culture

Herbert's column in the NY Times this morning reprises his claims about the misogyny of prostitution and pornography but in a different context this time and with some unwittingly apt parallels.

Readers of this blog know that I have a very different analysis of sex work, one that doesn't assume that prostitution or pornography are inherently and essentially misogynistic, so I won't reprise that here. (You can get a glimpse of some of that here and here) Instead, I'd like to point out some of the things I think make Herbert's analysis here especially weak, including some false assumptions about causality, and unfortunate parallels to sports and the military.

I can't tell you how much it angers me that people who claim to care about the dangers faced by gender non-conforming teens contribute to that danger by insisting that the closet is the only source of safety and by spouting the kind of rhetoric that endangers the teens in the first place.

(Transcript here.)

It's Labor Day in the United States, and in the US for many people that doesn't mean "let's celebrate workers," it means "let's get to the beach" so I was pleased to find a story in this morning's New York Times that was a beach-related public/private space kind of story that touches on issues of sexuality and human rights.

The question is whether the Boardwalk Pavilion in Ocean Grove, NJ, is public space or private space, and whether the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association (a Methodist organization) must let the space be used by by gay and lesbian couples for the same purposes that straight couples use it: that is, for ceremonies celebrating their state-recognized unions.

I'm more than tired of all the uproar over whether sexuality is biologically determined or chosen. Actually, that's not true. I'm frustrated by the denial that sexuality isomplicated than that question would indicate, and the refusal to believe that the answer has no place in a discussion of rights for gays.

From the HRC "National Coming Out Day" page :

This year will also mark an important hallmark as National Coming Out Day, falls on the 20th anniversary of the 1987 Gay and Lesbian March on Washington, and the unfurling of the AIDS Quilt on the National Mall. The very first National Coming Out Day was celebrated a year to the day later as a way of continuing the spirit of openness, honesty and visibility that the March and the AIDS Quilt presentation inspired. 

If you know of events in your area, please add them to the calendar! 

According to a Pew Research Center poll on attitudes toward premarital sex 38 percent of adults in the US think that premarital sex is always or almost always wrong (note that the question is framed in terms of heterosexual couples only).

I thought this was odd given that a much smaller percentage of people actually do wait until they are married before having sex, so I poked around in some of the charts. In terms of basic demographics, there are predictable differences between people's attitudes depending on their age group, with older respondents being more likely than younger ones to think that premarital sex is wrong. Other demographic factors that are correlated with a greater likelihood of thinking premarital sex is wrong include income (as income goes up tolerance for premarital sex also goes up) and education (people with more education are less likely to think that premarital sex is wrong), thought the differences are small.

Location(s)

A conference that brings together sexologists, sociologists, technicians, artists, philosophers, and lots of people who, predictably, cross such arbitrary boundaries!

From the Arse Elektronika 2007 "About " page:

From the depiction of a vulva in a cave painting to the newest internet porno, technology and sexuality have always been closely linked. No one can predict what the future will bring, but history indicates that sex will continue to play an essential role in technological development.

For a list of speakers, click here.  

For the schedule, click here. 

That depends: It will only be a SXSW panel if enough people vote for it, so head over to our SXSW panel picker page and vote! (You'll need to register there to vote, but I promise you it isn't a terrible process, and it's not like you'll have to remember the password for long!)

SXSW (which stands for South By Southwest) is a week-long annual music, film and "emerging technologies" festival that takes place in Austin, TX. The SXSW Interactive festival focuses on the emerging technologies part.

Chandra Marie Schaefer was just sending the groom off to his wedding with one last wild oat to remember (via the AP wire on Lycos, and an article at The Forum in Fargo to which I no longer have access and can’t link). Nathan Ross Blair had apparently carried his bachelor party a bit far, and was reported to police by a friend at about 3:15 AM for flashing a peek above his garters to passing motorists. He was wearing a kilt, and it seems reasonable to assume that the residents of Fargo, ND are now privy to the answer to the age old question of what Scotsmen wear underneath those things.

Ms. Schaefer apparently liked what she saw, as the pair was arrested and charged with indecent exposure and fornication when the police found them near a tree and away from the car where they began their tryst.

Ms. Schaefer pleaded guilty and received a $300 fine and a year of unsupervised probation for her her troubles, while Mr. Blair pleaded not guilty and has a date with the judge on October 16.

No word on whether they will speak to the back-stabbing friend again.

Also no word on whether the bride showed up at the chapel.

From whence came the art:

That photograph is titled Wedding Procession, by Taylor Dundee.

Crossposted at UDoJ .