So why care about Gay Marriage? Here's why...
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
Bump Me, Hard!: BumpIn' and Grindin' (4)
From: http://site.bumpin.com/#
Intro to BumpIn
These past few days have been hectic in searching within the widget-web 2.0-world. Of all the widgets, I could not find anything that would be compatible to direct topics of sexuality other than news or talk show feeds. And if I did come close to one, it would be non-Mac friendly and slip away from my grasp. Darn. What's a cookie monster to do? I said to myself, surely there must be others that have similar interests like me on topics of sexuality (other than porn). The problem is where to find them. Well, my problem has been solved in my ultimate finding of the Killa application of the web. I give you.......BumpIn.
Created by a team of post-undergrads in Computer Sciences and Computer Engineering, BumpIn is a web 2.0 application that connects people by just browsing on the web. This actually just came out last year in Jul 2007, and onto the web 2.0 world. I found this baby on the feedmyapp page, in the chat category. And the reason I got this was to find people that have similar interests of study in sexuality, like me. There isn't really a widget much on the resources about sexuality other than news. That wasn't good enough for me. I wanted more. I wanted to meet, connect, and chat with others that are finding resources, knowledge, and adding to the studies of sexuality thru the web.
How BumpIn works is whenever you access and search with BumpIn on the web, whether you are on a webpage of a blog, newspage, resource web, whatever, you can actually see who is on that same page you are on viewing and chat with them instantly. You can have a discussion on the web about what topic you are looking for. Hence the name, BumpIn, cause you can meet someone on the web that may have similar interests as you, discover scholars, bloggers, professionals, and all by just bumping into them on the web. You can add them as your friends to have discussions with them later, just drag them to your friend tag and you got them for life. And if you want privacy, then you can also be invisible to others when using this application. Or if you are being stalked by someone on BumpIn, then you either block or delete that person as a friend. You can add on the widget to your web browser and access it anytime while on the web. So if you looking to find and talk to similar minded people about your topic (such as sexuality like myself), then this application is an answer to your web 2.0 prayers.
From: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://bp1.blogger.com
Online Playas'
Now, where are all my sexuality playas' at? You want to find that special someone to hit up by using the websites you frequent to? Well, then you need to be online and cruise, errr, browse to get that special someone. I finally put my BumpIn widget on my Firefox, but dammit, I can't access my own cute little widget (with the smiley face) next to my web browser. Technical difficulties anyone? Ah well, I'll manage, and indeed, I am. I went online to the other route in accessing BumpIn Live, meaning going directly to the site, and I scouted someone here and there, but I wanted to see more people on webpages of my interests....Then again, I was online very, very late...hmmmm. Next time earlier perhaps.
Well, this is that next time, and so far....And I haven't really found alot of people on-line to let alone chat with someone that goes to the sites I frequent? Any ideas? Well, I got something to say to this application's creators. Fix my widget for starters! Then expand....This widget needs to get more members into using this application now? And how are you going to recruit members? By sprending the news out there on social networking websites like MySpace and Facebook. Then, we'll start getting some connections going. Though I can't really access my newly widget so much (damn Mozilla 3.0!), I can imagine and play out in my mind the ideal plan and world where everything works correctly and the world is in harmony and I can manipulate the on-line elements of the Web 2.0. I see the future web forecast in my mind's eye....Yes....I see now...And there's a vision of how I can use this application to recruit others to see my blog or even my pageflakes or any site I desire to direct my lovely guests to.
How will this happen you say? Well, I have it down, I'll bump into someone (or you) on someone's random website and say, "Hey, want to learn more about sex, sexuality, resources, and all?" Intrigue them by introducing myself as a student following up on sexuality (besides porn) and what's happening within our world in sexuality. But who will listen.....Well, I'll show them that Encyclopedia on the International Sexuality I found....That'll get their attention. As for now....I'm trying to ale my technical difficulties on its widget.
Bump That Thang Up
Now, for all those BumpIn-For-Dummies... I have made a presentation that will walk you thru how to get this baby-girl widget on the dance floor of your screen. It'll show you from how to find BumpIn, accessing it, its tools, and to how to get those connections with others (and some helpful tips in getting awareness of whatever your seeking for). When I was creating this ppt, while listening to some Amy Winehouse (please get well soon girl!), I wanted to make sure one can learn about using BumpIn, step by step, from the first time getting to the home site to directly finding them interest buddies. This application is just getting on its feet, and yeah, there ain't much people online yet, but you wait for a couple of weeks (or a few months) and soon, you'll be the guy on the know how of BumpIn (and hey, holla yo' at ya boy by getting some to check out my blog out for the know how and of the know what). Peace out.
From: (Me!!! But I had to go thru slideshare to make it public)
http://www.slideshare.net
Thursday, July 24, 2008
A Sweet Transvestite!!!!!!!!!!
From: http://www.gaytvblog.com/2008/07/time-warp-mtv-r.htmlTime to Go to the Rocky Horror Picture Show
There's nothing that turns me on with someone who's a cross of Mick Jagger, strutting with spider leg silk stockings with some hard core mascara, wearing a corset like no man's (or woman's) business, with hot-ass crimson lip stick, blue-a-fying eye shadow, and a voice that could make your spine shiver and shimmi-shake....Mmmmmm, that's right, I give you the one and only, the best and audacious, the fierce and hot, the sweet Transylvanian transvestite....Dr.Frank-N-Furter! What makes The Rocky Horror Picture Show so loved by theatre junkies and musical fans alike, that go to see this show nearly everyday at 12AM, that makes them wanting to die for more rockness, more freakiness, more bad-assiness? Well, only way to find out is to come see and join the show. Enjoy!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Got Equality? (3)
From: http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn74/sprg2n/military/03.jpg
A Stand Against the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Policy
There's nothing that I respect with the utmost gratitude than someone who is in the Armed Forces. I truly believe that the reason Americans have our basic rights and freedoms is from these men and women who sacrifice their own freedom, time, and even their lives to defend those American principles of freedom in serving within the US Armed Forces. Ideally, it is said, the U.S. military defends our rights and freedoms so that all U.S. citizens can be guaranteed of "every man is created equal." But the reality in America is that not every man is created equal, especially for someone who is gay, lesbian, or bi-sexual. Indeed, sexual minorities are still being treated, in our 21st century, like second class citizens in both the civilian world and U.S. military when it comes to equality. With our U.S. military stretched to the breaking point in occupying both Iraq and Afghanistan, the battling of lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgendered rights, and the possibility of military engagement with Iran, all these current events bring to light the significance and the relevance of confronting the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy now for America. My focus here is on the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy and how it stands against our American principles of freedom, equality, and expression that all of our service members have fought to defend. Though the DADT policy is similar as that of its early predecessors in polices of racial discrimination within the military, it is even more discriminatory than those policies because of how the DADT policy infringes upon every service member's sexuality by denying them to freely express or identity themselves as other than heterosexual, regardless of race or ethnicity. Thus, they must pretend to be someone they are not in acting heterosexual.
Just like any other minority, sexual minorities that are gay, lesbian, and bi-sexual, have a long history in America for being treated lesser than human, from being labeled as "social-psycho paths" from psychologist screening recruits during World War II, being black-listed as "deviants" to national security in the McCarthy Era of the 1950s, and currently, being identified as "threats" to unit cohesion and morale within the US Armed Forces, according to what the rationale of the DADT policy. This policy appears to exercise discrimination that goes against our preachings of equality and freedoms for other people not our own. But then again, our own American nation has been built on discrimination. During World War II, for instance, being African American meant that you could not serve alongside your Caucasian service members or could not openly go into an all white establishment where signs had "No Coloreds," even in uniform. Discrimination became a tool for oppression against all types of minorities. For instance, being Asian American, regardless of whether you were Japanese American or not during World War II, meant that you would be discriminated against based upon your appearance or even taken to an internment in order to "monitor" Japan's people. Though majority of Asian American complied with the U.S. government in being interned in order to show their loyalty to the U.S., it was not a matter of loyalty these minorities had, but whether if these U.S. citizen appeared to fit the racial profile of being Asian. The actions of the U.S. government to have Asian American internment camps was based on racial discrimination. That was not the only form of discrimination practiced during that time. Sexual discrimination was also pursued by the U.S. government, which for a gay man enlisted in the U.S. Navy, that meant that you could not openly show your attraction to the same-sex or you'd be thrown into prison for sodomy or into a mental institution for being labeled as a "social psycho-path" or mentally unstable for being a homosexual. But discrimination did not stop minorities from serving during World War II. With someone hiding, cruising, and congregating, lesbians found other lesbians, gays found other gays, sexual minorities found each other, and created bonds that created networks that then created the emergence of a community and sub-culture of their own.
Sexuality is not an identity characteristic that can be easily seen as that of racial identity. More so, racial identity is not defined only by appearances but is defined by culture, which produces the associations and judgements that are based on the appearance of an individual. Though one can express their racial identity, culture bases racial discrimination not on expression, but firstly on their appearance. Sexuality, on the other hand, can either be expressed or not. One can choose when to express it. And while early racial discrimination policies operated on visual characteristics, sexual discrimination must operate on performed behaviors that appear not to be "straight" behavior based on subjectivity of the heterosexual majority. Under the DADT policy, if the performed behavior of "straight" acting is violated by an individual declaring him or herself a sexual minority or performing any other behavior that goes against the norm of heterosexuality, then the military punishes the individual by discharge from its service. To function and serve within the military, these individuals are forced into heterosexuality that violates their freedom of expression in not being open about their true sexuality other than heterosexual. Thus, this DADT policy is a particularly repressive form of discrimination, requiring sexual minorities to always pass as heterosexual, forcing them to act and appear "straight" in all their forms of behavior, public and private.
For instance, imagine you deploy to Iraq, your unit fights in combats during the on-going weeks, there is a possibility that you will die, but you cannot discuss about your significant other to one who asks innocently, "What did you do this weekend," or "Are you going out with someone?" Imagine living a double life of being in uniform, forced to act "straight" by day, drive hundreds of miles, away from your base, to be gay by night, lie to your co-workers about whom you are dating or in love with, such as "Oh yeah, I went to the movies this weekend with
From: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/xml/news/2007/04/marine_specops_relief070410/marine_specops_801_070410.JPGBut what about the other side on the effectiveness of the policy? Just as one of our current U.S. presidential candidates, Senator John McCain, during the November 2007 YouTube Republican Debate, stated about the policy in that "it's working." One argument for the policy is that allowing these sexual minorities to serve openly within U.S. military units or in the ranks would damage unit cohesion and morale (unless you are the UK, Spain, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, to list a few countries that have no ban). Some reasons for supporting this argument is that most Americans that join the Armed Forces are "conservative" and that to place them into a small unit where there is an openly homosexual is to infringe on these young-minded, "conservative" soldiers' beliefs. That their principles would be violated in forcing them to serve alongside a minority that is different from them and would go against their moral values and religious beliefs. Another argument for keeping the DADT policy is that it monitors and controls conduct of service members in order to ensure that unit cohesion is not put "at risk." And to lift that ban now would be in-appropriate because this is not the right time to make such a decision for our U.S. military that is currently at war, fighting terrorism. Top military leaders are saying that "it's working," so therefore, this DADT policy should continue. After all, it has been here for nearly 15 years, so why mess with the policy now if "it's working," right?
The first argument on claiming young soldiers that join into the military are "conservative" is invalid. Our U.S. military is a reflection of our society. One way or another, that person will have to adapt and deal with different types of people, including gays or any other minority. And the surprising news is that these young soldiers of "conservative" background already do tolerate those that are sexual minorities in their units. The thing about the DADT policy is that it does not even fully ban sexual minorities. So gays, lesbians, and bi-sexuals are already serving in those units, people in those units know of them, and tolerate them. They do co-exist and operate with other members in their unit. Some sexual minorities are actually open to their units even. People are put in
uncomfortable situations all the time in the military, such as being deploy to a foreign country, given orders to go into hazardous areas, and have to adapt within the environment they are put in order to survive. If the orders are given to obey the toleration of sexual minorities openly, the military will follow, soldiers will adapt to the change, and the world will not end. You do not have to be "conservative" to join the military as you do not have agree with the military in being "conservative." Nor do you have to be gay to tolerate gays just like you do not have to agree with being gay to tolerate gays. People have different values, beliefs, religions, and though not all agree with each other, people accept and tolerate each other's differences in our civilian society, same goes for our military. Why should the military be treated differently in this regard of toleration, after all, is not our military called to serve and live up to higher standards? Again, our military is a reflection of our society.
For the "at risk" argument that the DADT policy monitors, controls, and protects unit cohesion, while this argument may be against sexual minorities, it does not stand against ex-criminals that could pose an even greater risk within our U.S military than sexual minorities with no criminal records. But rather than raise that bar of its standards, the U.S. military has actually lowered it by the use of waivers in allowing ex-criminals to join into the ranks. According to the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, 861 people, with criminal records, were granted "conduct waivers" to enlist in 2007 compared from 457 total in 2006, with the U.S. Army admitting felons 511 in 2007 from 249 in 2006, and the U.S. Marines admitting felons 350 in 2007 from 208 in 2006 . These crimes include aggravated assault, maiming, rape, sexual abuse, sexual assault, child molestation, manslaughter, theft, drug offenses, terror threats, and bomb threats. But hey, why should someone with a little felonies and convictions on their record stop them from joining the U.S. military, since there is, after all, the Iraq war going on and recruitment needs do have to be met, even if it means allowing sex offenders, child abusers, drug addicts, thieves, burglars, arsonists, some people convicted of manslaughter, and some for terrorist bomb threats. So you've broken into a house and evade capture by the enemy, in this the case, the cops. Uncle Sam has a place for you, the U.S. Army. Fought and beaten against those that were being like insurgents and less than ten-years-old. Marine quality. Have more than one felony conviction? Then the Army and Marines, maybe not be for you, but the U.S. Navy just might be. They allow repeat offenders, though the U.S. Navy did recruit fewer people with convictions of 48 in 2007 from 42 in 2006 and the U.S. Air Force allowed none for both years. But kiss a grown man on the lips? Unacceptable for our military to tolerate. This certainly raises questions about our U.S. government on the rationale in how it can be more tolerable in allowing felony convicts to serve into our U.S. military, but not tolerable enough to allow a soldier that is gay, has critical skills needed greatly, and has no criminal record to serve just as equally and openly as their heterosexual counter-parts.
And what about all those laissez-faire U.S. civilians who could care less about the U.S. military? If I'm not in the military, what do I care what the U.S. government does, it doesn't affect me. Well, our U.S. government policies have to come from funding and budgets in order to be created and carried out. That means funding and budgets have to come from a source, our U.S. citizens' pocket books and taxes. So then U.S. citizens' tax dollars are going to work each time enlisted soldiers and officers get trained. For instance, to place an officer through school, such as Reserved Officer Training Candidate (ROTC) programs or military academies, would be the equivalent to about $200,000 for each cadet/midshipman. Imagine how much it cost to train an Army medic or an Arabic translator? Now, imagine what happens when those service members get discharged under the DADT policy for being identified as "a homosexual/bi-sexual or engaging in homosexual acts." U.S. citizens' tax dollars are wasted and lost because then, more money is spent to find their replacements, and to make up for their training all over again. According to a report in 2005 from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the separation of LGBT service members separated under the DADT policy cost the U.S. Department of Defense nearly $200 million dollars since the creation of the policy in 1993. In addition, 757 service members who held critical occupations, 322 with important language skills, and with a total of 9, 488 service members have been discharged by the DADT policy since its implementation in 1993. This is U.S. citizens' tax money being wasted, whether one agrees, disagrees, or does not care about the DADT policy. More so, the carrying out of the DADT policy puts a unit's cohesion and morale "at risk" when it discharges a highly skilled service member needed for the mission than someone who is just a sexual minority openly serving. Though the military must enforce policies that may prove to be expensive, it decides whether to retain or eliminate a policy based on the effectiveness for the military . For the DADT policy, it fails to be effective. Rather, it compromises the effectiveness of the military when the DADT is retained and discharges a sexual minority with critical skills needed to complete their mission.
One can argue that the DADT policy is actually a progressive policy, that it is a forwarding step of progress for all sexual minorities. After all, it was first signed and implemented by a Democratic president, Bill Clinton, in 1993, as a compromise to satisfy both the heterosexual majority and the sexual minorities. But this DADT satisfies no one. Rather than taking a progressive step forward, this policy stops dead in its tracks, and stalls to end prejudices against sexual minorities. The DADT policy was supposedly created to protect sexual minorities from not being persecuted, but the U.S. military can still investigate and persecute them for what they do within their private lives. When the U.S. government enacted the DADT policy, it gave sexual minorities the order not to act "homosexual/ bi-sexual" but to act "straight." This policy does not give the right for sexual minorities safely and freely express themselves or engage in an open relationship. It forces sexual minorities to hide themselves into acting "straight" and though they can never be "straight," the U.S. military coerces sexual minorities to adopt the heterosexual life style within their private lives. Thus, this policy is discriminatory, violating these U.S. citizens' rights of freedom of expression and privacy.
In the last resort of defending the DADT policy, one can finally argue a potential truth that the U.S. military does not have an adequately developed, institutionalized culture in creating a secure environment for sexual minorities. This argument is based on fear. I believe the U.S. military is better than that. This argument should not be used as an excuse for the U.S. military to discriminate against any minority. With every institution, including the U.S. military, its culture evolves and changes over time, and it must adapt to changes of the time in order to survive. If the U.S. miliary cannot adequately adapt with the situation of sexual minorites serving, then this challenges the adaptiveness of the U.S. military itself. More so, this argument challenges how adequately developed the U.S. military is in its institutionalized culture of integrating minorities. The U.S. military must adapt to change in order to defend its society or then it fails to defend its society. This excuse in discriminating against sexual minorities because its culture cannot adequately adapt with them openly integrated has already been used in the discrimination against other minorities based on race, as well against women, being integrated into the U.S. military.
Of all these arguments in keeping the DADT policy, it's not how "conservative" our U.S. soldiers are, it's not how sexual minorities can put unit cohesion and morale at risk, and it's not even about how much money is lost to the DADT policy annually. It's about discrimination. All of these arguments are backed up by discrimination and allowing discrimination to carrying on in order to block another minority in the U.S. from entering the Armed Forces. Even though yes, all U.S. citizen, who self-identity as gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgendered, or heterosexual, are required to pay income and government taxes yearly, sexual minorities are still being treated like second class citizens. They are literally paying for the policies and laws that discriminate against them. Therefore, the DADT policy is unconstitutional because it discriminates against our own U.S. citizens. It does not ensure equality for all U.S. citizens that are sexual minorities. For our military, this policy sets a precedence in overriding privacy and freedom of expression for all U.S. citizens that are guaranteed by our U.S. Constitution. If that most legal document is breached to not guarantee every U.S. citizen their rights to privacy and freedom of expression, then what other precedence can our rights as U.S. citizens not be guaranteed and taken by our U.S. Government? Currently, this is how the U.S. Government treats sexual minorities, though in the future, what treatment will our U.S. government take towards the rest of other U.S. citizens in breaching their privacy and freedom of expression? So, is America really the land of equality? Or of discrimination? Whatever impacts our military also reflects our society. This DADT policy goes against our American principles of freedom and equality that our Armed Forces strive to defend. And to continue this policy is be against ourselves, our country, and our meaning of what it is to serve within our Armed Forces.
Bibliography:
1. D’Emilio, John. Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1998.
2. Berube, Allan. Coming Out Under Fire. New York: The Free Press, 1990.
3. "US military recruits more ex-cons." Apr. 2008. BBC News. UK. 12 Jul. 2008
4. D'Anne Witkowski. "U.S. Department of Defense." Apr. 2008. Between the Lines. Vol. 1617, Iss. 559; p. 14. Livonia. 12 Jul. 2008
5. Tatchell, Peter. "Just a phase." Nov. 2007. Guardian. UK. 12 Jul. 2008
6. Belkin, Aaron. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell: Does the Gay Ban Undermine the Military's Reputation?" Apr. 2007. Armed Forces & Society. University of California, Santa Barbara. 13 Jul. 2008
7. Waxman, Henry A. "Letter to Under Secretary Chu." Congress of the United States-House of Representatives: Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. April 2008. 16 Jul 2008.
8. Steward, Derek B. "Military Personnel: Financial Costs and Loss of Critical Skills Due to DOD's Homosexual Conduct Policy Cannot Be Completely Estimated" United States Government Accountability Office. February 2005. 16 Jul 2008.
9. Gaytoday.com. "Don't Ask, Don't Tell Denounced by Former President Clinton." Service Legal Defense Network. 7 October 2003. 19 July 2008.
10. Bors, Matt. "200th Strip." Idiot Box. 2006. 16 July 2008.
11. All photos of soldiers and sailors provided from Photobucket.com. 16 July 2008.
12. Bluealliancevideo. Living Under Don't Ask Don't Tell. 19 January 2008. 16 July 2008. Youtube.com
13. Lance5677. Novemeber 2008 YouTube Republican Debate (LGBT Questions). Youtube.com. 28 November 2007. 16 July 2008.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnJVHuFeYkA&feature=related>
14. Photos of soldiers provided from Photobucket.com. 16 July 2008.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Outcries for Equality
Image from: http://gaysnohomish.org/images/LetThemServe_sldn_org.jpg
GOT EX-CONS?
I read an article in the BBC news on the US military recruiting more ex-cons. Now get this, according to a congressional committee, 861 people were granted waivers for their criminal records to enlist, that's more than last year, of 457 in 2007. The waivers include crimes on assault, sex crimes, manslaughter, and burglary, but yet there are no waivers for being gay, lesbian, or bi-sexual. So the U.S. government means to me that a civilian can commit sex crimes, burglary, car thefts, drug offenses, bomb threats, and manslaughter, be given a waiver to join into the US Armed Forces but not an openly lesbian (or any other sexual minority), who has no criminal record at all, not serve? So if you wanted to serve, who would you want to have your back when in combat, someone who has been convicted of rape, child molestation, burglary, or manslaugher, where trust and security is lagging, or a gay man who is competent, loyal, and most importantly, hasn't had any felony convictions against him, not done time or been on COPS? Hmmmmmmmm. Gee, That's a hard question.
Is there something with this picture? In America, we preach we are a people of freedom, that we are champions of freedom, to fight for our freedoms and for others, but how the hell can we fight for other people's freedom when we can't even establish our own people's freedom. One of the most basic rights of America, to serve freely and open within the Armed Forces, is denied to those that are sexual minorities. And yet these sexual minorities are American citizens that pay taxes like everyone else, and money, millions of dollars, is spent to uphold this "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that is costing ALL U.S. citizens their tax dollars. For each officer and enlisted service member discharged from the U.S. Armed Forces for being gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, engaging in any homosexual activities, or just being suspected of any in the above, money is lost to replace them and for all of their training (Arabic interpreters anyone?). DADT policy is way past expired.
From:http://www.sldn.org/templates/press/index.html?section=230&video=16
Targeting on Don't Tell, Don't Ask
Image from: http://www.mfr.usmc.mil/4thmardiv/25thMar/1stBn/CoC/lineup.jpg
ON TO JOE AND SOME
There's a storm brewing in the news and in the U.S. military. It's the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." You know sports and the military are very similar to each other, both are setup that hetereosexual masculinity that people just assume that everyone within appears to be straight and peachy. Marines, for instance, can be the ultimate icon for masculinity in our U.S. culture, that one usually assumes the man or woman underneath the uniform of the hetero majority, but there those that are not. These are the proud, the few, the courageous, the sexual minorities of gay, lesbians, and bi-sexuals that serve within our Armed Forces. And yet, a policy that prevents these sexual minorities from serving openly, the "Don't Ask, Don't" policy, has treated them as second class citizens in striping them of their military careers when found out, costing our country millions of dollars (really), and doing more damage to our military in taking people out (don't we have a military stretched far enough that we need not lose people?). Well, I ran into a blog that gave me the latest updates on the subject of our DADT policy from the blog Joe.My.God. This blogger keeps up with the latest politics and news surrounding the DADT policy. His blog was given a Weblog Award for the best LGBT blog in 2007. This subject is already in the news. Another get source of about the coverage of the DADT policy is from Service Legal Defense Network's blog, the Frontlines. I highly recommend you check these out if you are ever interested in your LGBT brothers and sisters serving in the Armed Forces.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
The Hidden Athletes
From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OohCJMUWRlE&feature=related
SPORTS PLAYING
As I was reading on one of my pageflake of Outsports the profile of Hank Weintraub, I though to myself there must be more gay and bi-sexual athletes out there who are not open to the outside. Sports is and has been an area dominated by masculinity and hetereosexuality to the point that it's assumed all players participanting are straight. Well, mostly for the men anyways. Women on the other hand get a bad rap from society when a female acts too masculine for her own good that others start to question her sexual orientation, but for a male, not the case. Why is that? Why is it that when men play sports, they are automatically masculine and heterosexual status, but women are not, but instead challenged in their femininity and sexual orientation because of playing sports? Sports has been a constructed by that heterosexual masculinity. How so? But there are few that play, not hiding their sexual orientation. Well, hear is a blog that related to being not heterosexual, of Zach Puchtel, a bi-sexual basketball athlete, someone who break that stereo-type of the typical jock on both sides of the fence (no pun intended). Enjoy.
Image from: http://rightturnleft.blogspot.com/2007/10/bi-sexual-guys-who-are-cool-with-it.html
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Under The Makeup
From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkgACMUOHzs
OUR SHOT DOWN PERCEPTIONS
Ever walk into a grocery store and somone catches your eye, and you keep staring but try not to, and then you say to yourself after, constantly pondering the encounter, "Was that a guy or a girl?" Or ever first meet and listen to 'that guy' explaining to yourself, "Yep, he's a 100% homo," only to find out he's straight and married with kids. Or ever see a female surfer, who's gorgeous, riding the waves, and you get the hots for, then she comes to shore, and on the corner of your eye, you see another female run up to her and kiss her on the lips and walk past by you, holding hands together and you being stunned with "Really?" Well, Gaydar can only go so far, and it cane be thrown WAY off at times, along with our assumptions. It's so easy to judge a person and blurb out to your friends, "Oh, he's gay" or "Oh, she's a lesbian, I just know it," but for most first impression, we don't usually have the full picture, just our perceptions to guide us. But perceptions can be, at times, off the mark, leaving us wondering at the end of the day, "Is he/she really?"
So then what is gay? What does gay mean? Is the word inclining towards being masculine or feminine? Majority would pick the latter, and though the word gay and homosexual can seem synomonous, there can be differences. Do actions or words make a person gay or homosexual? For instance, one can define themselves "gay" or "queer" and not have a homosexual experience, yet on the flip side, one can be homosexual, have homosexual experiences, and/or claim themselves not "gay" or "queer" such as a guy that has sex with guys (vice-versa for girls too) and identifies as 'straight' or hear a guy excuse his "experimental" encounters with the third-legged kind proclaiming, "Man, I was soooo drunk last night." Again, there are some questions that leave us with not so cookie cutter answers when it comes to placing people into social categories.
And yet images, roles, and stereo-types play upon our assumptions and perceptions daily. What fascinates me the most (and what I love to see in people's faces) is when those assumptions are shot down, like an elk in the headlights, by the real truth underneath the mascara and foundatons of our judgements. Roles can be simply that, if in themselves, along with the images and stereo-types. They need people to fill them or else they'd be an empty, meaningless suit collecting dust and outdated. With that, I want to leave you with some images to ponder: The Surfer, The Skater, The Football Player, The Baseball Player, The Cop, The Firefighter, The Lifeguard, The Plumber, The Marine, The Soldier, The Pilot, The Cowboy, The Executive, The Doctor, Miss America, The Teacher, The Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Model. And think what would be your reaction if that image/person did the opposite of what you thought in sexual actions, sexual attractions, and in gender behavior (masculine and feminine). While you do that, I will be doing some research on my own in diving deep into that gray area of sexuality to know more about these unique people that fill these roles and contradict society's assumptions of them. See you on the otherside....
Image from: http://wizbangblog.com/images/2005/10/white_sox_kiss.jpg
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Valley of the Chocolate Chip Dolls
From: bodybymilk.comENTER THE VALLEY.
I have some treats for you sexual aficionados. This just in, I have a pageflake. Yes, a sugar-coated pageflake that has all of my latest findings of rss feeds from the web of sexuality. And with a cherry on top, I'll update you on my active searches, my zotero bibliography, my social bookmarking lovers, and what on my diigo bookmarks. I hope my pageflake will be a helpful resource knowing what is going on in the sexual realms.
RSS Feeds
Well, gents and ladies, I have many rss feeds on my pageflake to see. They range from Voices of American Sexuality, Sex and Sexuality, Outsports to LGBT World Daily News. I highly recommend the Midwest Teen Sex Show is a must to visit. Though I try to be unbiased in the sharing of my rss feeds about the various areas of or related to human sexuality, from LGBT issues/news, latest updates and news in research of human sexuality, sex education, etc. But I must say that my favorite RSS Feed and website has to be from the Midwest Teen Sex Show. It's educational/witty teen sexuality. Now add original, well done, low-budget, relative, and multiply that with extreme hilariousness, and you get the best teen sex educational episodes ever in the Midwest. These episodes were originally from an idea by a concerning mother wanting to do more for other youngin's in providing sexual education that she never got while she was growing up. And with her talented (and locals from the area) troupe of actors and high tech savvyness in posting these great episodes to a webpage and to RSS feeds, we get up to 17 (and counting) eposides on their webpage with a click away. The episode topics range from Oral Sex, Porn, Syphilis, Beatin' It, Female Masterbation, Homosexuality, The First Time, and more. My thus far favorite is the latest one, Episode #17-The Penis. You must check these out. NO REALLY you must. Sexual education meets Down-To-Earth-Midwestern comedy. So funny!!!! I give it 5 Big Double Chocolate Chip Cookies up (or should I say gobbled down jollily).
My Active Searches
Well, my searches continue to be far and wide in the areas of sexuality. I have found many sexual jems to share with, one for instance is the International Encyclopedia of Sexuality that I highly recommend. It's amazing.
My Zotero bibliography
Zotero is being bitchy to me, especially with my new Mozilla 3.0 (also being a bitch to me). But I do have some books that I myself have read that have stimulated some sexual interestets. Great reads:
1. D’Emilio, John. Sexual Politics, Sexual Communities. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1998.
In John D’ Emilio’s book, Sexual Politics, Sexual Community, he presents the historical background of gay politics, gay sexual identity, and the subculture of homosexuals and lesbians from when in the U.S. homosexuality was first identified as a sexual act and to become a personal identity. He covers on the negative attitudes directed toward men and women who engaged in homoerotic behavior, events that helped shape urban gay subculture and the modern forms of gay oppression, the impact of World War II and its influence on the collective gay life, the anti-homosexual attitudes and penalties during the McCarthy Era during the 1950s, the founding of the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis, which were one of the first groups by and for homosexuals, the sexual revolution during the 1960s, and up to the emergence of the gay liberation movement in the 1970s.
2. Berube, Allan. Coming Out Under Fire. New York: The Free Press, 1990.
In Allan Berube’s book, Coming Out Under Fire, examines and documents of the over 9,000 gay servicemen and women who fought for the U.S. military during WWII. Even though there was a policy that banned any homosexual of serving within the armed forces, there were many lesbian women and homosexual men that served underneath the policy during the war. Though many homosexuals or lesbians were identified as sexual psychopaths and given discharges as undesirables by psychiatrist, researcher Allen Berube reveals that it was the psychiatrist as well that also screened those not heterosexual for clearance to join the armed forces. Berube also reveals that the first challenge in the US to the military’s policy banning homosexuality came from these military psychiatrists who screened and studied gay servicemen and women. Berube interviews with homosexual male and female veterans, recording and giving excepts of their accounts of their screenings into the military, experiences in being on the battlefield as homosexual, and being with other homosexuals or known homosexual attraction areas.
3. Crouthamel, Jason. "Male Sexuality and Psychological Trauma: Soldiers and Sexual Disorder in World War I and Weimar Germany." Journal of the History of Sexuality 17.1 (2008) 60-84.
Pretty interesting article about the how gender, war, sexuality impacted German society in the First World War on the male psyche, body, and homosexuality.
4. France, David. "The Science of Gaydar." New York (2007) 1-7.
Great article about the nature of Gaydar and the latest reseach on the subject from long index fingers, hair swirls, and family tree history, people are still trying to figure how to find out whether someone is "gay" or not.
My Diigo Bookmarks
Also my pageflake that has many sexual topics on sexuality.
My Social Bookmarking Love
Yes, I also have my social bookmarking lovers from my previous post on my pageflake so that way you can keep your eyes out for what they have been up to on the sexual side.
So check them out and go get some cookies and milk while you're at it. Enjoy.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Delicious and Sweet-My New Lovers
Image from: http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/7205/6chocqu5.jpg
Well, I just discovered a fabulous website called del.icio.us that lets you do some yummy things like bookmarking pages and saving them to other websites like Diigo with just a click away. Not only that, but it also finds those that have similar tastes in your own with tags such as oh like cookies, travel, video games, and.....you guess it! Sex! Such as myself. I'm not saying I got a direct link from someone's profile on YouPorn (sorry), no even better, I found my social bookmarking soul-mates or even better, my bookmarking lovers for life. Yes, there other little monsters that have similar interests in sexuality as I have. So far, I've found two. They are my new lovers on the internet and can add bookmarks to my hunk-of-burning love on del.icio.us. Whenever they bookmark something on sexuality I too will get it and be in waves of pleasure from knowing that my new lovers engorged my sponge on sexuality (what a turn on...I know).
Everyone, please meet theredex, one of my new lovers, who has bookmarked pages on the tag of sexuality with a total of 18 in all and with catchy topics to indulge your sexual tooth. Though there are no comments added outright, the tags are organized from the oldest dated page bookmarked up to most recent one added. There are indeed gems to be added to the bulging jewels about the recent topics and studies of the birds and the bees (or is it bee on bee or bird on bird...oh screw it, lets just add the whole animal kingdom like it should be, that way everyone can gets their rocks off). One diamond of a site that theredex tagged was Capital Xtra-Planting the flag: Canada's gay diaspra, about what our northern neighbors, Canada and its gay community, are up to. Believe it or not, there is another half of Canada's gay community other than those that live in Toronto, Vancouver, or Montreal. And Canadian queer life is spreading and thriving beyond these major cities of Canada's vast land. I hear the city of Winnipeg is a must go for its flourishing gay life (got plane tickets?). But the one bookmarked page that takes the diamond, pearled crown and bouquet of roses for being Miss Bootylicious for this blog is on the site tagged The International Encyclopedia of Sexuality. Need I say more. It has countries listed alphabetically on sexological knowledge in who's doing who and what in demographics, history, religious and ethnic factors, heterosexual behaviors, homosexual behaviors, STDs, HIV/AIDS, even the research done in that certain country on sexuality, and MORE. WOW!!!!!! This site spills the beans in what goes on in the bedroom, in the closet, and in the culture on sexuality of these listed countries. Who would think that learning about someone's home country other than yours could be so damn hot and sexually informative (where was this Encyclopedia when I was at Sesame Street?). It certainly makes up for lost time and long distance. Check it out.
Another one of my bookmarking lovers is the feisty abiola who has over 100 bookmarked pages related about sexuality with the tag on sex. This lover has some hilarious and biting comments scattered throughout the bookmarked pages, and the tags are also organized from the oldest dated page bookmarked up to most recent one added. I love the bookmarked page titled I gave £100,000 to my Jamaican toyboy but now he's gone back to his wife – taking my money with him. So funny (unfortunately, I could not access the link, darn). The title is enough for me. And an interesting topic a bookmarked page, An Eye for Sexual Orientation, that dives into the study of "gaydar." Is it really possible tell if someone is gay or not? Well, according to this study, in just a fraction of a second, people can, or at least some more inclined me thinks. The study did state that some faces are just flat out undetectable to read, so again does "gaydar" really exists? Perhaps for the chosen few. See for yourself by taking the test in pressing this gaydar-The Virgin Test. Enjoy.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Blog-o-rama (1)
1) Welcome! iHola! Ni hao!
Mmm, yummy. Guests!!! Welcome to my blog! I want to thank you for taking your time out of the day to read my blog. Now, I just want to get this straight, sorry to disappoint you porn aficionados, but this is not a porn blog. It doesn't mean that won't be explored and touched on later on though. That goes for everything else. Nothing will be untouched when it comes to sexuality here. This is a blog about topics and issues of sexuality as well for debate and discussion. Here is an overview of some of the areas that will begin our Sexual Odyssey:
Possible post topics will be on Sexual Politics, Sexuality within Armed Forces (of U.S. and other countries), Sex Education, Sexuality in the Arts, Sex and Sales, Sexual Healing and Health, Sexuality and Spirituality, Sex and Food, Taboo Sexuality, Technology of Sexuality, and/or Sexuality and Nature.The post topics will revolve around sexuality in the latest writings, research, and networking technologies.
In discussing about the topic of Sexual Politics, we will explore the origins of gender definitions, sexual attitudes, sexual norms, changes, implications of these changes to our own contemporary society. What is the history of our sexuality? What is the history of our ancestors’ sexual past? What are the parallels of that past and of sexual oppression? How has it shaped our current attitudes to sex, marriage, and gender roles today? How has it influenced our military?
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy one of the many examples of the influences of sexuality within an Armed Forces that impacts our world. In the topic of Sexuality within Armed Forces, we will examine sexuality within in the military of our own (U.S.) and of other countries such as in attitudes, practices, gender separations, health issues during war, homosexuality, as well on the sexual education and resources of Armed Forces.
Were you ( or are you) ever dis-satisfied with seeing those black and white, old, sex educational videos in high school? Or maybe even cheated out of a sex educational program because it was abstinence that dominanted your teaching agenda? Well, in the topic of Sex Education, we will examine why that is so and go into the history of sex education in America as well in other countries such as how media has played a role in educating about sex to young people.
How many expressions or words can one tell a story about sexuality? About sexual differences? About sex? About love? In the Sexuality in the Arts, we will discuss about how sexuality is expressed in music, literature, movies, theatre, etc.
Ever count how many near clad women or shirtless guys with abs you see on a billboard just by walking down the street or turning on your Teli-tube? In the Sex and Sales topic, we will examine the use of sexuality in the sales of products and media. The use of sex in advertisement is abundant in today’s visual culture of magazines, billboards, as well in TV commercials for the selling of products. How do advertisers get our attention with the use of sexuality? How do advertisers play with our unconscious in using sexuality?
Everyone needs alittle sexual healing sometimes, and in Sexual Healing and Health, we will discuss about issues of STDs and prevention as well as sexual practices and therapies used to treat patients of sexual trauma. Of course, there will also be some helpful tips in to play nice and pleasurely with your partner in articles of sexual health and performance we will relate to.
Ever wonder if the act of sex (regardless of what sex you are doing it with) can be compatitable with religion or spirituality? Well, in Sexuality and Spirituality, we will explore cultures of how sexuality is bridged to spirituality in practices and traditions within our world. From Tantric practices of the Orient to semen consumption of a New Guina tribe, we will explore these and more. Speaking on semen consumption, how many calories does semen have anyways?
There's nothing sexier, I say, than a cook who knows how to pleasure all your taste buds and get you in the mood for some lovin'. Ever wonder how is that so? Does food really make you horny? In Sex and Food, we will discuss the history of foods and the erotic power of foods used for sexual practices and of health. And what's kinker than doing it with you and your sexual partner covered in chocolate and whip cream?
Is there anything anyone doesn’t get off on, whether we admit it or not? Whether we know it or not? Well, the topic of Taboo Sexuality will go there, question, and examine the issues of sexual taboos of our society such as Homosexuality, Tran-sexuality, Bestiality, Pedophilia, Necrophilia, and other societal taboos in sexuality. How deep is sexuality? How dangerous is it? How does one own morality shape sexual taboos? How does society establish these taboos?
So what's the latest sexual technology and devices out there? In Technology and Sex, we will examine on how and what types of technology improves sexual health, advertisement, fantasy, etc. And lastly, a potential topic will be on sexuality within nature, animals, and how it relates to sexuality of human beings. And who knows, we may go off a tangent to combine more than one of these topics and others not mentioned. All this and MORE!!!
I am highly fascinated with sexuality. For me personally, sexuality is not just a word that can be defined so easily, it's an ocean far beyond the reaches of what society can contain. I myself am still trying to make sense of in both meaning and expression. Society tries to make stream for sexuality in order to filter and control it content through norms and taboos. As society changes, so too do its norms and taboos of sexuality in order to manipulate and shape sexuality within society. Nevertheless, sexuality is fluid, but how fluid? Is our sexuality defined by ourselves or by our society? And how? There are numerous questions that drive my curiosity and force me into areas that I initially fear to explore, which drives my fascination. I look forward to writing about these topics and hope to stimulate discussion with you all.. Again, I thank you for your readership. Let us begin. And don't forget to bring the cookies and milk!
2) Profile a Blog by me
Blog: Adolescent Sexuality by Dr. Karen Rayne
URL: http://karenrayne.com/
This the blog, Adolescent Sexuality by Dr. Karen Rayne, gives an update about adolescent sexuality and the issues connected to the topic such as parents talking to their children about sex and for teenagers. She’s a doctor that promotes sexuality education programs, whether in doing speeches, attending conferences, or writing in her blog. On her blogroll she has only six total blogs that are informational about sexual topics as sexuality and religions, questions about sex, sex and teens, and thoughts on sexuality. For instance, one blog on her blogroll, The Dinah Project, has posts on health and current news about general sexual awareness. Dr. Karen Rayne's blog posts are current and are frequently updated, which her most recent one was posted today, June 2, 2008. It seems that her blog is well known that she even has client recommendations from students and parents that have worked with her or have heard her speak.
One of the most interesting posts on the website is a video on “How to hide an unwanted erection” that is educational as well hilarious. It’s so funny! It's one of the videos that's part of the video player she made out of a list of videos concerning the topic as she states:
How to Hide an Unwanted Erection
From: www.videojug.com
Who said sex education can’t be fun and educational. I love it. Another one was “Research on Masturbation,” which gave updates on masturbation by gender and age. This blog is one of the professional blogs that greatly gives insight into one the areas of adolescent sexuality for my blog. The posts are the latest results from Institutions and Health Professional on sexuality that is related to her field of work and research. They are also funny and entertaining, with a teenage and parent spin, which are its main targeted audiences. Here one post is about “What a boy wants,” a study she found and discusses about horny teenage boys:
This blog questions the results of the study in pointing out the limitations that the study does not mention or address. She argues that regardless of the results found in statistics, what is most important is having a one on one discussion and in getting to know an individual teenage boy rather than to label them as testosterone horny boys who mindlessly think of sex every half minute. This blog will greatly contribute to my blog in being one area that I can discuss in depth in adolescent sexuality and sexual education. My site will differ in that it will not only be limited in just discussing those areas mentioned above but more, even connect to other topics of sexuality, for one example, the taboos of sexuality within a social context like pedophilia. Yeah, my blog will go there. Stay tuned!
3) "Voice of a Blog" by me
From blogs:
Objectify This-Equality : Not Satanism, Last I Checked
Gender 3.0-The Bulldagger, the Bustier and the "Baby"
There are some great voices out there in the blog world. From a feminist of our time, Marina, is witty, respectful, and knows how to be critical in her arguments in one of her posts "Objectify This-Equality : Not Satanism, Last I Checked." Marina takes on the main points of a webpage titled "Feminism is Evil!" and dishes out valid points, like a culinary French chef (Oo0-la-la) against her unsavory opponents in their invalid concoctions against feminism. In this post, her voice commands clarity, depth of knowledge, respectfulness (even unto that lack such) such as when she introduces her opponents:
She also has the hilariousness to splice into her arguments such as when she states in one of her points:
The Christian Right got nothin' on her. Matter of fact, her voice gives depth to her argument against the supposedly "godly man agenda" and reveals that beneath the robes of "Christian" righteousness, lives the beast of power in the "godly man" to exercise control over women and to try to have it stay that way. And she finishes them off with a voice of defiance and kick assness:
In the next post in Gender 3.0-The Bulldagger, the Bustier and the "Baby", another great voice of our time by a San Francisco trans-dyke expresses the assumptions of gender. He shares his point of view in how the people he encounters judge and assume her gender. I love how he uses dialogue when arguing with his voice and sets up the situations of people's assumptions such as when he states:
He blends their remarks from others with a bluntly truthful perspective of his thoughts and feelings. And I love how he plays on gender roles and come-backs such as when he encounters a guy who disrespects him at the gym by calling him 'baby' and then thinks of some come-backs after the incident:
His voice amplifies and enlightens those that take a two gender system without question and to challenge the meaning of sex/gender within our society. Great voices! Check them out, you might learn a thing or two.
Mmm, yummy. Guests!!! Welcome to my blog! I want to thank you for taking your time out of the day to read my blog. Now, I just want to get this straight, sorry to disappoint you porn aficionados, but this is not a porn blog. It doesn't mean that won't be explored and touched on later on though. That goes for everything else. Nothing will be untouched when it comes to sexuality here. This is a blog about topics and issues of sexuality as well for debate and discussion. Here is an overview of some of the areas that will begin our Sexual Odyssey:
Possible post topics will be on Sexual Politics, Sexuality within Armed Forces (of U.S. and other countries), Sex Education, Sexuality in the Arts, Sex and Sales, Sexual Healing and Health, Sexuality and Spirituality, Sex and Food, Taboo Sexuality, Technology of Sexuality, and/or Sexuality and Nature.The post topics will revolve around sexuality in the latest writings, research, and networking technologies.
In discussing about the topic of Sexual Politics, we will explore the origins of gender definitions, sexual attitudes, sexual norms, changes, implications of these changes to our own contemporary society. What is the history of our sexuality? What is the history of our ancestors’ sexual past? What are the parallels of that past and of sexual oppression? How has it shaped our current attitudes to sex, marriage, and gender roles today? How has it influenced our military?
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy one of the many examples of the influences of sexuality within an Armed Forces that impacts our world. In the topic of Sexuality within Armed Forces, we will examine sexuality within in the military of our own (U.S.) and of other countries such as in attitudes, practices, gender separations, health issues during war, homosexuality, as well on the sexual education and resources of Armed Forces.
Were you ( or are you) ever dis-satisfied with seeing those black and white, old, sex educational videos in high school? Or maybe even cheated out of a sex educational program because it was abstinence that dominanted your teaching agenda? Well, in the topic of Sex Education, we will examine why that is so and go into the history of sex education in America as well in other countries such as how media has played a role in educating about sex to young people.
How many expressions or words can one tell a story about sexuality? About sexual differences? About sex? About love? In the Sexuality in the Arts, we will discuss about how sexuality is expressed in music, literature, movies, theatre, etc.
Ever count how many near clad women or shirtless guys with abs you see on a billboard just by walking down the street or turning on your Teli-tube? In the Sex and Sales topic, we will examine the use of sexuality in the sales of products and media. The use of sex in advertisement is abundant in today’s visual culture of magazines, billboards, as well in TV commercials for the selling of products. How do advertisers get our attention with the use of sexuality? How do advertisers play with our unconscious in using sexuality?
Everyone needs alittle sexual healing sometimes, and in Sexual Healing and Health, we will discuss about issues of STDs and prevention as well as sexual practices and therapies used to treat patients of sexual trauma. Of course, there will also be some helpful tips in to play nice and pleasurely with your partner in articles of sexual health and performance we will relate to.
Ever wonder if the act of sex (regardless of what sex you are doing it with) can be compatitable with religion or spirituality? Well, in Sexuality and Spirituality, we will explore cultures of how sexuality is bridged to spirituality in practices and traditions within our world. From Tantric practices of the Orient to semen consumption of a New Guina tribe, we will explore these and more. Speaking on semen consumption, how many calories does semen have anyways?
There's nothing sexier, I say, than a cook who knows how to pleasure all your taste buds and get you in the mood for some lovin'. Ever wonder how is that so? Does food really make you horny? In Sex and Food, we will discuss the history of foods and the erotic power of foods used for sexual practices and of health. And what's kinker than doing it with you and your sexual partner covered in chocolate and whip cream?
Is there anything anyone doesn’t get off on, whether we admit it or not? Whether we know it or not? Well, the topic of Taboo Sexuality will go there, question, and examine the issues of sexual taboos of our society such as Homosexuality, Tran-sexuality, Bestiality, Pedophilia, Necrophilia, and other societal taboos in sexuality. How deep is sexuality? How dangerous is it? How does one own morality shape sexual taboos? How does society establish these taboos?
So what's the latest sexual technology and devices out there? In Technology and Sex, we will examine on how and what types of technology improves sexual health, advertisement, fantasy, etc. And lastly, a potential topic will be on sexuality within nature, animals, and how it relates to sexuality of human beings. And who knows, we may go off a tangent to combine more than one of these topics and others not mentioned. All this and MORE!!!
I am highly fascinated with sexuality. For me personally, sexuality is not just a word that can be defined so easily, it's an ocean far beyond the reaches of what society can contain. I myself am still trying to make sense of in both meaning and expression. Society tries to make stream for sexuality in order to filter and control it content through norms and taboos. As society changes, so too do its norms and taboos of sexuality in order to manipulate and shape sexuality within society. Nevertheless, sexuality is fluid, but how fluid? Is our sexuality defined by ourselves or by our society? And how? There are numerous questions that drive my curiosity and force me into areas that I initially fear to explore, which drives my fascination. I look forward to writing about these topics and hope to stimulate discussion with you all.. Again, I thank you for your readership. Let us begin. And don't forget to bring the cookies and milk!
2) Profile a Blog by me
Blog: Adolescent Sexuality by Dr. Karen Rayne
URL: http://karenrayne.com/
This the blog, Adolescent Sexuality by Dr. Karen Rayne, gives an update about adolescent sexuality and the issues connected to the topic such as parents talking to their children about sex and for teenagers. She’s a doctor that promotes sexuality education programs, whether in doing speeches, attending conferences, or writing in her blog. On her blogroll she has only six total blogs that are informational about sexual topics as sexuality and religions, questions about sex, sex and teens, and thoughts on sexuality. For instance, one blog on her blogroll, The Dinah Project, has posts on health and current news about general sexual awareness. Dr. Karen Rayne's blog posts are current and are frequently updated, which her most recent one was posted today, June 2, 2008. It seems that her blog is well known that she even has client recommendations from students and parents that have worked with her or have heard her speak.
One of the most interesting posts on the website is a video on “How to hide an unwanted erection” that is educational as well hilarious. It’s so funny! It's one of the videos that's part of the video player she made out of a list of videos concerning the topic as she states:
"This is a straightforward list of effective suggestions for those teenage boys who are dealing with extensive testosterone surges and who are in need of some assistance in making themselves socially appropriate for the duration. Go on now, pass on the video or the information to those most in need!"
How to Hide an Unwanted Erection
From: www.videojug.com
Who said sex education can’t be fun and educational. I love it. Another one was “Research on Masturbation,” which gave updates on masturbation by gender and age. This blog is one of the professional blogs that greatly gives insight into one the areas of adolescent sexuality for my blog. The posts are the latest results from Institutions and Health Professional on sexuality that is related to her field of work and research. They are also funny and entertaining, with a teenage and parent spin, which are its main targeted audiences. Here one post is about “What a boy wants,” a study she found and discusses about horny teenage boys:
"Conventional wisdom suggests that teenage boys have one thing on their minds. And it’s not history class. Statistics that support this theory abound: Teenage boys have testosterone surges multiple times a day. Teenage boys think about sex an average of every 28 seconds. The theories go on.
A study was recently published in the Journal of Adolescence called “I wanted to get to know her better”: Adolescent boy’s dating motives, masculinity ideology, and sexual behavior. (The first thing this proves, of course, is academics’ inability to create a short and snappy title.) The results from this study suggested that, while teen boys are not dis-interested in the physical, they are at least as interested, if not more interested, in building a good relationship with someone they really liked.
I like this study. I like it when researchers try to get past the conventional, stereotypical assumptions that inhabit most of our world and find out what’s really going on. I like it that they tried to create a study that actually got to know teenage boys rather than pigeonhole them.
Do I put substantial weight on the results of the study? Honestly, as a researcher and a statistician, I’m not sure. Why did this study come up with different results from so many others? Can the results be replicated? What’s the researcher biased? Were the questions slanted? Is there a peer-group effect going on here? Basically, I want the differences between this research and past research and conventional wisdom explained before I jump excitedly on-board and start singing the results from the rooftops.
However, as a parent and a sex educator, I absolutely put substantial weight on the results of this study. I choose to believe that all people have the best possible motivations for their actions, including teenage boys.
It is critical that we interact with teenage boys with the assumption that they want high quality, mutually satisfying, and emotionally supportive romantic relationships.
Forget the statistics about teenage boys when you meet an actual teenage boy. Because when you do, there will be one individual standing in front of you. Maybe he is average. Maybe he is not. Regardless, the only way to know for sure is to get to know him."
This blog questions the results of the study in pointing out the limitations that the study does not mention or address. She argues that regardless of the results found in statistics, what is most important is having a one on one discussion and in getting to know an individual teenage boy rather than to label them as testosterone horny boys who mindlessly think of sex every half minute. This blog will greatly contribute to my blog in being one area that I can discuss in depth in adolescent sexuality and sexual education. My site will differ in that it will not only be limited in just discussing those areas mentioned above but more, even connect to other topics of sexuality, for one example, the taboos of sexuality within a social context like pedophilia. Yeah, my blog will go there. Stay tuned!
3) "Voice of a Blog" by me
From blogs:
Objectify This-Equality : Not Satanism, Last I Checked
Gender 3.0-The Bulldagger, the Bustier and the "Baby"
There are some great voices out there in the blog world. From a feminist of our time, Marina, is witty, respectful, and knows how to be critical in her arguments in one of her posts "Objectify This-Equality : Not Satanism, Last I Checked." Marina takes on the main points of a webpage titled "Feminism is Evil!" and dishes out valid points, like a culinary French chef (Oo0-la-la) against her unsavory opponents in their invalid concoctions against feminism. In this post, her voice commands clarity, depth of knowledge, respectfulness (even unto that lack such) such as when she introduces her opponents:
"In fine form, they announced at the beginning of the page, “FEMINISM IS EVIL! Beware of the feminists, many are LESBIANS!” Ah, yes, such tolerance and open mindedness is exactly what we have been taught to expect from our Christian siblings. I’m going to rebut some of the points they make, in the interest of respectful dialogue, despite the site’s admission that they’re “not going to sugarcoat this article in an attempt not to offend anyone.” Right."
She also has the hilariousness to splice into her arguments such as when she states in one of her points:
"Ahh, so it’s not a question of whether the woman stays at home at the behest of the godly man, but whether he has the monopoly on power or she exercises control over him, too. Since feminists have better sex (see my post Keep Your Socks On, I’m Cumming for more on why equality leads to more satisfaction for both parties), I would suggest that there are benefits to the sharing of power that the “godly” man’s male-and-female God (see #1) would support. Of course, at the same time, I don’t support partner abuse of any kind: if women are battering men, those men should be seeking divorce, according to the principles of feminist doctrine."
The Christian Right got nothin' on her. Matter of fact, her voice gives depth to her argument against the supposedly "godly man agenda" and reveals that beneath the robes of "Christian" righteousness, lives the beast of power in the "godly man" to exercise control over women and to try to have it stay that way. And she finishes them off with a voice of defiance and kick assness:
I would argue that it’s a part of our culture — a culture that would be shocked if anyone were to publicly propose a racial or ethnic or religious supremacy, but which barely bats an eye when we affirm gender supremacy.
Call me Satan, call me evil, or call me a threat to the godly man, but don’t call me a cog in the machine of gender supremacy. And as my grandpa always says, please don’t call me late to lunch. (And if it’s soul food, God, someone save me some ribs.)
In the next post in Gender 3.0-The Bulldagger, the Bustier and the "Baby", another great voice of our time by a San Francisco trans-dyke expresses the assumptions of gender. He shares his point of view in how the people he encounters judge and assume her gender. I love how he uses dialogue when arguing with his voice and sets up the situations of people's assumptions such as when he states:
"Of course, there are still people who slip up. Looking right at me—let’s just say that I get called sir fairly regularly and haven’t purchased anything in a women’s department in over 10 years—people will actually say things like "Your mom taught you how to knit, right?" When I look at them like the angry bulldagger that I am in that moment, they will even insist, "Oh, come on! At some point in your life you’ve knitted!" They’re sure they’re right and I’m just trying to be something (a man) that I’m not (because I do have the booblets)."
He blends their remarks from others with a bluntly truthful perspective of his thoughts and feelings. And I love how he plays on gender roles and come-backs such as when he encounters a guy who disrespects him at the gym by calling him 'baby' and then thinks of some come-backs after the incident:
"The supply of come-backs that queers develop over years and rarely ever use came flooding in. (The best ones: "You could call my girlfriend baby if you could even imagine someone so hot!" and "Your girlfriend calls me baby when I'm fucking her with my 10-inch cock, you midget!")"
His voice amplifies and enlightens those that take a two gender system without question and to challenge the meaning of sex/gender within our society. Great voices! Check them out, you might learn a thing or two.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
