I want to address a common misconception I see in discussions of sexual preferences, in part because it’s helping lay a foundation for a discussion of sex work I’m going to explore in some upcoming posts. People seem to have this idea that if they’re not into it, no one else can be or should […]
bodies
Gender Is Not A Crime
As I discussed in my blog post about how better knowledge of bodies makes for better public policy, bathroom access is a public health issue that disproportionately affects women, transgender people, and other people on who are agender or non-binary. This is one reason why I’m incensed about Indiana’s Senate Bill 35, which makes ” it […]
Knowing Our Bodies Means Better Public Policies (The Case for Sex Ed Part 9)
After taking a brief hiatus (moving in the middle of the semester is fun!) my blog post series making a case for sex education is back. In this post, I’d like to talk about the widespread ignorance and disgust around bodies – especially women’s bodies – that could easily be remedied by universal evidence-based sex education. […]
When Our Bodies Change
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 […]
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 […]
My Family Made Sex Normal, and I’m So Grateful
As I add to my blog post series on the case for sex ed (part 1, part 2, part 3, & part 4 are all available), I thought I’d leap in with a slightly more personal reflection on how informal sex education can be normalized and how this can benefit everyone. I was fortunate to […]
Comparing “Real Food” And “Real Women” Rhetoric
We’ve all seen the “real women” memes: “Real women have curves,” and so on. There’s been some pushing back against these ideas, which I think is useful, since holding up one category of womanhood as more “real” than another is ultimately essentializing and harmful. This intriguing blog post, Real Food, draws a parallel between the […]
Syphilis in the Social Sciences Classroom
A lot of the work I do as a sex educator is in the college classroom. I haven’t taught a Human Sexuality class yet, or done a campus Sex Week yet, but in designing and teaching classes in anthropology, gender studies, and folklore programs, I emphasize many basic themes and topics in sex education, such as […]
Selective Applications of the Law in Indiana Part 2
As described in part 1 of this post, Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration (RFRA) law selectively grants protections to some sexual minorities but not others – and that by region, as well. In this post I’ll discuss another problematic application of the law, specifically, the feticide law affecting Purvi Patel. Indiana resident Patel was just sentenced to […]
A Body-Literate Society (The Case for Sex Ed Part 2)
In continuing my series making a case for sex education (see part 1 here), I’d like to make the point that we need sex ed in order to ensure that we live in a society where everyone knows how their bodies work. This includes anatomical functions like puberty and pregnancy, STI transmission, orgasm, and much […]