mother O, I have been reexamining my burning ambition and tireless drive to push, push, push in the direction of success. Is it my ego that wants to make an assload of money? Is it wrong to want to change the world and make people more open to sex? What is truly behind the desire to make dreams become realities and fantasies into real experiences?
What I know is true is that I am a person who is deeply fascinated by sex. As a child, my mother explained the "birds and the bees" version where a man and woman have sex to make a baby. But other than that, I was completely clueless. When I was 10 years old, in the days before Wikipedia and the Internet in general, curiosity led me to read the Encyclopedia Britannica to try to learn about "sex."
I was 1,000-percent shocked to learn about something called "masturbation." I mean, the simple idea of having sex with yourself seemed outrageous and also somewhat impossible. Well, let me tell you, I taught myself pretty quickly that it certainly was not impossible.
I get asked one question over and over: "Why do you think people are so scared of sex?" That very issue echoed out in my most recent column about the Forbidden Lesbian Sex Act. However, the truth is that I don't fully understand what makes people so afraid of sex. I am learning about sex even now. Contrary to what my mother or other people out there might think, I'm not an expert. I'm still very much a student.
However, despite my continuing sex education, people are drawn to me and feel comfortable revealing the most intimate details of their private lives. I guess I'm like an older sister in that way. Recently, a friend from boarding school wrote me on Facebook and said, "I always remember having long talks with you in the dorm about sex. You taught me so much! And I'm very happy that you're still doing the same thing on a bigger level for everyone else. The world really needs that."
I am truly passionate about sex. I am also very troubled by it sometimes. It's a push and pull, and I'm always working to shed the shame, which is not easy. At the core of things, I just want to show people that sex isn't bad. Maybe if I do the hard work, I can learn and share my findings with other people. Maybe if I do that, other people can also let go of the negative feelings and the pain that comes from rejecting a natural part of themselves.
After all, let's be real: we are all here because somebody fucked somebody else, and then we were born.
OK, y'all... gotta run, I need to watch the Oprah show I TiVo'd.
See you next week for Juicy Jincey's Binoculars, when I delve even deeper into my personal history with my next column, "Do Demons Really Make You a Lesbian?"