Exam 2 Flashcards
What themes do the authors of “Death of the Stork” identify as being present in children’s sex education books (specificity on subheading sections)
- Changing bodies = authors foreground the primary discussion of procreative sex with a brief anatomy lessons & equate biological sex with gender (penis / vagina). Labeled body parts.
- Making love & babies = vague, reinforces heterosexuality and represents PVI as the only example of sexual activity for men and women in loving relationships. None describing orgasm, and a cross between directions
- Having babies = brief discussion of growth of the fetus and changes in mothers bodies, authors describe how babies are born. Childbearing as wonderful job done together by a mommy and daddy and some show from the POV of the baby. none at home, mothers appear serene and peaceful.
- Teaching about touching = differentiate between touching that is “okay” and “not okay”. Differences between masturbation and abuse.
- Words you may have heard = limited discussions about variant sexual diversity (LGBTQ) men and women relationships as normative, and when they do talk about what is considered sub-deviant orientations to our normative culture, the topics are addressed for tolerance but they treat them also with a liberal short topics into sections of their own.
What perspective do the authors have on children’s sex education? How do they think we should approach children’s sex education?
The authors of “Death of a Stork” say that overall children’s sex ed books are notoriously heterosexist and devoid of discussions of gendered or sexual power dynamics.
In turn, authors sex ed books for kids are generally a step in the right direction and are better than nothing, but they are not as comprehensive or critical or political as they could be.
What is meant by AOUM? What are the authors’ positions on AOUM? Are they for it or against it?
[A]bstinance, [O]nly, [U]ntil, [M]arrige.
1996 - allocated $50 million
2009 - allocated $204 million
Teaches:
- social, psychological, health gains to abstention
- sexual activity expected from marriage
- abstinence only certain way to avoid out-of-wedlock pregnancy, STD’s /STI’s and health problems
- mutually faithful monogamy out of relationships
- bearing children out of wed-lock as harmful
- sexual activity outside of marriage as harmful
- how to reject sexual advances with abstention from drugs and alcohol
- teaches importance of attaining self sufficiency before engaging in sexual activity.
Authors are against it for: “It is clear that sexuality education must serve all youth with information, support and resources that allow young people to make informed decisions about their bodies and their sexual health. As you will see from what follows, young people desperately need and deserve far more information, sustained and safe convos with peers and adults, and more sophisticated critical skills to negotiate the pleasures and dangers of their active / uninformed sexual lives”
-What do the authors mean by saying they advocate for a framework of “thick desire”? (Sexuality Education and Desire: Still Missing After all these Years)
argues that young people are entitled to a broad range of desires for meaningful intellectual, political and social engagement, the possibility for financial independence, sexual and reproductive freedom, protection from racialized and sexualized violence, and a way to imagine living in the future tense.
- “Thick desire places sexual activity for all people, regardless of age or gender, within a larger context of social and interpersonal structures that enable a person to engage in the political act of wanting. Wanting can be interpreted in a number of ways, but essentially positions a young person as feeling entitled to that which comes in the future. It includes wanting to have unhindered access to structural and institutional supports, such as education, health care and protection from coercion…”
How do parents in the Netherlands understand and treat teenage sexuality differently from their American counterparts? (Hint: look to the different “cultures of independence and control”).
[Sex, Love, and Autonomy in the Teenage Sleepover]
2003 survey found that 2/3 of girls 15 - 17 with steady boy or girlfriends allowed to have them spend the night & vice versa.
- new moral cast that sexuality is a part of life that should be governed by self-determination, mutual respect and frank conversation and prevention of unintended consequences. these new rules were applied to minors and health care policies that removed financial and emotional barriers to accessing contraceptives including pelvic examinations and parental consent.
-The authors identify two factors as explaining the differences in attitudes between Dutch and U.S. parents in regards to teenage sexuality. What are they?
[Sex, Love, and Autonomy in the Teenage Sleepover]
- Religion = “Americans who do not view religion as a central force in their decision-making are much less likely to categorically condemn teenage sex. Christians and Muslims in Netherlands exhibit similar american attitudes”
How are health educators (& church leaders, nurses, social workers) using MTV shows such as 16 and Pregnant to teach about sex education? [Fighting Teenage Pregnancy with MTV Stars as Exhibit A]
- Why and how do they think this approach is effective?
- Do MTV shows on teen pregnancy glamorize and thus encourage teen pregnancy? (What is the position of the sex educators and the author?)
A. Using the shows to prompt discussion about sex education, family and romantic relationships and shattered dreams. Mrs. Clark notes how MTV’s teenage mothers try to manage school, sick babies, sleep deprivation rent, errant boyfriends and rear view glimpses of their carefree lives.
B. Teens are resonating with the tv shows.
C. They don’t glamorize them, sex educators see them as showing the various different situations teens can find themselves in.
Comprehensive vs. Abstinence only (AO) sex education lecture
- Which has been proven to be more effective at reducing unwanted pregnancy and STIs?
- What are the basic principles (ways of thinking) behind AO and comprehensive sex education?
- What are the outcomes of implementing each? (In other words, how do they affect actual sexual practices according to the research?)
- Which is more commonly practiced in the US? Which has received the most funding to date?
- What percent of U.S. adults approve of comprehensive sex education?
- What is the Obama administration’s position on comprehensive vs. abstinence sex education?
- What is the effectiveness of virginity pledges?
d
22: Sexual Risk and the Double Standard for African American Women
- What is the “primary mode of HIV transmission for adolescent and adult women of all race and ethnicity categories”?
- How do African American mothers speak differently to their sons and daughters about sex?
- What are the consequences of the sexual double standard on African American teens? (How does it impact young women and men?)
Know the italicized subheadings in the results section and understand their meaning (4)
- unprotected heterosexual intercourse
- There was gender ideology of the “good” and “bad” girl dichotomy (clean and dirty girls), overly discouraged daughters from sexual guidance and preparation / obtaining contraceptives. Proactive condoms for boys.
- “Without a strong sexual self, young women are likely to deny the possibility or the experience of sexual desire, which can create barriers to actively developing attitudes about how, when and why they would or would not.
The G-Spot and Other Mysteries:
- Is there consensus in the medical/scientific community on the existence of the g-spot? In other words, do they all agree that the g-spot does in fact exist?
- What is the fluid that is released during female ejaculation?
-“Because female ejaculation is not a widely known
phenomenon, women who experience the expulsion of fluids frequently feel……” (complete this sentence).
- No – but it IS known that the female body does contain many potential erogenous zones depending on personal preference, social context expertise of their partner.
- “release of fluid through the urethra at the climax of an orgasm” Self-reports indicate that this fluid is different from urine in smell, consistency and color. Chemical analyses of female ejaculate have been less conclusive. Some argue it is urine, others say the consistency differs too much from actual urine.
- “Because female ejaculation is not a widely known phenomenon, women who experience expulsion of fluids frequently feel SHAME OR ANXIETY”
25: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: Why Can’t We Stop Circumcising Boys?
- Is circumcision as popular globally as it is in the United States?
- What is the “fundamental reason for the circumcision of boys”? (according to this article)
- What is the contemporary (current) position of the medical community on male circumcision? Are they primarily for it or against it?
A. Nope
B. The rise of circumcision was associated with the “great fear” of masturbation and anxiety about juvenile sexuality. Christendom
C. “We are reluctant to assume the role of active advocacy (one way or the other) because the decision is not a medical one, but rather a parental perceptions of hygiene, their lack of understanding surgical risks, or their desire to conform to the pattern established by the infant’s father / own societal structure.” – circumcision is irrational, but the parent’s wishes become sufficient.
26: The Politics of Acculturation: Female Genital Cutting
- What was controversial about the case of Harborview Medical Center?
- What are the reified and dynamic cultural models?
- How does the U.S. position on female genital cutting as it occurs globally compare with views of female genital surgeries that occur in the U.S.?
- How are those non-Westerners who are viewed as “culture-bound” perceived in terms of their autonomy when they make decisions that seem to be traditional or consistent with their culture of origin?
A. Modifies its standards of care in ways to satisfy “cultural” and “medial” needs. Blending western with non-Western medicine. Tried to use the dynamic approach and didn’t give the Somalian mothers the actual “circumcision” but offered an alternative choice.
B. Refied =Reinforcing negative stereotypes and fomented cross-cultural intolerance.
- Presume that cultural groups have non-ambiguous boundaries and no overlapping memberships.
- essentially cultural content as unchanging / universally embraced.
- attribute casual power to culture that is super autonomous
- Dynamic model = takes for granted that cultures change and thus are never perfectly authentic or entirely nonredeemable. [ Assumes women can empower themselves by using their own cultural tools]
C. Equality NOW argued that any form of pricking, piercing or incision of the girls’ genitalia remains as a form of genital mutilation. Thus, in the U.S. there is a strong agreement on NOT participating genital mutilation in women.
D. They are seen as “savage” by westerners, according to the article.
27: Fixing the Broken Male Machine
- How are men’s bodies framed/understood by the doctors who treat erectile dysfunction?
- What is the “trouble with normal” according to the author?
- How might Viagra create a body that is “unnatural”?
- What is the connection between penile function and masculinity (and manhood)?
A. framed as a the commercialization of the male body in terms of it being a “machine” package. Once something is dysfunctional, essentially the entire machine might wear down or perhaps not work anymore. Thus it needs to be “fixed”
B. In turn it makes males feel like their normal function isn’t “good enough”. In turn, many heterosexual and homosexual men feel as though the extra-normal functioning is now the goal to please their partners and feel “whole” about themselves.
C. Viagra exposes the flawed “natural” body and enables a man to achieve mythic, powerful and controlled masculinity. By appearing “natural” the Viagra body can easily replace the problematic body in order to avoid inevitable disappointment. It also delivers optimal results, pushing the consumer beyond his own conceptions of “normal” functioning leading to people thinking that it’s some sort of “miricale” cure and makes everything “better”
D. “Erectile performance” or achievement to penetrate and ejaculate is central to “accomplishments” of heterosexual masculinity. We come to believe in society that successful masculine performance requires a specific penile performance, involving consistency, achievement and satisfaction.
28: In Search of (Better) Sexual Pleasure: Female Genital “Cosmetic” Surgery
- Whose sexual pleasure does the author focus on in this study? (Which population is this research centered on?)
- What is the primary reason that women seek genital cosmetic surgery?
- What does the author mean when she says that the surgeries create “cookie-cutter” genitalia?
A. female sexual pleasure . Primarily through Google searches with “designer vagina” and “labia plasty”.
B. the ability to orgasm.
C. “Cookie cutter” in reference to everyone being able to have an orgasm which is expected out of society and out of all women
31: The Pursuit of Sexual Pleasure
- What activity is identified as the most clearly motivated by sexual pleasure?
- What activity was rated as the most pleasurable?
Hint: The answers to these two questions are not the same thing.
A. “people are more likely to engage in sexual behaviors THEY consider pleasurable than sexual behaviors they find less pleasurable.”
B.
