My Sex Professor (http://mysexprofessor.com/tag/feminism/page/2/)
Feminism Makes Boners Sad may just be the best critique of a scientific study that I’ve ever seen. The scientists see gender performance in animals where it doesn’t exist and relate female sexuality to romance novels. Thankfully Jill at Feministe knocks them down a few thousand pegs. This is a must read! (Thanks to Arabella for sharing this.)
Follow us on twitter @mysexprofessor. Continue Reading →
Back in January, Men’s Health magazine added a new feature on their website – a feminist blog! That’s right ladies and gentleman, Men’s Health – one of the nation’s leading magazines providing sex, health, and fitness advice for men – has a feminist blog. The website states, “This blog isn’t about Gloria Steinem, bra-burning, or man hating. But it is about feminism, the kind that makes a modern woman worth listening to, debating, and dating.” Personally, I think it’s a great idea because as we know – the word feminism doesn’t always carry the most positive connotation. Continue Reading →
We have feminism to thank for many things, including women’s rights to vote and to get an education, as well as the newly increasing visibility of sexual harassment and assault in the workplace, war zones, the domestic sphere… well, sadly, lots of places. One significant element feminism has contributed to dialogue on sexual assault is the phrase “No means no” when referring to consent. Totally important–but not the last word on consent. I’d like to talk about the “No means no” model of consent, the newer “Yes means yes” model of consent, and why all these feminist discussions are important for everybody who’s sexually active, thinking about being sexually active, or generally a member of Western society, which sends us aggressive sexual messages through advertising and the media every day. Continue Reading →
As of this moment, I still have yet to join Twitter. It’s not that I’m opposed to it, I think it’s a fairly useful social networking tool and means of communicating with people on the internet. I just don’t know that I need another thing on the internet to distract me from writing my BA thesis. So I have to count on my friends to alert me to funny/interesting things over there. They rarely fail me though. Continue Reading →
I recently read an article by Betty Dodson called “Fucking Like A Feminist” and it really made me open my eyes to how differently feminism (as well as women’s sexuality) is perceived when presenting the topic to various audiences. Continue Reading →
Before moving to Bloomington, Indiana for my Ph.D. in folklore, I met with my mentor, Professor Alan Dundes, in his office at UC Berkeley. He had also done his Ph.D. in Bloomington, and he was giving me advice about relocating to the Midwest and adjusting to grad school. Among other gems of wisdom that he dispensed, he told me:
“Well, don’t tell them you’re a belly dancer. Continue Reading →
My father sent me a link to a public radio interview program, AirTalk, featuring Gail Dines and Shira Tarrant, feminists on opposing sides of the debate on whether pornography can be healthy or harmful toward our sexuality: “Has pornography heightened or hijacked our sexuality?” I think it’s worth a listen; the discussion touched on many thought-provoking points. For instance, are women who express skepticism about porn automatically labeled “prudes”? How do we discuss whether porn is harmful if we don’t have a good definition of “harm” in the first place? Continue Reading →
Clarisse Thorn, sex-positive, pro-kink feminist blogger, recently wrote a post in which she suggested some intriguing connections between lack of good sex education and a tendency to condemn pornography. What really impressed me is that she not only cites studies on pornography, violence, and desire, but also writes from personal experience. She describes how she used to sympathize with anti-porn feminists based on the fact that she, too, felt threatened by porn in the past. I think Clarisse is spot-on about the links between sex education and acceptance, and I hope others are able to evaluate their views of “deviant” sexualities from a more open-minded perspective. What do you think? Continue Reading →