So, by now, many of you have probably already stumbled upon news of Formula One’s Max Mosley’s sex tape while googling “sick Nazi orgy” at work. For those of you haven’t, here’s the short version: Max Mosley is a bigshot at Formula One and the son of British fascist Oswald Mosley. He’s under pressure to resign because a five-hour video featuring him role-playing with five prostitutes has recently been leaked to the public, not unlike a colostomy bag. If, say, that colostomy bag happened to be full of women dressed as Nazi guards who are paid to inspect old man balls, and women dressed as concentration camp victims who takes turns being whipped. So Mosley is in a spot of trouble, as the British are wont to say.

But enough with the old wrinkled balls and the whipping and the costumes. Sex is complicated. What might turn some people on can be unfathomable, boring or utterly grotesque to others. Some people like to stick to missionary, some will pay good money for a brown shower and some like to have their balls manhandled by prostitutes dressed as Nazis while whipping women dressed like Holocaust victims. And, yes, there’s a lot of power play and possible exploitation of women going on in this particular instance that a lot people might describe as troubling or problematic - if not downright vile or morally reprehensible.

But that vileness and that taboo is likely a huge factor in what prompted Mosley to orchestrate this orgy, especially given that an authority figure or the role of helpless victim take one more than their historical context when it comes to sexual role-playing. While it is probably a good idea and an interesting exercise to evaluate why you find yourself turned on by something deemed by society to be generally unacceptable, it’s not mandatory, as we see it. Sex is so personal and the culmination of so many little moments and experiences that it is nearly impossible to neatly and completely explain the genesis of a preference or a fetish. So while reasons are helpful in determining why one finds oneself turned on by, say, being dipped headfirst into a vat of tapioca pudding while a fat woman plays a harp with her feet, they aren’t necessary, and neither are excuses.

Yes, Mosley is definitely an idiot for filming his dalliances, but we’re generally of the opinion that one person’s treasure is another one’s Nazi-themed BDSM orgy. What happens among consenting adults is their business. Of course, the fact that the women involved in this little scenario are prostitutes might make defining the extent of their consent a little murky. But, at any rate. These were adults who agreed to act out a sexual fantasy. And we don’t think Mosley is some sort of monster or miscreant because of his sexual tendencies. Sure, he might be horrible. But not solely because of this.

But we’d like to know what you think. Do you find his actions offensive… or sexy? Embarrassing… or benign? And should Mosley step down because of his sexual proclivities? Or because he’s so stupid as to not have learned the first rule of filming an orgy: Don’t film your orgies?

Formula One Boss Mosley Under Pressure to Resign [Spiegel]