Posts Categorized: Sex and Culture
When it Comes to Consent, There is No Gray Area
I intended to write this post and have it up last week so it would be more timely, but due to a death in the family, I was unable to and had to save it for this week. This past weekend, Auburn University’s chapter of Alpha Psi hosted their annual Rodeo, an outdoor country concert held each spring. It is not university-sponsored, but it still remains something of an Auburn tradition. In the week leading up, the campus Walmart is rearranged so the essentials are up by the cash register: cowboy hats, denim, and cheap beer. People come from all over the southeast to experience the atmosphere and excitement. As luck has it, it typically rains the days preceding Rodeo, which means that everyone who attends is standing in the… Read more »
The Uncomfortable Truth About TV Sex
There are a long list of things that are wrong with TV sex scenes. From the overall heteronormative approach most shows take, to the complete erasure of foreplay, all the way to that weird type of scene used to signify that “the deed is done” where both people fall back on the bed as if they had just both somehow been in an upright position facing the camera. (Seriously, can somebody please show me a position where that scene makes sense? Is this a common enough move that it’s acceptable for nearly every sex scene to end this way?) But alas, there are greater problems than the position in which nearly all TV love-makers end up. I’d argue that in a majority of TV shows that I’ve watched, there is an… Read more »
Sexual Assault Awareness Month Provides Chance to Stand with Survivors
****Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault**** Today is the first day of April, which means it is the beginning of Sexual Assault Awareness month. Awareness about sexual assault, and most issues in our society, is crucial to the creating action. There is a lot about sexual assault that our society needs to made aware of, and there is no way I can capture it all in one blog post. But, I’ll try to do my best to discuss certain issues that I think really matter. We have to stop with the victim blaming Sexual assault is NEVER a survivor’s fault. They weren’t too drunk or dressed too provocatively; they were taken advantage of and hurt. They were violated, and it is not their fault. If you look at a sexual assault survivor and ask… Read more »
Kansas Law Creates a Bounty for Trans Students
This month, the Kansas state legislature passed two bills that pay students to openly discriminate against their trans peers. Unfortunately, Governor Brownback signed both bills into law. One of them forces institutions to pay religious student organizations for partaking in active exclusion of any group under the guise of religious liberties. The second effectively places a bounty on trans students who use the restroom that they are most comfortable in by saying that they are a threat to ‘physical privacy.’ The ironically named Student Physical Privacy Act, states that students using facilities designated for the opposite sex of their biological sex threaten the psychological and physical safety of others. This narrow definition of biological sex completely excludes intersex folks from the discussion. The language of the Act also states that public schools, including universities, need… Read more »
Thoughts on Kim Kardashian’s Nude Selfie and Reproductive Justice
This week Kim Kardashian West posted a selfie online in which she was naked with black bars covering her breasts and vagina. Of course, slut-shamers everywhere saw this as a chance to attack Kim and reiterate their belief that she is a bad example for young girls, her daughter, etc. Several celebrities took to Twitter to shame Kim also, people who call themselves feminists told Kim she is bad for women and children. Which seems pretty counter-productive to me. There are a lot of issues feminists have to worry about and fight to change — Kim’s nude selfie is not and should not be anywhere on that list. It’s her body, and therefore her decision to share or not share.Thankfully, Kim took to Twitter and her website to clap back at… Read more »
Where are the Reproductive Health Resources for Every Body?
When I graduated from high school, I realized that I had made it through an entire life science class without ever learning how, exactly, my own reproductive organs worked. More specifically, I sort of attributed everything to the testes and the prostate- the only two organs I knew were a part of me down there besides the obvious set of muscles and tubes. I knew nothing of seminal vesicles, Cowper’s glands or any of the hormones that are traded inside my reproductive organs besides testosterone. Perhaps this is the reason so many commercials try to sell any perceived unhappiness as the result of “Low T” in the male body– a natural phenomenon that may be responsible for hair loss, but certainly not for an unsatisfying career behind a desk. Since… Read more »
Is Campus Carry Safe for Everyone?
Starting August 1, exactly fifty years after the infamous shooting at the University of Texas, the state of Texas will begin implementing a new law commonly known as “Campus Carry.” Once this law is enforced, it will allow individuals with concealed handgun licenses to carry a concealed weapon on the property of any public university in the state of Texas. The university president of each school is in charge of developing the policies and guidelines that their campus will follow in regards to the new law. Students all over the state have been demonstrating how they feel about the new law being put into place (Remember last years’ protests, Cocks not Glocks?). There have been protests, petitions and various forums for students and faculty to share their opinions and concerns…. Read more »
It’s Long Past Time to Stop Favoring Athletics Over Justice
[Trigger warning: rape, sexual assault] Bodda getta, bodda getta, bodda getta, bah! Rah, rah, rah! Sis-boom-bah! Weagle, weagle, war damn eagle! Kick ‘em in the butt, big blue! If you don’t understand what any of that meant, don’t worry. It’s an Auburn University thing. I go to a school that loves football and tradition just as much as—okay, probably a little more than—the education of its students. This doesn’t bother me, because I love sports and I love the traditions that go with them (throwing my hat onto the ice at a hockey game is on my bucket list). What does bother me is when college athletics are valued over the safety of other students. It seems that every few months, another university is coming under fire for sweeping sexual… Read more »
The Best Rape Joke I Ever Heard
Trigger warning: rape, violent language Yes, you read that title correctly. But let me explain. I couldn’t sleep a few weeks ago and was looking through videos on one of my favorite websites, Everyday Feminism, when I stumbled across this slam poem that absolutely took my breath away. I can’t tell you exactly how many times I’ve watched it since first discovering it, but the number is in the dozens. The poets call out many of the worst aspects of rape culture. For instance: “Don’t worry, we’re good victims. We won’t cry too loud, or demand your attention, or ask for trigger warnings.” I personally think trigger warnings are wonderful, and as someone who is triggered by certain things, I find them incredibly helpful sometimes. Unfortunately, there are many who… Read more »
Getting Your Period Shouldn’t Be This Expensive
I admit that, until recently, I was only aware of the luxury tax on tampons in the UK. I didn’t think it was a problem anywhere else, probably because of the strong media campaign that has been used to target and change the tax code on menstrual supplies in the UK. The issue on the domestic front has not seen the same amount of media frenzy, which could play into some of the reasons we aren’t talking about it stateside. One could speculate that part of the reason tampon taxes don’t received the same kind of media push back in the US is that there isn’t one uniform tax code to fight. States all set their own guidelines for sales tax. But that only makes tampon tax harder to fight… Read more »
