Readings 1st Exam

Question 1

Spreading My Legs for Womankind

by Molly Kenfick

Answer 1

• Molly works at a medical school to teach students about the female body by using herself as an example

TEACHES:

• discuss psychological issues (asking questions w/o assuming sexual orientation, sexual abuse, etc)
• eternal exam (vulva, perineum, anus)
• internal exams
• breast exams

Question 2

Take a Good Look

by Megan Seely

Answer 2

• vaginal and cervical self-examination (use speculum, mirror, and flashlight to self examine)
• women often learn to ignore or hide from their bodies - this should not be the case

Question 3

Male and Female Hormones Revisited

by: Mariamne H. Whatley

Answer 3

• male hormones = androgens
• female hormones = estrogens

*both hormones appear in both men and women, but in different amounts - and the amount and proportions of each vary across individuals

• adrenal glands (ovaries and testes) produce the hormones
• both hormones are needed for normal development, and both increase during puberty
• estrogen does not disappear after menopause (an androgens are actually converted to estrogen in fat cells during menopause)

Question 4

Exploring the Binary Sex System

by: Kim Klausner

Answer 4

• ISNA (Intersex Society of North America) - advocacy and support group operated by and for intersexuals (sometimes called hermaphrodites)
• medical establishment does not really recognize “intersexuals” – they assign sex to people based on if their penis is too small or clitoris is too big
• unneccesary surgeries to “fix” genitals in children

Question 5

Cultural Practice or Reconstructive Surgery?

US Genital Cutting, Intersex Movement,a nd Medical Double Standards

by: Cheryl Chase

Answer 5

• in the US, doctors often surgically “correct” infants genitals if they are not deemed socially acceptable
• genital cutting is illegal in the US, but not for “medical purposes”
• labled as “hermaphrodites” - misleading b/c they don’t have two sets of genitals, just intermediate
• choosing a sex is based on if the penis is less than one inch or the clitoris is more than 3/8 inch = intersex
• more infants (90%) are assigned female
• surgeries interfere with sex lives, emotional stability
• western feminism sees African genital cutting as bad, but US genital “correction” as OK

Question 6

How to Stop Femal Genital Mutilation

by: Maggie Mortimer

Answer 6

• FGM involves removal of all or most of the clitoris (clitoridectomy), all or part of the labia minora (excision), or both (infibulation)
• Very common cultural practice in Africa, and people in other countries are also sent abroad to have it performed as well
• nee laws, studies on FGM, religious leaders to get involved, medical exams in schools (to focus also on sexual and physical abuse)
• FGM contributes to HIV/AIDS because dirty instruments are often used
• clitoral and psychological rebuilding

Question 7

If Men Could Menstruate

by: Gloria Steinem

Answer 7

• The characteristics of the powerful are thought to be better than the characteristics of the powerless.

So:

• menstruation would become a powerful, brag-worthy event
• men would brag about how long and how much
• sanitary supplies would be federally funded
• woman wouldn’t lose blood, so they would be “unclean”

Question 8

The Truth About Your Clitoris

by: Jennifer Johnson

Answer 8

• visible tip = glans
• becomes erect when aroused
• the legs (crura) are 5-9 cm long
• two bulbs
• clitoris squeezes the urethra shut during sex
• G spot = part of the vaginal wall known as the urethral sponge
• comparable in size and structure to the penis

Question 9

Kegal Exercises

Answer 9

• contractions in time with a car turn-signal (rapid)
• hold for 8-10 seconds

Question 10

Diagnosing Gender Disparities in Health Care

by: Andrea Irwin

Answer 10

• women’s reproductive needds are more complex and are more likely to need healthcare throughout their lives
• many STI/HIV tests are not included, some contraceptives are not included, and most don’t cover emergency contrceptives
• young women are more likely to suffer long-term condictions than young men AND are more likely to be diagnosed with mental health conditions/depression
• also there is high prevalence of violence against women and the media’s negative influence on body image

Question 11

Age, Race, Class and Sex

by: Audre Lorde

Answer 11

• there is a heirarchy in society
• opresses must teach their opressors their mistakes
• mythical norm - white, male, thin, young, heterosexual… - power
• we must ackowledge differences in people to properly care for them
• often black women identify only as a black minority, not as a woman minority too (or a lesbian)
• must integrate all parts of who you are

Question 12

There is no Hierarchy of Opression

by: Audre Lorde

Answer 12

• Audre is a black, feminist, lesbian, socialist mother
• all opression comes from the belief that one type of person is dominant
• members of opressed groups cannot act against each other - they should join together
• black issues = gay issues, and gay issues = black issues (there is no heirarchy of opression)
• freedom from opression/intolerance should be for all groups

Question 13

Racism

by: Megan Seely

Answer 13

• women of color are (and need to be) involved in the women’s movement
• shouldn’t ignore race because our society doesn’t ignore race
• sex, race, age, sexual orientation, etc. all influence power
• white women shouldn’t focus solely on their gender as their opression - need to consider all aspects (and races, etc)

Question 14

What are Health Disparities?

by: American Medical Student Asociation

Answer 14

• racial and ethnic disparities occur in the healthcare system
• disparities: access, resources, treatment, outcomes, language problems, patient-doctor relationships, mental health issues
• minorities more likely to: have less health insurance, recieve inappropriate care, have HIV, have worse health outcomes, have diabetes, be obese
• differences cannot lead to unequal care

Question 15

Why do Health Disparities Exist?

by: American Medical Student Association

Answer 15

• minorities are less likely to receive needed services, including necessary procedures
• Some of the reasons for this:
  1. healthcare delivery systems and access to healthcare
  2. cultural or linguistic barriers
  3. fragmentation of health care system (minorities are enrolled in lower-cost health plans)
  4. incentives to physicians to limit services
  5. physician biases
  6. greater clinical uncertainty when interacting with minority patients

Question 16

Health at the Margins

by: Gabrie’l J. Atchison

Answer 16

• marginalized women are more likely to die from preventable diseases because they reach health professionals too late – they also have higher stress levels and less leisure time
• women of color are less likely to have health insurance, less info about healthcare facilities in their neighborhood, more obese, language barriers and fears of being deported (latinas), unsafe working conditions (asians), high rates of drug addiction (native americans), and racism
• lesbian’s special health care needs are not paid attention to - also not covered by partner’s insurance, discrimination
• women with disabilities have a harder time getting to the doctor’s, and are more vulnerable to abuse
• rural women are further from facilities, and therefore have less preventitive care
• women in south america are malnourished and their health is less valued than mens’

Question 17

African Americans and Health Care (Under the Shadow of Tuskegee)

by: Vanessa Gamble

Answer 17

• Tuskegee Syphilis Study (400 black men were denied care for syphilis) is the most important reason why many African Americans distrust the institutions of medicine and public health
• in the antebellum period, slaves were used as subjects for dissection and experiments and many black graves were robbed for the bodies
• many blacks feared they would be taken in the night for experiments
• blacks sometimes see AIDS and other medical programs as a conspiracy to eliminate blacks
• many blacks dont want to be organ or blood donors either

Question 18

Immigrant Women’s Health a Casualty in the Immigration Policy War

by: Aisha Glasford and Priscilla Huang

Answer 18

• National Coalition for Immigrant Women’s Rights
• Immigrants are more likely to live in poverty, be unemplyed, and lack health insurance
• 42% of immigrant women are of reproductive age (compared to 26% of US women)
• legal immigrants have trouble getting federal aid for healthcare, and illegals have never been eligible for Medicaid or other benefits (except emergency medicaid which ony covers childbirth and labor)
• many immigrants work in industries where they are exploited or in unsafe conditions
• language isolation
• hard to study and document immigrants’ situations also
• immigration reform must include health care options

Question 19

Trans Health Crisis

“For us its Life or Death”

by: Leslie Feinberg

Answer 19

• transgender patients can’t easily define their sex to their doctors (check a box F or M)
• often ridiculed to the extent that they don’t want to go to hospitals or must leave
• many don’t seek healthcare
• can’t be forced into two, or even four labels - many more types of people out there
• sensitivity and diversity training
• need trans-safe environments

Question 20

Financially Vulnerable

by: Stephanie Rytilahti

Answer 20

• Americans struggle in mny aspects of their lives when faced with medical bils that either they can’t pay because they dont have insurance or because their insurance doesn’t cover it
• unpaid medical bills are often turned over to bill collecting agencies - so the unpaid bills can effect your credit score and prevent you from getting loans (for a car, home, credit card, etc)
• same sex couples aren’t usually covered under their partner’s insurance
• minorities suffer more from this because more are uninsured

Question 21

Do Ask, Do Tell

by: Jennifer Potter

Answer 21

• lesbians and gay often recieve suboptimal healthcare
• shame and fear are common for gays - so they are more likely to suffer from stress, substance abuse, or be sexually premiscuous
• doctors share the same biases as society and are frequently ignorant about lesbian and gay health issues
• doctors often assume everyone is straight - making it awkward to come out
• silence about being gay leads to less conflict, but more stress and isolation

Question 22

For Better Lesbian Health, Fewer Barriers to Care

by: Leah Thayer

Answer 22

• Removing the Barriers to Accessing Healthcare for Lesbains - helps healthcare providers and tries to make lesbians feel more comfortable at the doctor’s
• you need to feel comfortable not only with doctors, but with hospital staff overall
• many doctors know and LGBT who was denied care or given substandard care
• 55% of lesbians havent disclosed their sexual orientation to their doctor
• more health problems due to the stress of living in a homophobic society, and less insurance because they cannot benefit from a partner’s

Question 23

Education for Sexual Intimacy and Agency

by: Susan K. Pastor

Answer 23

• sex ed in schools is defined as “how babies are made”
• leads people to believe that a normal girl wouldn’t be interested in sex for just sex
• and doesn’t include gay sex or other “sex” acts (besides PVI)
• “men want sex, woman want cuddling”
• girls then don’t learn what they like, and boys are pressured to know how to please a woman
• erotic potential is not the same as erotic experience
• early lessons about sexuality shape and limit our sexual potential

Question 24

Adolescent Sexual Health in Europe and the US - Why the Difference

by: Advocates for Youth

Answer 24

• sexual health teaching philosophy is different in France, Germany, the Netherlands than in the US
• they respect youths right to act as responsible citizens, and they give them the tools to avoid unwanted pregnancy and STDs.
• easy access to contraceptives, and topic of sex is more open
• view young people as assets, not problems - as fellow citizens
• political and religious groups have little influence on public health policy
• Therefore, Europe has lower teen pregnancy rate, lower teen birth rate, lower abortion rates, less STDs, and more young people use contraceptives when having sex

Question 25

The Orgasm Gap

by: Marcia Douglas and Lisa Douglas

Answer 25

• men report orgasms 75% of the time, while women on 29%
• most men wouldn’t see the point of sex if they didn’t orgasm
• women are capable of multiple orgasms – often occurrs through masturbation – they need to be stimulated the right way
• usually through clitoral stimulation (sometimes nipples, anus) and hard in vaginal intercourse
• women don’t talk wth each other or their partners about what works and what doesn’t
• women need to explore themselves more, talk about sex more

Question 26

four myths about sex

Answer 26

1. woman = sex — she must be sexy but can’t be sexual
2. sex=intercourse – vaginal penetration is not the only type of sex
3. women and men are different and unequal – women have less sex drive than men- due to testosterone, etc (not true),—– women do not need orgasm as men do—— women have leser genitals than men (not true)
4. women want intimacy, men want sex - (not true, but women may focus on intimacy to compensate for lack of orgasms) —- sexual culture teaches women to want intimacy and not need orgasms/sex

Question 27

A New View of Women’s Sexual Problems

by: The Working Group on a New View of Women’s Sexual Problems’

Answer 27

• there are medical treatments for men who cannot get erections, now they want a “female viagra”
• but women’s sexual problems are different from men’s – just because the sexual parts work, doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem
• all women are not the same, and their desires are not the same
• sexual problems due to:

cultural, political, and economic factors;

partner relations;

psychological factors;

medical factors

Question 28

Contraceptive Jelly on Toast and other Unintended Consequences of Sexuality Education

by: Mariamne H Whatley

Answer 28

• sometimes health care providers or sex ed teachers present information too vaguely so people dont understand it
• people do not always read instructions (low literacy, language barriers, too small print, assuming they know, or just being in a hurry)
• be specific, concrete, hands-on
• slang terms may be confusing and mean different things in different cultures
  (ex: a couple putting contraceptive jelly (meant for vagina) on toast and eating it)