I’ve mentioned here before that I live in Ohio, and have a decent amount of pride for my chosen state (and especially the city that I live in). Living in Ohio can be a constant test, whether it’s experiencing a whole season in the matter of days or dealing with living in a state that is not a fan of comprehensive sexuality education. Each semester, I have a minimum of three students who tell me that they wish they had received adequate sexuality education before now (these are college students, typically juniors and seniors). I have students who tell me that they believe they wouldn’t have been pregnant or have dealt with a sexually transmitted infection, etc. While on one hand I’m glad that my students seem to enjoy and learn in my classroom, I do wish that medically accurate and age appropriate sexuality education was more readily available. Continue Reading →
Sex In the News
Recent posts
Is Sex-Based Medicine Helpful or Harmful?
Our society needs categories in able to function (or so it seems). These categories come in handy when we’re collecting data for the Census, but the rest of the time, they tend to do more harm than good. In the United States, many pharmaceutical companies and healthcare professionals use these categories to study human health. It seems like this would make sense, right? Some groups of people are prone to some diseases more than others, so stratifying the data could help to create cures or treatment specific to this group. 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 →
Remember: We’re Not The First Advocates for Equality
As I wait with bated breath for the Supreme Court to make a decision on the repeal of DOMA and Proposition 8, I’m reminded of all those that came before me. In the past several years, the LGBTQ community has seen some incredible legal, social, and political advances. Just in my lifetime, I’ve seen several states pass laws that recognize same-sex unions, gays and lesbians in the military be allowed to discuss their sexuality openly, and have experienced a huge growth in cultural acceptance of the queer community. To put this in a different perspective, here are some numbers. A document from the Movement Advancement Project recorded that between 2000 and 2010, the United States experienced a 1300% increase in states outlawing gender discrimination based on gender presentation, a 600% jump in the number of high school Gay-Straight Alliances, and today, majority (57%) support for marriage equality. Continue Reading →
Fun Toys G-Vibe Review
I’ve reviewed a lot of sex toys. After a certain point, it seems like you’ve seen everything: there’s only so much you can do to make a dildo more than a dildo. So I’m always pleasantly surprised when I get to review a truly innovative sex toy. With that, I present the Fun Toys G-Vibe from My Secret Luxury. Though it looks like an oddly-hued duck bill, the unique double-flare shape of this toy makes for some serious creativity. Continue Reading →
How We Profile Women and Men: Or, Are Women Moms and Cooks First, Scientists Second?
Recent discussion on Twitter and various websites has focused on how women scientists are portrayed in the media. The discussion stems from a recent New York Times obituary of rocket scientist Yvonne Brill who died at 88 and was introduced first, in the obituary, (for more, see this Salon article), with this sentence:
“She made a mean beef stroganoff, followed her husband from job to job and took eight years off from work to raise three children. ‘The world’s best mom,’ her son Matthew said.” Later on, they got to the whole “rocket scientist” part (enormously impressive in any era, but especially for the era in which she worked when few women would have been able to demonstrate such skill). The opening was later changed to read:
“She was a brilliant rocket scientist who followed her husband from job to job and took eight years off from work to raise three children. Continue Reading →
In Order To Prevent Rape, You Must Talk About Sex
In light of the recent Steubenville rape trial, there has been a flurry of internet activity discussing rape culture, consent, and the role of social media. This is great, since the silence and shame surrounded sexual assault must be combated with open communication and social analysis. However, I’d like to make a precise point here: in order to prevent rape and sexual assault, we – ALL of us – must talk about sex. This Polyamorous Misanthrope post on teaching your sons about consent is a wonderful step in the right direction: it involves a clear, honest, direction conversation that defines consent and goes through a number of sample situations where consent might or might not be possible. The topic of that conversation is implicitly sex… Continue Reading →
Documenting Domestic Violence
What would you do if you were a journalist just there to take pictures of a family, and a scene of domestic violence erupted right in front of you? Sara Naomi Lewkowicz chose to continue taking pictures and thus document what was happening, in part because she feared that intervening would escalate the violence. Fair warning: the pictures linked to in the article are violent and potentially triggering. But with the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) so recently up for renewal, it’s important to remind people that domestic violence is incredibly pervasive, and the people facing it should have access to resources to help them. Continue Reading →
Act Less Gay For A Better Life?
An article I read recently hit a nerve. Apparently some teachers are telling kids that are being bullied that they need to act less gay. While this article is from England, I think that it is applicable for almost anywhere. The article from the London Evening Standard acknowledges that some children are teased for their sexuality, and I not only see this happen in college environments daily, but also witnessed it in my junior high and high school. A friend of mine actually started an organization, Write Your Principal, partially due to the bullying that LGBTQIQ students have had to face and also due to her own experiences. Continue Reading →