I made a post in 2011 condemning laws in New York City and Washington D.C. that allow police to confiscate condoms as “proof” that a person plans to sell sex. According to Tracy Clark-Flory at Salon, this trend is continuing in New York City, with a negative impact not only on sex workers, but also on outreach workers and businesses that would like to freely distribute condoms (in order to encourage safe sex to prevent STI and HIV transmission), yet are also impacted by this policy. The toll on the LGBT community, with transgender respondents who are not sex workers yet get in trouble with the police for loitering, is also problematic. Along similar lines, this Canadian writer’s story about being detained at the U.S. border and having condoms used as “proof” of criminal behavior is harrowing. Continue Reading →
Jeana
Jeana Jorgensen, PhD recently completed her doctoral degree in folklore and gender studies at Indiana University. She studies fairy tales and other narratives, dance, body art, feminist theory, digital humanities, and gender identity.
Recent posts
Revisiting Sex Work And Checking My Privilege
I was pretty pleased with my post on why legislating sex work is problematic, until someone wrote to me to point out where I got it wrong. That’s actually what I was hoping for, as I’d concluded the post by writing:
To that end, if I’ve misrepresented the nature of sex work or adult performance here in this article, I apologize and request that someone from the community contact me and correct me. I’m just an academic who’s good at spotting patterns and analyzing cultural trends – you know more about your lives than I do. Not that it’s your job to teach me, but hopefully I can use this blog as a platform to correct false impressions about sex work and sexuality in general. So when C. Simon, an escort, emailed me and pointed out that I’d undermined my own argument in certain ways, I was both happy to receive the criticism and chagrined that I’d fallen prey to the very logic I’d been trying to critique. Continue Reading →
If You’re A Consenting Adult, I Support You Doing Anything
When I write that I support consenting adults doing anything, that statement of course comes with a few caveats: “anything” should not include acts that harm others, at least without their pre-communicated consent (as in, say, giving a beating in a BDSM setting). This is where the discussion gets complicated, since how do we define “harm”? Is it possible to consent to ostensibly harmful acts, like being punched or whipped as part of a sexual scene? I think it is, but I also think there are coercive situations where consent gets muddled and there are then social pressures to not talk about it in those terms.
In general, though, if you’re an adult who is informed about the circumstances and thus able to give consent, I’m not going to tell you
Who to date
Who to have sex with
How to have sex*
What props or toys to use (or not use) while having sex with others or yourself
Whether you should or should not try kink or polyamory
Whether you should choose to sell sexual acts
I am, however, going to tell you
To go out of your way to get as much information as possible about the potential risks and benefits of any sexual acts you might try
To make sure your partner(s) are clear on what you’re planning on doing so that everyone can give informed consent
To make sure you want what you’re pursuing and that you’re trying it for the “right” reasons (which, admittedly, may not be the same as society’s version of the “right” reasons, but in general, try to identify what it is you want so that you can be authentic to your desires rather than giving in to peer pressure)
I may not be a fan of every sex act or relationship choice out there, but I support your right to choose these things. I try not to fall into the trap of thinking that if I don’t like it, it must be morally repugnant. Continue Reading →
Hymen Handling Tips
In the mood for a cute, upbeat video that discusses how to better understand and care for your (or your intimate partner’s) hymen? Then watch this, and take note of the speaker’s tips on how to ease into sexual activity while taking into account the porous membrane that partially covers the vagina. You can also read Dr. Debby’s advice on how to deal with a hymen that covers more of the vagina and can thus lead to painful sex. Continue Reading →
Book Review Of Violation: Rape In Gaming
Maybe you don’t think of the words “rape” and “gaming” being used together very often, but according to Clarisse Thorn and Julian Dibbell, co-editors of a new anthology, perhaps you should. They recently released Violation: Rape in Gaming as an e-book and paperback, and as we MSP readers know to expect from Clarisse’s other work, this is a thought-provoking foray into the collisions between sexuality and subcultures. Thorn’s introduction reflecting on game rape, feminism, S&M, and selfhood is one of the highlights of the book, giving readers some framing terms and concepts to accompany us through the rest of the essays. Thorn describes her involvement with feminism and with the BDSM/S&M/kink communities, and she draws some intriguing connections between the use of negotiated boundaries and safewords in BDSM and consensual reality in role-playing games (such as how the Mind’s Eye Theater system of role-playing emphasizes player boundaries even in horrifying in-game situations). Thorn also gives a history of gaming starting with tabletop role-playing games like D&D, and moving up through LARPs, MUDs, and MMOs. Continue Reading →
Queer Scholarship In Song And Story
Queer theory is known for being dense, almost unreadable at times. That’s why it’s all the more impressive that Kay Turner, a folklorist at the Brooklyn Arts Council, dedicated an evening to performances of queer-theory-oriented songs. And even better, the New York Times wrote up the event in a blog post documenting the songs and attendees. Why is this noteworthy? Queer theory had its beginnings as an offshoot of academic feminist theory, gay and lesbian activism, and other influences from the humanities, social sciences, sexuality studies, and the public sphere. Continue Reading →
How A Misogynist Changed His Mind
What makes people change their core beliefs about how the world works (a.k.a. their worldview)? This question intrigues me, as I note in this post about how Canadian health care converted a self-identified conservative to support universal health care. In this blog post, you can read about a similar sort of thing happening: a guy who used to be a real misogynist explains how, over a period of years, he slowly began to change his mind about the feminist conspiracy to oppress men and keep “nice guys” like himself from getting laid. What would it take for you to change your mind about a deeply held belief regarding gender or sexuality? Continue Reading →
There Is Life After Sexual Assault
After the Steubenville rape case, there have been numerous blog posts (including mine) dissecting aspects of rape culture. Writer Elizabeth Bear makes an excellent point in her blog: when people say that the survivor had her whole life ahead of her, they fail to see that she still does. Bear writes: “Surviving sexual assault is not the end of a life. Rape culture includes this pervasive idea that the person who is raped is ruined forever, that ‘she’ll never be the same,’ that she’s soiled and broken. Guess what? Hundreds and hundreds of rape survivors go on to lead productive, fulfilling lives! Yes, it’s an act of violence. Continue Reading →
People Are Generally Smart Vs. People Are Generally Stupid
As a scholar of culture, I’m constantly amazed by people’s behavior: it alternates between intelligent and inane, smart and stupid. People in groups can do the dumbest things, while at other times, people achieve the most altruistic and amazing accomplishments. This is doubly true when it comes to gender and sex: some people manage to be mind-blowingly perceptive and tolerant, while others are bigoted, placing themselves or others at risk due to prejudice, ignorance, or small-mindedness. What I find intriguing is when one group of people makes itself out to be smarter or better-informed than another, and thus tries to regulate the other’s behavior. And I’m not just talking about instances where a sex researcher says, “Hey, X is a really good idea based on the studies I’ve seen” (where X might be consistent condom use to avoid pregnancy and STI transmission, or promoting gay-straight alliances in schools, or whatever). Continue Reading →
Data Visualization And Adult Performers
For a neat look at how data visualization can illuminate sexual subcultures, check out Jon Millward’s Deep Inside: A Study of 10,000 Porn Stars and Their Careers. By extracting data from the Internet Adult Film Database, Millward was able to statistically analyze trends in the adult performers’ ages, ethnicities, weights, performing names, and so on. Among other interesting tidbits (such as the fact that the average female performer’s hair is brown), Millward notes: “So when I hear somebody claim that porn is ‘degrading’, I can’t help but ask: which porn? Is an anal scene involving three men and one woman more or less degrading than a scene in which three women have sex with strap-ons? How about a solo scene in which a woman appears alone? Continue Reading →