Attitudes

The new male ideal?

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From CNN:

Drew Manning thought he had the body of the ideal man: 6 feet 2 inches of tanned musculature, sculpted arms and washboard abs that narrowed to a firm, 34-inch waist.

His perfectly chiseled body was hairless due to regular "manscaping." People assumed he worked out three hours a day, seven days a week, but the 31-year-old personal trainer said nutrition was really the key to his dream body. As for working out, he indulged in his favorite activity for only about 45 minutes a day, four to five days a week.

Then, Manning's once impressive muscles softened to pounds of bloated fat -- on purpose.

Manning, a personal trainer, decided to gain nearly 70 pounds so he could better understand how his clients feel. He then planned to lose the weight to show that no matter the numbers they faced, others could get fit, too. He called it his "Fit 2 Fat 2 Fit" campaign, and documented it on a blog, and a book that debuts in June.

He expected some physical discomfort, but the emotional struggle -- and judgment from others -- surprised him. As he loaded sugary cereals and soft drinks from his cart at the local grocery store one day, he caught three women staring at him, then sliding their eyes to the food he was buying.

"'I'm doing this as an experiment! I used to be a fit guy, not the fat guy,'" Manning wanted to turn around and explain. "I'm a lot more self-conscious now. There was a total lack of confidence in the way I felt in public because I wasn't the fit guy anymore."

[...]

"As women gain more financial power in society, men are expected to bring more to the table," Addis said. "In addition to being financially successful, they need to be well-groomed, in good shape, emotionally skilled in relationships and the emphasis on looking good is just part of the bigger package -- the stakes have been raised."

Some psychologists and trend watchers said the male muscle obsession only grew during the last few years. As the economy struggled, men were sent looking for aspects of their lives they could define and control. Body image is, at times, the only thing.

"Men can't control how much money they make or their employment situation, but they can control how they look. It can create this obsessiveness," said Sarah Toland, senior health editor for Men's Journal.

Read the rest here.

More labia anxiety.

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From Jezebel:

Your Vagina Isn’t Just Too Big, Too Floppy, and Too Hairy—It’s Also Too Brown

Good news, ladies! Society has discovered another new thing that's wrong with you, which means another opportunity for you to make yourself more attractive for your man. Score! Turns out, the color of your vagina is gross and everyone hates it. So bleach that motherfucker. Bleach it right now!

In this commercial for an Indian product called Clean and Dry Intimate Wash, a (very light-skinned) couple sits down for what would have been a peaceful cup of morning coffee—if the woman's disgusting brown vagina hadn't ruined everything! The dude can't even bring himself look at her. He can't look at his coffee either, because it only reminds him of his wife's dripping, coffee-brown hole! Fortunately, the quick-thinking woman takes a shower, scrubbing her swarthy snatch with Clean and Dry Intimate Wash ("Freshness + Fairness"). And poof! Her vadge comes out blinding white like a downy baby lamb (and NOT THE GROSS BLACK KIND) and her husband—whose penis, I can only assume, is literally a light saber—is all, "Hey, lady! Cancel them divorce papers and LET'S BONE."

Needless to say, certain citizens are troubled by this product—which, in addition to just being fucking insane, brings up painful issues about the hierarchy of skin tone within the Indian community. As if it isn't bad enough that darker-skinned people are encouraged to stay out of the sun and invest in skin-bleaching products like Fair & Lovely, and that white actresses are being imported to play Indian people in Bollywood movies, now everyone has to be insecure about the fact that their vaginas happen to be the color that vaginas are??? Splendid! God, I was just saying the other day that my misogyny didn't have enough racism in it.

Read the rest of the article, including a comment from one of the ad execs, here.

And the ad:

website http://onlybabugiri.blogspot.in/ Designed to address the problems women face in their private parts, Clean and Dry Intimate Wash offers protection, fairness and freshness. To be used while showering, its special pH-balanced formula cleans and protects the affected area, and even makes the skin fairer. Life for women will now be fresher, cleaner, fairer!

* As a side note, I'm surprised that Jezebel, which fundamentally is a women's feminist online magazine, is calling vulva, vagina.

The history of breast implants.

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From the BBC:

It is 50 years since the first breast enlargement using silicone implants. Today it rates as the second-most popular form of cosmetic surgery worldwide, undergone by 1.5 million women in 2010.

It was spring 1962 when Timmie Jean Lindsey, a mother-of-six lay down on the operating table at Jefferson Davis hospital in Houston, Texas.

Over the next two hours, she went from a B to a C cup, in an operation that made history.

"I thought they came out just perfect… They felt soft and just like real breasts," says Lindsey now aged 80.

"I don't think I got the full results of them until I went out in public and men on the street would whistle at me."

Though the operation boosted her self-confidence - and she enjoyed the extra attention - she had never planned to have a breast augmentation.

Lindsey had been to hospital to get a tattoo removed from her breasts, and it was then that doctors asked if she would consider volunteering for this first-of-its-kind operation.

"I was more concerned about getting my ears pinned back... My ears stood out like Dumbo! And they said 'Oh we'll do that too.'" So a deal was struck.

The surgeons were two ambitious pioneers, Frank Gerow and Thomas Cronin.

It was Gerow who had first come up with the plan for a new kind of breast implant.

"Frank Gerow squeezed a plastic blood bag and remarked how much it felt like a woman's breast," says Teresa Riordan, author of Inventing Beauty: A History of the Innovations that have Made Us Beautiful.

"And he had this 'Aha!' moment, where he first conceived of the silicone breast implant."

[...]

Where are breast implants most popular?

 

Read the rest here.

Polygamy in Netherlands.

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Passed along by Andrew (thanks!).

This is from 2005 - I assume that there have been more of these types of marriages since.

From the Brussels Journal:

First Trio "Married" in The Netherlands

The Netherlands and Belgium were the first countries to give full marriage rights to homosexuals. In the United States some politicians propose “civil unions” that give homosexual couples the full benefits and responsibilities of marriage. These civil unions differ from marriage only in name.

Meanwhile in the Netherlands polygamy has been legalised in all but name. Last Friday the first civil union of three partners was registered. Victor de Bruijn (46) from Roosendaal “married” both Bianca (31) and Mirjam (35) in a ceremony before a notary who duly registered their civil union.

“I love both Bianca and Mirjam, so I am marrying them both,” Victor said. He had previously been married to Bianca. Two and a half years ago they met Mirjam Geven through an internet chatbox. Eight weeks later Mirjam deserted her husband and came to live with Victor and Bianca. After Mirjam’s divorce the threesome decided to marry.

Victor: “A marriage between three persons is not possible in the Netherlands, but a civil union is. We went to the notary in our marriage costume and exchanged rings. We consider this to be just an ordinary marriage.”

Asked by journalists to tell the secret of their peculiar relationship, Victor explained that there is no jealousy between them. “But this is because Mirjam and Bianca are bisexual. I think that with two heterosexual women it would be more difficult.” Victor stressed, however, that he is “a one hundred per cent heterosexual” and that a fourth person will not be allowed into the “marriage.” They want to take their marriage obligations seriously: “to be honest and open with each other and not philander.”

No gays in the Turkish army.

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Passed along by Will (thanks!):

From the BBC:

Proving you're gay to the Turkish army

Military service is mandatory for all Turkish men - they can only escape it if they are ill, disabled or homosexual. But proving homosexuality is a humiliating ordeal.

''They asked me when I first had anal intercourse, oral sex, what sort of toys I played with as a child."

Ahmet, a young man in his 20s, told officials he was gay at the first opportunity after he was called up, as he and other conscripts underwent a health check.

"They asked me if I liked football, whether I wore woman's clothes or used woman's perfume," he says.

''I had a few days' beard and I am a masculine guy - they told me I didn't look like a normal gay man.''

He was then asked to provide a picture of himself dressed as a woman.

Continue reading the main story

''I refused this request,'' he says. ''But I made them another offer, which they accepted.'' Instead he gave them a photograph of himself kissing another man.

Ahmet hopes this will give him what he needs - a "pink certificate", which will declare him homosexual and therefore exempt from military service.

Read the rest of the article here.

Knit a uterus for a congressman.

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From Jezebel, passed along by Laura (thanks!).

You can click the links in the text for more informartion:

Knit a Uterus to Donate to a Congressman in Need

Remember when we decided that Rick Santorum needed a uterus of his very own so he'd leave ours alone? Well, now there's a similar idea being proposed for the members of Congress across this great land who seem so insistent on getting all up in our lady parts since they're jealous they don't have any of their own. So how exactly are we going to make that happen, since we can't, you know, give them actual uteruses? Enter Government Free VJJ, a project which aims to have have ladies knit or crochet lovely versions of uteruses (plus cervixes and vulvas) and mail them to their representatives.

If you've got some spare time and know how to knit or crochet, pick one of these patterns (or devise your own), fill out this form so they can keep track of who's getting what, and then mail off the finished product to the statesman of your choice. It might not end the war on women, but at least it will give our beloved representatives something soft to cuddle when they have nightmares about slut-demons and whore-monsters taking over the world with our birth-control riddled godzila-sized vaginas.

Tweets from homophobes.

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This website was passed along by Luis (thanks!):

On March 12, 2012, the hashtag #ToMyUnbornChild became a trending topic. People used this hashtag to "tweet to" their future child. Here are 100 real tweets from real people — all within 24 hours — saying they would murder their child if he or she was gay.

And some samples (clic to make larger):

Click here for many more: link.

I'm still holding out hope that the proportion of people who feel this way is shrinking, and hopefully very quickly.

Pat Robertson says oral sex is ok.

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This clip has been making the rounds. Pat Robertson is a very outspoken and powerful televangelist. He's made millions of dollars preaching to Christian evangelicals. In the past, Robertson has been extremely critical of homosexuality and his teachings about sex, in general, are very, very socially conservative. That's why this clip has caught so much attention.

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/awkward-everyone-pat-robertson-weighs-oral-sex Pat Robertson says that oral sex between married couples is fine, unless the people involved feel in their hearts that it is a sin.


More wisdom from Jenna Marbles.

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The queen of satire, with more of her signature genius. NSFW language! 

Doggy Toys that you can adopt: http://jennamarblesblog.com/shop Please subscribe to my channel and my vlog channel! I make new videos here every Wednesday and make vlogs during my majestical daily life.

Toy versions of Kermit and Marbles: http://jennamarblesblog.com/shop Please subscribe to my channel and my vlog channel! I make new videos here every Wednesday and make vlogs during my majestical daily life.

Stay classy, Limbaugh.

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US politics are notoriously nasty. Throw the media's talking heads (especially those from the far right) into the mix and things get even uglier. Currently, the US administration is discussing the option of making coverage for contraceptives, in particular the pill, a required part of medical insurance. The proposal has sparked outrage on the part of social conservatives.

A law student from Georgetown, Sandra Fluke, recently spoke before the House in support of the proposal. Rush Limbaugh, perhaps the most popular of the conservative talking heads, weighed in on her testimony and set off a furor. He suggested that by making contraceptives a required part of health insurance, women like Sandra were being paid to have sex (i.e., because her contraceptives would be paid for by her insurance, which in his head equates to paying her to be able to have sex).

From CNN:

[...]

On Wednesday, the radio host [Limbaugh] disparaged Fluke, saying the law student wants '"taxpayers to pay her to have sex."

"What does it say about the college co-ed [Sandra] Fluke, who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says she must be paid to have sex?" Limbaugh asked. "What does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex. She's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex."

[...]

On her part, Fluke said in an interview with CNN that she felt "upset and outraged" when she first read online that Limbaugh had personally attacked her.

"I felt probably the way many women do when they are called those types of names," Fluke said. "Initially hurt and then very quickly upset and outraged because somebody is trying to silence you."

On Friday, President Barack Obama called Fluke to offer his support to the law student, according to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

[...]

Even all the Republicans are calling out Limbaugh. Read about their responses here.

Advert: Sinead's Hand.

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Support Marriage Equality's campaign for same-sex marriage in Ireland. http://www.marriagequality.ie or +353 1 873 4183 http://www.facebook.com/marriagequality http://www.twitter.com/marriagequality This film was inspired by "Permission" - a film made by Public Service USA, commissioned by Freedom To Marry.

Documentary: I Love You And You And You - End of Monogamy

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From the BBC:

A growing number of people are choosing a new way of life. They have rejected monogamy and turned their backs on conventional relationships. They believe their lifestyle is the future. They believe in polyamory.

Polyamory is the philosophy and practice of loving more than one. It means you no longer have to make do with one partner. You can have two or three, and so on without fear of jealousy or reprisal, and so can your partner.

With divorce rates almost up to one in two and 60% of couples having affairs, this fascinating film follows two ‘polyamorous’ families to see whether this growing subculture really could be a justifiable alternative to monogamy…?


Santorum art.

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Rick Santorum is one of the frontrunners in the Republican primaries currently underway in the US. He's about as far right on social issues as one can be. He's anti-gay, anti-birth control, anti-abortion, and anti-just-about-everything-else. A few years ago, he drew the ire of Dan Savage when he compared homosexuality to bestiality and a bunch of other things. In return, Dan Savage held a competition to find a sex act which could be labelled with the name Santorum. Try searching Santorum and you'll find out what sex act won, or alternatively, click here to go to the Spreading Santorum webpage.

Recently, a married couple of who are members of the blog community Unicorn Booty made a collage of gay porn, depicting Rick Santorum's head. To see the post, click here. To see the full-sized image, click here.

Pegging, at Christian Nymphos.

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Organized religion gets a bit of a tough rap when it comes to sex positivity. I'm guilty of perpetuating this idea in class. Every once in a while, however, something comes along that flies in the face of religious sexual conservatism. Take, for example, Christian Nymphos, a website dedicated to sexual fulfilment within the confines of rules laid out in the bible. One post is related specifically to a behaviour described in class this week - pegging. The authour addresses pegging from a biblical point of view, and then takes down some common arguments:

I’ve heard the following arguments:

“Well it’s just not natural!” Well that toupee that your uncle wears isn’t natural either. And neither is your sister’s blonde hair that she got out of a box.

“Women weren’t meant to function like that!” Well, the mouth is meant to function as something we use to eat with. It chews our food up and aids in the digestion process. Yet many of us use that same mouth for oral sex, even though one could argue that the mouth wasn’t “meant” to function as a receptacle for a penis.

“That is like a complete role reversal and I can’t imagine God being pleased with that!” I would caution any of you who assume to know what God is thinking. Just because you aren’t comfortable with a particular act, does not mean that it’s inherently wrong or sinful.

“Any man who would want that would have to have some hidden homosexual tendencies!”This is just pure rubbish, and again just one big false assumption. I happen to love my own smell and taste, so much so that I would probably give myself oral sex if I were limber enough to do so. However, the thoughts of being with another woman and tasting her are repulsive and nauseating to me. Just because I am comfortable with my own body and within my own sexuality doesn’t mean that I have lesbian tendencies.

To read to the rest of the article, click here. The comments at the end are particularly interesting, and blow away some of the common stereotypes about Christians and sex.

It's time.

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Repost from last term: 

Please share this with friends and loved ones. Join the campaign: http://www.getup.org.au/marriagematters music: Oliver Tank - Last Night I Heard Everything in Slow Motion GetUp Australia - Over 670,000 people campaigning for a progressive Australia . Join the movement at: Website http://www.getup.org.au Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GetUpAustralia Twitter http://twitter.com/GetUp