Now for a vintage Dr. Jeana blog post from three years ago today! This post was originally published at MySexProfessor.com and I still struggle with body image, though in the intervening years, I’ve reached some peace with my body. How we feel about our bodies definitely impacts our sexuality, though, as scholars like Dr. Emily […]
On “Woman” As A Category
I’m reading My New Gender Workbook by Kate Bornstein right now, and teaching a class on women’s folklore, so I’ve got women and women’s identities on the brain. I’m really interested in the ways in which we construct womanhood and femininity, and which traits get to go in those boxes vs. which are excluded. We all know […]
Genitals, Stigma, & Shame (or why camel toe needs to die in a fire)
I don’t know whether to blame lack of universal, accurate sex education in America, or the more general sex-negative and sex-phobic lens of mainstream American culture, but it seems to me that people don’t know what’s up with their genitals. Things having to do with genitals are largely seem as shameful, and hence too stigmatized […]
Whether It’s “Appropriate” to Write/Talk/Blog About Sex
I am occasionally seized with fear that someone will find it “inappropriate” that I talk and blog and write about sexuality as much as I do. While recently reading Mary Roach’s book Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, it struck me how many sex researchers have been vilified as perverted freaks for being […]
Reflections on Gun Control vs. Sexual Control
In one of my blog posts at MySexProfessor.com, I explored some of the overlapping areas between gun culture and rape culture. I argued that the question of gun control cannot be a neutral issue in a country where domestic violence and rape are so prevalent and skewed in such a gendered way. I’d like to […]
The Puzzle Box Model of Sex
Recently, I saw a blog post called “I am not a puzzle box” making the rounds on Facebook. It was popular for a very good reason: it provided a metaphor that explains why “creepy” behaviors and harassment are so often made out to be innocuous, normal, or the fault of the victim. The author’s main […]
Sex Work Debates: “Against Your Best Interests” ≠ Illegal
As sexuality professionals who follow the news know, in late August there was a federal raid on Rentboy.com’s office in New York. Sex educator Charlie Glickman describes the news (and provides some rhetorical analysis) at his blog. Glickman characterizes Rentboy.com as “a website designed to connect trans and cisgender male escorts with clients.” In Melissa Gira Grant’s […]
In Nonconcordant Arousal Lies Freedom (The Case for Sex Ed Part 8)
New to this blog post series? Check out the rest of my blog posts making a case for sex education for all. Okay, let’s say you have acquired some basic knowledge about sex (no thanks to the efforts of those trying to keep young people in the dark). You’ve probably learned that hard penis and wet vagina = […]
Woodhull’s Sexual Freedom Summit 2015: Best Conference Ever
I go to a lot of conferences. The conference presentations section of my CV is a bit ridiculous, and lately, as I’ve been attending more conferences in the sexuality field, I haven’t even been presenting that much, but rather going to soak it all in. So, I’ve experienced tons of conferences. But Woodhull’s Sexual Freedom […]
Compulsory Monogamy Going Mainstream?
Perhaps I should clarify: compulsory monogamy is already mainstream. It’s already the norm, and a largely unexamined one at that. What I mean to discuss here is how the idea of compulsory monogamy is now under discussion in the mainstream, thanks to its application to The Hunger Games movie franchise. This essay, Compulsory Monogamy in The Hunger […]