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 […]
STIs
We Could Reduce STI Stigma & Improve Public Health…But We’re Not (The Case for Sex Ed Part 6)
Defining stigma, and then discussing its associations with sexuality, are important steps in furthering sexual health. This is number 6 in my “The Case for Sex Ed” blog post series; click here to check out the rest. In Bruce Link and Jo Phelan’s article, “On Stigma and Its Public Health Implications,” they describe the ways in […]
Upholding Boundaries Feels Good
The title of this blog post is super, super obvious. At least that’s how I felt when I was writing it – but then I don’t think this concept is as prominent in our culture as it should be. Hence this post. One time, I was about to be intimate with a partner. We did […]
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 […]
Implications of the FDA Blood Donation Policy
Since 1977, the FDA has not allowed blood donations from men who have sex with men (MSM). However, the FDA has just announced that it’s considering lifting the ban, and making an exception for men who have sex with men who’ve been celibate for one year. On the one hand, it’s estimated that this will increase […]