New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote about sex for a new column in the context of recent revelations about predators and how such behavior arises in men. For as he puts it, “I don’t think good men wake up one morning and suddenly start thrusting their tongue down the throats of women they barely know.”

“You’ve got to walk through a certain number of doors,” Brooks continues, “before you’re capable of that kind of behavior.”

The doors Brooks lists lead to: “the room of love,” “the room of the prospector,” and “the predator’s room.”

In the room of love, per Brooks, “sex is special,” but when boys become adolescents, “that room basically drops from common culture.”

And this is what Brooks has to say about the room of the prospector:

In this room sex is a gold nugget, a pleasure, like any other pleasure, except maybe it’s better and the desire for it is stronger. If you’re straight, women are the people who can give you this pleasure. When you go to a college party or a club, you’re on the prowl for women who want to share this pleasure with you. Most pop songs are about this kind of conquest. Girl I want your body. In this room, sex is almost like a market transaction. You can measure yourself by how successful you are, which depends on how hot you are or how smooth you are. You can rack up victories.

The key difference between that room and the predator’s room, as he puts it, is that in the former, people “see each other in a degraded way,” but in the latter, “the harasser doesn’t see his victim at all.”

But Brooks’ column isn’t going over that well on Twitter:

David Brooks wants to let you know he listens to hip, young music.https://t.co/HPW2aP1LW5 pic.twitter.com/ogphfvC0vI — Erick Fernandez (@ErickFernandez) November 3, 2017

david brooks is writing about humans like an alien observing our culture for the very first time. pic.twitter.com/si5oG9WMWn — Joel D. Anderson (@byjoelanderson) November 3, 2017

"Girl, I want your body." – David Brooks. pic.twitter.com/6MszQ1SGvk — Turkey Serota (@maggieserota) November 3, 2017

Lol oh, I see, the problem with David Brooks's writing is that he has never had sex pic.twitter.com/kVCiR2uzuO — Lauren Duca (@laurenduca) November 3, 2017

Whoa hey look it's Why The Fuck Does David Brooks Have A Job, Part 35,906 pic.twitter.com/5NHwCvjWDu — Drew Magary (@drewmagary) November 3, 2017

I have news for David Brooks: Dehumanizing and commodifying women IS predation. "On the prowl" (LIKE A PREDATOR) shoulda been a big clue. https://t.co/y0NIRecvl5 — Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) November 3, 2017

Honestly shocked the sun didn't explode the moment David Brooks typed "Girl I want your body." pic.twitter.com/ScMLQWv8IR — Kevin Nguyen (@knguyen) November 3, 2017

guys i can't. and i wouldn't recommend reading this while you eat, as i did. https://t.co/Mlh7eobDvo pic.twitter.com/ZX3Jo8vBik — Kate Bennett (@KateBennett_DC) November 3, 2017

Had to verify that this David Brooks line was not just some fabricated screenshot going viral on Twitter https://t.co/4hwyVMWGzH pic.twitter.com/kFj8uurqor — Kia Makarechi (@Kia_Mak) November 3, 2017

David Brooks wants you to know he's had sex before pic.twitter.com/GfWB7K695d — Charlotte Wilder (@TheWilderThings) November 3, 2017

Congrats to David Brooks on becoming the first intergalactic traveler to document human sex. pic.twitter.com/mYTIa5jq5f — Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) November 3, 2017

[image via screengrab]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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