culture

Cultural studies and commercial sex: a form of liberation
Submitted by Laura Agustín on 24 July 2009 - 3:38amMuch of what is said about the sex industry revolves around a single question: Is it okay or not? This question can be phrased in many ways: Is it okay that prostitution exists? Can street hooking ever be a real job? Is everyone who sells sex exploited or free? To address this question, most people talk about their own experience or that of the people they know personally or did research with, after which they extrapolate to a bigger group. But in the end it’s a question with different answers for different people in different places and moments in their lives.
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Note to Bob Herbert: Misogyny is much more complicated!
Submitted by Elizabeth on 15 January 2008 - 6:44pmHerbert'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.
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Bill O'Reilly: straight teens don't have any sexuality to flaunt
Submitted by Elizabeth on 12 November 2007 - 6:13pm
Over the Boardwalk
Submitted by Elizabeth on 3 September 2007 - 4:12pmIt'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.
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The "Biology v. Choice debate" has no place in a discussion of sexual freedom and civil rights
Submitted by Elizabeth on 29 August 2007 - 11:40pmI'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.
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National Coming Out Day
Submitted by Elizabeth on 27 August 2007 - 7:01pmFrom 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!

Some thoughts on religiosity and sex
Submitted by Elizabeth on 27 August 2007 - 8:44amAccording 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.
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Arse Elektronica
Submitted by Elizabeth on 21 August 2007 - 4:43pmA 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.

Sexerati
Submitted by Elizabeth on 21 August 2007 - 12:35pm
Pink Ghetto Blasters -- A new sort of superhero or a SXSW Panel?
Submitted by Elizabeth on 21 August 2007 - 12:33amThat 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.
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