A 45-minute documentary from CBC about the G Spot: link. (disclaimer: I've only had a chance to watch the first 5 minutes, but so far, it seems pretty decent - usually CBC documentaries are really good)
Changing perspectives on women's sexual desire.
This is a follow-up to the post from last week about recent research comparing men's and women's sexual behaviour. It's a brief review of a new book, What Do Women Want, by Daniel Bergner. The book has received piles of press attention. From The Atlantic:
How Strong Is the Female Sex Drive After All?
Women may be more sexually omnivorous than men, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're as hungry.
Daniel Bergner, a journalist and contributing editor to the New York Times Magazine, knows what women want--and it's not monogamy. His new book, which chronicles his "adventures in the science of female desire," has made quite a splash for apparently exploding the myth that female sexual desire is any less ravenous than male sexual desire. The book, What Do Women Want, is based on a 2009 article, which received a lot of buzz for detailing, among other things, that women get turned on when they watch monkeys having sex and gay men having sex, a pattern of arousal not seen in otherwise lusty heterosexual men.
That women can be turned on by such a variety of sexual scenes indicates, Bergner argues, how truly libidinous they are. This apparently puts the lie to our socially manufactured assumption that women are inherently more sexually restrained than men--and therefore better suited to monogamy.
But does it really?
Detailing the results of a study about sexual arousal, Bergner says: "No matter what their self-proclaimed sexual orientation, [women] showed, on the whole, strong and swift genital arousal when the screen offered men with men, women with women and women with men. They responded objectively much more to the exercising woman than to the strolling man, and their blood flow rose quickly--and markedly, though to a lesser degree than during all the human scenes except the footage of the ambling, strapping man--as they watched the apes."
Read the rest here.
Gender bias in sexuality self-reporting.
From Ohio State University:
Men, Women Lie About Sex to Match Gender Expectations
For Other Behaviors, People Care Less about Meeting Norms
People will lie about their sexual behavior to match cultural expectations about how men or women should act – even though they wouldn’t distort other gender-related behaviors, new research suggests.
The study found that men were willing to admit that they sometimes engaged in behaviors seen by college students as more appropriate for women, such as writing poetry. The same was true for women, who didn’t hide the fact that they told obscene jokes, or sometimes participated in other “male-type” deeds.
But when it came to sex, men wanted to be seen as “real men:” the kind who had many partners and a lot of sexual experience. Women, on the other hand, wanted to be seen as having less sexual experience than they actually had, to match what is expected of women.
“There is something unique about sexuality that led people to care more about matching the stereotypes for their gender,” said Terri Fisher, author of the study and professor of psychology atThe Ohio State University’s Mansfield campus.
“Sexuality seemed to be the one area where people felt some concern if they didn’t meet the stereotypes of a typical man or a typical woman.”
Fisher discovered how people would honestly respond to questions about sexuality and other gender-role behaviors by asking some study participants questions when they thought they were hooked up to a lie detector machine.
The study appears in a recent issue of the journal Sex Roles.
Participants were 293 college students between the ages of 18 and 25.
The students completed a questionnaire that asked how often they engaged in 124 different behaviors (from never to a few times a day). People in a previous study had identified all the behaviors to be typical of either males (such as wearing dirty clothes, telling obscene jokes) or females (such as writing poetry, lying about your weight). Other behaviors were identified as more negative for males (singing in the shower) or more negative for females (poking fun at others).
But some people filled out the questionnaire while they were attached to what they were told was a working polygraph machine or lie detector. (It was actually not working.)
The others were connected to the apparatus before the study began, supposedly to measure anxiety, but the machine was removed before they completed the questionnaire.
In general, the results showed that both men and women tended to act as would be expected for their gender. Men reported more typical-male behaviors and women reported more typical-female behaviors, regardless of whether they were attached to the lie detector or not.
But for non-sexual behaviors, the participants didn’t seem to feel any added pressure to respond in stereotypical ways for their gender.
In other words, women who were hooked up to the lie detector and those who weren’t were equally likely to admit to bench pressing weights – a stereotypical male activity.
“Men and women didn’t feel compelled to report what they did in ways that matched the stereotypes for their gender for the non-sexual behaviors,” Fisher said.
The one exception was sexual behavior, where, for example, men reported more sexual partners when they weren’t hooked up to the lie detector than whey they were. Women reported fewer partners when they were not hooked up to the lie detector than when they were. A similar pattern was found for reports of ever having experienced sexual intercourse.“Men and women had different answers about their sexual behavior when they thought they had to be truthful,” Fisher said.
This result confirms what Fisher found in an earlier study, back in 2003 – with one important difference.
Back in 2003, women went from having fewer sexual partners than men (when not hooked up to a lie detector) to being essentially even to men (when hooked up to the lie detector.)
In this new study, women actually reported more sexual partners than men when they were both hooked up to a lie detector and thought they had to be truthful.
“Society has changed, even in the past 10 years, and a variety of researchers have found that differences between men and women in some areas of sexual behavior have essentially disappeared,” she said.
Fisher said the results of the study may actually be stronger than what was found here. Although half the participants were not hooked up to the lie detector while completing the questionnaire, they had been hooked up before they started.
“Some of the participants may have been made uncomfortable by being attached to the lie detector at first, and that may have led them to be more forthcoming and truthful than they otherwise would have been,” she said.
Thursday mail - September 26th.
Have any questions or comments related to sex or sexuality? If so, fire away.
More PostSecrets.
in Humour Etc.
Penile implants: A trend in Filipino seafarers.
From the Atlantic:
The Strange Sexual Quirk of Filipino Seafarers
How the pressures of the shipping industry have shaped everything about this maritime culture. Right down to their penile implants.
[...]
Many Filipino sailors make small incisions in their penises and slide tiny plastic or stone balls -- the size of M&M's -- underneath the skin in order to enhance sexual pleasure for prostitutes and other women they encounter in port cities, especially in Rio de Janeiro. "This 'secret weapon of the Filipinos,' as a second mate phrased it, has therefore obviously something to do," Lamvik wrote in his thesis, "'with the fact that 'the Filipinos are so small, and the Brazilian women are so big' as another second mate put it.
According to University of California, Santa Cruz labor sociologist Steve McKay, who traveled extensively on container ships with Filipino crews in 2005 for his research on the masculine identity in the shipping market, raw materials for the bolitas can range from tiles to plastic chopsticks or toothbrushes. A designated crew member boils them in hot water to sterilize them, and then performs the procedure. There are also different preferred locations for insertion. Some have one on top or bottom, and others have both. One shipmate told McKay that others have four, one on top and bottom and on both sides, "like the sign of the cross." Another said: "I have a friend at home, you know what his nickname is?" McKay recalled. "Seven."
Read the rest here.
(Sissy) Bounce: Bridging the gap between straight and gay in the hip-hop world.
Bounce, and Sissy Bounce, have been around for a while now but it wasn't until the last few years that Bounce became popular outside of New Orleans, where it originated. A collaboration between Diplo, renowned beats artist, and Nicky Da B, one of the icons of Bounce, was pivotal in bringing Bounce into the spotlight. Here's the video (sort of NSFW):
Bounce, and Sissy Bounce in particular, represents a paradigm shift in the hip-hop scene, which has typically been very hostile to the LGBT community. Here's an article about Bounce from a few years ago that was featured in the New York Times:
New Orleans’s Gender-Bending Rap
[...]
Bounce itself has been around for about 20 years. Like most hip-hop varietals, it’s rap delivered over a sampled dance beat, but it has a few characteristics that give it a distinctively regional sound: it’s strictly party music, its beat is relentlessly fast and its rap quotient tends much less toward introspection or pure braggadocio than toward a call-and-response relationship with its audience, a dynamic borrowed in equal measure from Mardi Gras Indian chants and from the dawn of hip-hop itself. Many, if not most, bounce records announce their allegiance by sampling from one of just two sources: either Derek B.’s “Rock the Beat” or an infectious hook known as the “Triggaman,” from a 1986 Showboys record called “Drag Rap.” (That’s “drag” not as in cross-dressing but as in the theme to the old TV show “Dragnet.”) Just as the earliest New York rap records featured compulsory shout-outs to the boroughs, lots of bounce songs will demand (especially when performed live) audience acknowledgment of the city’s various neighborhoods and housing projects (“Shake it for the Fourth Ward/Work it for the Fifth Ward”), even those that have been razed. Otherwise the lyrics are mostly about sex and are so habitually obscene that they have helped keep bounce from spreading too far beyond its New Orleans borders. The success of bounce-tinged New Orleans artists like Lil Wayne and Juvenile notwithstanding, at least one New Orleans record-company executive speculates that major labels consider unadulterated bounce too hard to distribute, because it can’t be played on most radio stations or even sold in many venues.
The overwhelming majority of bounce artists are, of course, straight. But 12 years ago, a young drag queen who goes by the name Katey Red shocked the audience by taking the mic at an influential underground club near the Melpomene housing project where she grew up, and in that star-is-born moment, a subgenre of bounce took root. It is a sad understatement to say that homosexuality and hip-hop make for an unlikely fusion: hip-hop culture is one of the most unrepentantly homophobic cultures in America, surpassing even its own attitudes toward women in bigotry and smirking advocacy of violence. But New Orleans’s tolerance of unlikely fusions is legendary, and today Katey Red, along with a handful of other artists — Big Freedia (who grew up four blocks from Katey and started out as one of her background vocalists), Sissy Nobby, Chev off the Ave, Vockah Redu (who was captain of the dance team at Booker T. Washington High School) — are not just accepted mainstays of the bounce scene but its most prominent representatives outside New Orleans. Katey recently received a New Orleans consecration of sorts when she appeared as herself, unidentified, in an episode of the HBO series “Treme,” with her song “So Much Drama” playing in the background.
Read the rest here.
And here's a fun recent documentary (sort of NSFW):
Sexpectations.
in Humour Etc.
From College Humor:
Sexual assault PSAs from India.
Over the last year, several high-profile rape cases in India have drawn worldwide attention, the most infamous being the gang rape and subsequent death of a physiotherapy student (link). Historically, cases of sexual assault have not been taken seriously, in particular by the Indian Criminal Justice System. Due to large protests and pressure created by the media, this is beginning to change (link). Julia (thanks!) from class sent along a couple of related public service announcements (PSAs).
From IBN Live:
Rape? Ladies, it's your fault: Kalki Koechlin features in viral video
New Delhi: A group of stand-up comedians known as 'AIB' has come up with a satirical video in the wake of recent sexual assault cases in India. The group consists of Tanmay Bhat, Gursimran Khamba, Rohan Joshi and Ashish Shakya. Bollywood actress Kalki Koechlin and VJ Juhi Pandey have featured in the video. The campaign is called 'It's Your Fault', and it showcases different dimensions of a victim's life. Take a look.
And from Buzzfeed:
India’s Incredibly Powerful "Abused Goddesses" Campaign Condemns Domestic Violence
Save Our Sisters is an anti-sex trafficking initiative. This is their print campaign.
Ad agency Taproot physically recreated scenes from old hand-painted images of Indian goddesses.
Makeup was used to add bruises and wounds to the models before photographing them.
All the props were either real or painted on, keeping both authenticity and realism in mind.
“Pray that we never see this day. Today, more than 68% of women in India are victims of domestic violence. Tomorrow, it seems like no woman shall be spared. Not even the ones we pray to.”
Each ad includes a phone number to report abuse to “Save Our Sisters.”
The campaign simply and effectively captures India’s most dangerous contradiction: that of revering women in religion and mythology, while the nation remains incredibly unsafe for its women citizens.
Last year alone, 244,270 crimes against women were reported in the country.
For more information on the “Save Our Sisters” initiative, visit their website.More of the photos here.
Debate.org: Circumcision.
Circumcision is a highly controversial procedure. The debate tends to be polarizing and is messy, in the sense that it represents the intersection of medicine, science, tradition, sexuality, aesthetics, religion, and politics. A recent debate at Debate.org asked, "Do females prefer males who have circumcised penises?" There are hundreds of responses. Here's a sample and the current results (which cluster around 50:50 over time). Click to make larger:
All of the other comments for and against here.
Student proves gay marriage unnatural by using magnets.
From the International Business Times (and reported elsewhere):
Homosexuality Is Unnatural, Claims Nigerian Student Who Uses Magnets To Prove Gay Marriage Is Wrong
A student at the University of Lagos in Nigeria has conducted a study in which he attempts to present homosexuality and gay marriage as unnatural, by drawing an analogy to identical poles of magnets that cannot be attracted to each other.
Chibuihem Amalaha, a postgraduate student at the university, claimed, based on his observations of magnets, that a man would only attract a woman, according to the laws of nature. A man cannot attract another man or a woman cannot attract another woman because they are the same, he claimed.
“In recent time I found that gay marriage, which is homosexuality and lesbianism, is eating deep into the fabric of our human nature all over the world and this was why nations of Sodom and Gomora were destroyed by God because they were into gay practice,” Amalaha was quoted by This Day Live, a Nigerian news website, as saying.
The news about the controversial research comes on the heels of a recent threat by the U.K. to cut foreign funding for AIDS and HIV outreach programs if Nigeria proceeded with legislature to ban gay marriage in the country and frame a law under which gay rights supporters could be sentenced to 14 years in prison.
“I asked myself why should a man be marrying a man and a woman marrying a woman, does it mean that there is no more female for a man to marry or there is no more male for a woman to marry?” Amalaha said. “And recently, Britain told Nigeria to legalize gay marriage of forfeit international aid. I thank God for our lawmakers who refused to sign the bill legalizing gay marriage.”
According to Amalaha, the staff at the University of Lagos praised his work hoping that he would win the Nobel prize one day for his research, as what he has done is “real and nobody has done it in any part of the world.”
“I used two bar magnets in my research. A bar magnet is a horizontal magnet that has the North Pole and the South Pole, and when you bring two bar magnets and you bring the North Pole together you find that the two North Poles will not attract,” Amalaha said. “They will repel, that is, they will push away themselves showing that a man should not attract a man.”
Nigeria is considered one of the world’s most anti-gay nations. Homosexuality and same-sex marriage have been barred in the country since colonial days. And, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Nigeria face unique legal and social challenges, which are not experienced by non-LGBT residents in the country. According to a 2013 study by the Pew Research Center, 98 percent of Nigerians believe society should not accept homosexuality as a way of life.
South African LGBT website Mambaonline has criticized Amalaha’s claim, while calling the article published on the This Day Live “embarrassing.”
“The uncritical and uninformed article is likely to add to the ignorance and prejudice surrounding homosexuality in Nigeria,” Luiz DeBarros of Mambaonline said.
Coffee ad.
Evolution and the shape of the penis.
Some evolutionary psychologists have proposed a specific adaptive function for the shape of the penis. The argument is that the glans, and more specifically the corona, scrapes and plunges competitors' sperm out of the vagina.
Scientific American did a piece on the theory, with commentary from the various researchers working in the area. Here are some of the highlights from the article:
It turns out that one of the most significant features of the human penis isn’t so much the glans per se, but rather the coronal ridge it forms underneath. The diameter of the glans where it meets the shaft is wider than the shaft itself. This results in the coronal ridge that runs around the circumference of the shaft—something Gallup, by using the logic of reverse-engineering, believed might be an important evolutionary clue to the origins of the strange sight of the human penis.
“A longer penis would not only have been an advantage for leaving semen in a less accessible part of the vagina, but by filling and expanding the vagina it also would aid and abet the displacement of semen left by other males as a means of maximizing the likelihood of paternity.”
The answer, according to Gallup, is their penises were sculpted in such a way that the organ would effectively displace the semen of competitors from their partner’s vagina, a well-synchronized effect facilitated by the “upsuck” of thrusting during intercourse. Specifically, the coronal ridge offers a special removal service by expunging foreign sperm. According to this analysis, the effect of thrusting would be to draw other men’s sperm away from the cervix and back around the glans, thus “scooping out” the semen deposited by a sexual rival.
They also suggest that it's possible for a woman to get pregnant from a man she's never had sex with:
Gallup and Burch also leave us with a very intriguing hypothetical question. “Is it possible (short of artificial insemination),” they ask, “for a woman to become pregnant by a man she never had sex with? We think the answer is ‘yes.’”
If “Josh” were to have sex with “Kate” who recently had sex with “Mike,” in the process of thrusting his penis back and forth in her vagina, some of Mike’s semen would be forced under Josh’s frenulum, collect behind his coronal ridge, and displaced from the area proximate to the cervix. After Josh ejaculates and substitutes his semen for that of the other male, as he withdraws from the vagina some of Mike’s semen will still be present on the shaft of his penis and behind his coronal ridge. As his erection subsides the glans will withdraw under the foreskin, raising the possibility that some of Mike’s semen could be captured underneath the foreskin and behind the coronal ridge in the process. Were Josh to then have sex with “Amy” several hours later, it is possible that some of the displaced semen from Mike would still be present under his foreskin and thus may be unwittingly transmitted to Amy who, in turn, could then be impregnated by Mike’s sperm.
The full article, including a description of the study using various dildos, an artificial vagina and starch goo, can be found here.
Thursday mail - September 19th.
Have any questions or comments related to sex or sexuality? If so, fire away.
New blog post on female circumcision (FGM).
From Psychology Today:
Prisoners of Biology What the practice of female genital mutilation teaches us by Robert James King, Ph.D.
No gags or quips this week. My topic is female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and this is not a joking matter. It does, however, demonstrate that no culture is neutral about female orgasm. Some cultures celebrate it, others deny its existence and indeed go to some trouble to prevent it. Over-enthusiatic reports from anthropologists that this or that culture does not have female orgasm should be taken with a large grain of salt. Some researchers have been a little too quick to take difference at face value.
It has become fashionable in some quarters to decry the fact that behavioural scientists only investigate WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich and Democratic) populations. The population that receives FGM/C is largely, though not as you shall see, exclusively—not like this. Therefore, findings about them should be of especial interest.
What is FGM/C?
Something like three million women a year--mostly in sub-Saharan Africa--receive some level of genital mutilation. This is usually done at a very young age. Ayaan Hirsi Ali vividly describes her experience at the age of five. FGM/C can range from a comparatively mild incision to a full “scraping clean” of the external genitalia—leaving a smooth flat surface devoid of the clitoral glans and labia. This so-called “Full Pharonic” is every bit as ghastly as it sounds, and produces injuries far too shocking to post pictures of on a family friendly website. This injury is then sewn-up (infibulated). The resultant stitches are expected to be burst on the woman’s wedding night. Injuries and complications abound and are discussed in detail here (strong stomachs required). Those who want full details should read Prisoners of Ritual by the incomparable Hanny Lightfoot Klein and I would like to take the opportunity to thank her again for her help and support during my research. You can get a flavour of this remarkable woman here. Please support her work.
Read the rest, including why Westerners should do some self-relfection before getting embroiled in cultural imperialism, and some things about FGM that may come as a surprise to you, here.
Sex questions.
in Attitudes, Sex Ed, Humour Etc.
From Thought Catalogue:
25 Mind-Numbingly Stupid Sex Questions People Actually Had To Ask On Yahoo! Answers
See the other 19 here.
Reusable tampons.
There seems to be growing interest in non-disposable menstruation products due to a slow cultural shift towards increased sustainability. There are now several products on the market that are reusable, including menstrual cups, as described in class and a previous blog post.
This seems to be a pretty reasonable description of reusable tampons, with links, from Reusable Menstrual Products, an information site:
Reusable tampons offer the advantages of an internal product, with the advantages of a reusable one. They can be cheaper than Menstrual Cups, however they may be more likely to cause TSS and can be harder to clean.
Reusable tampons can be purchased from a few online stores or they can be handmade - in sewn, knit or crochet form. Some women purchase cotton baby socks and use these rolled up as tampons.
Making a sewn version is simply a case of cutting out a rectangle of cloth (here I've used organic cotton jersey), sewing it into a tube, filling it with something absorbent (Like bamboo fleece or cotton terry), sewing it closed and (securely) sewing on a string. The advantage of this style is that it is used much the same as a disposable tampon and needs no rolling or fiddling around with. The disadvantage is that styles that can roll up will allow for easier cleaning than an absorbent-filled tube style.
Knit or crochet versions can be done in a cotton or bamboo yarn. Knitted tampons usually use the fact that a square or rectangle knit in "stocking" stitch will naturally want to roll. This rolling action makes it easy for the knitted tampon to stay rolled for easier insertion/removal. Crochet tampons sometimes have a flat roll up section, with a curved top to give the tampon a rounded end for more comfortable insertion.
Are they safe though? Well that's hard to say. The main contributing factor for TSS seems to be the rayon fibres in regular tampons (basically the bacteria multiplies readily on the rayon fibres and can cause TSS) All-cotton tampons have not be found to breed bacteria like rayon does. So it would seem that if an all-cotton disposable tampon is safer for you than a rayon one, then an all-cotton reusable tampon might be safer for you than a rayon disposable one. Regular disposable tampons are not sterile (just because they are white, wrapped in plastic and look sterile doesn't mean they are). Other things that go into vaginas also aren't sterile (penises, vibrators, fingers etc.). You could boil or soak the tampons in a sterilising solution if you wanted to.
You can find patterns and instructions for knit/crochet tampons here:
- http://hyenacart.com/FernandFaerie/index.php?c=0&p=33864
- http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=178151.0
- http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=82588.0
- http://withatangledskein.blogspot.com/2008/06/mama-clothreusable-tampons.html
- http://www.etsy.com/shop/danilykewoah
- http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/period-pieces/370226/1-25#13
- http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/reusable-tampon
- http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/washable-crocheted-tamponsThere are a few sellers on Etsy offering reusable tampons: link and link.
More PostSecrets.
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Sex ed, Mississippi style.
in Sex Ed
Vulva visor.
From the product homepage:
What On Earth Is The Va j-j Visor? The Va j-j Visor is a revolutionary, patent pending, protective vaginal shield designed to help protect a woman's inner vulva area (inner labia, clitoris, and vaginal opening). The Va j-j Visor is a soft and flexible cup that covers the inner vulva area and naturally fits the shape of your body, while your body's natural muscular tension holds it effortlessly in place. It is also hypoallergenic, disposable and recyclable.
Why Do I Need The Va j-j Visor? The Va j-j Visor will help protect all of those tender and sensitive parts that you don't want exposed during various methods of hair removal. Brazilian and bikini waxing, depilatories and shaving, hair coloring, tanning or spa treatments. It can also be used as a hygienic shield while trying on swimwear or intimate apparel, and during body piercings and tattooing.
- Disposable
- Hypoallergenic
- Protects against UV rays
- Provides hygienic protection
- Recyclable
- Doctor recommended
- Made in the USA
- 100% satisfaction guaranteed
- Patent pending
- Tested and approved for laser hair removal
- CE Certification
And some commentary from Jezebel (read the comments at the bottom for even more):
Here's my conflicted train of thought re: the Va j-j visor, a "a revolutionary, patent pending, disposable shield designed to help protect a woman's inner vulva area (inner labia, clitoris, and vaginal opening)" while removing pubes that's "soft and flexible and will naturally fit to the shape of your body, while your body's natural muscular tension holds it effortlessly in place."
- Fuck the patriarchy.
- I consider myself an open-minded woman, but if I ever saw one of these pastel clit shields in a friend's bathroom, I'd reconsider our friendship.
- But why? Who am I to forbid someone who wants to protect their delicate parts with a purple plastic visor? It comes very highly recommended on drugstore.com!
- Not to be a bitch, but this seems pretty remedial. Can't you just use your hand? (Says a person who recently sprained her ankle while walking slowly down a street, so maybe I'm not one to talk about careful movements...)
- Great, can't wait to read the next "sex adventure" piece about the woman who tried a Va j-j visor!!! (THIS IS SARCASM!)
- Am I shaming women for writing about their personal experiences?
- Why does it have to be called the Va j-j Visor? Why? Why??