Ok, attacking Hugh Hefner for saying it is traditionalists, and not the likes of him, who reduce the meaning of sex is a bit like shooting fish in a barrel, but let’s do it anyway.

The website Politico reports that in the current issue of Playboy Hefner editorialises against traditionalists who are seeking, he reckons, to strip sex of its proper meaning and rob people of their rights.

Hef thunders: “Today, in every instance of sexual rights falling under attack, you’ll find legislation forced into place by people who practice discrimination disguised as religious freedom. Their goal is to dehumanize everyone’s sexuality and reduce us to using sex for the sole purpose of perpetuating our species. To that end, they will criminalize your entire sex life.”

This is what called in the business, ‘setting up a straw-man’. It would, in fact, be very hard to find a better example of it than this.

Who believes sex is purely about “perpetuating the species”? Who wants to criminalise everyone’s “entire sex life”? Basically, no-one.

Traditionalists (to use that awful and thoroughly vilified word) believe sex should take place in a loving relationship – preferably marriage – that is ultimately open to having children, unless age or infertility prevents this.

No-one who is truly loved will ever feel used as a result of sex –that is, reduced to an object – and the children born to such a relationship will have the enormous benefit of being raised by two loving parents.

Contrast this vision with the sexual world symbolised by Hefner; sex need have nothing at all to do with love and if children result that you don’t want, you can abort them or abandon them.

Now, which is the truly dehumanising vision of human sexuality? Or to put it another way, please remove that beam from your own eye Mr Hefner before removing the speck from the eyes of the rest of us.