Have any questions or comments related to class or otherwise? If so, fire away.
Wanda Sykes on gay marriage.
Posted before, but worth the bump (thanks Jeanne for the reminder!) NSFW language!
Wrenna Robertson on her project I'll Show You Mine.
I mentioned Wrenna in class when discussing vulval dissatisfaction and the rapidly growing prevalence of labiaplasty. Wrenna was a student in the class back in 2010, which was also when she was wrapping up her project, I'll Show You Mine. I've posted about her and her project on the blog a few times since: here, here, and here. She recently did an interview with Options for Sexual Health. Here's that interview:
Much more about the project here.
Upcoming documentary on sex work.
in Sex Work
Via Violet Blue:
Happy Valentine's Day.
in Love, Relationships
From Google:
Valentine's Post Secrets.
in Humour Etc.
Howard Stern goes to bat for Ellen Degeneris.
This entire story is mind-boggling (from various sources, including the SLOG and Meherin - thanks!). The back story: Ellen Degeneris, who is a hugely successful media star, was chosen by JC Penny's to be their spokesperson. Ellen is openly gay, which raised the ire of a group who call themselves One Million Moms (even though they more likely number in the 10s of thousands). One Million Moms came out swinging and tried to start a massive boycott of JC Penny. It blew up in their collective faces. Apparently the American public, at least the millions of Ellen fans, didn't agree with the boycott and threw their support behind both Ellen and JC Penny. In the process, One Million Moms has gone down in flames. Here's their website, if you're interested: link.
Ellen had this to say to her foes:
Howard Stern, whose not really known for being the most politically correct sort of dude, also came to Ellen's defence. Here's the clip from his radio show (NSFW language):
In response to Howard Stern's comments, Dan Savage of Savage Love had this to say:
I can't count the number of times I've defended figures like Howard Stern and Bill Maher—straight entertainers who 1. fully support gay rights but 2. sometimes tell jokes that sensitivos consider homophobic. These guys are on our side and they're good for our side. Yeah, sometimes the tell jokes or do bits that are rooted in what is clearly their own personal discomfort with/fear of gay sex, particularly that man-on-man buttsex they never tire of hearing about, obsessing about, joking about, etc. But you know what? There are a lot of people out there who oppose gay rights because they're uncomfortable with gay sex and a lot of these folks—and lots of them are the kinds of guys who listen to Stern—are convinced that their own personal discomfort with gay sex requires them to oppose gay rights. What the Sterns and Mahers demonstrate is that you can be a little uncomfortable with gay sex—you can even have sense of humor about your discomfort, you can even tell the occasional joke about it—and still support the full civil equality of LGBT people.
Best getting-caught-masturbating stories.
in Masturbation
There's a thread over at Reddit of people describing getting caught masturbating. Just in case you're still finding it too easy to study and need some more quality procrastinating, here's the link.
A sample from the person that started the thread:
A few weeks ago, I had some alone time and was strategically using it to my advantage. It was early on a Saturday morning and no one was around. sitting on my bed, laptop beside me, I put on my headphones and began to performing articificial sex on my phallus.
Progress at close to 90%, I began to get "in the Zone" and failed to hear a person knocking on my door. I was so entranced in fact, that I didn't even break my concentration when the door began to open and on of my lady friends burst into the room with Dunkin' Doughnuts in hand. She then supposedly sat down in a chair and just started whistling. About thirty seconds later my "alone time" came to fruition, sexually satisfied noises and everything.
Taking my headphones off and turning my attention away from the laptop. I heard a voice say "That was entertaining." I then said, "Well, this is awkward..." to which she replied, "It's only awkward if you make it awkward." She then promptly stood up, and promptly left..
This interaction was never spoken of again.
That was my story, Reddit, what is your best caught masturbating story?
Dodson and Ross on masturbation.
in Masturbation
Many more videos from the lovely ladies on their YouTube channel here.
What are friends for?
Passed along by Laura (thanks!):
Thursday mail - February 9.
Have any questions or comments related to class or otherwise? If so, fire away.
Ketchup?
in Humour Etc.
Posted a year or so ago, but worth the bump (thanks for bringing it to my attention again, Rose!):
Via Dodson and Ross.
Follow-up to Anderson Cooper: The Virgin Daughters.
Thanks goodness!
Passed along by Will (thanks!):
And a couple other products they make (yes, these products are real, and yes, they are meant as satire):
Vintage skivvies.
in Attitudes, Attraction
Thin Wall Challenge.
in Humour Etc.
Passed along, with the following email, from Megan (thanks!):
This guy has very thin walls and everytime his roommate has sex with his girlfriend, he does a challenge. The goal is for him to complete the challenge before the couple finishes having sex. If he doesn't, he does some silly punishment for himself (eating wasabi, finger in a mousetrap, etc). It is HILARIOUS, I literally laugh out loud every time.
See the rest of his challenges here.
New study on the effects of testosterone.
in Hormones
From Science Daily:
Testosterone Makes Us Less Cooperative and More Egocentric
Testosterone makes us overvalue our own opinions at the expense of cooperation, research from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL (University College London) has found. The findings may have implications for how group decisions are affected by dominant individuals.
Problem solving in groups can provide benefits over individual decisions as we are able to share our information and expertise. However, there is a tension between cooperation and self-orientated behaviour: although groups might benefit from a collective intelligence, collaborating too closely can lead to an uncritical groupthink, ending in decisions that are bad for all.
Attempts to understand the biological mechanisms behind group decision making have tended to focus on the factors that promote cooperation, and research has shown that people given a boost of the hormone oxytocin tend to be cooperative. Now, in a study recently published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, researchers have shown that the hormone testosterone has the opposite effect -- it makes people act less cooperatively and more egocentrically.
Dr Nick Wright and colleagues at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL carried out a series of tests using 17 pairs of female volunteers* who had previously never met. The test took place over two days, spaced a week apart. On one of the days, both volunteers in each pair were given a testosterone supplement; on the other day, they were given a placebo.
During the experiment, both women sat in the same room and viewed their own screen. Both individuals saw exactly the same thing. First, in each trial they were shown two images, one of which contained a high-contrast target -- and their job was to decide individually which image contained the target. If their individual choices agreed, they received feedback and moved on to the next trial. However, if they disagreed, they were asked to collaborate and discuss with their partner to reach a joint decision. One of the pair then input this joint decision.
The researchers found that, as expected, cooperation enabled the group to perform much better than the individuals alone when individuals had received only the placebo. But, when given a testosterone supplement, the benefit of cooperation was markedly reduced. In fact, higher levels of testosterone were associated with individuals behaving egocentrically and deciding in favour of their own selection over their partner's.
Read the rest of the article here.
The effects of drugs on male sexual function.
Thanks Jeanne for passing this along. The real deal on drugs and male sexual functioning (click to make larger):
Up with Science.
Only sort of related to class, but excellent none the less:
Cynthia Nixon on her sexual orientation.
From The Nerve:
Cynthia Nixon clarifies that whole "gay by choice" remark
Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon caused an uproar in the LGBT community earlier this month for saying that for her, being gay was a choice — and that choice or not, no one should be discriminated against for their sexual orientation. Reactions varied: some cheered her words (I'm in that camp), others wondered why she didn't just say she was bisexual, and some said she was just giving fuel to bigots who work to undo all the progress made in the past decades on behalf of LGBT people in the U.S.
Well congratulations, people in the latter camp! You've successfully told someone who is not you how she should feel about her own sexuality. After the major browbeating she received, she clarified her statements to The Advocate:
"My recent comments in The New York Times were about me and my personal story of being gay... However, to the extent that anyone wishes to interpret my words in a strictly legal context I would like to clarify:
While I don't often use the word, the technically precise term for my orientation is bisexual. I believe bisexuality is not a choice, it is a fact. What I have 'chosen' is to be in a gay relationship."
Frankly, I think it's embarrassing for the LGBT community that Nixon had to do this. For one thing, interpreting her words to mean that being gay is a choice for everyone is a flagrant and intentional misreading of the text. (I mean, she literally says she is only talking about herself.) And for another: she's right! "Don't discriminate against gays because homosexuality is not a choice" is a shitty argument; it implies that we'd, you know, be straight and normal if we could but, oops! Looks like we're stuck this way, so please don't gay-bash us. No one says, "Don't discriminate against black people because being black isn't a choice;" you don't discriminate against black people because they're people and the color of your skin says nothing about your character or worth as a human being.
If homosexuality is a choice for some people — some — why should that change anything? You still don't get to dictate the consensual sexual activities or identities of anyone other than yourself. (And you certainly don't get to deny them rights because of it.) Nixon wasn't wrong, and the fact that people have harangued her into saying something about her own life and identity they find more palatable is a shame.
This is the excerpt from the New York Times article that started the controversy:
Nixon manages to keep a similarly cleareyed perspective on her relationship with Marinoni, despite the titillation it has caused in the tabloid media. She has less tolerance for the skepticism she says her relationship has sparked among some gay activists who find her midlife switch in sexual orientation disingenuous.
“I totally reject that,” she said heatedly. “I gave a speech recently, an empowerment speech to a gay audience, and it included the line ‘I’ve been straight and I’ve been gay, and gay is better.’ And they tried to get me to change it, because they said it implies that homosexuality can be a choice. And for me, it is a choice. I understand that for many people it’s not, but for me it’s a choice, and you don’t get to define my gayness for me. A certain section of our community is very concerned that it not be seen as a choice, because if it’s a choice, then we could opt out. I say it doesn’t matter if we flew here or we swam here, it matters that we are here and we are one group and let us stop trying to make a litmus test for who is considered gay and who is not.” Her face was red and her arms were waving. “As you can tell,” she said, “I am very annoyed about this issue. Why can’t it be a choice? Why is that any less legitimate? It seems we’re just ceding this point to bigots who are demanding it, and I don’t think that they should define the terms of the debate. I also feel like people think I was walking around in a cloud and didn’t realize I was gay, which I find really offensive. I find it offensive to me, but I also find it offensive to all the men I’ve been out with.”
Read the rest of the article here.
Click on the following links for more information about Ms. Nixon and sexual orientation (thanks Madeline!):
What Cynthia Nixon Is Teaching Us About Sexuality
Lane: The Best Choice I Ever Made, or Why Queer Is Revolutionary
What does it mean for gay rights if homosexuality can be a choice? (radio)