http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/04/sex-study-by-national-sur_n_748751.html
http://www.nationalsexstudy.indiana.edu
I ran across this the other week, and forgot to finish posting!
Not much discussion needed, I don't think. Read how American's of all ages are "doin' it" nowadays...
Monday, November 15, 2010
Testosterone
Testosterone
I love This American Life, and this is one of my favorite episodes. Wanna know how important testosterone is in our daily lives? Wanna find out the misconceptions regarding testosterone (straight men don't always have more testosterone than gay men/women)? What about the effects testosterone has on a women in transition? What about a man with a body that quit making testosterone?
This is a vital natural chemical in all our bodies. Find out how much. It's a 1 hour episode. Very much worth every minute!
I love This American Life, and this is one of my favorite episodes. Wanna know how important testosterone is in our daily lives? Wanna find out the misconceptions regarding testosterone (straight men don't always have more testosterone than gay men/women)? What about the effects testosterone has on a women in transition? What about a man with a body that quit making testosterone?
This is a vital natural chemical in all our bodies. Find out how much. It's a 1 hour episode. Very much worth every minute!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Sexually Abused Men Speak Out, Seek Out Help On 'Oprah'
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howard-r-fradkin-phd/why-200-men-are-speaking-_b_779502.html
This is very interesting, and very moving. Moral of the whole story; Men need emotional help too. It's been a cultural norm for a man to be an emotionally strong, stoic, brave, in-charge person. Fact of the matter is, that 1 in 6 men is sexually abused by the age of 18! These numbers are staggering to me... As this topic is a source of non-communication. Maybe since Oprah talks to millions per day abused men will find some comfort in knowing that they aren't the only ones, and that they aren't to blame. I like where this is going..
...Just a few thoughts
This is very interesting, and very moving. Moral of the whole story; Men need emotional help too. It's been a cultural norm for a man to be an emotionally strong, stoic, brave, in-charge person. Fact of the matter is, that 1 in 6 men is sexually abused by the age of 18! These numbers are staggering to me... As this topic is a source of non-communication. Maybe since Oprah talks to millions per day abused men will find some comfort in knowing that they aren't the only ones, and that they aren't to blame. I like where this is going..
...Just a few thoughts
Friday, November 5, 2010
Ah... What?
Religion and sex never ceases to amaze me. Why people sign up for any institution that limits natural behavior is beyond me. Don't have sex at all, until you're married, and once you do, it better be vaginally and solely for procreation purposes.. Your penis/vagina is for you and you only (excluding the occasional preacher) until you get married.. and get this load of bullshit I just read..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-shore/how-is-being-gay-like-glu_b_747071.html
"Would you support a serial adulterer who loves his wife, but is just attracted to other women because that's who he is and how he was born? How about an alcoholic who just can't help himself? Would you support him as he leaves his wife for alcohol? A glutton? A man of extreme pride? Why does homosexuality get a pass, and not any other sin? A person with homosexual desires who resists temptation is exactly the same as a married man who resists temptation to carry on affairs with other women---which is to say, a human being battling the temptation to sin. The most compassionate thing that we could tell someone struggling with homosexuality (or any other sin for that matter) is to keep resisting temptation. Keep battling. Don't give in. This is your badge as a Christian, that you fight temptation"
The above quote is taken from the HuffPo blog (the link I shared above)...
This blog is really interesting.. He proposes that the anti-everything Christian movement has turned it's focus from trying to change orientation and sexual choices to that of a sin that any man or woman can overcome. He says, and I agree, that this way of thinking is telling people with non-bible conforming sexual activities to curb those thoughts as a man trying to quit drinking would do; to give up - on loving someone. It's in religion's best interest to convince everyone that we are sinning, and that we have the "strength" to "fight" "evil" "temptations," and a "mission" to "battle." Why is everything so hateful? Why are the same people that speak for this religion engaging in behavior they condemn?
"It's in the bible, it must be true." - Ha, and I also believe everything I read on the internet. Bobby Henderson , an Oregon State physics graduate, invented a religion also; The Church of Flying Spaghetti Monster, aka (I love this) Pastafarianism. They celebrate Friday as a holy day. They believe that the decline in pirates is causing global warming (this is just a play on the fact that beliefs and fact aren't always linked even though correlational; cause yes, pirate numbers have gone down and temperature has gone up, but they are not related - obviously)...
moving forward....
The recently defeated Ken Buck says that sexual orientation is a choice as well. You can choose whether to eat at Fat Jack's Supersubs, or Deli Zone.. so it's apparent that you can choose whether you like the same sex or not. This makes total sense.. ha! What makes sense is this...
Sexual orientation just is. It varies across all people. Straight, straight with occasional cross-dressing, straight with frequent cross-dressing, androgynous straights, androgynous gay, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, polyamorous straight or gay or bi or trans, or "man-baby" fetishes, or fetishes of grass, or what the fuck ever! I'm making things up now, but I would be willing to bet that somewhere in the world someone does have a grass fetish, and you know what? They deserve to find someone that makes that grass fetish become a fucking reality instead of condemnation of inner desires. We are all different, and we all find ways (or not in the case of recent suicides) to negotiate our sexuality with our surroundings. We learn, we change, we accept, and hopefully, flourish as self-aware sexual beings. The same courtesy that is given to the straight, white, middle-class male, should be extended to every different variation of human... cause no one way is, has, or ever will (should) be "right." We are all alive, we all feel... we are all "right."
.....Just a few thoughts
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-shore/how-is-being-gay-like-glu_b_747071.html
"Would you support a serial adulterer who loves his wife, but is just attracted to other women because that's who he is and how he was born? How about an alcoholic who just can't help himself? Would you support him as he leaves his wife for alcohol? A glutton? A man of extreme pride? Why does homosexuality get a pass, and not any other sin? A person with homosexual desires who resists temptation is exactly the same as a married man who resists temptation to carry on affairs with other women---which is to say, a human being battling the temptation to sin. The most compassionate thing that we could tell someone struggling with homosexuality (or any other sin for that matter) is to keep resisting temptation. Keep battling. Don't give in. This is your badge as a Christian, that you fight temptation"
The above quote is taken from the HuffPo blog (the link I shared above)...
This blog is really interesting.. He proposes that the anti-everything Christian movement has turned it's focus from trying to change orientation and sexual choices to that of a sin that any man or woman can overcome. He says, and I agree, that this way of thinking is telling people with non-bible conforming sexual activities to curb those thoughts as a man trying to quit drinking would do; to give up - on loving someone. It's in religion's best interest to convince everyone that we are sinning, and that we have the "strength" to "fight" "evil" "temptations," and a "mission" to "battle." Why is everything so hateful? Why are the same people that speak for this religion engaging in behavior they condemn?
"It's in the bible, it must be true." - Ha, and I also believe everything I read on the internet. Bobby Henderson , an Oregon State physics graduate, invented a religion also; The Church of Flying Spaghetti Monster, aka (I love this) Pastafarianism. They celebrate Friday as a holy day. They believe that the decline in pirates is causing global warming (this is just a play on the fact that beliefs and fact aren't always linked even though correlational; cause yes, pirate numbers have gone down and temperature has gone up, but they are not related - obviously)...
moving forward....
The recently defeated Ken Buck says that sexual orientation is a choice as well. You can choose whether to eat at Fat Jack's Supersubs, or Deli Zone.. so it's apparent that you can choose whether you like the same sex or not. This makes total sense.. ha! What makes sense is this...
Sexual orientation just is. It varies across all people. Straight, straight with occasional cross-dressing, straight with frequent cross-dressing, androgynous straights, androgynous gay, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, polyamorous straight or gay or bi or trans, or "man-baby" fetishes, or fetishes of grass, or what the fuck ever! I'm making things up now, but I would be willing to bet that somewhere in the world someone does have a grass fetish, and you know what? They deserve to find someone that makes that grass fetish become a fucking reality instead of condemnation of inner desires. We are all different, and we all find ways (or not in the case of recent suicides) to negotiate our sexuality with our surroundings. We learn, we change, we accept, and hopefully, flourish as self-aware sexual beings. The same courtesy that is given to the straight, white, middle-class male, should be extended to every different variation of human... cause no one way is, has, or ever will (should) be "right." We are all alive, we all feel... we are all "right."
.....Just a few thoughts
Pregnancy leads to children.. even at age 10
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/03/olimpia-mother-of-10yearo_n_778284.html
Sooo, I just came across this and I really am unsure how to react. 10 year old kid has a healthy baby. In class last night we were talking about contraception amongst adolescent children, and menarche (onset of a woman's period), and a myriad of other topics relating to when and how children are experiencing sexual and non -sexual behaviors.
Menarche...
Research now a days is linking obesity in children to an earlier onset of menstruation. A female's body sends chemicals to the brain to start once a certain weight is achieved (approx 107 lbs). I knew that this age was getting earlier and earlier, but the fact that this girl had a kid at age 10 is really blowing my mind. They're gypsies in Romania who are not encouraged to educate, and marriage laws aren't enforced... Leading to...?? A child with a child.
When I was 10 years old I was more concerned on whether or not I had practiced my clarinet enough for the week. I admired girls... from a far. The father is age 13. I barely knew what kissing was (although never experienced at this point), let along how to engage in coitus (I just like that word).
Something needs to be done about the 800,000 teen pregnancies per year (keep in mind that of the 800k, only 500k are born). There is no way around the fact that we are sexual beings and as teenagers (and younger) we can, will, and are experiencing sex. When I first started buying condoms, the looks that I would get were piercing, causing me to not even want to buy them anymore (although I didn't stop). Kids should be congratulated for buying condoms, accessing birth control, and practicing safe sex. Parents need to talk to their kids about sex instead of shunning them and taking their birth control away. Ignorance and intolerance of sexual behavior is how we get in to predicaments where children are raising children. I know I don't have all the answers. In fact, very far from it. But I think when faux pas become norm, taboo the accepted, the shunned welcomed, the world might look a little different.
.....Just a few thoughts
Sooo, I just came across this and I really am unsure how to react. 10 year old kid has a healthy baby. In class last night we were talking about contraception amongst adolescent children, and menarche (onset of a woman's period), and a myriad of other topics relating to when and how children are experiencing sexual and non -sexual behaviors.
Menarche...
Research now a days is linking obesity in children to an earlier onset of menstruation. A female's body sends chemicals to the brain to start once a certain weight is achieved (approx 107 lbs). I knew that this age was getting earlier and earlier, but the fact that this girl had a kid at age 10 is really blowing my mind. They're gypsies in Romania who are not encouraged to educate, and marriage laws aren't enforced... Leading to...?? A child with a child.
When I was 10 years old I was more concerned on whether or not I had practiced my clarinet enough for the week. I admired girls... from a far. The father is age 13. I barely knew what kissing was (although never experienced at this point), let along how to engage in coitus (I just like that word).
Something needs to be done about the 800,000 teen pregnancies per year (keep in mind that of the 800k, only 500k are born). There is no way around the fact that we are sexual beings and as teenagers (and younger) we can, will, and are experiencing sex. When I first started buying condoms, the looks that I would get were piercing, causing me to not even want to buy them anymore (although I didn't stop). Kids should be congratulated for buying condoms, accessing birth control, and practicing safe sex. Parents need to talk to their kids about sex instead of shunning them and taking their birth control away. Ignorance and intolerance of sexual behavior is how we get in to predicaments where children are raising children. I know I don't have all the answers. In fact, very far from it. But I think when faux pas become norm, taboo the accepted, the shunned welcomed, the world might look a little different.
.....Just a few thoughts
Monday, October 4, 2010
My Body
A few weeks ago my Human Sexuality class was visited by a fellow named Clint. Clint is the founder of Boyfriend University and also did work with Family Tree Gemini. He was brought in to talk to us about body image and how it relates to sexuality. We started off by closing our eyes as he asked us to focus on each individual part of our body, but in specific steps. Clint instructed us to focus first on our right big toe, then our next, then each part of our foot... continuing the same process for the left side and the rest of our body. We were asked to "listen" to what our bodies were telling us, not as merely a whole, but a collective of tiny parts that make up that whole. As I sit and write this right now I am noticing I'm slightly hunched over the keyboard, often times I don't realize it hurts until I think about it. This was a huge part of what this exercise was all about; paying attention to what your body is telling you instead of relegating it an unconscious part of life.
Our next exercise was to draw how we see ourselves and the messages we've received, either positive or negative, about our bodies and sexuality. We used only the most proper of art supplies; creme colored construction paper and an array of Crayola products including, but limited to, colored pencils and crayons. As I attempted to sketch out the best depiction of me that I could, I realized that many of the places on my body that I hated in the past aren't so bad now. Being skinny had always plagued me with bigger guys thinking that I was a walking invitation for taunts. I got taller and stayed just as skinny; this did not help me with these problems. It wasn't until recently (within the past three of four years, age 22 or 23) that I realized that I didn't care what others thought, and that I am happy in my own skin. I never thought I was "weird" until I was told so and shown what "normal" is. Quite frankly this is all bullshit. Without these unreachable societal norms how many people would lead much healthier and productive lives? Even worse, how many people would still be alive? I just read that there was a 19 year old freshman at Rutgers who jumped off a bridge because of a video taken of him making out with a guy. There's no reason for this to happen.
It was a nice feeling coming out of this specific class, feeling connected with my body and what it was telling me. It's a pleasant thought to realize that the parts of me that I shunned in past years are parts that I wouldn't trade now. I've yet to figure out exactly when it became clear to me that being Me is something I like, but it's here now and I will forever attempt to maintain a sense that the self on display matches the self inside. I'm aware that this is difficult, for some more than others, but when I feel most comfortable with who I am, I'm more productive at work, home, in relationships. It allows me to accept love and give it back. I become optimistic of future, pleased with the present, and accepting of the past...
...Just a few thoughts
Our next exercise was to draw how we see ourselves and the messages we've received, either positive or negative, about our bodies and sexuality. We used only the most proper of art supplies; creme colored construction paper and an array of Crayola products including, but limited to, colored pencils and crayons. As I attempted to sketch out the best depiction of me that I could, I realized that many of the places on my body that I hated in the past aren't so bad now. Being skinny had always plagued me with bigger guys thinking that I was a walking invitation for taunts. I got taller and stayed just as skinny; this did not help me with these problems. It wasn't until recently (within the past three of four years, age 22 or 23) that I realized that I didn't care what others thought, and that I am happy in my own skin. I never thought I was "weird" until I was told so and shown what "normal" is. Quite frankly this is all bullshit. Without these unreachable societal norms how many people would lead much healthier and productive lives? Even worse, how many people would still be alive? I just read that there was a 19 year old freshman at Rutgers who jumped off a bridge because of a video taken of him making out with a guy. There's no reason for this to happen.
It was a nice feeling coming out of this specific class, feeling connected with my body and what it was telling me. It's a pleasant thought to realize that the parts of me that I shunned in past years are parts that I wouldn't trade now. I've yet to figure out exactly when it became clear to me that being Me is something I like, but it's here now and I will forever attempt to maintain a sense that the self on display matches the self inside. I'm aware that this is difficult, for some more than others, but when I feel most comfortable with who I am, I'm more productive at work, home, in relationships. It allows me to accept love and give it back. I become optimistic of future, pleased with the present, and accepting of the past...
...Just a few thoughts
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Bonobos
Through reading an article about the sexual behaviors of the Bonobo Monkey, it became more apparent to me that humans' sexual behavior is greatly influenced by emotion and cultural norms. The Bonobo live an egalitarian lifestyle that promotes the female dominance and kinship that is important in later life... and these are the only primates whose female population engages in such behavior. Engaging in sexual behavior amongst same sex Bonobo is not uncommon, as well as different sexual positions akin to "missionary" in humans. If humans and apes are close relatives and this behavior is not a) looked down upon, and b) a frequent behavior in the Bonobo community, why is it looked down upon in our culture? There seems to be a stead fast power hold that men, in general, are not willing to release.. not only with who "runs the house" but with human sexual norms... just a few thoughts...
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Afghanistan...
I was listening to NPR the other day and came across a story about religious traditions being carried out in Afghanistan. They were reporting that in this certain fundamental community that it is, and has been, a tradition for adolescent boys (approximate age of 14) to be taken by adult men, dressed in womens clothes, dance for hours, then perform sexual acts with the older men. The reporter asked them if in any way that this could be perceived as wrong. The men state that it's tradition, and tradition can't be wrong or changed, and that it's their religious duty to perform these ceremonies. In some cases, homeless boys performed these acts not willingly, but as a means to make some money to live.
This made me wonder a few different things.
*Are these boys going to grow up and perform these same acts on others?
*How does this affect their ability to form and maintain relationships in the future?
*What, if anything, will change traditions such as these? - side note- I realize that even though I personally condemn these acts, who's to say that if I were born into this society that I might be an advocate?
You hear things of this nature about other cultures and it makes others cringe. It further proves the point that gender identity is a social construction of truths and taboos within that specific culture. In some cultures, the acts performed on these men might be considered a right of passage to becoming a man... It's hard not to judge and more difficult to imagine what it's like to be surrounded by points of view that are different than mine..
Just a few thoughts is all....
This made me wonder a few different things.
*Are these boys going to grow up and perform these same acts on others?
*How does this affect their ability to form and maintain relationships in the future?
*What, if anything, will change traditions such as these? - side note- I realize that even though I personally condemn these acts, who's to say that if I were born into this society that I might be an advocate?
You hear things of this nature about other cultures and it makes others cringe. It further proves the point that gender identity is a social construction of truths and taboos within that specific culture. In some cultures, the acts performed on these men might be considered a right of passage to becoming a man... It's hard not to judge and more difficult to imagine what it's like to be surrounded by points of view that are different than mine..
Just a few thoughts is all....
Monday, September 13, 2010
Life's Greatest Miracle
"Life's Greatest Miracle"
This was a film that provided an in depth, technical (but not confusing) analysis of the beginning of life of a human being. Featuring one couple in particular, this film examined the intricate processes we all underwent in order to develop from an egg/sperm combo to a full fledged crying baby.
The whole process is rather remarkable. I'm continually amazed by nature's ability to create life through rapidly dividing cells. As this is a blog for my Human Sexuality class, I think it's fit to mention that same cells that create a penis in a male are the same cells that form a clitoris in a female (the penis develops if the testosterone created reaches those cells or not). It makes me wonder why there is an overwhelming amount of gender polarization in our culture when males and females began as the exact same thing. Beyond that, not everyone is born with the "perfect set" of genitalia, so to polarize every single human being in to one of two categories seems a bit nonsensical.
As I sat at the back of the class watching this video, it was interesting to watch the reactions from classmates as the live birth was being shown. Including me, I saw most of us kind of cringe and look away... except for (I'm assuming) the ones who have either a) been in a delivery room already or b) was the one who had given birth. The topic of sexuality and the birthing process seems to have a stigma attached to it. I wonder what it will take to remove these from the general public view. More education? More outward conversation? More understanding?
Just a few thoughts is all....
This was a film that provided an in depth, technical (but not confusing) analysis of the beginning of life of a human being. Featuring one couple in particular, this film examined the intricate processes we all underwent in order to develop from an egg/sperm combo to a full fledged crying baby.
The whole process is rather remarkable. I'm continually amazed by nature's ability to create life through rapidly dividing cells. As this is a blog for my Human Sexuality class, I think it's fit to mention that same cells that create a penis in a male are the same cells that form a clitoris in a female (the penis develops if the testosterone created reaches those cells or not). It makes me wonder why there is an overwhelming amount of gender polarization in our culture when males and females began as the exact same thing. Beyond that, not everyone is born with the "perfect set" of genitalia, so to polarize every single human being in to one of two categories seems a bit nonsensical.
As I sat at the back of the class watching this video, it was interesting to watch the reactions from classmates as the live birth was being shown. Including me, I saw most of us kind of cringe and look away... except for (I'm assuming) the ones who have either a) been in a delivery room already or b) was the one who had given birth. The topic of sexuality and the birthing process seems to have a stigma attached to it. I wonder what it will take to remove these from the general public view. More education? More outward conversation? More understanding?
Just a few thoughts is all....
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