May 2013
41 posts
Student Drug Testing Programs Linked To Spikes In... →
Schools that institute student drug testing programs are likely to experience a rise in students’ consumption of ‘hard’ drugs, according to observational trial data published this week in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
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The Neurology of Disgust
If you’ve had the experience of being a teenage boy, you know that your body wasn’t particularly shy about revealing its sexual attractions. So, there I was with undeniable evidence I was attracted to men and stuck with the belief I was disgusting and broken. An abomination.
I’m happy to report, like so many members of the LGBT community, I stopped believing I was broken....
Education For Choice: The effect of homophobia and... →
edforchoice:
Happy #IDAHO! Or #IDAHOT. Or #IDAHOBIT.
Have a look at our blog on ensuring people of ALL (or no) genders and sexualities are able to access relevant, evidence-based resources on reproductive health.
This Trendy "Strong is the New Skinny" Thing (and... →
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“When we look in the mirror as a culture, our tendency toward hysteria always...”
– Hanne Blank and Heather Corinna, here, from 2001.
Nunavut uses comic book to do sex education |... →
Grade 8 students in Nunavut can now learn about sexual health with the help of a comic book, Eva Aariak, Nunavut’s premier and education minister said this week in the Nunavut legislature.
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The Truth Behind the Trope: Understanding the... →
What do we know about teen parents? Take a moment to make a mental list (or, if you’re motivated to get out a pen and paper, I won’t stop you) of all the facts and statistics you’ve heard. In case
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“You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a...”
– Mary Oliver
North Carolina Women Don 1960s Garb To Protest... →
North Carolina is advancing a measure that would effectively allow personal beliefs to trump women’s access to birth control. Under HB 730, employers in the state could decide not to include contraceptives in their workers’ insurance plans for any reason — a direct violation of the popular Obamacare provision that stipulates women should receive birth control coverage at no additional cost to...
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“The question is not whether or not abstinence-only education is working. I’m not...”
– Calah Alexander, here.
Physicians for Reproductive Health's Statement on... →
Physicians for Reproductive Health Board Chair-Elect Dr. Nancy Stanwood has issued the following statement: As doctors who have women’s health at the forefront of our mission and our practices, we are relieved that Kermit Gosnell will no longer be able to take advantage of vulnerable women. In Pennsylvania and many other states with restrictive laws, women face incredible barriers that...
Student Creates Wedding Dress Out of Divorce... →
Here comes the bride all dressed in … divorce papers? That was the ironic idea of Demi Barnes, 15, of West Sussex, England, who constructed a gown from more than 1,500 sheets of divorce papers for her school art project. “I wanted to create a wedding dress with meaning,” Barnes wrote to ABCNews.com in an email. “For me, the dress represents that too many people rush into marriage and end up...
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Half of Women Unaware that Pregnancy Is More...
About half of pregnant women incorrectly believe that hormonal contraception is more dangerous than pregnancy, according to new research presented today at the Annual Clinical Meeting of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Studies show that approximately 30% of women with an undesired pregnancy do not use contraception. Data on the number of women who do not use...
“I asked all of the gay male students in the room to raise their hand if in the...”
– Gay Men’s Sexism and Women’s Bodies by Yolo Akili (via plightofthepretty)
(via callingoutbigotry)
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For the mamas who don’t get love on Mother’s Day
“No one threw me a baby shower. No one said congratulations. My pregnancy was not celebrated. My child’s birth was seen as a failure,” Jayme, a strong teenage mother, shared with me during a checkup for her healthy young baby. I sympathized with her as a family doctor and as a young mother myself. What do you do when you don’t get any Mothers’ Day adoration? In spite of decades of work for...
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On the pill, patch or ring? Then "ovulation days"...
We keep getting users over the last couple years who are using a combined hormonal birth control method, but also still seem to think they do or will have normal ovulation cycles while using those methods.
For example, “Oh, gawd, I use the pill but I had sex and I’m sure this was during my ovulation time! Do I need Plan B?”
But if you’re using those methods properly? You...
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Obama Administration's Plan B Appeal Denied By... →
A federal judge on Friday denied the Obama administration’s request to delay his order that the Plan B morning-after pill be made available over the counter without age limits. The judge sharply rebuked the administration for appealing his decision, calling the move politically motivated,
“For the last three decades many Americans have puzzled over a system that gives...”
– Carrie Rickey
(via fireworkselectricbright)
“You have to question a cinematic culture which preaches artistic expression, and yet would support a decision that is clearly a product of a patriarchy-dominant society, which tries to control how women are depicted on screen. The MPAA is okay...
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Terrified of sperm being everywhere?
Now and then — and sometimes more often than that — we get users with earnest, profound and persistent fears of things like semen being on toilets, door handles, banisters, or hands after washing them and becoming pregnant. Facts about sperm, semen and pregnancy in reality don’t seem to help allay these fears.
If this sounds like you or someone you know, know that this usually...
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Just want to remind our readers that “it’s because of religion” is not some kind of magic spell that, when uttered, renders all other kinds of limits and boundaries, personal safeties, priorities or desires, invisible, impotent or unimportant.
Whether this is around sex or something else, a religion, of whatever sort, is just one way of having ethics, values and ideas about the...
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His Religious Beliefs Are No Condoms, But I Need...
sapphire12758 asks:
The guy I’m sleeping with really wants to have PIV sex with me, but he won’t wear a condom because he’s Roman Catholic. Everything else we’ve done has been amazing and I really want to do it, but I’m terrified of getting pregnant and I’ve already had a scare that I haven’t told him about. I’m on the pill now, but I know that it...
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Pro-Choice Activists In Ireland Risk Prison To... →
After the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar, the 31-year-old woman who died after being denied an abortion in an Irish Catholic hospital, the fight for reproductive rights has taken on a new fervor in Ireland. Activists flooded the streets to declare that Savita’s death won’t be in vain, demanding a policy shift in the socially conservative country’s stringent abortion laws. And now, inspired by...
[Scarleteen] Driver's Ed for the Sexual... →
oberlinsic:
Check out this great consent guide from Scarleteen! Especially useful for specific signs of verbal and nonverbal consent, and various ways to ask for consent.
International students at University of Minnesota... →
Boynton Health Service officials reported earlier this week that they’ve noticed an increase in abnormal pap smears, sexually transmitted diseases and positive pregnancy tests among international students.
Officials cited a lack of sex education as a possible cause for the recent uptick and are currently investigating the issue as well as collecting patient data.
Minnesota Judge Tosses Lawsuit Challenging... →
In Minnesota, low-income women will continue to be able to have insurance coverage for medically necessary abortions thanks to a recent ruling.
“As a society, we encourage girls and women to be emotionally accessible, and in...”
– Tori Amos (via ceedling)
United Nations: India Has Missed A ‘Golden’... →
“India missed a golden opportunity to tackle violence against women, by enacting a law that toughens punishments against sex offenders but fails to address the root causes and consequences of gender abuse, a U.N. expert said Wednesday.”
The Dartmouth: LGBT students discuss experiences... →
Members of the LGBT community shared personal anecdotes and discussed issues of homophobia, racism and classism at Dartmouth during a student panel called “Talk it Out.” The event, a highlight of Pride Week organized by Ashley Afranie-Sakyi ’13 and Van Melikian ’14, provided a space for discussion among diverse speakers and audience members.
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It Was Fun, and I Want to Tell My Friends, But....
Secret_girl asks:
I was with this guy down at the beach late in the night and we started to hook up. It got a bit heated and asked me if I wanted to try something new. I said yes (I consented). He started to eat me out following with me giving him oral.
I’m scared that if I tell any of my friends I’ll get judged. Girls are like that these days :( It’s not like I regret it or...
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An Infection Getting Worse and Worse: Can I Just...
Meghan_Hoover asks:
I am 15 and I just had sex for the first time last Friday. It was unprotected but he did not cum. The next morning I had pain. The pain continued through Saturday and Sunday. I thought the pain was from having sex for the first time, but it’s now Monday and I realized stinging while I pee, cloudy with some blood in it too, in addition to constantly having to pee and...
Midwives at heart of Somalia’s new reproductive... →
A reproductive health programme in Somalia is breaking new ground in rapidly expanding access to birth spacing services, safe childbirth, antenatal and postnatal care.
FDA Approves Over-The-Counter Morning After Pill... →
While the FDA initially recommended that Plan B be available without a prescription for women of all ages in 2011, the Obama Administration overruled that decision to restrict access over-the-counter access for those under the age of 17. Earlier this month, a U.S. federal judge ordered the FDA to remove that limitation, calling the emergency contraceptives “among the safest drugs sold over the...
Women’s issues must remain central to sustainable... →
In 1994 at the International Conference on Population Development (ICPD) in Cairo, 179 countries adopted a landmark 20-year Programme of Action, placing gender equality and women’s empowerment and reproductive rights at the center of population and sustainable development.
Last week, in a review of progress which took place in New York, a high-level task force strongly urged governments and the...
April 2013
52 posts
VIEWPOINT: Why Birth Control Needs To Be Both Over... →
In February, amidst the ongoing battle over religious employers and no co-pay contraception, the Obama administration quietly issued a set of frequently asked questions to shed light on how insurance companies should implement the health reform law’s new requirement to cover contraception with no cost sharing. The FAQ makes it crystal clear that insurers must cover the full range of FDA-approved...
I want to give my boyfriend oral sex, but he's... →
Our latest advice column looks at what to do when a partner (of any gender) doesn’t want to do a sexual activity that we ourselves want to do.
9 LGBT Athletes of Color Who Paved the Way for... →
“Sexuality and sports make for a complicated mix. Throw in race and the persistent obsession with what it means to be a man in America, and the conversation becomes impossibly loaded.
That’s why it’s so significant for the NBA’s Jason Collins to come out. By telling his story—and doing so while he’s still an active player—the 34-year-old Washington Wizards alumn has created a moment in...
What NBA Player Jason Collins’ Coming Out Says... →
Jason Collins, a 12-year National Basketball Association veteran who played the 2013 season for the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards, became the first active openly gay male in the four major American professional sports today, when he came out in a self-written articlethat will appear in the May 6 issue of Sports Illustrated.
Why "Gray Rape" Doesn't Exist | Scarleteen →
It’s Sexual Assault Awareness/activism Month 2013, yet this piece our long-time volunteer Joey wrote three years ago is just as much needed as ever. consent is not just the absence of no, and a “no” is an absolute message to stop.
Swarthmore College Allegedly Underreported Sexual... →
Another report of a college not responding helpfully or proactively to sexual assaults on campus.
Despite promises of zero tolerance, the Pentagon... →
Despite promises of zero tolerance, the Pentagon has nothing less than a sexual assault crisis on its hands. The Defense Department estimated last year that as many as 19,000 service members are sexually assaulted annually. Only a small fraction of the incidents, 3,192 in 2011, are reported, and a mere 10 percent of those cases proceed to trial — hardly enough to create meaningful deterrence to...
Dartmouth College Threatens To Discipline Students... →
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“Policymakers and the media often sensationalize teen sexual behavior, suggesting...”
– Full article here. 