feminist blogs

My take on the Gossip Girl OMG ad campaign, for purposes of this blog post.

Time for a little break in the onslaught of election news and voting tales... This recent article in the Washington Post is basically fundie-bait:

Teenagers who watch a lot of television featuring flirting, necking, discussion of sex and sex scenes are much more likely than their peers to get pregnant or get a partner pregnant, according to the first study to directly link steamy programming to teen pregnancy.

Ok, try to stop laughing over the fact that the Post uses the term "necking." Moving on...

The study, which tracked more than 700 12-to-17-year-olds for three years, found that those who viewed the most sexual content on TV were about twice as likely to be involved in a pregnancy as those who saw the least.

When a study finds two things are "linked," that doesn't necessarily mean one causes the other. Maybe kids who watch more sexy TV have less parental supervision, as Matt at Pushback suggests, and therefore get it on more. But regardless of the study's merits, the abstinence-only-until-hetero-marriage crowd is up in arms, and ready to push their agenda.

"We have a highly sexualized culture that glamorizes sex," said Valerie Huber of the National Abstinence Education Association. "We really need to encourage schools to make abstinence-centered programs a priority."

Um, wow. Just look at that leap of logic. Huber says that because culture portrays sex in an unrealistic manner, we need to make sure kids get no information on sex other than "don't do it." Yikes.

This isn't to say that there's no room for a critique of how sex is portrayed on TV, especially in teen-targeted shows. Most pop-culture portrayals of sex are pretty messed up. But to say that abstinence-only education is the answer is just ridiculous. Kay has a more productive response: why don't these shows actually include a real discussion of sex? STIs, condoms, orgasms, the whole range of topics?

Many shows shy away from this because it makes the shows "too controversial," but what shows like Gossip Girl pride themselves on is being edgy. Wouldn't it be just as edgy to include some realistic conversations about sex? Teenagers aren't just going to stop having sex, no matter what goes on TV, but at least we can get the message out about sex with contraception.

Sure, sure, a "Chuck Bass finds out he has herpes" plot line wouldn't exactly fit with Gossip Girl's whole glamorous aesthetic. (Though "Serena's first orgasm" totally would! Nudge, nudge, GG writers...) But these shows sell drama, not just sex. And the real details of sex -- rather than just soft-core scenes that cut away before things get too steamy -- could actually make for some good dramatic plot lines. Not to mention, as Kay points out, truly edgy TV. You know you'd love it! xoxo.

(Ok, just kidding. Can you tell I'm a Gossip Girl fan? Perhaps an upcoming Un-Feminist Guilty Pleasure...)

From the Associated Press:

A contest that would pay $10,000 to an engaged couple, as long as they abstain from premarital sex, hasn't gotten any takers. The deadline for the Marriage for a Lifetime contest is Oct. 31. The prize includes free flowers, invitations and other wedding treats.

Considering 95% of Americans have pre-marital sex, I'm not exactly shocked.

The contest is sponsored by the Marriage Appreciation Training Uplifting Relationship Education (MATURE) project in Georgia, a federally-funded abstinence program. The group is set to receive $455,510 a year until 2011; the money for the contest was to come from those funds. In an economic crisis, it's pretty awesome to see our federal dollars being so entirely wasted.

Our gal Vanessa has a piece up at AlterNet today on a topic that won't be a surprise to regular Feministing readers: how the Christian right is trying to make abstinence cool.

Study after study has shown that those schooled in abstinence rhetoric are just as sexually active as those who aren't, leaving the right wing with virtually no credibility on the subject. Now, conservatives have to be a little savvier if they want to lie about condoms' effectiveness against sexually transmitted infections, make bogus claims about a link between abortion and breast cancer, or manipulate teens into thinking that premarital sex is damaging to one's self-worth. That's why conservative ideologues have taken abstinence-only discourse outside of the classroom and are trying to woo students through a different strategy: by making abstinence the teen trend of the year.

To boost the no-sex-'til-marriage cool factor, conservatives are co-opting everything from teen magazines to fashion to comedy routines. But behind the trendy talk are the same shame-inducing tactics and medical misinformation that could potentially put teens' self-esteem, health and lives in danger.

Read the rest here.

If I didn't know better I would think it was my birthday - because it's not often that an anti-feminist organization gives you a gift like this one.

The Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute* has put out Sense & Sexuality, a handy little anti-feminist guide to sex by none other than Miriam Grossman, author of the slut-shaming book Unprotected (not to be confused with the similarly titled slut-shaming book Unhooked).

Seriously, every page is priceless - so it's hard to know what to highlight. But here are some of my favorite tidbits.

On the biology of why dudes will fuck you and dump you:

When it comes to sex, oxytocin, like alcohol, turns red lights green. It plays a major role in what's called "the biochemistry of attachment." Because of it, you could develop feelings for a guy whose last intention is to bond with you. You might think of him all day, but he can't remember your name.

On the dangers of "hooking up":

As the number of casual sex partners in the past year increased, so did signs of depression in college women.

On why women with HPV are unlovable drop-outs:

Even though these infections are common, and usually disappear with time, learning you have one can be devastating. Natural reactions are shock, anger, and confusion. Who did I get this from, and when? Was he unfaithful? Who should I tell? And hardest of all: Who will want me now? These concerns can affect your mood, concentration, and sleep. They can deal a serious blow to your self esteem. And to your GPA.

On why you should get to the baby-making ASAP:

Remember that motherhood doesn't always happen when the time is right for you; there's a window of opportunity, then the window closes.

On wishing herpes on fictional characters:

It's easy to forget, but the characters on Grey's Anatomy and Sex in the City are not real. In real life, Meredith and Carrie would have warts or herpes. They'd likely be on Prozac or Zoloft.

But really and truly it's page 16, in its entirety, that's my favorite. Check it after the jump. Then laugh yourself to sleep tonight. I know I will.

*The organization that also brought you one of the top 10 anti-feminist videos and the "bring back the hope chest" campaign.

As you've probably noticed, the editors at feministing tend to be pretty fascinated and outraged by the state of sex education in this country. Well, so is sociologist Jessica Fields, and she's done an amazing, comprehensive, visionary study of the ways in which our pedagogy on sex shortchanges all of us. Her book, Risky Lessons: Sex Education and Social Inequality, is the best I've read on the subject--excelling on both the nitty gritty level (she's really in classrooms, really observing teachers and students wrestling with poor curriculum) and the big picture level. Where the latter is concerned, she basically lays out a liberation philosophy for sex education. You think I'm kidding?:

...if education is an opportunity for students and teachers to face and reimagine those constraining definitions, then sex education insists upon the importance of young people's desire, pleasure, and power in that reimagining. Young people's desires and pleasures have the potential to remake the world.

It's enough to make you want to stand up and cheer. What's more, she's thorough in her examination of the ways in which sex education is heteronormative, racist, and classist, and brings a much-needed geographical diversity to her analysis.

Warning: Fields is an academic, so there are times when the prose doesn't exactly sing, but I was actually pretty transfixed the entire time. She doesn't do any insecure academic posturing (big words, over-referencing of Foucault etc.) and she seems to really emotionally engage with this material. There's even some personal narrative sprinkled in.

Thanks Jessica Fields. I hope this book is read far and wide.

California high school senior Margaret Dupes had an editorial about abstinence-only education pulled from her school paper - and now she's fighting back, along with a students' rights organization.

"Why do the schools only preach 'abstinence only' education?" Dupes wrote in her editorial. "It is not the decision of your health teacher, your principal, the school nurse, or even your school board - but a decision forced upon state and local governments by the Bush Administration that is ideologically, rather than empirically, driven."

The piece never saw the light of day. Fallbrook High Principal Rod King ordered the student paper's adviser, Dave Evans, to pull it from the last issue in May.

"I didn't really understand why this was being pulled," Dupes said. "Mr. Evans said that Mr. King was uncomfortable with the content."

Now the Student Press Law Center is protesting the decision - here's hoping something comes of it.

It's kind of hilarious that schools have no problem teaching medically inaccurate, biased information about sex and relationships, but a little free speech makes them "uncomfortable."

(By the way, on the off chance that Dupes reads Feministing - you can publish your editorial here!)

The Wonk Room (via Kay) has the rundown of why John McCain is just like those very serious anti-contraception folks.

• Voted to end "the Title X family planning program, credited with helping prevent over 9 million abortions."
• Voted against funding teen-pregnancy-prevention programs and ensuring that "abstinence-only" programs are medically accurate.
• Voted for the domestic gag rule, which would have prohibited federally funded family-planning clinics from providing women with access to full information about their reproductive-health options.
• Voted to take $75 million from the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant to establish a new "abstinence-only" program that censors information about birth control.
• Declined to help reduce the need for abortion and improve maternal health by opposing effort to require insurance coverage for prescription birth control, improve access to emergency contraception, and provide more women with prenatal health care.
• Voted against legislation that would have prevented unintended pregnancy by investing in insurance coverage for prescription birth control, promoting family-planning services, implementing teen-pregnancy-prevention programs, and developing programs to increase awareness about emergency contraception

Just something to keep in mind when a pro-choicer you know refers to McCain as a "moderate" or "maverick."

And on a slightly lighter McCain-related note...

(NSFW version here.)

Incredible.

Via Echidne via blinkytreefrog, Amanda takes this 1951 book, "On Becoming a Woman" and compares it to the Just for Girls/Just for Guys abstinence-only teen magazine that I posted on last week. You absolutely must check it out.

Thanks to reader Kelsey for bringing this to our attention, who was introduced to a new magazine for teens, J4G (Just for Girls/Just for Guys), on a recent senior trip.

The publication is described by the Human Life Alliance as "this extremely marketable, cutting edge magazine will cause your friends to want to get their own copy. The colorful graphics will catch their attention, and the thought provoking stories and facts on the inside will challenge them to change the way they think about sex outside of marriage."

These "facts" are actually (and not surprisingly) tons of misinformation cloaked in teen rhetoric. One example is a advice column type section with Dr. Mary Paquette, who she contends that abortion causes infertility, breast cancer and ruins girls lives. The feature also ends with a section called "My Choice," where there is what seems to be a biographical note of a teen who put her baby up for adoption, saying, "I thank God every day that I don't have to visit the memory of an aborted baby, the grave of an innocent life."

Funny thing is that right under the note signed "Molly" is the note: advertising supplement. In fact, every single "personal story" in the magazine is labeled with those two small words at the bottom; meaning, the magazine doesn't want to be held accountable for the stories, meaning they're not verifiable. Which is just shady.

The "Inside Scoop on Guys" section talks about the importance of dressing modestly and not tempting the "visual" nature of men, while the "Just for Guys" section of the magazine tells the boys to be a "knight in shining armor" and "fight the 'dragon' of sexual temptation while their ladies watch in wonder and admiration." Not to mention that both sections, of course, have the apparently popular duct tape experiment.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. You can read the whole magazine here.

Via Consumerist, we find out that Kmart is claiming their True Love Waits sweatpants have absolutely nothing to do with abstinence.

A spokeswoman for Sears Holdings Corp., which owns Kmart, told The Buzz the pants have absolutely nothing to do with taking any kind of position, either way, on abstinence. "It was not associated with any group or any cause," said Amy Dimond. "It was just a graphic put on the pants."

Piper & Blue, Kmart's private label brand, designed the sweatpants as part of its summer collection that hit stores in late April.

Although the pants were not designed to make a statement, Dimond admitted that "there may be some (customers) who made the (abstinence association), but it was not the intention."

Oh, wow. How stupid of me! When I saw the description of the pants on Kmart (right after "drawstring waist) as having a "bold abstinence screen print," I must have been hallucinating. Oh wait, no. There it is.

Note to Kmart flacks: If you're going to lie, make sure to cover your tracks.