Smart Sex Talk

Dr Maicael Bailey capitulates to pressure and apologizes for teaching in controversial manner

2011-03-05T19:03:00.000-08:00

A sad day for academia:

http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/JMichael-Bailey/articles/BaileyStatement2.pdf

Sex demoed in university sex class- parents aghast

2011-03-04T12:32:00.000-08:00

Dr Michael Bailey, of Northwestern University, in an after-class, voluntary seminar on kinky sex, brought in lecturers. During this seminar, they presented a 3 minute demo of a woman getting off with the use of a sex toy.

All hell broke loose and the President of the university, beseiged by angry parents (read donors aka $$), refused to back Dr Bailey. So much for academic excellence or treating students like adults or even free speech.

Below is a link to what I believe is the only interview Dr Bailey himself has given since this tempest in a teapot exploded. I think it's pretty good.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/videobeta/?watchId=0d956cef-e039-4586-8ab5-24178775be28

FollowUp on Earlier Post

2010-12-25T12:20:00.000-08:00

Gay advocates win victory at UN

ANITA SNOW

UNITED NATIONS— The Associated Press

Published Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2010 12:37AM EST

Last updated Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2010 1:07PM EST

Gay-rights advocates scored a hard-fought victory at the United Nations Tuesday when member states restored a reference to sexual orientation, dropped last month from a resolution opposing the unjustified killing of minority groups.

The removal of the reference, at the urging of African and Arab countries, alarmed human-rights advocates, who said gay people are among minority groups that need special protection from extrajudicial and other unjustified slayings.

It's about time...Obama repeals "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

2010-12-23T10:00:00.000-08:00

From Salon:

Editor: Steve Kornacki

Updated: Today

Topic:

Don't Ask Don't Tell

Wednesday, Dec 22, 2010 10:35 ET

It's official: Obama signs "don't ask" repeal

With the stroke of his pen, the president does away with the 16-year-old policy

By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press

Declaring that members of the military will no longer be asked to lie, President Barack Obama fulfilled a campaign promise Wednesday and signed a landmark law repealing the ban on gay men and women serving openly in the armed services.

"This is a good day," a beaming Obama said. "This is a very good day."

The service chiefs must complete implementation plans before lifting the old policy -- and they must certify to lawmakers that it won't damage combat readiness, as critics charge.

But the signing ceremony was a breakthrough moment for the nation's gay community, the military and for Obama himself. The president vowed during his 2008 campaign to repeal the law and faced pressure from liberals who complained he was not acting swiftly enough.

For Obama, it was the second high-profile bill signing ceremony within a week. On Friday, he signed into a law a tax package he negotiated with Republicans that extended Bush-era tax rates for two more years, cut payroll taxes and ensured jobless benefits to the unemployed for another year.

The two events, however, could not have been more different in tone.

The tax deal divided Democrats and forced Obama to accept extensions of tax cuts for the wealthiest, a step he had promised to not take. With Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell at his side, Obama seemed dutiful and subdued.

The signing of the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" had the feel of a political rally. Speaking in the Interior Department's auditorium, Obama appeared in his element as shouts of "Thank you, Mr. President!" interrupted him.

Obama hailed the "courage and vision" of Defense Secretary Robert Gates and praised Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, who advocated changing the 17-year-old policy.

"No longer will tens of thousands of Americans in uniform be asked to live a lie, or look over their shoulder in order to serve the country that they love," Obama said.

New survey sheds light on what's really going on with sexual behaviour

2010-12-03T09:21:00.000-08:00

Sex Researchers Ask Americans About Their Last 'Event'

October 4, 2010

by Scott Hensley

iStockphoto.com

What's going on in there, America?

If you go out with friends and have a few drinks, maybe somebody will get up the nerve to ask, "So, how was the last time you had sex?"

Researchers at Indiana University just surveyed Americans, asking, essentially, that question of about 1,900 people who'd had sex in the last year.

But the academics sure have a long-winded, drink-free way of doing it. To them, "event-level sexual repertoire" is who did what to whom. And "experience evaluation" is how it felt.

So what did the researchers find out? First, they confirmed some things you probably knew already.

Men kid themselves about how often their female partners have orgasms. Guys figure 85 percent do. Women say it's more like 64 percent.
As they get older, men have more trouble achieving and maintaining erections. Even so, only about 8 percent of men aged 50-59 (the group with the most trouble) reported taking a pill like Viagra to help.
The more different kinds of behavior a couple engaged in during sex, the more likely each partner was to have an orgasm.

Some of the thought-proving findings:

Men had better sex (greater arousal and pleasure, with fewer problems) when it was with their relationship partner. The researchers say this may be due to older men with erection difficulties being more comfortable with established partners.
Women, on the other hand, reported more trouble with arousal and lubrication if their sexual partners were people they were in relationships with.

Oh, and one other thing, "friends with benefits" aren't just for young people. Nearly 17 percent of men aged 50-59 reported their last sexual experience was with a friend, compared with 13 percent for those 18-24. The trend was reversed for women, with 16 percent of younger ones, aged 18-24, saying their last sexual experience was with a friend, compared with nearly 10 percent for those aged 50-59.

For the full results, see the paper provocatively titled (to sexologists), "An Event-Level Analysis of the Sexual Characteristics and Composition Among Adults Ages 18 to 59: Results from National Probability Sample in the United States" in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

The inquiry is part of a larger national survey, one of the largest in two decades, that documented sexual experiences of nearly 6,000 people between the ages of 14 and 94.

In case you were wondering, the work was funded by Church & Dwight, maker of Arm & Hammer baking soda, Trojan condoms and First Response pregnancy tests.

UN: Okay to kill gays. This does not bode well.

2010-11-21T10:47:00.000-08:00

Not since the Equal Rights Amendment did not pass have I felt so disappointed. Sad news indeed.

U.N. panel cuts gay reference from violence measure

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS | Tue Nov 16, 2010 7:45pm EST

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Arab and African nations succeeded Tuesday in getting a U.N. General Assembly panel to delete from a resolution condemning unjustified executions a specific reference to killings due to sexual orientation.

Western delegations expressed disappointment in the human rights committee's vote to remove the reference to slayings due to sexual orientation from the resolution on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions.

"The subject of this amendment -- the need for prompt and thorough investigations of all killing, including those committed for ... sexual orientation -- exists in this resolution simply because it is a continuing cause for concern," a British statement to the committee said.

The General Assembly passes a resolution condemning extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions and other killings every two years. The 2008 declaration included an explicit reference to killings committed because of the victims' sexual preferences.

But this year, Morocco and Mali introduced an amendment on behalf of African and Islamic nations that called for deleting the words "sexual orientation" and replacing them with "discriminatory reasons on any basis."

That amendment narrowly passed 79-70. The resolution then was approved by the committee, which includes all 192 U.N. member states, with 165 in favor, 10 abstentions and no votes against.

The U.S. delegation voted against the deletion but abstained from the vote on the final resolution. Diplomats said the U.S. delegation also voiced disappointment at the decision to remove the reference to sexual orientation.

The resolution, which is expected to be formally adopted by the General Assembly in December, specifies many other types of violence, including killings for racial, national, ethnic, religious or linguistic reasons and killings of refugees, indigenous people and other groups.

"It's a step backwards and it's extremely disappointing that some countries felt the need to remove the reference to sexual orientation, when sexual orientation is the very reason why so many people around the world have been subjected to violence," said Philippe Bolopion of Human Rights Watch.

THIS will be a game-changer, for sure. Might want to get an unlisted number!

2010-11-16T14:37:00.000-08:00

Diagnosis of STDs Could Be As Quick As Peeing On A Chip And Putting It In Your Phone

By Julie Beck Posted 11.09.2010 at 12:28 pm 10 Comments

Computer Chip, Will Your Talents Ever Stop Emerging? Wikimedia Commons

Peeing on your phone seems like an all-around pretty bad idea, but British researchers have managed to find an upside. They claim that by urinating on a computer chip and plugging it into a phone or computer, people will soon be able to easily self-diagnose sexually transmitted diseases.

While it’s still too early for the technology to really have taken shape, these nanotechnology chips would be similar to pregnancy tests. After putting urine or saliva on the chip, the user will receive results within minutes that tell them which STD, if any, they’ve contracted. Researchers hope that these confidential self-diagnosis devices would help encourage more people to get tested, without the embarrassment that accompanies seeing a doctor or going to a clinic.

Funders including the Medical Research Council have invested 4 million pounds into the technology’s development, which, if successful, could be a boon for promoting sexual health. Developers expect that the devices will one day be sold in vending machines in pharmacies, supermarkets and night clubs. Wouldn’t it just be easier to buy a condom?

10 Comments

Link to this comment

boka

11/09/10 at 1:12 pm

oorrrrrrr..... just don't have sex with sluts. Hmm.

Link to this comment

sykosmurph

11/09/10 at 1:57 pm

@boka either a) you lead a very boring life, or b) you live in a bubble. Might as well say just don't have sex. Mrs. Palin might think that's possible but hundreds of Catholic priests and philandering Protestant ministers would disprove her and by extension your arguments.

Link to this comment

NOM

11/09/10 at 3:41 pm

This could also automatically let all your contacts know that thay also need to take a test. Hopefully anonymously.

Link to this comment

xiomaracafe

11/09/10 at 4:33 pm

Thank you ! I think this is fantastic, because it will help so many who will not like to visit a doctor !!
Spead the news!! ~

Link to this comment

twobrain

11/09/10 at 6:51 pm

A negative for this tech. First off people barely wash hands as is. Now you expect them to wash their soiled used phone before eBay auction, or recycling center... Can you say broad exposure. Seriously the people that separate and tear apart electronics can't be expected to wear gloves. The environment they work in is non conducive, surely the gloves would be compromised quickly by tears and punctures or ignored all together by the workers.

Great idea bad follow through.

Link to this comment

shadowsurfur

11/09/10 at 7:26 pm

Prostitute: Hey mista, lookin' for a good time?
Me: Let me see your cell phone...

Link to this comment

Ackthpt

11/10/10 at 4:46 pm

"oorrrrrrr..... just don't have sex with sluts. Hmm."

ah, the internet. Still full of idiots. Splendid.

Link to this comment

Brian P.

11/12/10 at 2:31 pm

Good idea! And, what's wrong with sluts? I say "Thank goodness for sluts." If not for sluts I'd have gotten laid a lot less when I was younger.

Link to this comment

blindwanderer

11/15/10 at 4:19 pm

While condoms may be easier and cheaper, nobody wants to sleep with someone (regardless of condom) that has an STD.

Sharing a post from ever-perceptive Dr Marty Klein's "Sexual Intelligence" newsletter

2010-11-11T12:08:00.000-08:00

Science Shows What Sexual Repression Actually Looks Like

By Dr. Marty Klein

With the recent election still echoing in everyone’s ears, and pundits pundificating about how conservative the country really is, this is a good time to remember the major study done about online pornography subscriptions just 18 months ago.

As reported in the Journal of Economic Perspectives,
* The rates at which people buy pornography are not wildly different from state to state;
* States where people vote for conservative candidates buy more porn than states in which people vote for progressive candidates.

And yes, this is after adjusting for factors including broadband access, income, and population.

According to credit card receipts from a national provider of adult entertainment, eight of the top ten pornography-consuming states went Republican in the 2008 election. And the trend goes beyond voting. For example, states where a majority of residents agreed with the statement “I have old-fashioned values about family and marriage” bought more subscriptions per thousand people than states where a majority disagreed. The same difference emerged for the statement “AIDS might be God’s punishment for immoral sexual behavior.”

And of course the state with the highest per capita purchase of online pornography is…Utah. Of course.

To repeat: porn subscriptions don’t just come from California, New York, and other Liberal-Jewish-Urban-Latte-Sipping nests of perversion. They come from every state. And they really come from states in which people claim their values make them uninterested in or resistant to porn.

One technical term for such people is liars, but let’s be more compassionate, the better to understand our fellow creatures.

There are large groups of people who claim certain negative attitudes about sexuality, yet do those very same things. Porn. Prostitutes. Premarital sex. Same-gender stuff. Affairs. Adult masturbation. Wild fantasies.

What are they saying? That they reject their own sexuality. What are they feeling? Frightened, anxious, alone. Guilty, ashamed, tormented; as if, to quote a Jonny Lang song, “even God has lost track of my soul.”

Progressive politics MUST address these feelings in so-called conservative people. Until we do, we’re just reinforcing a phony us/them divide cooked up by politically powerful people. Talking about a sexually in-control “us” and a sexually out-of-control “them” is how the Religious Right made its fortune, and stays in business. The regulation of other people’s sexuality is a theme that never gets boring—for people who are afraid of their own sexuality.

Why parents must talk to their teens about oral sex

2010-11-02T11:10:00.000-07:00

Oral Sex Leads to Intercourse Among Teens, Study Suggests

By Wynne Parry, LiveScience Senior Writer

posted: 01 November 2010 04:04 pm ET

Buzz up!

Comments (8) | Recommend (4)

A "birds and the bees" talk with your kids isn't complete without a discussion of oral sex, according to a new study that found a connection between oral sex and old-fashioned intercourse.

The three-year survey found that teens who had oral sex by the end of ninth grade were at the highest risk of having sexual intercourse during high school. These teens had a 25-percent chance of having intercourse by the end of ninth grade and a 50-percent chance by the end of 11th grade.

Meanwhile, teenagers who did not have oral sex until the end of 11th grade had only a 16-percent chance of having intercourse by the end of that school year.

The survey also found that most sexually active teenagers will start having oral sex and intercourse within the same six-month period.

Health care providers, parents and educators should directly address oral sex and its risks with teens, according to study researcher Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, a professor of pediatrics at University of California, San Francisco.

"I see most of the health policies out there and guidelines for preventive services talking about sex generally, but they do not specify oral sex. That is an important distinction because teens don't consider oral sex to be sex, and many are not aware of the risks involved," Halpern-Felsher said.

"Our study demonstrates that through its relationship with intercourse, oral sex contributes to the total risk associated with sexual activity among teens, including sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy," said Anna Song, also a study researcher and an assistant professor of psychological sciences at the University of California, Merced.

The researchers followed more than 600 students at two northern California high schools from the ninth grade through the end of 11th grade. The study is published online by the journal, Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, and it will also appear in the March 2011 print issue.

About 4 in 10 never–married U.S. teenagers ages 15–19 have had sexual intercourse at least once, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released in June. [42% of U.S. Teens Have Had Sex]

Risky sexual behavior among teens was also reported in a study of more than 7,000 New York City adolescents published online Oct. 25 in the Journal of Pediatrics. Nearly 9 percent of females and nearly 4 percent of males had both male and female sex partners, the research found. And these teens with both-sex partners indicated a marked prevalence of dating violence and forced sex, along with sexual behaviors that could put them at risk for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, the researchers reported.

Nobel Prize Awarded to Developer of In Vitro Technique

2010-10-07T14:06:00.000-07:00

Pioneer of in Vitro Fertilization Wins Nobel Prize

By NICHOLAS WADE

Published: October 4, 2010

The Nobel prize in physiology or medicine has been awarded this year to Robert G. Edwards, an English biologist who with a physician colleague, Dr. Patrick Steptoe, developed the in vitro fertilization procedure for treating human infertility.

Enlarge This Image

Alastair Grant/Associated Press

Enlarge This Image

Central Press/Hulton Archive, via Getty Images

Robert G. Edwards, right, and Dr. Patrick Steptoe, in 1979. The two developed the in vitro fertilization procedure, facing much opposition on ethical and religious grounds.

Enlarge This Image

Ralf Hirschberger/DPA, via European Pressphoto Agency

A human egg cell being injected for demonstration purposes at a laboratory in Dresden, Germany, in 2009.

Since the birth of the first test tube baby, Louise Brown, on July 25, 1978, some four million babies worldwide have been conceived by mixing eggs and sperm outside the body and returning the embryo to the womb to resume the normal development. The procedure overcomes many previously untreatable causes of infertility and is used in 3 percent of all live births in developed countries.

Advances in human reproductive technology arouse people’s deepest concerns and often go through a cycle, first of outrage and charges of playing God, then of acceptance. In vitro fertilization proved no exception. “We know that I.V.F. was a great leap because Edwards and Steptoe were immediately attacked by an unlikely trinity — the press, the pope, and prominent Nobel laureates,” said the biochemist Joseph Goldstein in presenting the Lasker Award to Dr. Edwards in 2001.

Research with human embryonic stem cells, made possible by Dr. Edwards’s development of in vitro fertilization, has evoked a similar outcry, but so far there are no offsetting practical benefits like the birth of healthy babies to eager parents. Because of the difficulty of stem cell research, such benefits may not be seen for many years, if ever.

Dr. Edwards, a physiologist who spent much of his career at Cambridge University in England, devoted more than 20 years to solving a series of problems in getting eggs and sperm to mature and unite successfully outside the body. His colleague, Dr. Steptoe, was a gynecologist and pioneer of laparoscopic surgery, the method he used to extract eggs from the prospective mother.

Dr. Steptoe, who presumably would otherwise have shared the prize, died in 1988 (the Nobel prize is not awarded posthumously). Dr. Edwards, 85, has retired as head of research from the Bourn Hall Clinic in Cambridge, which he and Dr. Steptoe founded as one of the world’s first centers for in vitro fertilization.

Because of health issues, Dr. Edwards himself was not available to reflect on his research career or the four million children alive because of his achievement. “Unfortunately he is not in a position to understand the honor he has received today,” said Dr. Michael Macnamee, director of the Bourn Hall clinic and a longtime colleague of Dr. Edwards. “He remembers the past very well, but not the present.” The deliberations of the prize-giving committee at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden are confidential, and it is unclear why it took so long to acknowledge Dr. Edwards’s achievement.

The Swedish committee is believed to avoid controversial people and issues. The ethical objections to in vitro fertilization may have been one reason for the long delay. Scientists speculated that Dr. Edwards’s political views — he has been a committed socialist — may have been another.

The committee routinely ignores the stipulation in Alfred Nobel’s will that the prize should be awarded for a discovery made the preceding year, because it takes longer than that to evaluate most scientific claims, but delays of 30 years or more are unusual. The Lasker Foundation in New York, whose jurors often anticipate the Nobel prize committee, awarded Dr. Edwards its prize nine years ago, though it, too, failed to act in time to honor Dr. Steptoe.

Though in vitro fertilization is now widely accepted, the birth of the first test tube baby was greeted with intense concern that the moral order was being subverted by unnatural intervention in the mysterious process of creating a human being. Dr. Edwards was well aware of the ethical issues raised by his research and took the lead in addressing them.

The objections gradually died away — except on the part of the Roman Catholic Church — as it became clear that the babies born by in vitro fertilization were healthy and that their parents were overjoyed to be able to start a family. Long-term follow-ups have confirmed the essential safety of the technique.

Dr. Edwards’s research proved too controversial for the Medical Research Council, a government funding agency that is the British equivalent of the National Institutes of Health. In 1971 the council rejected an application from Dr. Edwards and Dr. Steptoe to work on in vitro fertilization, but they were able to continue with private funds.

Both Dr. Edwards and Dr. Steptoe had to endure an unremitting barrage of criticism while developing their technique. Dr. Steptoe “faced immense clinical criticism over his laparoscopy, even being isolated at clinical meetings in London,” Dr. Edwards wrote in the journal Nature Medicine in 2001 after receiving the Lasker award. “Ethicists decried us, forecasting abnormal babies, misleading the infertile and misrepresenting our work as really acquiring human embryos for research.”

Dr. Edwards fought back, forming alliances with ethicists in the Church of England and filing libel actions — eight in one day — against his critics. “I won them all, but the work and worry restricted research for several years,” he wrote.

Even after the birth of Louise Brown, the government refused to support his work, which was delayed for two and a half years, Dr. Edwards wrote, until he secured private funds. “There was at one time a possibility that Steptoe and Edwards would emigrate to the United States,” said Dr. Macnamee.

In parallel with defending his work in public, Dr. Edwards had to surmount one daunting problem after another in his laboratory. It sounds easy — mix eggs and sperm in a Petri dish and let nature do the rest. But the opposite is the case.

At the outset of his research, Dr. Edwards wasted two years trying to get eggs to mature outside the body, based on a report that human eggs matured in 12 hours. Eventually he learned that at least 25 hours is required.

Needing a reliable supply of human eggs, he approached Dr. Steptoe at the Oldham and District General Hospital because of his expertise at retrieving unfertilized eggs from the ovary through minute incisions in the patient’s skin. The two agreed to work as equals, to halt their work if danger emerged to patients or children and to ignore all religious and political criticism they deemed frivolous. The partnership lasted 20 years, until Dr. Steptoe’s death.

The two began transferring fertilized eggs to the womb in 1972, assuming that the rate of implantation would be as high as with farm animals. Their hopes were dashed. At first, the hormones given the mother to induce ovulation interfered with the growth of the embryo. Drs. Edwards and Steptoe then injected mothers with extra hormones, but these turned out to induce abortions.

They persisted through more than 40 embryo transfers before obtaining their first pregnancy. Unfortunately it was ectopic and had to be aborted. Louise Brown was born from the second pregnancy.

“It required grit and determination to keep going,” Dr. Macnamee said of his colleague. “But he had the conviction of his research work and he wanted to see it delivered to the people who needed it.”

Despite the ethical objections leveled at his work — some of which persist today, over the disposal of unused embryos and the high risk of multiple births — Dr. Edwards was nonetheless allowed to develop the technique over many years. “It would be very difficult to develop in vitro fertilization now because the ethical committees would have stopped his research,” Dr. Macnamee said.

The ability to fertilize eggs in a dish made possible several other significant advances in reproductive technology, such as pre-implantation diagnosis of genetic diseases and the culturing of embryonic stem cells.

Dr. Edwards was keenly interested in human embryonic stem cells and started work toward developing them in the 1980s. He published an article in Science in 1984 reporting the culture of human blastocysts, the pre-implantation embryos from which stem cells are derived. But he discontinued the work because of the controversy it aroused in England.

“It was a very touchy subject in the early 1980s. Bob was continually involved in lawsuits,” said Kay Elder, a colleague at the Bourn Hall Clinic. Human embryonic stem cells were later derived by James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin in 1998.

Today's Quote, in honour of Nelson, BC's Pride Weekend

2010-09-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

"Most frequently coming out involves choices about how to handle moments of ordinary, daily conversation" (Magee and Miller, 1995). Furthermore, coming out offers gay [or minor-attracted] people the possibility of integrating a wider range of previously split-off affects, not just their sexual feelings (Drescher et al., 2003). Greater ease in expressing themselves, both to themselves and to others, can lead to an enormous enrichment of their work and relationships. To many, such activities constitute a reasonable definition of mental health.

Coming out is extraordinarily risky for minor-attracted people, so the above implies it is an enormous task for minor-attracted people to be mentally healthy. This is why making mental health services available to them is so crucial, and why the current unavailability of services is so harmful.

Richard Kramer, Director of Operations
B4U-ACT, Inc.
Westminster, MD
www.b4uact.org

Lesbians' kids rank highest in social functionality--study

2010-07-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

Kids of lesbians have fewer behavioral problems, study suggests

By Madison Park, CNN

June 7, 2010 6:55 a.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Study finds children of lesbians are well-adjusted, have fewer behavioral problems than peers
Commonly used Child Behavior Checklist measured children's behavioral, social problems
Research funded by gay, lesbian advocacy groups; critics question validity

RELATED TOPICS

(CNN) -- A nearly 25-year study concluded that children raised in lesbian households were psychologically well-adjusted and had fewer behavioral problems than their peers.

The study, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, followed 78 lesbian couples who conceived through sperm donations and assessed their children's well-being through a series of questionnaires and interviews.

Funding for the research came from several lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender advocacy groups, such as the Gill Foundation and the Lesbian Health Fund from the Gay Lesbian Medical Association.

Dr. Nanette Gartrell, the author of the study, wrote that the "funding sources played no role in the design or conduct of the study."

"My personal investment is in doing reputable research," said Gartrell. "This is a straightforward statistical analysis. It will stand and it has withstood very rigorous peer review by the people who make the decision whether or not to publish it."

Gay parenting remains a controversial issue, with debates about topics including the children's psychological adjustment, their parents' sexual orientation and adoption restrictions.

Wendy Wright, president of the Concerned Women for America, a group that supports biblical values, questioned the legitimacy of the findings from a study funded by gay advocacy groups.

"That proves the prejudice and bias of the study," she said. "This study was clearly designed to come out with one outcome -- to attempt to sway people that children are not detrimentally affected in a homosexual household."

Gartrell started the study in 1986. She recruited subjects through announcements in bookstores, lesbian events and newspapers throughout metro Boston, Massachusetts; San Francisco, California, and Washington.

The mothers were interviewed during pregnancy or the insemination process, and additionally when the children were 2, 5, 10 and 17 years old. Those children are now 18 to 23 years old.

They were interviewed four times as they matured and also completed an online questionnaire at age 17, focusing on their psychological adjustment, peer and family relationships and academic progress.

To assess their well-being, Gartrell used the Child Behavior Checklist, a commonly used standard to measure children's behavioral and social problems, such as anxiety, depression, aggressive behavior and social competence.

The answers were coded into a computer and then analyzed. This data was compared with data from children of nonlesbian families.

The results surprised Gartrell.

"I would have anticipated the kids would be doing as well as the normative sample," she said. "I didn't expect better."

Children from lesbian families rated higher in social, academic and total competence. They also showed lower rates in social, rule-breaking, aggressive problem behavior.

The involvement of mothers may be a contributing factor, in addition to the fact that the pregnancies were planned, Gartrell said.

Tell iReport: Growing up with gay parents

The children "didn't arrive by accident," she said. "The mothers were older... they were waiting for an opportunity to have children and age brings maturity and better parenting."

This also could have occurred because "growing up in households with less power assertion and more parental involvement has been shown to be associated with healthier psychological adjustment," Gartrell wrote in the study.

Some of the teenagers reported being stigmatized by peers because of their parents' sexuality. Researchers compared the figures in terms of the psychological adjustment between children who had experienced stigma versus those who did not.

"We found no differences," Gartrell said. "That leads us to asking why and how are young people managing discrimination? That will be the topic of future papers. We'll look into what the ingredients are to allow them to cope despite adversity."

Gartrell studied only lesbian families, because circumstances surrounding gay male families are different. Gay men becoming fathers is newer in comparison with lesbians, because their options have been limited to adoption or surrogacy. Lesbians often conceive through donor insemination.

"This study shows that the 17-year-old adolescents who have been reared by lesbian families are psychologically happy and high functioning," said Gartrell, a Williams distinguished scholar at the UCLA School of Law. Restrictions of child custody and reproductive technologies based on sexual orientation are not justified, she said.

Wright questioned the objectivity of Gartrell's research, saying the author can "cherry pick people who are involved and the info they release."

"In essence, this study claims to purport that children do better when raised by lesbians," she said.

Studies have shown that children thrive having both a mother and a father, Wright said.

"You have to be a little suspicious of any study that says children being raised by same-sex couples do better or have superior outcomes to children raised with a mother and father," she said. "It just defies common sense and reality."

New Gallop poll on attitude shifts towards gays

2010-07-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

Monday, July 05, 2010 Updated 08:00 AM EST

May 25, 2010

Americans' Acceptance of Gay Relations Crosses 50% Threshold

Increased acceptance by men driving the change

by Lydia Saad

PRINCETON, NJ - Americans' support for the moral acceptability of gay and lesbian relations crossed the symbolic 50% threshold in 2010. At the same time, the percentage calling these relations "morally wrong" dropped to 43%, the lowest in Gallup's decade-long trend.

Gallup's annual Values and Beliefs survey, conducted each May, documents a gradual increase in public acceptance of gay relations since about 2006. However, the change is seen almost exclusively among men, and particularly men younger than 50.

Additionally, Gallup finds greater movement toward acceptance among independents and Democrats than among Republicans, and a big jump in acceptance among moderates. Liberals were already widely accepting of gay relations in 2006, and have remained that way, while conservatives' acceptance continues to run low.

Notably, there has been a 16-point jump in acceptance among Catholics, nearly three times the increase seen among Protestants. Acceptance among Americans with no religious identity has expanded as well.

The same May 3-6 Gallup poll finds the slight majority of Americans still against legalizing gay marriage; however, at 53%, the extent of that opposition is down slightly this year.

Acceptance for the legality of gay and lesbian relations has varied over the past decade, but, at 58% today, it is near the highest Gallup has measured (60% in 2003).

Americans remain closely divided over the factors contributing to being gay. Currently, 37% say being gay is due to upbringing and environment while 36% say it is a trait one is born with.

The division on this question has been the norm for most of the past decade, although the plurality response has fluctuated. Longer term, however, there has been a major change in Americans' views on this question, with far fewer today than in the 1970s and 1980s believing that being gay or lesbian is the result of upbringing and other life experiences.

Bottom Line

There is a gradual cultural shift under way in Americans' views toward gay individuals and gay rights. While public attitudes haven't moved consistently in gays' and lesbians' favor every year, the general trend is clearly in that direction. This year, the shift is apparent in a record-high level of the public seeing gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable. Meanwhile, support for legalizing gay marriage, and for the legality of gay and lesbian relations more generally, is near record highs.

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,029 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted May 3-6, 2010. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points.

Interviews are conducted with respondents on landline telephones (for respondents with a landline telephone) and cellular phones (for respondents who are cell phone only).

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

Iceland legalizes gay marriage...and PM signs up!

2010-07-05T13:37:00.001-07:00

Iceland Legalizes Gay Marriage, Prime Minister Marries Partner

We missed this awesome news: Iceland has not only legalized gay marriage this past weekend, but its Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir married her long-term partner on the day it took effect, making her the world's only national leader with a same-sex spouse:

Sigurdardottir, 67, married writer Jonina Leosdottir on Sunday, the day a new law took effect defining marriage as a union between two consenting adults regardless of sex.
The two had had a civil union for years and changed this into a marriage under the new law, which was approved by parliament earlier this month.

The new law was celebrated at a church service on Sunday, which was also the international day for homosexual rights.

Warm fuzzies! Sigurdardottir's statement about the new law was that it was a cause for celebration for all of Iceland, adding: "I have today taken advantage of this new legislation." Indeed.

Research Participation Opportunity

2010-05-06T11:06:00.000-07:00

If you are a woman between the ages of 20 and 50, have not yet borne children, and believe yourself fertile, these folks are looking for you. Your participation may even win you prizes.
Read more here:

http://www.laterchildbearing.com/Survey_English.aspx

This is so wrong in so many ways

2010-04-07T13:01:00.000-07:00

Although the USA's new health care bill included massive residual funding for abstinence-only sex education, it also provided for research-based, accurate and comprehensive programs as well. This is how some are responding to this option:

From CNN News:

DA to teachers: New sex ed course could get you arrested

A district attorney in Juneau County, Wisconsin, warned teachers in a memo sent to schools that if they teach the new sexual education curriculum mandated under state law, they could be arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a child.

Because the law requires teachers to instruct children not only about contraceptives but about how to use them, Juneau County District Attorney Scott Southworth said, schools are forced to encourage students to "engage in sexual behavior, whether as a victim or an offender."

And since minors can't legally have sex in Wisconsin, teachers would essentially be endorsing the behavior and could be held liable, Southworth said in the letter.

"It is akin to teaching children about alcohol use, then instructing them on how to make mixed alcoholic drinks," he wrote.

In his letter, Southworth said the law would convert sex education classes "into a radical program that sexualizes our children as early as kindergarten. This, in turn, will lead to more child sexual assaults."

Southworth sent the letter to five school districts and said they should drop all sex education curriculum until the law could be changed.

The law doesn't force any schools to teach the sex education classes, but it sets out strict guidelines on what should be taught in the schools that choose to do so. The law passed narrowly in the legislature and was the topic of a fierce battle between Republicans and Democrats: No Republicans voted for it, and it was signed by a Democratic governor.

Those who support the law hail it as a chance to keep down the rate of STDs and teen pregnancies and to properly educate students, but opponents say that rather than giving children all the information necessary to have sex, they should focus on a curriculum of abstinence.

Rep. Kelda Helen Roys, a Democrat, told the W isconsin State Journal that she believes there's no problem with the law.

She said Southworth, a Republican, is a "zealot" who wrote the letter to try to scare people out of teaching the sexual education classes.

"Using condoms isn't a crime for anyone," Roys told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "This guy is not a credible legal source on this matter, I'm sorry to say. His purpose is to intimidate and create enough panic in the minds of school administrators that they'll turn their backs on young people and their families."

In his letter, Southworth argued that it is a crime and that he's just trying to help schools be aware of the legal danger they could be putting themselves in.

"The teacher could be charged with the crime even if the child does not actually engage in the criminal behavior [of having sex as a minor]," Southworth wrote.

Both the State Journal and the Journal-Sentinel spoke with school administrators who said they were seeking legal advice on the matter.

US Republicans "defending" morality --New Awards

2010-03-18T21:18:00.000-07:00

The comments are chillingly amusing, too.

http://www.ranker.com/list/top-10-anti-gay-activists-caught-being-gay/joanne#

Morning sex

2010-03-06T11:47:00.000-08:00

She was standing in the kitchen, preparing our usual
soft-boiled eggs and toast for breakfast, wearing only
the 'T' shirt that she normally slept in.

As I walked in, almost awake, she turned to me and said
softly," You've got to make love to me this very moment!"
My eyes lit up and I thought, "I am either still dreaming
or this is going to be my lucky day!"

Not wanting to lose the moment, I embraced her and then
gave it my all; right there on the kitchen, table.

Afterwards she said, "Thanks," and returned to the stove,
her T-shirt still around her neck. Happy, but a little
puzzled, I asked, "What was that all about?"

She explained, "The egg timer's broken."

At last, a common sense article about Tiger Woods

2010-03-01T07:08:00.000-08:00

From The Times

January 23, 2010

Sex-addicted? No, it’s Getting Caught Syndrome

Tiger Woods has admitted responsibility for his actions. It is neither liberal nor benign to brand this a medical condition

Raymond Tallis

The futility of golf, an appalling waste of the gift of life, has been insufficiently acknowledged. I suspect that God, if he had existed and had seen the game coming, would have appreciated the positive qualities of the void and left it alone, uncontaminated by the Creation. But there are times when even golf gets interesting. The current brouhaha surrounding Tiger Woods’s exertions in the 19th hole have made the last month or so such a time.

Apparently this extraordinarily handsome, fabulously rich, wonderfully talented man has been having sex with a number of beautiful women, only one of whom is his wife. This has caused shock and amazement to those who seem to be entirely unacquainted with the history of the world. From Solomon (300 wives and 700 concubines, according to the anonymous gossip columnist of 1 Kings xi, 1-3) to Warren Beatty (an estimated 12,775 lovers), we know that those who have the power to pull will usually pull.

And the inappropriately named “Wilt” Chamberlain — a basketball star of the last century — claimed in his autobiography, appropriately titled The View From Above, that he had bedded 20,000 women or approximately 1.15 a day from his 15th birthday onwards, demonstrating how much can be achieved when (to borrow from Shaw) the maximum of temptation is combined with the maximum of opportunity. Against these heroic numbers, Woods’s alleged total of nine liaisons (though there may be more to come out of the woodwork) looks like celibacy.

And yet he is undergoing treatment for “sex addiction”. This may be a way of reinventing himself after a brutal rebadging from Mr Clean to Love Rat, and of squaring things not only with a very angry Mrs Woods but also with the advertising industry that has hitherto paid him so handsomely. Sex addiction clinics model themselves on other institutions that deal with addictions. They prescribe psychotherapy (to get to the bottom of the mystery of why a grown man could ever wish to shag a beautiful woman), drugs to control mood, libido and other drivers of transgression, and a self-help regime modelled on the famous Twelve Step approach used by Alcoholics Anonymous.

The first of the Twelve Steps is revealing: “We admit that we are powerless over addictive sexual behaviour.” It is this claim that seems to justify the deployment of the white coat and the questionnaire, rather than the wagged finger. The propensity to use the power that one has to attract the most attractive members of the opposite sex is turned on its head and becomes powerlessness. Others would regard seduction as the supreme exercise of power. At any rate, it seems odd to classify it as behaviour for which medical treatment is appropriate.

After all, in Woods’s case, there was no question of sexual deviancy or the need to coerce partners. Everything that happened was between consenting adults. Nor, as is sometimes the case, does it look like the genuinely pathological promiscuity of teenage girls with low self-esteem due to parental neglect engaging in the physical intimacy of sex as a substitute for the love they crave.

The existence of a specific “sex addiction disorder” has been contested — though Patrick Carnes, the leading expert in the area, and editor of the journal Sex Addiction and Compulsivity, claims that it is suffered by as many as 6 per cent of the population — and it has not yet made it to the psychiatrist’s bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). DSM lists pukka illnesses for which there are accepted diagnostic criteria, treatment pathways and, most importantly, billing arrangements.

For sex addiction is unlike alcohol addiction: there are no clear guidelines as to what counts as safe levels of sexual activity; preoccupation with sex seems to be nearly universal in males of a certain age, though being physically unattractive or hard-up somewhat obstructs translation into action in most cases. Nor is there evidence of the kind of physiological dependence that makes withdrawal from alcohol and other drugs so unpleasant. John F. Kennedy’s claim that “if I don’t have a woman for three days, I get terrible headaches” has to be treated with caution because Mrs Kennedy, while indubitably a woman, was not quite what he had in mind.

And this suggests that, if there is an addiction, it is not to sex but to sexual conquest. However powerful Woods’s sex drive, nobody would have suggested treatment if he had satisfied it entirely with Mrs Woods. “Sexual conquest addiction” or “new birdism” seems even less plausible as a medical condition than horniness per se, though novel syndromes are coined every day by doctors — and by lawyers wanting to uphold the claim of diminished responsibility on behalf of their clients. Computer addiction syndrome, parental alienation syndrome, self-victimisation syndrome, and UFO survivor syndrome are recent American examples that would make “sexual addiction syndrome” as robust a diagnosis as bronchitis.

Setting aside (with some difficulty) a certain amount of scepticism, we might think about the significance of medicalising Woods’s current predicament. The latter seems to have less to do with sex than with getting caught (perhaps we shall see the emergence of Getting Caught Syndrome), and less to do with the power of the physical sex drive than the multiplicity of its targets. Though rebranding it as a medical disorder may seem to be sympathetic, liberal, indeed progressive, this move may not be quite so benign. It is not so long since the medical approach to people who were thought to be too sexy involved treatments rather less kind than psychotherapy. And when homosexuality was expelled as a mental illness from DSM in 1973, this was rightly thought to be progressive. To draw back more of sexual behaviour into the clinic may have sinister undertones.

It’s also rather insulting to the sexual partners of the putative addict, who are reduced to the equivalent of the bottle of whisky (or meths) downed by an alcoholic and it undermines the patient’s standing as a free agent. It is interesting in this respect how ambivalent Woods is, admitting personal responsibility for his actions with a touching humility and at the same time making them into a condition to be treated, as if they were something that happened to him rather than actions he performed.

At any rate, his true fans, who will be eagerly awaiting his return, will be hoping that treatment aimed at helping to weaken one drive will not also weaken the other. In the meantime, some of us are grateful to him for making golf a little less mind-numbingly boring.

Raymond Tallis is a writer and physician and was Professor of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Manchester. His latest book, Michelangelo’s Finger: An Exploration of Everyday Transcendence, will be published by Atlantic later this year

Thumbs down to Carnival Cruiselines and British Airways

2010-02-08T09:18:00.000-08:00

Sex Negative policies instituted for no good reason except to monger fear that sex may happen. Not a good reason for these horrible new rules. I print sexologist Marty Klein's commentary below in full because it's so darned GOOD.

Airline, Cruise Line Reveal Obsession, Prejudice About Sex

By Dr. Marty Klein

A pair of transportation giants revealed last week that as parts of Western society become more comfortable acknowledging sexuality, discomfort and fear of sexuality are still as powerful as ever.

For starters, Carnival Cruises of Miami will not book another “cougar-cub cruise” (younger men and middle-aged women meeting for erotic connection, either temporary or long-term), even though the first sold out and demand for a second is high.

It’s not clear what Carnival objects to—middle-aged women having sex, middle-aged women having sex with people other than the crew, or simply all that legendary 24-hour-a-day food going uneaten.

On a more ominous note, British Airways has revealed its policy preventing men from sitting next to children to whom they are not related.

Mirko Fischer, a 33-year-old businessman, discovered the policy while flying with his wife. Six months pregnant, she had booked a window seat. Fischer was in the middle seat between her and a 12-year-old boy.

When all passengers were seated and buckled in, a flight attendant asked Fischer to change his seat. When he refused—explaining about his pregnant wife—the flight attendant raised his voice, warning that the plane could not take off unless Fischer obeyed. Apparently BA crew stalk the aisles of every plane before takeoff, demanding that men sitting next to kids move. Fischer has sued for the humiliation of being treated like a potential criminal.

BA’s failure to grasp the most simple dynamics of human interaction is breathtaking.
Molest a kid on a plane? There isn’t enough room in coach to move that much. Besides, most molestations are done by someone the victim knows. The more reasonable policy would be to prevent kids from sitting with their parents, not with strangers.

* * *

To understand the true problem here, let’s imagine slightly changing the two companies’ policies. Say Carnival’s policy was “no cruises focusing on older people meeting each other for companionship,” or “no cruises focusing on young people in the travel industry looking for professional mentors.”

Similarly, let’s alter BA’s policy. Say it was “no handicapped people allowed to sit next to children,” or “no African-Americans,” or “no Arabs,” or “no one over 60.”

Not only would such policies be condemned, they’d be considered bizarre. The problem with CC’s and BA’s policies isn’t merely that they’re discriminatory, it’s that they don’t make sense—but because the discrimination is based on sexuality (imagined or real), people tolerate it.

In the 20th century, civil rights were granted to blacks, women, and the handicapped when enough people complained that discriminating against these groups was unreasonable. In this century, we have to make the case that discrimination against people based on the fear of their sexuality is equally unreasonable (and equally unconstitutional).

Some will inevitably protest, “Some men do molest kids. Some cougar-cub pairings are unhealthy, or done in public.” And of course that’s true.

But imagine blocking anti-discrimination laws against blacks, women, and the handicapped by telling the parallel truth—that some blacks are criminals (true, of course); that some women are stupid or vapid (true, of course); or that some handicapped people are clumsy and selfish and aggressively in others’ way (true, of course).

As public policy, we don’t withhold rights from a group because of the behavior or characteristics of a few of its members. And this should be equally true regarding sexual-related issues.

Millions of Americans shouldn’t be punished because a few people misuse nude beaches or spend the rent money on lap dances. But if we’re going to scrub cruise ships, airlines, beaches, bookstores, and other places so Americans can’t use or misuse them sexually, let’s start with an institution that, while most participants engage it legally and peacefully, is a proven haven where thousands of people have sexually exploited children: the Catholic Church.

Meanwhile, if BA doesn’t trust me enough to let me fly next to a kid, I’ll take my business to some other bankrupt airline. United apparently trusts me much more—much to my dismay, they love to sit me next to kids.

http://bit.ly/4q3IDb

Study supports validity of non-monogamous relationships

2010-02-07T11:56:00.000-08:00

New research investigates happiness and longevity of couples who choose open style relationship patterns. Read synopsis of the study here:

http://www.planetout.com/hot_topics/2010/02/is-monogamy-out.html

Another reason to talk to your kids about sex

2010-01-29T11:44:00.000-08:00

"Playing doctor" in the new millenium has far greater consequences than it did when we were kids. No longer is there simply the fear that Mom will burst in on us and yell at us. Read about today's consequences. And remember, the designation of sexual offender lasts for LIFE!

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-0129-sexting-20100128,0,202244.story

Humour

2010-01-27T18:09:00.001-08:00

On his 78th birthday a man got a gift certificate from his wife.

The certificate paid for a visit to a medicine man living on a nearby reservation, who was rumoured to have a wonderful cure for erectile dysfunction.
After being persuaded, the man drove to the reservation, handed his gift certificate to the medicine man and wondered what he was in for.

The medicine man slowly, methodically produced a potion, handed it to him, and with a grip on his shoulder, warned: "This is powerful medicine and it must be respected. You take only a teaspoonful and then say, '1-2-3'. When you do that, you will become more manly than you have ever been in your life and be able to perform as long as you want!"

The elderly man was encouraged. As he walked away, he turned and asked, "How do I stop the medicine from working?" "Your partner must say, '1-2-3-4'," the medicine man responded, "but when she does, the medicine will not work again until the next full moon."

He was very eager to see if it worked. When he got home, he shaved, showered, took a spoonful of the medicine, and then invited his wife to join him in the bedroom. When she came in, he took off his clothes and said, "1-2-3!" Immediately, he was the manliest of men!

His wife was excited and began throwing off her clothes and then she asked, "What was the 1-2-3 for?"

And that, boys and girls, is why we should never end our sentences with a preposition because, if we do, we could end up with a dangling participle.

Book Review of The Trauma Myth

2010-01-27T13:47:00.000-08:00

Books

Abusing Not Only Children, but Also Science

The Trauma Myth

From The New York Times

By ABIGAIL ZUGER, M.D.

Published: January 25, 2010

Given the vested interests lurking all over the current medical landscape, it is no wonder that the scientific method is so often mauled a little in transit. Cases of data ignored or manipulated to serve an agenda are like muggings in a bad neighborhood: you hear about them all the time, but in fact relatively few are ever openly examined.

And so even readers with no personal or professional connection to the sexual abuse of children may be edified by “The Trauma Myth,” a short tale of one such particularly fraught episode.

For a graduate research project at Harvard in the mid-1990s, the psychologist Susan A. Clancy arranged to interview adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, expecting to confirm the conventional wisdom that the more traumatic the abuse had been, the more troubled an adult the child had become.

Dr. Clancy figured she knew what she would find: “Everything I knew dictated that the abuse should be a horrible experience, that the child should be traumatized at the time it was happening — overwhelmed with fear, shock, horror.”

But many carefully documented interviews revealed nothing of the sort. Commonly, the abuse had been confusing for the child but not traumatic in the usual sense of the word. Only when the child grew old enough to understand exactly what had happened — sometimes many years later — did the fear, shock and horror begin. And only at that point did the experience become traumatic and begin its well-known destructive process.

Dr. Clancy questioned her findings, reconfirmed them and was convinced. Her audience, when she made the data public, was outraged.

First, her data flew in the face of several decades of politically correct trauma theory, feminist theory and sexual politics.

Second, Dr. Clancy found that the world had little appetite for scientific subtlety: “Unfortunately, when people heard ‘not traumatic when it happens,’ they translated my words to mean, ‘It doesn’t harm victims later on.’ Even worse, some assumed I was blaming victims for their abuse.”

Dr. Clancy reports that she became a pariah in lay and academic circles. She was “crucified” in the press as a “friend of pedophiles,” colleagues boycotted her talks, advisers suggested that continuing on her trajectory would rule out an academic career.

All that fuss about one little word — “trauma” — and a change in its timing. Why should it matter one way or the other?

Dr. Clancy suggests several reasons her data aroused such passion. For one thing, a whole academic and therapeutic structure rides on the old model of sexual abuse; her findings had the potential to undermine a host of expensive treatment and prevention projects.

Meanwhile, she argues, it is her model that may really help victims. Adult survivors of childhood abuse are commonly mortified by their own behavior as children. By not fighting back or calling for help, they blame themselves for effectively colluding with their abuser. It can be intensely comforting for them to hear that their reaction, or lack thereof, was completely normal.

Dr. Clancy’s model also makes some sense of the whole sticky question of repressed memory. Most traumatic events are likely to be vividly remembered. But if instances of sexual abuse are simply among the many confusions that characterize childhood, they are perfectly forgettable: “Why should a child remember them if, at the time they happened, they were not particularly traumatic?” Only when reprocessed and fully understood do the memories leap into focus.

Even without all these practicalities, the moral of Dr. Clancy’s story is clear: science should represent truth, not wishful thinking. When good data fly in the face of beloved theory, the theory has to go.

Dr. Clancy writes with the precision and patient repetition of a good teacher on complicated terrain. Her prose could not be clearer, and her points are restated many, many times over. But at Amazon.com, an outraged customer-reviewer has already pounced.

“It is appalling,” the reviewer wrote, “that ‘experts’ like Susan Clancy can get away with having a book published with a title that is not only false, but one that tells sexual perpetrators, ‘Go ahead, sexually abuse children, they like it, and they aren’t going to be traumatized by it.’ ”

Science is sometimes no match for conviction, and often, evidently, good writing is not either.

Vancouver Pharmacy reverses discriminatory policy

2010-01-27T12:14:00.000-08:00

Look at this letter I just got about Lu's Pharmacy changing its discriminatory policy against non-female-born women. Hooray! Progress!

"I just wanted to share the good news. Lu's has de facto removed their women-born women policy! This has been in effect for about two weeks.

I went into Lu's today with a few friends, one of which is a transwoman who moved her prescriptions to Lu's. They were aware of her trans status as her old name is on her health care card. It was a complete non-issue, the pharmacist was very friendly, as was the volunteer who gave us a tour. They were very sincere, and I must say that I rather like them. The pharmacist even gave my friend a hug on the way out!

They have not made a press release or similar announcement as their Executive Director resigned recently, and I get the sense that they are expending quite a lot of energy filling her duties. They did promise to change their Political Agreements on their website, and it seems that they have to make changes to quite a lot of their documentation.

Hooray for everyone helping to open minds! This is a victory for feminists everywhere!"

A sensible letter re: the IOC's recent decision

2010-01-26T17:29:00.000-08:00

Interested in a logical rebuttal to the IOC's bizarre decision regarding how sex should be determined? Read about it here:

http://www.thehastingscenter.org/Bioethicsforum/Post.aspx?id=4426

Sex phobics strike school libraries

2010-01-26T16:45:00.000-08:00

Dictionary, yes, dictionary, banned from school library. Sadly, this doesn't surprise me.

http://timesonline.typepad.com/schoolgate/2010/01/dictionary-banned-from-school-classroom.html

Research vindicates same sex parents

2010-01-26T11:14:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, this study seems only to have gotten press in the scientific journals. Important findings.

Do Children Need Both a Mother and a Father?
New Study Examines If the Gender of Parents Matter

LOS ANGELES—January 21, 2010—The presumption that children need both a mother and a father is widespread. It has been used by proponents of Proposition 8 to argue against same-sex marriage and to uphold a ban on same-sex adoption.

On the other end of the political spectrum, Barack Obama endorsed the vital role of fathers in a 2008 speech: “Of all the rocks upon which we build our lives, we are reminded today that family is the most important. And we are called to recognize and honor how critical every father is to that foundation.”

The lead article in the February issue of Journal of Marriage and Family challenges the idea that “fatherless” children are necessarily at a disadvantage or that men provide a different, indispensable set of parenting skills than women.

“Significant policy decisions have been swayed by the misconception across party lines that children need both a mother and a father. Yet, there is almost no social science research to support this claim. One problem is that proponents of this view routinely ignore research on same-gender parents,” said sociologist Timothy Biblarz of the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

Extending their prior work on gender and family, Biblarz and Judith Stacey of NYU analyzed relevant studies about parenting, including available research on single-mother and single-father households, gay male parents and lesbian parents. “That a child needs a male parent and a female parent is so taken for granted that people are uncritical,” Stacey said.

In their analysis, the researchers found no evidence of gender-based parenting abilities, with the “partial exception of lactation,” noting that very little about the gender of the parent has significance for children’s psychological adjustment and social success.

As the researchers write: “The social science research that is routinely cited does not actually speak to the questions of whether or not children need both a mother and a father at home. Instead proponents generally cite research that compares [heterosexual two-parent] families with single parents, thus conflating the number with the gender of parents.”

Indeed, there are far more similarities than differences among children of lesbian and heterosexual parents, according to the study. On average, two mothers tended to play with their children more, were less likely to use physical discipline, and were less likely to raise children with chauvinistic attitudes. Studies of gay male families are still limited.

However, like two heterosexual parents, new parenthood among lesbians increased stress and conflict, exacerbated by general lack of legal recognition of commitment. Also, lesbian biological mothers typically assumed greater caregiving responsibility than their partners, reflecting inequities among heterosexual couples.

“The bottom line is that the science shows that children raised by two same-gender parents do as well on average as children raised by two different-gender parents. This is obviously inconsistent with the widespread claim that children must be raised by a mother and a father to do well,” Biblarz said.

Stacey concluded: “The family type that is best for children is one that has responsible, committed, stable parenting. Two parents are, on average, better than one, but one really good parent is better than two not-so-good ones. The gender of parents only matters in ways that don’t matter.”

This study is published in the February 2010 issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family.

Another great quote for today

2010-01-22T16:13:00.001-08:00

"Light travels faster then sound... which is why most people appear brilliant until you hear them.".... Unknown

Quote of the day

2010-01-22T12:31:00.000-08:00

"Desperate times call for desperate measures. It´s time to get your head out of the dumps and your legs in the air!"...Karen from Will and Grace

Call for participation in my research

2009-12-20T15:53:00.000-08:00

Do you identify as a Baby Boomer? Were you born between 1956 and ’64? I’d like to hear about how being part of the Baby Boomer demographic affected your life choices—and your sexuality. Short, anonymous interviews. Seeking both male and female, gay and straight respondents of all genders. Please send an email to sexdoc@smartsextalk.com with the subject line: Baby Boomer interview and I’ll get back to you to set up times, etc.

Thank you in advance for your willingness to help me with this research.

In Memoriam

2009-12-10T15:12:00.000-08:00

Vancouver's LGBT and social work communities have lost a bright light. Yesterday marked a crowded and meaningful wake held for Catherine White Holman. She will be missed on so many levels, by so many people. Condolences to all who love her.

http://www.xtra.ca/public/Vancouver/Catherine_WhiteHolman_was_a_light_to_so_many-7965.aspx

Quote of the week

2009-11-22T13:32:00.001-08:00

A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good.

I pledge allegiance...

2009-11-11T18:02:00.000-08:00

From the mouths of babes...
Wait till you read this story about a ten year old from Arkansas (!) with the smarts to understand, and stand up for, what America's founding fathers meant when they drafted the pledge of allegiance. You go, Will Phillips!

http://www.arktimes.com/articles/articleviewer.aspx?ArticleID=2f5d7a3b-c72a-446b-8d20-3823aa79c021

New column available on Smart Sex Talk website

2009-11-09T09:32:00.000-08:00

There's a new column available on the website now, a primer on BDSM or kink. You can find it by looking under the Perspectives tab and clicking on Alternative Sexualities. Or just go here:

http://www.smartsextalk.com/kink_primer.html

News (?) about gay and straight married people

2009-11-03T14:45:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure why anyone would think that gay couples would be significantly different from straight ones, but this article debunks the idea in any case with some demographic research. Interesting statistics.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33595163/ns/us_news-life/

APA takes official stand against "reparative" therapy

2009-11-03T12:42:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time coming, but even the fairly conservative American Psychological Association has come out with an official position against "reparative" therapy. Read the article here:

http://scienceblogs.com/corpuscallosum/2009/10/sexual_orientation_change_effo.php?utm_source=combinedfeed&utm_medium=rss

Family values

2009-10-30T14:29:00.000-07:00

I barely made it through the article about the family on holiday in Florida (boo, Florida) who was denied access to their dying mother/spouse because the moms were gay without weeping. This one is a wet t shirt video for sure.
If this doesn't convince you that we need marriage for ALL people who love, your heart is stone.

Terms of Enfearment:
http://vimeo.com/7040441

Why gay marriage matters...again

2009-10-27T11:41:00.000-07:00

A real life example of how homophobia and power mix. While it's true that a legal marriage may not have thrown any doors open in this case, it surely would have stopped the craziness at the legal level.
This is an equal rights issue. Can you imagine debating whether women or blacks should be allowed equal rights? It's the same violation against a different group, and it is unfair, prejudiced and hurtful.
I recommend the article highly.

http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2009/10/why_gay_marriage_matters_again_2.php?utm_source=combinedfeed&utm_medium=rss

Bad tag in research link

2009-10-21T14:09:00.001-07:00

I'm checking what went wrong with the link to the survey below. Stay tuned.
Okay, I've got it. Try this one:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=03MvsLJLzz7zxbg_2ftQlL3Q_3d_3d

Research participation opportunity

2009-10-21T14:05:00.000-07:00

Here's your chance to help us know more about what makes long-term sexual relationships 'tick'. Please consider participating if you've been in an LTR for five years or longer. Thank you.
************************************************************************************

Many people in long term (more than 5 years) relationships notice that their sexual desire declines somewhat and they may not crave sexual activity as strongly as they did early in their relationship. Researchers at the University of British Columbia, Canada are very interested in what might predict a decline in sexual desire among men and women in long-term (more than 5 years length) relationships. Participation in this study is greatly needed if we are to establish effective treatments for men and women who are bothered by the decline in their sexual interests. If you have been in a relationship, and living with your partner for at least 5 years, please follow the link to participate in this important research.

Click Here to take survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=03MvsLJLzz7zxbg_2ftQlL3Q_3d_3d

Does the Pill affect one's choice of mate?

2009-10-21T13:53:00.000-07:00

This interesting article points out some far-reaching effects of long-term use of the birth control pill, especially during the time when women are seeking mates.

http://io9.com/5376689/does-the-pill-really-affect-our-choice-of-mate

A manifesto on the gay "debate"

2009-10-20T11:46:00.000-07:00

Well worth the read.

http://heysonnie.wordpress.com/2009/10/17/manifesto-the-time-has-come/

Free AIDS meds snarled in red tape....you can help.

2009-10-15T14:25:00.000-07:00

Canada's senate committee is currently considering a bill to simplify the process for AIDS drug manufacturers who are willing to send AIDS -relieving drugs for free, to Africa. Currently, though the companies are (at least somewhat) willing to provide the drugs, the approval process is so bureaucratic that ONLY ONE SHIPMENT EVER has left this country. Check out the article below.

Would you write a short letter to the Senators' banking committee to urge them to pass this bill? They are dithering because, they say, "it is a trade issue". You can copy or modify either of the drafts (I got the template from the Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign).

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/article/709020--the-aids-drug-shuffle

The letter template:

The Clerk & Members of the

Senate Standing Committee on Banking,

Trade & Commerce

Senate of Canada

Ottawa, ON K1A 0A4

Dear Clerk and Committee Members:

Bill S-232

I am a __________ in Vancouver, British Columbia. I write to you urgently with respect to the provisions of Bill S-232.

You know the facts. You know the urgency of the situation. And you know what you need to do about it.

This issue has been characterized as a ‘trade’ issue. Are we now ‘trading’ our Canadian compassion for some benefit in an economic dispute?

People are dying. You can prevent that by your actions, with no downside to Canadians. Surely that is all you need to know.

Please support Bill S-232 without changing its model.

I look forward to you’re your confirmation that you will support Bill S-232 with no significant changes.

Yours truly,

Frightening news item re: baby pictures

2009-10-13T16:19:00.000-07:00

Read it and weep. And if you think this is just one odd case of over-enthusiasm, read Marty Klein's America's War on Sex. It's chilling what's happening down there.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/arizona-couple-suing-bathtime-photos-prompt-wal-mart/story?id=8624533

Ten reasons having sex is good for your health

2009-10-12T16:22:00.000-07:00

This readable article delineates ten reasons why sexual activity is good for our health.

http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/features/10-surprising-health-benefits-of-sex

New AIDS vaccine maybe not

2009-10-12T15:03:00.000-07:00

The US Army and National Institute of Health may be less than forthcoming with results about their recently touted new AIDS vaccine. This article explains the complicated reasoning:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125511780864976689.html

Successful attack on truth in academia

2009-09-30T13:50:00.000-07:00

Mike Adams ran a column today how the Women's Studies program at Humboldt

State University in northern California trashed the faculty member who dared to teach the statistics of domestic violence.

Read it and cringe.

http://townhall.com/columnists/MikeAdams/2009/09/23/intellectual_rapists

Poland okays compulsory castration for sex offenders

2009-09-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

And here's another hot controversy to keep you thinking: What do you think about compulsory castration for sex offenders? Don't forget to read both the press reports and the voluntary Internet comments. Again...very different.

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE58O4LE20090925

and the responses:
http://digg.com/world_news/Poland_okays_forcible_castration_for_pedophiles_5

Teen succumbs after

2009-09-29T14:00:00.000-07:00

What the press is saying:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1216714/Schoolgirl-14-dies-given-cervical-cancer-jab.html

What the Internet is saying:

http://digg.com/health/Schoolgirl_14_dies_after_being_given_cervical_cancer_jab

Read both parts. It's quite enlightening to see how starkly different are the perspectives of the 'newspaper sellers' and the Internet users who respond to the reports (and reporting).

BTW, rare allergic reactions are not uncommon with many, many helpful drugs. The actual incidence of problems with these particular drugs is actually quite low. Not that that helps this poor child.
Also note that the British drug and the one used here in North America, Gardisil, are different formulations. Ours protects us against more strains of HPV.

Timing of first sex linked to genes?

2009-09-29T10:08:00.000-07:00

Well, look at this. Now some research suggests the age of sexual maturation--and even age of sexual awakening--may have a genetic link. This is something to watch in future.

http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/PrinterFriendly.cfm?story_id=14446726

Interesting gay research

2009-09-24T14:03:00.000-07:00

I found this article in the often staid and highbrow Scientific American Magazine. It serves as a bit of a primer on gay male roles and talks about the 2D:4D finger length ratio research.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=gay-male-sex-roles

New show with plastinated bodies

2009-09-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

I went twice to see the Body Project and was fascinated...but dismayed that the pubococcygeal muscle had been removed on ALL the bodies. What was with that? Also, there was a paltry amount of information on human sexuality to be gained from the exhibit.
Seems I wasn't the only one to notice. A new exhibit is underway, this one including (depending on the "sensibilities" of the city in which it is shown) several copulating plastinated cadavers.

http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USTRE58A4Z220090911

Another good university sexuality course hits the skids

2009-09-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

Having taught university-level sexuality courses, I too have felt underwhelmed by the support from the hosting departments, despite enthusiastic reception from the students. Another such prof throws in the towel.

From Yale Daily News:

'Porn in the Morn' is no more

By Shahla Naimi

Staff Reporter

Published Thursday, September 17, 2009

For those forward-thinking students who, having turned in schedules for the fall term, are looking ahead to spring courses, “Porn in the Morn” is no longer on the menu.

That’s because the class, officially dubbed “Biology of Gender and Human Sexuality” lost its science credit and will not be offered this academic year. The course underwent routine review by the Yale College Science Council in April; that body decided the course no longer met the requirements of a science distributional requirement.

Eva Galvan/Staff Reporter

Professor Bill Summers elected to cancel his “Porn in the Morn” class.

William Summers, the radiology professor who conceived of the course and has taught “Porn in the Morn” since 2005, disagreed with that decision.

“I didn’t agree that it wasn’t a science course,” Summers said.

After the Science Council pulled the course’s coveted “Sc” status, Summers pulled the course.

“I thought the decision showed a lack of confidence the Science Council expressed in me,” Summers said. “When you lose the respect of your colleagues by teaching it, you lose your enthusiasm to teach it.”

Summers said he views science more broadly than does the Science Council — which only designates natural sciences, not human sciences, for science distribution credit. Summers believes that the human sciences, such as psychology, should also be given the science distributional designation.

“If you do an epidemiological study of birds, it’s considered a natural science, but if you do it on humans, it’s not considered a natural science,” Summers said. “I thought it was all science but they had a distinction between natural sciences and all other sciences.”

There were other reasons why Summers decided not to teach the course. He wanted to focus on other subjects in his teaching; he is currently teaching six credits. But had the course’s science credit been re-approved, Summers said he probably would have continued to teach it because the course was in high demand among students. Last spring, 357 students took the iconic course — mainly freshman and sophomores. Enrollment peaked in 2005 when 546 took “Porn in the Morn.”

That year, Summers had to split the class in two because space wasn’t available for the full 546-student lecture. Summers would lecture the same material twice a day, two days a week.

The next semester, Summers taught “Porn in the Morn” from the auditorium in the Yale Law School, one of the largest lecture spaces on central campus. It was a setting where some students first learned the concept of the G-spot, or first saw an image of a crowning baby (the projection of which on the auditorium screen caused several students to walk out). Summers was known to invoke aliens on his exams, a trope “to suggest that one look at the issue [of sexual dimorphism] without any preconceived assumptions,” he wrote in an e-mail to the News.

“This is genuinely interesting subject matter that some people have never been exposed to,” said Christina Cicchetti ’11, who took the class last term. “It’s valuable even if it doesn’t make English majors cry.”

That said, Jenny Witthuhn ’12 — who also took the class last spring — said it made more sense to classify the course as a social science credit, rather than as a natural science.

“The class really focused on the social constructions of the topic,” Witthuhn said. “I see the logic of [the change] because it makes more sense to classify it as a social sciences.”

Routine reviews of all courses proposed for the science distributional credit occur every three to five years, said William Segraves, associate dean for science education and the chair of the Science Council. Segraves would not say exactly why the Science Council removed the science designation from Summers’s course.

Students still had the option of taking a course on human sexuality and reproduction this term: Harvey Kliman, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Yale School of Medicine, is teaching a yearlong freshman seminar called “Topics of Reproductive Biology.” The seminar — which carries the “Sc” coding — addresses Yale’s hook-up culture and “the idea that reproduction is the center of all human activity,” Kliman said.

But Kliman’s course is not for the faint of heart: Interested students must have received a score of 5 on the Advanced Placement Biology exam to be considered for the course.

High religiosity=High teen pregnancy rate

2009-09-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

This article will come as no surprise to most, but it does mark scientific research into the connection between high adherence to conservative religious doctrines and the consequence of high teen birth rates. Well-written article.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/teenbirthrateshigherinhighlyreligiousstates/print

More on California hypocrite

2009-09-10T09:03:00.000-07:00

And here's a news article on FORMER California assemblyman Mike Duvall.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/09/mike-duvall-denies-an-affair-admits-inappropriate-storytelling-on-sex-comments.html

Family values politician caught being a pig

2009-09-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

Southern California politician with a reputation for always upholding staunch "family values" gets caught on mike boasting of kinky sexploits with several female lobbyists. Oops!
Watch the tape here and enjoy the justice of it all:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2GKqTeBlAg

Sex positive electric toothbrush

2009-09-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

Would your dentist approve?

Vermont joins states with same-sex marriage

2009-09-01T09:14:00.000-07:00

As yet another state begins issuing marriage licenses to gays and lesbians, Vermont-based Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream is marking the occasion in typically sweet fashion. They're renaming their "Chubby Hubby" flavor "Hubby Hubby" for the month.

Read more here:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5grllk_nt63q2NPIotyM9xpL4hwkwD9AEICK00

Vancouver information session re: gay adoption

2009-08-21T17:04:00.000-07:00

If you, or someone you know, would make a loving, committed parent, this Gay Adoption Information session is for you.

Come meet gay and lesbian adoptive parents and hear their stories. Learn the facts about adopting in BC. It’s easier than you think.

If you know someone who would make an amazing adoptive parent, encourage them to attend.

Gay Adoption Information Session
Thursday, September 17th, 7:00-8:30pm
Roundhouse Community Centre, 181 Roundhouse Mews (Corner of Davie & Pacific)

For information: Sarah Reid, AFABC 604-320-7330, Ext 105 or sreid@bcadoption.com

1-877-ADOPT-07 (1-877-236-7807)
www.bcadopt.com

New column available

2009-08-18T17:29:00.000-07:00

My most recent XtraWest column is now available online for you to read. Please do.

http://tiny.cc/EzkC4

Sex education and humour conference notice

2009-08-14T10:23:00.000-07:00

For any of you sex educators (or comics) out there who want to go to a FUN conference, this is or you: a conference focusing on how to deliver sex education in a humourous format. Sign me up!

http://www.sageinstitute.org/pdf/2009CFLEConferenceFlyer.pdf

Shirtless men to sell shirts? Not at Abercrombie and Fitch.

2009-08-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

Sex sells everything, but it is no match for our culture's firm belief in sex negativity. One paid male model? AOK. 111 shirtless male shoppers? Don't think so. Thumbs down to Abercrombie and Fitch for their lack of humour.

Watch the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdeBp8J0rqs

Opportunity to Participate in New Funded Study

2009-08-07T14:52:00.000-07:00

Are you a post-menopausal woman who has noticed a decrease in your sexual desire? A local research team, with whom I have worked in the past and can therefore recommend as to their professionalism, is hosting a study on Hypoactive Desire. You may qualify. Contact me directly or go to this website for more information. You may sign up to participate directly with them if you prefer.

www.BloomStudy.com

Travelling with sex toys in your baggage pre-911

2009-08-06T13:21:00.000-07:00

David Steinberg is one of my favourite story tellers, and this is one of my favourite David Steinberg stories. Happily, he's shared it with all of us. Read it here:

http://tiny.cc/0mrCf

APA makes policy statement about conversion therapy

2009-08-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

I got this post through an email listserv and it came without a URL reference. This statement was issued on 5 August 2009 and is the first time to my knowledge that the APA has taken an official stand on reparative therapy. Bravo, APA!

*******************************************

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE THAT SEXUAL ORIENTATION CHANGE EFFORTS WORK, SAYS APA
Practitioners Should Avoid Telling Clients They Can Change from Gay to Straight

——————————————————————————–

TORONTO—The American Psychological Association adopted a resolution Wednesday stating that mental health professionals should avoid telling clients that they can change their sexual orientation through therapy or other treatments.

The “Resolution on Appropriate Affirmative Responses to Sexual Orientation Distress and Change Efforts” also advises that parents, guardians, young people and their families avoid sexual orientation treatments that portray homosexuality as a mental illness or developmental disorder and instead seek psychotherapy, social support and educational services “that provide accurate information on sexual orientation and sexuality, increase family and school support and reduce rejection of sexual minority youth.”

The approval, by APA’s governing Council of Representatives, came at APA’s annual convention, during which a task force presented a report that in part examined the efficacy of so-called “reparative therapy,” or sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE).

“Contrary to claims of sexual orientation change advocates and practitioners, there is insufficient evidence to support the use of psychological interventions to change sexual orientation,” said Judith M. Glassgold, PsyD, chair of the task force. “Scientifically rigorous older studies in this area found that sexual orientation was unlikely to change due to efforts designed for this purpose. Contrary to the claims of SOCE practitioners and advocates, recent research studies do not provide evidence of sexual orientation change as the research methods are inadequate to determine the effectiveness of these interventions.” Glassgold added: “At most, certain studies suggested that some individuals learned how to ignore or not act on their homosexual attractions. Yet, these studies did not indicate for whom this was possible, how long it lasted or its long-term mental health effects. Also, this result was much less likely to be true for people who started out only attracted to people of the same sex.”

Based on this review, the task force recommended that mental health professionals avoid misrepresenting the efficacy of sexual orientation change efforts when providing assistance to people distressed about their own or others’ sexual orientation.

APA appointed the six-member Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation in 2007 to review and update APA’s 1997 resolution, “Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation,” and to generate a report. APA was concerned about ongoing efforts to promote the notion that sexual orientation can be changed through psychotherapy or approaches that mischaracterize homosexuality as a mental disorder.

The task force examined the peer-reviewed journal articles in English from 1960 to 2007, which included 83 studies. Most of the studies were conducted before 1978, and only a few had been conducted in the last 10 years. The group also reviewed the recent literature on the psychology of sexual orientation.

“Unfortunately, much of the research in the area of sexual orientation change contains serious design flaws,” Glassgold said. “Few studies could be considered methodologically sound and none systematically evaluated potential harms.”

As to the issue of possible harm, the task force was unable to reach any conclusion regarding the efficacy or safety of any of the recent studies of SOCE: “There are no methodologically sound studies of recent SOCE that would enable the task force to make a definitive statement about whether or not recent SOCE is safe or harmful and for whom,” according to the report.

“Without such information, psychologists cannot predict the impact of these treatments and need to be very cautious, given that some qualitative research suggests the potential for harm,” Glassgold said. “Practitioners can assist clients through therapies that do not attempt to change sexual orientation, but rather involve acceptance, support and identity exploration and development without imposing a specific identity outcome.”

As part of its report, the task force identified that some clients seeking to change their sexual orientation may be in distress because of a conflict between their sexual orientation and religious beliefs. The task force recommended that licensed mental health care providers treating such clients help them “explore possible life paths that address the reality of their sexual orientation, reduce the stigma associated with homosexuality, respect the client’s religious beliefs, and consider possibilities for a religiously and spiritually meaningful and rewarding life.”

“In other words,” Glassgold said, “we recommend that psychologists be completely honest about the likelihood of sexual orientation change, and that they help clients explore their assumptions and goals with respect to both religion and sexuality.”

A copy of the task force report may be obtained from APA’s Public Affairs Office or at http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/publications/therapeutic-response.pdf.

Members of the APA Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation:

Judith M. Glassgold, PsyD, Rutgers University – Chair
Lee Beckstead, PhD
Jack Drescher, MD
Beverly Greene, PhD, St. John’s University
Robin Lin Miller, PhD, Michigan State University
Roger L. Worthington, PhD, University of Missouri

The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world’s largest association of psychologists. APA’s membership includes more than 150,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting health, education and human welfare.

Not good news for older LGBT population

2009-08-05T14:16:00.000-07:00

A study from the University of Toronto shows that the statistics are staggeringly against the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgendered) community later in life when it comes to health care options and quality of life opportunities. 75% live alone (versus 33% non LGBT), 90% have no children (vs 20%), and 80% are single. Recent reports out of Chicago claim that lesbians and gays over 65 are twice as likely to live alone and 10 times less likely to have a caretaker if they get ill. All of these statistics point to a challenging process of LGBT aging, increasingly alone and unsupported.

Economic downturn results in innovative offer.

2009-07-30T10:32:00.000-07:00

Brothels in Europe are now offering a flat rate for their patrons, based on all-you-can-eat restaurants' philosophy, to boost flagging attendance. Other offers? Discount for environmentally-conscious bike-riders, seniors and disabled, etc.

http://tiny.cc/rxUtD

Athletes injured in hate bombing

2009-07-29T11:44:00.000-07:00

This is why we need gay games, and the brave athletes who play in them. Sadly, bigotry still thrives.

http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc&sc2=news&sc3&id=94294

Research opportunity for LGBTs

2009-07-29T09:22:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I am working on my Master of Arts Degree at the University of Washington, Tacoma. For my thesis, I am conducting a research study to explore the sexual development in LGBT adults. Please read complete details below.
I am emailing now to invite you to participate in an on-line survey for the study.

If you are willing to participate in the survey, please clink on this link. http://depts.washington.edu/glbtsrvy/

IMPORTANT: The log-in for the website is “lgbt” (lower case, no quotation marks) and the password is “survey” (lower case, no quotation marks).

Please forward this email to others who might also be interested in participating.

If you have any questions about the survey or the study, please let me know. You can call my supervisor Dr. Nita McKinley at (253) 692-4543, email me at glbtsrvy@u.washington.edu,

or mail me at the address below. Please remember that we cannot guarantee the confidentiality of any information sent by email.
I know your time is valuable and I would like to thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Colleen Forde, Masters of Arts Student
Supervisor: Nita McKinley, PhD
IAS, University of Washington, Tacoma
1900 Commerce Street
Tacoma, WA 98402

INFORMATION ON STUDY: The purpose of this research is to study developmental sequencing of sexual behavior such as kissing, dating, petting, and sexual act/activities in adults who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender. The research will examine specific sexual behaviors and the age in which you first engaged in those behaviors.

This research is important because understanding sexual development can be invaluable to families, educators, therapist and researchers. However, you will probably not directly benefit.

Timely video about Vancouver

2009-07-28T12:27:00.000-07:00

Check out this new video by Stephen Emery about Matthew Presidente's song about Vancouver. Complex city, complex issues.

http://socialize.outtv.ca/video/video/show?id=3395784%3AVideo%3A3944

New group for gay men in Vancouver

2009-07-24T13:43:00.000-07:00

Dr. Bill Coleman and Darren Usher will be co-facilitating this group for gay men in Vancouver, beginning August 6th. See below for details.

This dynamic 4 session workshop brings gay men together to explore the role and meaning of sex and intimacy in our lives. Participants will discuss a broad range of topics with other gay guys about sex, gay life and relationships. We anticipate that after the four sessions guys will have greater comfort with sex, enhanced sexual options, and hopefully learned some new ways to enjoy their sex life their way. These groups will be lead by two experienced facilitators - Bill has over 20 years of working with gay guys, relationships, and sexuality and Darren has been working with gay men’s groups for ten years. Join us for 4 consecutive Thursdays beginning August 6^th from 6.30pm tom 9.30pm at HIM’s offices.

To register call 604 488 1001 or email: register@contacthim.ca

Israeli gay porn travel movie...no kidding.

2009-07-24T12:12:00.000-07:00

This article talks about the marriage of two diverse media imprints--travel promotion and gay porn. It's interesting, humourous, and will make you think about stereotypes and unconscious racism. Worth a read. Here's an excerpt:

In Men of Israel, the guys are all Israeli, all Jewish, and they’re not hiding it. Sure, their names are probably fakes—no parents would name their son Morr Foxx unless they knew he’d grow up to be a gay porn star. But at least their names sound plausibly Israeli, plausibly Jewish: Matan Shalev, Avi Dar, Naor Tal.

So will Lucas’s self-proclaimed landmark film change things? For Israel, perhaps. The director’s goal is to help viewers realize that Israel is a place of unique beauty and history, he says, but also a place that’s not so different from Prague or Sydney or Palm Springs— all places where hot men have sex with each other on film, and all nice places to take a perfectly innocent gay-cation. To that extent, the project seems likely to succeed.

http://www.tabletmag.com/life-and-religion/10955/great-exxxpectations/

New Health Project announced for HIV/AIDS.

2009-07-24T09:39:00.000-07:00

Living with HIV/AIDS?

We need you!

Join the BC Coalition of People with Disabilities’ new health project!

After 30 years of advocacy, the BC Coalition of People with Disabilities (BCCPD) knows the power of people with disabilities sharing their experiences and knowledge with others.

The common theme among people living well with disability is their ability to create a personal path to HEAL—health education, advocacy and leadership*

We are pleased to offer our first HEAL program: creating five HEAL guides for people living with HIV/AIDS.

If you are a person living with HIV/AIDS and have some experience with one or more of the topics below, we want to hear from you. We’ll be creating a series of booklets on the HEAL approach to living with HIV/AIDS and:

Depression

Bipolar disorder

Substance abuse/harm reduction

Stigma

Episodic disability

Interested in hearing more? Contact Shelley at BCCPD

Phone 604-875-0188 or toll-free to leave a message 1-877-232-7400

Fax 604-875-9227; Email wdi@bccpd.bc.ca

Confidentiality is assured and you may participate using a pseudonym.

Information is also available at http://www.bccpd.bc.ca under News at BCCPD

*Read more about HEAL in the Summer 2009 issue of Transition magazine at http://www.bccpd.bc.ca.

Parents want to believe in teens' "promiscuity"...despite evidence to the contrary.

2009-07-23T11:10:00.000-07:00

Data shows that teens are having sex later than their older sisters and brothers, and are doing so more conscientiously. Nevertheless, this information is a hard sell to parents who seem determined to believe kids are more out of control sexually than ever. This article offers facts on the issue and discusses the problem of convincing parents that sex is not really the problem...communication with their kids is.

"The news is troubling, but it’s also misleading. While some young people are clearly engaging in risky sexual behavior, a vast majority are not. The reality is that in many ways, today’s teenagers are more conservative about sex than previous generations."
The Myth of Rampant Teenage Sexuality

Ah, those Brits. A thumbs up to their sex ed policies!

2009-07-23T10:59:00.000-07:00

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article6689953.ece

Welcome to my Blog!

2009-07-08T11:04:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for your patience while I got up to speed with learning how to blog. I found it to be quite the learning curve and, as you can tell, it took me longer than I expected to transfer my newsletter skills to blogging skills.
But here we are with a new blog site that is up and running and now waiting only for you, as former newsletter subscribers, to follow in this new and improved format. No longer will you have to wait till the end of each month for relevant and timely news items. They will be posted as I find them. You will also get your usual 'dose' of humour, book/movie/toy reviews, research and the like.

We've made it easy for you to subscribe to Smart SexTalk updates via email. Simply enter your email address in the field to the right.
Thanks for waiting, and welcome aboard. I am eager to have you all join in this interactive process with me.

Want great sex? Get old!

2009-07-06T15:09:00.000-07:00

I've been talking about Dr Peggy Kleinplatz's research on great sex and aging for some time now. Finally, the media has picked it up. Don't forget to read the interesting comments, too.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/family-and-relationships/the-secret-to-good-sex-aging/article1204549/

ps: another BIG factor Kleinplatz's surveys found: good sex could be measured by how much laughter, how much fun, was being had.

Keeping the gender of a child secret...permanently

2009-07-06T14:52:00.000-07:00

Swedish parents won't tell anyone their child's gender to avoid gender-stereotyping socialization.

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/keeping-the-sex-of-a-toddler-secret/

Women happiest at age 28, but not for long

2009-07-02T15:31:00.000-07:00

Keep in mind, this research was funded and conducted by Clairol, hardly an objective observer. Still, interesting data.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/5645800/Women-happiest-at-28.html

Masters & Johnson's sex life: "sad"

2009-07-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

Book review of a new biography about the deans of modern sex therapy, William Masters and Virginia Johnson. Surprising stories abound.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/books/review/Nehring-t.html?_r=1&emc=eta1&pagewanted=all

Actual scientific analysis of Michael Jackson

2009-07-01T12:02:00.000-07:00

This long article offers a plausible account of Michael Jackson's bizarre looks and behaviour:

http://www.scientificblogging.com/j_michael_bailey/was_michael_jackson_pedophile

and links to other interesting tidbits about the singer.

The height of body phobia.

2009-06-19T16:17:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crfGXmxJ1vM

Parent/Child Question: Are you gay?

2009-06-18T14:37:00.000-07:00

Should parents ask their children if they're gay? Under what circumstances? How? The ladies of The View take a crack at answering this complex question.
http://www.planetout.com/video/2009/06/the-view-gay-kids.html

Memorable quote

2009-06-12T15:20:00.000-07:00

"Sex is like air. It's doesn't seem that important unless you aren't getting any."

...and then the fight started

2009-06-10T18:41:00.000-07:00

My wife and I were watching “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” while we were in bed. I turned to her and said, “Do you want to have sex?”

“No,” she answered.

I then said, “Is that your final answer?”

She didn’t even look at me this time, simply saying, “Yes.”

So I said, “Then I’d like to phone a friend.”

And then the fight started….

Humour

2009-06-10T18:30:00.000-07:00

A senior citizen drove his brand new BMW Z3 convertible out of the car dealership...

Taking off down the motorway, he floored it to 90 mph, enjoying the wind blowing through his grey hair.

'Amazing!' he thought as he flew down the turnpike, enjoying pushing the pedal to the metal. Looking in his rear view mirror, he saw a police car behind him, blue lights flashing and siren blaring.

'I can get away from him - no problem!' thought the elderly guy as he floored it to 110mph, then 120, then 130mph. Eventually he thought, 'What on earth am I doing? I'm too old for this nonsense!', so he pulled over to the side of the road and waited for the police car to catch up with him.

Pulling in behind him, the police officer walked up to the driver's side of the BMW, looked at his watch and said, 'Sir, my shift ends in 10 minutes. Today is Friday and I'm taking off for the weekend. If you can give me a reason that I've never heard before, I'll let you go.'

The man, looking very seriously at the policeman, replied,'Years ago, my wife ran off with a policeman. I thought you were bringing her back.'

'Have a nice day, Sir.'

Mary Roach on Orgasm

2009-06-09T13:57:00.000-07:00

Mary Roach, the author of Bonk, talks about orgasm. She's hysterical...and accurate. Don't miss this hilarious clip.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/mary_roach_10_things_you_didn_t_know_about_orgasm.html

Thoughtful piece on marriage

2009-06-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNiqfRyoAyA

Some very creative advertising.

2009-06-09T08:52:00.000-07:00

Frank Kameny honoured.

2009-06-08T13:13:00.000-07:00

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-capital-pride,1,181006.story

Shanghai's First Gay Pride

2009-06-08T13:11:00.000-07:00

A little news item for those interested in China:

"Shanghai's Gay Pride Week kicks off with one foot firmly in the closet"

Agence France-Presse in Shanghai and Staff Reporter

Jun 08, 2009
South China Morning Post

The mainland's first Gay Pride Week has kicked off in Shanghai, but without the customary street celebrations as organisers sought to maintain a low profile and steer clear of official approval.

Instead, gays and lesbians in Shanghai will hold film screenings, workshops, art exhibitions and charity events, while an all-day party is scheduled for Saturday, American organiser Tiffany Lemay said.

"We have consulted a lawyer to determine how safe this is, and he suggested that we not apply for approval or consult with the government," Ms Lemay said.

"All of our events will be open to the public, but they will be held at private venues. So there will be no events in public spaces or in parks."

The event is largely being organised by expatriates in co-ordination with the domestic Rainbow League, which boasts about 2,000 members, Ms Lemay, 32, said. The week-long event would raise funds through donations and corporate sponsorship for Hong Kong's Chi Heng Foundation, with proceeds going to its China Aids Orphan Project, she said.

Promoting tolerance would be the theme. Organisers estimate that there are up to 200,000 homosexuals in Shanghai and hope to draw up to 2,000 visitors.

Homosexuality has long been a taboo subject on the mainland with gay sex decriminalised only in 1997, while homosexual behaviour was officially viewed as a mental disorder until 2001.

According to the China Daily, there are up to 30 million gay men and women on the mainland, just under 3 per cent of the population.

Beijing has a track record of intolerance against gay events. In December 2005, Beijing police shut down the mainland's first gay festival.

The festival, which attracted more than 400 participants, was forced to close after the police raided the well-known gay bar On-and-Off. Organisers originally booked the avant-garde 798 art colony for the event, but were told by police it could not go ahead.

They then moved the festival to the gay bar and sought to keep the location secret to avoid police harassment. However, police drove the participants from On-and-Off and told the bar's management that it would have to close for a week.

Police did not give a clear reason for shutting the festival. At first, they said it was not approved by the government. They also claimed the bar did not have proper fire safety measures and demanded to check the fire extinguishers. Later, they demanded checks of the certificates of the lighting engineers.

In 2006, an internet-domain-name registration company purged several influential homosexual websites under pressure in a crackdown on "illegal content".

At least three gay forums have been closed in the cleanup process."

Thumbs Up to Ikea

2009-06-05T16:11:00.001-07:00

Check out this gender-neutral elevator graphic:

Porno plant

2009-06-05T15:59:00.000-07:00

Isabella Rossellina does porn.

2009-06-05T15:56:00.000-07:00

This is a rather entertaining romp, narrated by Isabella Rossellini, on sex in different species:

http://www.sundancechannel.com/greenporno/

Monogamy good...for penquins!

2009-06-05T15:54:00.000-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/science/earth/31conv.html

Carradine death due to auroerotic asphyxia?

2009-06-05T15:40:00.000-07:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/05/carradine-had-rope-around_n_211689.html

Your request is being processed...

Carradine Had Rope Around Genitals: Thai Police

Smart Sex Talk

Dr Maicael Bailey capitulates to pressure and apologizes for teaching in controversial manner

Sex demoed in university sex class- parents aghast

FollowUp on Earlier Post

Gay advocates win victory at UN

ANITA SNOW

UNITED NATIONS— The Associated Press

Published Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2010 12:37AM EST

Last updated Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2010 1:07PM EST

It's about time...Obama repeals "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Don't Ask Don't Tell

It's official: Obama signs "don't ask" repeal

With the stroke of his pen, the president does away with the 16-year-old policy

New survey sheds light on what's really going on with sexual behaviour

Sex Researchers Ask Americans About Their Last 'Event'

UN: Okay to kill gays. This does not bode well.

Not since the Equal Rights Amendment did not pass have I felt so disappointed. Sad news indeed.

U.N. panel cuts gay reference from violence measure

THIS will be a game-changer, for sure. Might want to get an unlisted number!

Diagnosis of STDs Could Be As Quick As Peeing On A Chip And Putting It In Your Phone

10 Comments

Sharing a post from ever-perceptive Dr Marty Klein's "Sexual Intelligence" newsletter

Science Shows What Sexual Repression Actually Looks Like

Why parents must talk to their teens about oral sex

Oral Sex Leads to Intercourse Among Teens, Study Suggests

Nobel Prize Awarded to Developer of In Vitro Technique

Pioneer of in Vitro Fertilization Wins Nobel Prize

By NICHOLAS WADE

Published: October 4, 2010

Alastair Grant/Associated Press

Central Press/Hulton Archive, via Getty Images

Ralf Hirschberger/DPA, via European Pressphoto Agency

Today's Quote, in honour of Nelson, BC's Pride Weekend

Lesbians' kids rank highest in social functionality--study

Kids of lesbians have fewer behavioral problems, study suggests

New Gallop poll on attitude shifts towards gays

May 25, 2010

Americans' Acceptance of Gay Relations Crosses 50% Threshold

Increased acceptance by men driving the change

Iceland legalizes gay marriage...and PM signs up!

Research Participation Opportunity

This is so wrong in so many ways

US Republicans "defending" morality --New Awards

Morning sex

At last, a common sense article about Tiger Woods

Sex-addicted? No, it’s Getting Caught Syndrome

Tiger Woods has admitted responsibility for his actions. It is neither liberal nor benign to brand this a medical condition

BACKGROUND

Thumbs down to Carnival Cruiselines and British Airways

Airline, Cruise Line Reveal Obsession, Prejudice About Sex

Study supports validity of non-monogamous relationships

Another reason to talk to your kids about sex

Humour

Book Review of The Trauma Myth

Abusing Not Only Children, but Also Science

Vancouver Pharmacy reverses discriminatory policy

A sensible letter re: the IOC's recent decision

Sex phobics strike school libraries

Research vindicates same sex parents

Another great quote for today

Quote of the day

Call for participation in my research

In Memoriam

Quote of the week

I pledge allegiance...

New column available on Smart Sex Talk website

News (?) about gay and straight married people

APA takes official stand against "reparative" therapy

Family values

Why gay marriage matters...again

Bad tag in research link

Research participation opportunity

Does the Pill affect one's choice of mate?

A manifesto on the gay "debate"

Free AIDS meds snarled in red tape....you can help.

Frightening news item re: baby pictures

Ten reasons having sex is good for your health

New AIDS vaccine maybe not

Successful attack on truth in academia

Poland okays compulsory castration for sex offenders