God Hates Fags - an expensive proposition

Westboro Baptist Church has lost a court case in Maryland and now owes $11 million to a father of a dead soldier.

Church members strongly believe that the War in Iraq is our punishment for tolerance of homosexuality. To that end, they held a protest in March 2006 during the funeral of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq. Here are some of the signs that the group used during the protest:

• God Hates Fags
• Thank God for Dead Soldiers
• God Hates Fag Enablers
• God is Your Enemy

Church activists (Fred Phelps is the leader) believe that the ruling will be overturned on appeal and do not plan to stop protesting at other funerals.

In case you really wanted to see who God's favorite homophobe is, here he is. Meet Fred Phelps:

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Halloween '07: obliterating the sexy costume glass ceiling

Sure sexy mental patient is SOOOO Halloween 2006 but sexy 19oo's steel magnate! How are they ever going to up that?



Thanks for the link Ms. Nielsen!
Happy Halloween Everyone!!!!

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Halloween in the Castro canceled: Gay icon mourned

As some of our dear readers may know, the National Sexuality Resource Center and American Sexuality Magazine are based in San Francisco, California. For us, the news of the world-renowned Halloween Party in the Castro strikes particularly close to home. The NYTimes has a fantastic piece about how the canceling of this party indicates a national trend of declining "gayborhoods."

“The Castro, and to a lesser extent the West Village, was where you went to express yourself,” said Don F. Reuter, a New York author who is researching a book on the rise and fall of gay neighborhoods, or “gayborhoods.”

“Claiming physical territory was a powerful act,” Mr. Reuter said. “But the gay neighborhood is becoming a past-tense idea.”

I mourn the decline of the "gayborhood" like I mourn the decline of snail mail. I'm happy that there's a better way to organize GLBTQ life, like I'm happy I can send emails rather than letters.

I think gayborhoods are becoming less necessary as the country's urban areas became to acknowledge that gay people actually exist. This is a good thing. Though there is a unique gay culture in the gay ghetto, wouldn't it be better if GLBTQ communities didn't have to run to safe zones like the Castro? We have a long way to go before the entire country is GLBTQ safe, but having more urban centers than just San Francisco and Manhattan is a great first step.

Opinions aside, I loved this quote in the article from a Canadian tourist.

Amanda Rankin, a 40-year-old tourist from Hamilton, Ontario, was taking a “Cruisin’ the Castro” walking tour with three lesbian friends the other day.

“In America there still seems to be a lot of sexual repression left over from Puritanism and the pilgrims,” Ms. Rankin said. “Then there’s San Francisco.”

GO SAN FRANCISCO!

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Happy Miners Have Happy Wives? Lessons in Foreplay

In a sexual literacy kind of way, Australian mining company believes that sexually happy wives will improve their husbands' productivity. To that end, miners are getting lessons in foreplay and menopause behavior. In these "extra-curriculum" classes miners are taught to "start exploring their wives like they did when they were 18."

Happy miners come from Australia.

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code pink helps condi see code red

I did not expect to see "Code Pink" as the number six search in google trends this afternoon. This, after all, is the place we first heard of the Miss New Jersey nudie debacle (which became a blog goldmine). But there they were front and center on trends.

Apparently, a member of Code Pink infiltrated a congressional hearing and confronted Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. "The blood of millions of Iraqis is on your hands!" she screamed before being dragged out by security.

For those of you who don't know, Code Pink is "a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end the war in Iraq, stop new wars, and redirect our resources into healthcare, education and other life-affirming activities."

These ladies ain't no wussies: they're strong, in your face and not afraid of no handcuffs. They're also our work neighbors and wonderful people!

What I thought when reading about this, is how rare it is to see one woman attack another in a public forum. It kind of defies convention regarding how we believe women should interact in public. Though we're used to seeing congressMEN kick and scream at each other but seeing one powerful woman take on another...not so common. In fact, so not common that it makes google trends.

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Guliani: The king of awkward flip flops

It was lame enough that former New York Yankees fan and presidential hopeful Rudy Guliani came out of the closet as a Red-Sox fan during a swing through New Hampshire. But now, we've got a better reason to blush for Rudy's soul.

The New York Daily News, which rightly has a bone to pick with Guliani after he flipflopped on the Yankees, has quoted Guliani as saying:

"I took a city that was known for pornography and licked it to a large extent."

Many New Yorkers also remember Guliani's tenure having been speckled with licking pornography, ;).

On a more serious note, it's a shame that instead of talking about good governance and reducing crime during his NYC tenure, Guliani has begun to tout his record on "licking pornography." The Republican Presidential primary's "I hate gays, porn, and women more than the other candidates" contest makes me sick.

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Dumbledore is gay

Well, I really can't think of a better way to battle homophobia in schools. For those of you who haven't heard - Albus Dumbledore was outed as gay by his author J.K. Rowling. Such a respected character - someone who will stay for several generations through the books - is bound to help readers realize that being gay is ok.

This puts quite a different light on Albus' friendship and obsession with Grindelwald. At least now I understand Dumbledore's choices of action and delay in confronting Grindelwald later in life - love can make anyone blind.

Well, if Albus were still alive, we would ask him the same questions as we asked Harry:

1. Are the fireworks bigger in wizard or muggle sex?
2. Is it appropriate to use magical spells during love making, or is this considered cheap?
3. Are wizards immune to STDs and unwanted pregnancies? If not, are physical magical forms of contraception and protection more effective?
   

The news also of course gives some Christians another excuse to call for a ban on the books. Previously the Harry Potter series were criticized as corrupt and satanic.

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Sexual abuse in our schools

Here is a topic that few people want to talk about - sexual abuse of children in schools. It maybe our reverence for teachers or a general state of denial, but these cases just don't make the news. To make matters worse, those that are made public are treated with fascination - "what teenager wouldn't want to sleep with his teacher." When a case is reported for what it truly is, it is still treated as an isolated matter, creating the impression that sexual abuse is virtually non-existent. And yet the problem is widespread and much worse, as recently reported by the special AP investigation.

There are 3 million of teachers in the nation and it seems that teachers are just as prone to molestation as the Roman Catholic priests. And just like the priests, most teachers are being protected by their school districts. Like similar rape cases, most of the abuse incidents don't get reported. When the cases are reported, there is a general sense of embarrassment, which somehow translates into denial. The school districts then engage in practices known as "passing on the trash" or "mobile molester", basically amounting to accepting a resignation letter from the abusive teacher and not revoking their teaching licenses.

We are taught to respect and listen to our teachers - maybe that prevents us from recognizing that they are human beings who have the same weaknesses as the general population. There is also enormous stigma connected to sexual abuse, causing the victims hide the truth. Only ten percent of all abuse cases in schools are reported and only a small fraction of reported abusers are punished in any significant way.

You can read the report here.

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Pikachu has a vagina?

I had no idea!

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Cartoon Sex Ed: Family Guy, American Dad, Simpsons

This blog has moved over to our new website (nsrc.sfsu.edu). You can read this blog at:

http://nsrc.sfsu.edu/dialogues/users/rvaleev/blog/cartoon-sex-ed-family-guy-american-dad-simpsons

NSRC

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Sunday morning hypocrisy?

A story published at an awkward time - 9:13am on Sunday morning - for churchgoing Catholics and Christians chronicles a possible Vatican sex scandal. An excerpt from the article...

A Vatican official suspended after being caught on hidden camera making advances to a young man said in an interview published Sunday that he is not gay and was only pretending to be gay as part of his work...

The Vatican after acted Vatican officials recognized Stenico's office in the background of a television program on gay priests that was broadcast on Oct. 1 on La7, a private Italian TV network. Stenico was secretly filmed making advances to a young man and asserting that gay sex was not sinful.

Oh boy (sic), this is unfortunate for everyone. But, I have to say, there is something delicious for me when actively anti-gay people have to deal with gay scandals. Before you call me anti-Catholic, guess how I'd vote here.

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everyday terminations & a mother's plea

9 years ago today Matthew Shepherd was brutally beaten, his skull smashed in by the butt of the end of a gun, then savagely tied around a fence to rot slowly until his death 5 excruciatingly painful days later.

Today governor schwarzenegger vetoed, for the second time in two years, legislation that would have made same sex marriage legal in california.

Our governator claimed it should be left to the people of California to decide....which shows his complete lack of historical understanding--in 1967 over 90% of the population was dead set against granting interracial couples the right to marry when the Loving v. Virginia case finally made that possible.

That he chose to terminate this legislation today -- the anniversary of the largest sexuality based hate crime in history -- is unimaginable.

He could have heroically approved the legislation on National Coming Out day yesterday and instead chose to terminate it on a national day of cultural remembrance...

It is absolutely disrespectable to Matthew's memory--his family and all Americans. It just doesn't get much more evil than that.

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We are the Champions

Last night marked the second annual Champions of Sexual Literacy Awards Celebration at the Banker's Club here in sparkly SF...and I wanted to give a quick congratulations to our five Champions of Sexual Literacy award recipients:

The Education and Public Awareness Award : Kevin Jennings founder of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (www.glsen.org)

And for Equality and Policy: Assemblymember Mark Leno, who has worked tirelessly on issues of LGBT inclusion and equality all around during his stint in the assembly.
And thanks to Anna Damiana!

For Grassroots Activism: Heather Corinna, a phenom and sex education warrior who has a wonderful website, scarleteen.com, where she provides "Sex Ed for the Real World"

For Next Generation Activism: Samhita Mukhopadhyay, an editor and blogger at feministing.com, one of my favorite websites, a tireless advocate for youth. Samhita is also an alum (she has a Master in Women's from SFSU)

And, our very own Deb Tolman received the Founder's Award, for her role in founding the Center for Research on Gender and Sexuality.

AND Mayor Newsom declared October 11th 'Deb Tolman Day'. You know once you get your own day, you've made your mark!

Congratulations to one and all! And thank you for taking time out of your busy lives to attend the Champions Celebration especially to Kevin and Heather who flew far from home to accept their awards!

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Dear Abby is for Gay Marriage

Another champion of Sexual Literacy surfaced today - although many suspected as much. Jeanne Phillips (a.k.a. "Dear Abby") say it as straight (ha!) as possible: "I support gay marriage." The columnist whose writing appears in 1,400 newspapers is not afraid of backlash and believes that "if two people want to commit to each other, God bless 'em. That is the highest form of commitment, for heaven's sake."


Dear Abby is being honored by PFLAG this week through its "Straight for Equality" award. I can't try to compete with Abby's eloquent phrases, so I will just quote them below.

• Accepting the status quo is not always the best thing to do. Women were once considered chattel, and slavery was regarded as sanctioned in the Bible. However, western society grew to recognize that neither was just. Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain have recognized gay marriage, and one day, perhaps, our country will, too.
• Something civil unions and domestic partnerships would be less threatening to people who feel marriage is just a religious rite. I think anything less than full marriage amounts to second-class citizenship.
• If gay Americans are not allowed to get married and have all the benefits that American citizens are entitled to by the Bill of Rights, they should get one hell of a tax break.
• Include the photos, of course [of a transgender relative in the family album]. Silence is the enemy. Answer any questions the kids have honestly - Uncle John was born with a body of the wrong sex, so even when he was called Jane he was really John inside.

It is so great to hear call for equality and acceptance from such mainstream voice.

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Strippers earn more when they ovulate and are not on the pill

I've heard from lady friends of mine that they notice a considerable increase in number of come-ons and check outs during the ovulation part of their menstrual cycles. They generally attribute it to a pheromone thing, and I'm inclined to believe them without the scientific evidence to back it up. But now, here's some evidence.

Pyschology Today has published this study of New Mexico strip club employees that makes a strong link between ovulation and tips. An excerpt from the article...

Dancers made about $70 an hour during their peak period of fertility, versus about $35 while menstruating and $50 in between.

What blew me away was this:

Women on the pill averaged $37 (and had no performance peak) versus $53 for women off-pill. The contraceptive produces hormonal cues indicating early pregnancy, not an enticing target for a would-be suitor. Birth control could lead to many thousands of dollars lost every year.

This is fascinating stuff - and I definitely sent this article around those friends who noticed the difference over their period. I wonder if they've noticed a difference on the pill. Have any of our faithful readers noticed a difference in your pheromone output since you've been on the pill?

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shePhone - moving technology forward and feminism back

Where would you find a pregnancy test, an anti-depressent dispenser and a portable tanning laser all together? The bathroom at the Miss New Jersey pageant? Pamela Anderson's handbag?
Well...getting closer...it's the shePhone, the latest creation from popgadget.net:


The shePhone includes:

• Mini Rabbit vibrator
• Perfume dispenser
• Anti-depressant dispenser
• Dental floss
• Corkscrew (in case the anti-depressant run out)
• Pregnancy test
• Condom dispenser
• Cell-phone signal jammer - in case you really don't like that person next to you
• Voice analyzer - using the best CIA technology in lie detection via sound-waves
• Portable tanning laser

We applaud the creators' ability to combine just about every stereotype about tech-savvy women in one device. And the best part about the shePhone is that it's "made by women, for women". I just wonder if Ann Coulter is first in line to become the spokesperson.

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Sex scandals happen everywhere

Mike Rogers of Blogactive, notes a delicious article in, yes, Forbes magazine. They are interested in sex at Forbes. Well, in sex scandals, to be precise. Forbes has an article and a slideshow to show that sex scandals happen all over the world. No, dear reader, if you thought that this was a uniquely American thing, you were mistaken. All over the world. You have to see it.

Of course, the backdrop of this article is formed by the Republican Party's problems with sex. Vitter, Foley and Craig. Let's not forget that Duke Cunningham, now in prison, was often part of sex parties too. And so, Rogers rightly notes, we can only assume that we are to believe that, really, all these sex scandals are alright, because they happen all over the world.

Except. . . the other guys aren't gay bashers like the Republicans are. That is the difference.

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Government to the rescue: don't talk about sex with your kids

It would be hilarious if it wasn't sad. The government run website 4parents.gov is running an add to suggest that parents talk to their kids about not having sex. Of course, we all know by now that abstinence only education doesn't work. Sexuality education is the only area of education where the official policy is to keep students ignorant.

Now we can safely extend that ignorance into the homes. Heaven forbid that parents would actually teach their children about sex. No, the government says, parents should just tell their kids not to have sex until they are married.

The estimated median age at first marriage (MAFM) in the United States for 2000-2003 was 27 and 25 years old for men and women respectively. According to the US census. How many 25 year old virgins can there be in the country? Come to think of it, we are a war mongering nation.

And of course, there are those who don't want to or cannot get married. But parents, don't even talk to them.

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Good for Him: Craig is staying

Larry Craig's guilty plea has not been removed. He is still guilty. Of course, he is not guilty of anything that is worth mentioning, but in Minnesota they spend tax payer money to stop men from finding each other consensually.

Despite what he said, Craig will remain in the Senate until the end of his term.

Of course, the republicans are in a tizzy. "It's embarrassing for the Senate, it's embarrassing for his party," said Republican Senator John Ensign of Nevada.

(via: Mother Jones)

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Great discussion about sex ed happening in the comments

In a rather old post about sexuality education, we've got a great discussion going between regular readers. Check it out, and weigh in if you'd like.

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October is National Family Sexuality Education Month

Be strong and safe - talk to your family about being sexually healthy and happy! For resources, visit About.com's resource list.

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No wonder i have so many single friends

My favorite headline of the week
The Web: Just another way to avoid sex, friends
"Just another way?"

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BBC raises awareness about AIDS

There are those days when I weep about living in the US. This is one of them. In the build up to World AIDS Day, December 1, the BBC has launched a two month long awareness campaign. What is wrong with America that we cannot see ABC, NBC or CBS (forget Fox) doing something like that. And then, what if they did? It would probably be one of those terribly apoplectic affairs with high moralism and low usability. Simply because we are afraid to admit that we are human being and therefore sexual.

Help!!!

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