I’ll admit it- I take seriously guilty pleasure in perusing celebrity gossip magazines. My favorite feature is when they show the celebrities in their everyday lives- at the grocery store, in sweatpants, and- best of all- without makeup on. So I shouldn’t have been surprised when Buzzfeed released a list of “33 Startling Photos of Porn Stars” without makeup. And yet, I found myself mildly peeved. Perhaps it was the comparison of photos- one of the woman with makeup, and one without directly next to it. 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 →
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 →
Genitals in the Wild: Recycling Bin Edition
I was having a lovely walk with my fellow sex geek friend Kimu when I noticed the logo on this recycling bin. I asked her, “How have you not told me your city’s emblem is a vulva?!” It even has asymmetrical labia and a clitoris for goodness sake. Needless to say, this genital-in-the-wild sighting significantly enhanced my morning as well as my opinion of the city of Boroondara. 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 →
What Do You Do to Make Sex Normal?
In response to a pretty tough 2012 election season in which I felt depressingly and repeatedly reminded how little information and comfort there is about sexuality and reproductive health issues, I kept wondering what I could do. It hit me that sex is so compartmentalized that it’s often difficult for people to talk about sex in the regular everyday ways we talk about driver’s safety, hand washing, love, and other issues related to health and humanity. A phrase kept coming to me, which is that we need to “Make Sex Normal”, a project I’ve recently launched at http://www.MakeSexNormal.tumblr.com
I hope that you will consider sharing what *you* are doing to Make Sex Normal – and by “sex”, I’m referring to the big umbrella of things like sex, gender, reproduction, puberty, genitals, etc. My hope is that the more people can learn about concrete, everyday ways that they can make sex normal, then sex will just become normal and something we can talk and teach about. How can you participate? Continue Reading →