Macalester Joins the Masses as they Demand Full Equality for LGBT People

Sarah Levy
October 14, 2009

Last Sunday, October 11, while the majority of Macalester was enjoying a typical weekend, 16 students were in Washington, D.C., marching along with over 200,000 people to demand equal rights for all LGBT people under the 14^th amendment.

The march was called by Cleve Jones, a close collaborator of the late Harvey Milk, after he received thousands of letters and messages from mostly young activists who wanted something to be done following Proposition Eight’s loss last November. The intention was to get people from all 50 states and all 435 congressional districts to the capital, in a new effort to make the struggle a national one.

“I am sick and tired of fighting state by state, county by county, city by city, for fractions of equality--for impermanent victories that can be done away with by a popular vote of 50 percent-plus-one, and we're returned to second-class citizenship again,” said Jones in a rally on the lawn of the capital following the march. “Because the most important and significant rights granted to heterosexuals through marriage are determined not by the states, but by the federal government.”

This is a crucial point to be made.

Currently LGBT couples are denied over 1,100 basic rights that are attached to the legality of the word “marriage.” These include things such as: the legal rights to visit a spouse in the hospital; the right to special consideration for the immigration of a spouse when from a foreign country; being eligible to receive a spouse’s healthcare benefits; the right to filing taxes jointly (resulting in significantly higher taxes for LGBT couples); the right to inheritance of property; and many other basic rights that most heterosexual couples take for granted.

Of note Sunday was the prevalence of young people. With an actual rainbow in the sky above them and enough sun to qualify the day as “hot,” a student contingent of hundreds led the march from McPherson Square to the U.S. Capitol, chanting “Hey! Obama! Let Mamma marry Mamma!” and “Get Up! Get Down! There’s a Civil Rights Movement in this Town!”

In addition, according to Time Magazine, the average age of the people behind most of the organizing effort wasn’t above 30.

“You young people really have a hand up on what we’re trying to do here,” said Catharine Marino Thomas of Marriage Equality New York, addressing the packed and overflowing capital lawn.

In a message to students prior to the march, Glenn Omatsu, Professor at California State University, Northridge had expressed a similar sentiment.

"Students around the world have been at the forefront of movements to promote democracy and human rights,” he said. “Student movements have toppled powerful dictatorships and military juntas. Student movements have ended wars. And student activism has often served as the conscience for nations, reminding people in times of turmoil of the founding ideals of their countries and the aspirations of all people for justice, dignity, and equality."

Brett Srader, a Macalester student, was affected by this conscience and took home a sense of motivation from the march, saying that it gave him new knowledge and insight into the LGBT struggle. He said he saw it as a call to action, particularly for those who consider themselves allies.

“It is hard at times to motivate yourself to fight for the causes of others, and unfortunately [before the march] I had fallen into this trap,” said Srader. “[However,] the march stressed the importance of [straight] allies in pushing for change. Speaker after speaker reminded me that my country cannot consider itself the land of the free until all people are truly equal under law in all 50 states.”

Another theme of the rally was that the day was by no means an end in and of itself, but rather a point from which to strategize and grow as a movement.

“[There was the main idea that] during the march, the National Mall belonged to LGBT Americans and the Struggle for Equality, but that we all must continue the fight in our own "backyards" -- geographically, socially, politically, in our workplace, etc.,” said Kevin Schaeffer ’13. “The purpose of the NEM was not just to show the nation that we fight together for equality, but also to show those who feel alone that they are very much NOT alone.”

Srader said he could envision several ways Macalester could bring the fight into its backyard, focusing on the importance of the upcoming vote in Maine that could repeal marriage equality in the same way as Prop 8.

“Phone banks should be set up on campus for Mac students to make calls to voters in Maine to garner support for voting No on 1,” he said. “Or fundraisers could be another possible route, because the Equality movement in Maine is being out fundraised by huge margins.”

Back in Washington, Jones ended his speech by addressing the importance of mass demonstrations, besides just lobbying and letter-writing.

“Protest confirms dignity,” he said. “This march is an act of self-respect—that we will settle for nothing less than full equality under the law. We must take our president’s advice and command the audacity of hope.”

The Consequences of Coming to College

Sarah Levy
November 17, 2008

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Though pretty much every other topic is addressed, there is one aspect of how life changes upon leaving for college that never comes up, even with all the pamphlets and weeks of organized introductory activities.

Masturbation.

“I definitely thought about it before coming,” said Stefan Mathews ‘12. He said he was worried about how he would be affected by the lack of privacy that dorm life would bring.

Mathews is not the only first year that worried about personal changes that would come with college life. For many it was an issue.

Rosa Montague ’12 said she thought about the change beforehand, but wasn’t worried about it.

“I wondered if I would have time, what if my roommate were to find out, that kind of thing,” said Montague.

Montague said her habits have changed since college, because they are more random and more rushed. However, she said she does not do it any less than at home. And she does not really plan it out.

“I’ve learned [my roommate’s] schedule,” she said. “It’s just like, ooh, she’s left. This will be fun.”

Not everyone has been able to so easily cope with the burdens of dorm life.

“Yeah [my masturbatory habits] have changed!” said Alister Korb ‘12. “How have they changed? I don’t.”

Korb said that he did not realize until he got here that things would be different than at home. He said he cannot masturbate in his room because his roommate is usually there, and he does not feel comfortable doing it in the bathroom.

“I feel like it’s gross to do in a public shower and I think how I would feel if I were in the shower next to mine,” he said. “That would suck.”

Korb is not the only male who held off from this practice because of college. Gabriel Sutherland ’12 said the first time he masturbated after coming to Macalester was almost two months after leaving home. But for him this was not that big of a deal, even though he described his habits since coming to college as “somewhat moderately different” than at home.

“There are a lot more things to keep me occupied here,” he said. Sutherland said he has not really been affected by the change and that on average he does it less than once a week.

“I guess I just keep it all bottled up,” he said.

Another issue that comes with dorm life is that of walking in on people having sex, or being walked in on.

Suzanne Li, a senior, said that sophomore year she and her roommate would draw a “5” on their white board as a sign of “Do not enter.”

“If there was a 5 and you really wanted to go in, you knocked once and waited and if no one answered you still wouldn’t go in,” she said.

As for Montague, she said she has worried about someone walking in on her. But she does not lock the door.

“If I’m in there alone with the door locked, I’m worried about what someone walking by will think,” she said. “Because I don’t want them assuming I’m doing that.”

While some students have found ways to cope, for others relative problems have arisen. One such issue is stress.

“Masturbation is a mood-booster and if you can’t do it as often [as you would like], it does make you a bit grumpier,” said Mathews. He said that since college, he has been masturbating much less frequently than before and only during certain planned out times, which he said at times affects his stress-level.

The lack of privacy can also affect students in ways beyond just the emotional.

“I keep getting urinary tract infections because I don’t go pee after sex because it’s too much effort to go down the hall [of Dupre],” said Cece Harkins, a sophomore. “And I don’t want to have to see my RA, or that girl I have class with, or that neighbor who just heard me having sex.”

But generally students learn to cope.

“The first week or two was pretty bad,” said Jon Royce ‘12. “Then I figured out [my roommate’s] schedule.”

Montague said she doesn’t worry about walking in on her roommate or visa versa.

“We knock. I figure if you give it like two seconds, anything that’s going on can stop.”

Li said she hasn’t been walked in on, or walked in on anyone in her time at Macalester.

“But I have done things while other people were in the room and I’m not sure if they woke up or not,” she said. Li shed some light on the issue as someone with more collegiate experience.

“As you get older it gets a lot less awkward,” she said. “Because everyone, by the time they’re a senior, has been in a room while other people are having sex. They call it ‘being caught in the wing.’”

Harkin offered advice to first years regarding what she has learned.


“You learn to be silent,” she said. “You learn to do it when it’s convenient for your roommate and not for you.” She added that she has been walked in on a couple times in awkward positions.

“To make sure you get to the end, you’ve got to make it fast sometimes even though you don’t want to,” she said.

With two more years’ experience under her belt, Li continued.

“It’s just kind of like, look, we’re in a cramped space. When I say ‘Go,’ go. People understand.”

She paused to think.

“People don’t get more mature, though.”

20,000 Travel to Georgia to Say, "Shut Down the SOA"

Sarah Levy
November 24, 2008

On Sunday the 23rd, upwards of 20,000 people attended a Georgia vigil to commemorate those who have died as result of School of the Americas violence.

“We are here once again to say, ‘Basta. No mas. No More,’” said Father Roy Bourgeois, who started the School of the Americas Watch 18 years ago. The yearly event takes place outside the gates of Fort Benning, the military training site for the school.

“The problem is that most Americans don’t know it exists, or don’t know the terrors that have resulted because of it,” he said.

Father Jon Sobrino, one of the only survivors of his Jesuit community in El Salvador because of SOA-incited murder, explained the reason to be there.

“Any school in which violence and torture is being taught should be closed,” he said. “Any school in which lies are being taught, should be closed. Any school in which the accumulation of wealth as the main joy of life is being taught, should be closed.”

The funeral procession consisted of the names and ages of those who had died as result of SOA violence, being sung off, one by one, alternating Spanish and English. Following each name, a sea of voices solemnly sang back “Pre-sen-te,” each holding up a white cross to represent one person. A single drumbeat followed every name.

“It feels really powerful to remember the names of the dead and to bring that to the doors of the people that murdered them,” said Zeph Fishlyn, an artist who was attending the event for the first time.

Earlier that morning, six people had crossed the border onto the military base in an attempt to bring the protest down to the school. They were arrested and are facing up to six months in federal prison.

The night before, Brian Derouen, who served four months in jail for crossing the line in 2006, addressed a crowd regarding why this protest is important.

“This weekend is not what matters,” said Derouen. “If everyone goes home and tells one person and writes one letter to congress, the school could be shut down in a year. People can’t just be here and then go home and feel good about themselves.”

After putting their crosses on the fence as the culmination of the procession, people stood crying, hugging, and simply staring at the scene in silence. On a patch of grass near the fence, dozens of actors with white face paint lay in black cloths strewn with red paint to represent the dead.

Police loudspeakers didn’t seem to notice the sentiment, and proceeded to blare their message.

“Anyone who crosses the line is subject to fine and imprisonment,” a recording projected for the umpteenth time throughout the weekend. “The sole purpose of this institution is to provide military training of soldiers. It is a non-partisan operation. As a democratic institution it is upholding the constitution.”

Luckily, the weekend’s events, which consisted of many speakers and educational panels, had taught the crowd what a lie this was.

Said Deroen, “In the end, change happens when good people break bad laws and accept the consequences.”

The Unheard Tale: What It's Like for Lefties and Repubs at a Truly "Liberal" Arts School

Sarah Levy
November 3, 2008

With two days until the election, Minnesotan Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate for U.S. senate Al Franken spoke at Macalester, urging people to “stand up and fight for the next 48 hours.”

Leading up to the event titled “Two Days ‘Til Tuesday,” for anyone living on campus it was hard not to see a flyer advertising Franken’s visit. On multiple levels of dorm stairwells and poster boards, as well as in class buildings and the campus center, Franken’s face could be seen smiling at passers by.

While some students weren’t fazed by this phenomenon, others, such as Dan Castelli ’11, said they were frustrated by the occurrence and others similar to it that have become more and more common as the election nears.

“As a person whose politics lie well outside the corporate framework of the Democratic and Republican parties, I can't help but feel alienated by the political culture on this campus,” said Castelli, who said he is planning on voting for Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney.

“Everyday I'm told that if I voted for the candidates who best represented my views, the ones who best sought to dismantle racism, economic inequality, homophobia, sexism and the overwhelming corporate privatization of society, that by expressing interest in the candidates with real principles and with real agendas, that I was throwing my vote away,” continued Castelli. “So don't come to my door and tell me to vote, when you're telling me my vote doesn't matter to begin with.”

Jenny Dawson ’12, said she merely thought the Franken advertising was excessive and unnecessary because it was wasting paper.

None of this seemed to affect the enthusiastic crowd of around 450 who attended the Sunday night rally sponsored by Mac Dems and held in the Campus Center, according to Alex Rosselli, president of the group. Besides Macalester students, present were students from nearby campuses and community members.

Following a brief performance by the Trads, which was flavored with several pro-Obama and pro-vote messages within their songs, Franken addressed the crowd.

“I’m pro-A’capella,” he said. “[My opponent] Norm Coleman hates A’capella.”

Franken acknowledged that there are specific reasons to come to a campus like Macalester where the majority of students are already going to vote Democratic.

“I want people out working,” he said. “The future belongs to those who are passionate and work hard.”

While Rosselli said he was pleased with how the event turned out, he said he was not sure how much of an influence it could specifically have to further mobilize students.

“[Macalester] is already one of the most active communities in the state,” he said. “It has been recognized as being extremely effective in getting out the vote.”

However, while many Mac students have been taking Franken’s message to heart as Rosselli said, not everyone has been acting as part of the Macalester Democratic status quo.

James Weismuller ’12, said he thinks all the pro-Obama energy of Macalester could be harnessed more effectively.

“I think this kind of political energy, especially on such a widespread and vibrant scale as we have witnessed during this election, could be used in ways that directly assert the will of the people instead of merely electioneering,” he said. Weismuller said he is not sure yet whether he will vote.

Paul McGuire ’12, said he doesn’t feel attacked by the Obama vibe of Macalester, but rather is amused by it. McGuire said at this point he is not sure whether he will vote for Republican candidate John McCain or Libertarian Bob Barr.

“I knew it was going to be like this when I decided to come to this college,” said McGuire. “I’m amazed by how people respect [Obama] so much, but I’m not surprised by it at all.”

On the opposite side of the political spectrum, Castelli did not take the issue so lightly.

“I feel like my views are made to be illegitimate,” he said about the mass of Democratic propaganda at Mac. “I am whole-heartedly disappointed with Macalester College for being so vehemently supportive of this two party system. If you want change then don't trust politicians; force them to act on your behalf.”

Though it cannot be told whether Franken was aware of this or not, at one point during his speech he seemed to be addressing the issue.

“Some of you—and you know who you are—need new friends,” he said, only partly joking.




The Election-Related Statistics, according to Al Franken:
• Number of Minnesotans without health insurance: 440,000
• Number of Minnesotans who can’t find a job: 170,000
• Number of years it has been since the unemployment level of this state has been this high: 22
• Number of phone calls made so far for this election: 1.5 million
• Number of doors knocked on so far for the election 2.8 million
Al Franken was a writer and performer on the show Saturday Night Live between the years 1975 and 1980, and again from 1985 to 1995.
In 2003 he published the book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right.
Now he is running as the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidate for the U.S. Senate in the state of Minnesota.

Michelle Obama Takes to Macalester in the Final Days Leading up to the Election

October 20, 2008
Sarah Levy

More than 4,000 people waited in line for hours Monday despite rain and cold to see Michelle Obama speak at Macalester.

Waiting to go into the Snelling Street side entrance of the Leonard Center, the line of people, sporting rain coats and umbrellas, reached all the way down Macalester Street to the parking lot by the Wallace Fine Arts building, before it began to move.

Ross Donihue ’11 said his Geographic Information Systems teacher cancelled class for the event. Others, such as Olivia Nichols, a senior at Henry Sibley High School, cut class to see the possible future first lady speak.

“I’ll definitely be affected by Michelle,” Nichols said, about missing her psychology class to be at the event. “I’ll be more motivated to start [campaign] phone calls.”

Nichols’ father, Michael Nichols, said he too was excited to be there.

“I think Michelle is very inspirational, especially to young women,” he said.

Not everyone felt the same, however. Some Macalester students stayed away from the event, such as Paul McGuire ‘12 who scoffed at what he said he considered absurd and unnecessary hubbub and “Obama-Mania”.

Dara Hoppe ’11, a sociology major, went for the mere spectacle. Hoppe said she enjoys critically analyzing what politicians are doing to get votes.

“I guess it’s the point to say those buzz-word phrases to get people riled up,” she said. “It’s exciting to feel you’re a part of the giant excitement.”

Upon entering the Leonard Center, attendees were immersed in a world of political pump-up music and Obama cheerleaders staggered about to act as a pathway into the gym. Beyond the chants of “Ready to go! Fired up!” thousands of people stood so close they were touching their neighbors, waiting for the event to start.

Following several speakers including Mayor Chris Coleman and 16-year-old Natalie Miller of Northfield, MN, Obama was welcomed onstage to deafening applause.

After she skimmed over some of the campaign highlights, Obama asked the crowd, “Don’t we deserve leaders who get it?” She continued, “The thing I’ve been doing is I’ve been traveling around this country for the last 18, 19 months telling people that Barack Obama gets it.”

Obama stressed that people need to get involved in the campaign if they haven’t already, or kick it up several notches if they have.

“Barack has gotten us 85% of the way there,” she said. “The rest of it’s on us.”

Following the event, Grace Erny ’12 noted how Obama’s speech brushed over many of the issues without addressing any of the actual policies. She said this made sense, however, considering events like this are not centered on policy and educating people on the issues, but are more about getting people excited and mobilizing them.

“While it was obvious that she was intelligent and poised, it would have been more interesting if she hadn’t had to so strongly campaign,” said Erny. “I would like to see what she would have said if she hadn’t had such a strong agenda.”

Elizabeth Anna Hall of Minneapolis said she was glad to be at the event, but it didn’t change her thinking.
“She grabbed hold of the crowd’s emotions in a really positive way,” Hall said. Originally a Kucinich supporter, Hall said that some of Obama’s positions aren’t as far left as she would like, but she is still planning on voting for him.

Tom Froyum, a St. Paul fire inspector, said his purpose on Monday was to keep the peace and make sure the crowd didn’t get too big, but that he was especially glad to be stationed at this event.

“Sure I’m excited—I’m unofficially excited,” he said regarding the content of his particular job assignment.

Surrounded by smiling people donning Obama t-shirts and having their pictures taken in front of an enormous American flag, Erny said that the event didn’t make her think about anything in a new way, at least not in the way it was intended to.

“It made me think about the way that propaganda works, but not about the issues of the campaign,” she said.

Many local politicians and political candidates were there on Monday, including senate candidate Al Franken and the mayors of St. Paul and Minneaoplis.

Also present were national news media, many of which filmed the event from a stage in the middle of the crowd.



The last time Michelle Obama was in Minnesota, her husband was accepting the nomination for the party. This Monday she returned to speak at Macalester in the final days leading up to the election.
A few of the numbers she brought up include:
• Number of votes John Kerry won Minnesota by in 2004: 98,000
• Number of unregistered youths in Minnesota in 2008: 140,000
• Number of days until the election: 15
• Least number of days you must wait in Minnesota between registering

America: The New Pornographers

"Masturbation is only for ugly people. And albinos."

No, this isn't a line from South Park, or some skewed Christian Right mantra to try to convince people who consider themselves good looking not to jerk off. It's what the natives of the Trobriand Islands explained to an anthropologist regarding their confusion as to why masturbation is such a common pastime in the West.

Now don't think this means that we as Americans simply enjoy pleasure more than other cultures, or by some *stroke* of luck are more comfortable with our bodies. According to Jack M. Weatherford, author of "Porn Row" and Macalester College Anthropology professor, it's actually quite the contrary.

In the chapter "Sex Without Partners" of his anthropological analysis of the porn industry, Weatherford looks at a tribal group living in scattered villages of east central India that are known as the Muria. In their culture, a part of adolescent life and education is participating in the Ghotul, a night activity that begins with singing, dancing, and coupling off to rub one another with sensual oils. As the night continues, the massages slowly turn into "more intimate touching and feeling of the other's body, and if both agree, they make love, or spend the night just caressing each other, or sleep snuggled closely together." They do this nightly, switching partners so that no two people are together for more than a couple days, and no one is left out.

Through these nightly encounters, each person learns everything about their partners' bodies-- every curve and crevice, how much oil they enjoy being rubbed with, how they respond to certain touches, how long they can keep it up, et cetera. In their view, the woman is seen as deserving wonderful sex since she has to bear the brunt of menstruation and child birth, and so each male is taught he must keep going until she is completely satisfied. Because of this practice, the male learns stamina and to stay erect for longer, so that he can keep going until she is set. Additionally, since adolescents jump right into coital rather than going through a period of masturbation, the female learns to come from vaginal stimulus alone, rather than learning to orgasm clitorally and later having to switch.

For the Muria, the concept of a platonic relationship is virtually unknown. "Every male-female relationship among unmarried people is expected to be sexual," and as their proverb goes, "Thirst is not quenched by licking dew."

You may be thinking 'But what about the STDs?' 'And all the babies?', but this is not an issue in their society.

As Weatherford explains,
"The Muria consider it bad for young people NOT to have sex, and for them teenage pregnancy does not seem to be a problem. Despite the possibilities of pregnancy, other issues are more important. In their explanation of the world, sex is a powerful force, and if it is stored too long inside the person, it may emerge in strange and harmful ways. To prevent such harm, sexual desires need to be exercised constantly."

In time, families set up arranged marriages for the young people, which are generally extremely satisfactory. In result of the Ghotuls, everyone in the same age group has been with everyone else, and so there is no urge from one partner to know what it would be like to be with a different partner, because-- oop! They already have! Also, since everyone has learned from everyone else, everyone knows everything that everyone else does, and so they're all amazing in bed.

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The entire experience is contrasted abruptly with the industrial society, particularly the masturbating habits of the citizens of our grand ol' U.S. of A.

As Weatherford puts it, "Muria youths learn coitus and may occasionally masturbate, but Western youths learn masturbation even though they may occasionally have coitus."

Weatherford points out that many of the ways westerners learn about sex end up being relatively detrimental to their sex life later in life. For the male, he learns to reach orgasm as quickly as possible, maybe in his parents' bathroom, hoping he'll come before his mom walks in, or at night under the covers, dreading the appearance of an older brother. He learns the goal of speed. As Weatherford says, "while the Muria boy learns through several years of practice in the Ghotul to sustain coitus until the female is satisfied, the American boy learns merely to rush through the act and get to the climax as quickly as possible."

Meanwhile, the female gets used to reaching orgasm through clitoral stimulus alone.

Once the two combine the masturbation backlash occurs.

For the male, it is difficult to unlearn speed. Now that he is doing it with another person, he allows for no dialogue between bodies as he simply goes in to finish the act as soon as possible and then leave. *On top* of this, being used to the strong and hard pressure of the hand, the switch to the softer, looser flesh of the vagina makes it difficult for him to come.

The woman is now faced with the challenge of coming through vaginal stimulus rather than clitoral, making the process irrelevant and frustrating for her. "By contrast, women in societies such as the Muria learn from the beginning to reach orgasm with penetration."

Weatherford explains how this ends up screwing us over for the future:

"During the initial years of adulthood, when coitus is new, the novelty of the act may be enough to overcome the problems of changing from masturbation to copulation, but in time problems arise. As the female's vagina becomes less firm and tight with age, her partner may experience greater difficulty maintaining an erection or attaining on orgasm. Problems of impotence, premature ejaculation, and lack or orgasm may all be connected with the early from of solitary sex training."

This does not happen for the Muria who learn to copulate (rather than masturbate) at an early age.

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The most interesting difference between sex styles is that, for the Muria, the emphasis is upon learning the other person's body and knowing everything about it and them so you can confidently please them. This, compared to our western way of learning all alone and all about your own body, so that you know it perfectly and are set for autosex, but don't have much consideration for the other person and what they want or how they work. In our culture, sex is selfish.

Even before addressing sex, the issue of one's partner becomes possessive. You can only be with one person at one time, or else everyone will be jealous because that person was supposed to be YOURS. As the Muria would say, this inhibits greatly upon sexual learning and the overall skills of all in the population. (Remember, however, that the Muria do end up marrying, and staying with that one partner for the rest of their life.)

The system of the Muria could never work in out society because people couldn't be trusted enough. They've been taught to think for themselves and only of the good of themselves, so in a theoretical Ghotul, you wouldn't be sure if some person had sketchy reasoning to be there in the first place. For the Muria, jealously doesn't take shape because everyone is equally participating and sharing everyone else.

All because Capitalism turns sex into a commodity.

[Another problem is how that kind of set-up would only work when you have a relatively small population and really only one community.]

America also has an incredibly interesting dynamic where we have a super-sexed-up culture, with music videos, clothing advertisements, and just about anything you can think of, juxtaposed with the extreme-Christian Right and conservative government that are constantly blaring messages of chastity and abstinence until marriage (if not after as well). This creates an atmosphere of urges and fantasy that are often awkwardly contained, or let to escape in secretive, sometimes embarrassing or harmful ways, as people wish their sexual thoughts didn't exists almost as much as they wish they would come true. Making it so the last thing most people want is to TALK about sex. Because that would be awful!

In severe contrast, in the Muria society, parents see the Ghotul as a way to keep adolescents out of mischief! Compared to ours which would see the mere concept of such a thing as promiscuous and sinful, let alone a case of minor scandal.

The overall result of severe shame related to sex, bombardment of sexual imagery, lack of sex, and lack of dialogue around said subject is that people grow up with often unattainable fantasies and expectations. This is what creates a need for porn, though it merely perpetuates the cycle when real human contact actually occurs and is unable to meet expectations, only creating more of a need for said images.

I'm still not sure what to make of our culture. I had always thought that the whole taking-it-slow thing was a good plan, but Weatherford and the Muria seem to make out anything beside penetration to be unnatural and oddly Western/industrial-based. I guess the key note of this label is the mentality of a mystery around sex and the other person, extenuated by a selfish goal of purely self-pleasure. But he still makes masturbation seem oddly pathetic.

While I had always thought the [sex-related] steps to overcome in our society were purely shame in sex and lack of sex-education, now it seems that there is so much more. That it's possible we are incredibly immature in the world of erotica.


*(All quotes come from Jack M. Weatherford's book, "Porn Row")

Public Service Announcement that Promotes Abstinence (See February 2 Post)

Public Service Announcement, Radio: AIDS

TINA: Hey, Gina! So I heard that you and Billy have been going steady for a while now.

GINA: Yeah. We love each other. It’s cute.

TINA: So have you had sex yet?!

GINA: Tina!! You know that I made a chastity pledge back in the third grade! You were there!

TINA: Oh, yeah. I remember now. That was a pretty cool ring. The chastity ring, that is. The one that binds you to virginity until marriage, and if you end up deciding to have sex before then that you have to give up. And you can never wear it again. Didn’t your parents pay a lot of money for it? I think they did.

GINA: Yeah. I wear it everyday, and they check to make sure I’m still wearing it everyday. It motivates me to not have sex. But I barely need the motivation in the first place because I have so much support from my family and friends that I barely even think about sex. I’m waiting until I find the perfect person who I will spend the rest of my life with.

TINA: That’s cool. Just don’t be one of the 88 percent of teenage girls who break their chastity vows before marriage, most of which do within a few years!

GINA: Don’t worry! I won’t be!

TINA: I’m glad. You, know, I care a lot about you, Gina, and I just want you to be aware that girls who take chastity pledges are less likely to use condoms and less likely to seek testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, because if they end up giving in to their natural sexual urges, they would rather pretend it isn’t happening, and if it isn’t happening, they see no need to use protection, because that just makes it seem like it is happening.

GINA: Thanks for the tip, Tina! But you don’t have to worry, because I really will never have sex until I’m happily married at the age of 40.

TINA: Me too! We can not worry about contracting HIV/AIDS together! Because, you know, the only for sure way to not have to worry about it is by being sex-free!

GINA: Yeah!… Wait, a minute, Tina—I was already planning on abstinence, but I don’t know all the facts about AIDS. Can you fill me in?

TINA: I could, but here comes Jed. The kid who had sex before he was married. And ended up with human immunodeficiency virus. I’m sure he’d be happy to fill you in!

JED: Hey, guys!

TINA and GINA: Hey, Jed!

GINA: Jed, Tina tells me that you had sex before you were emotionally ready for it and now have HIV. Would you mind telling me about it?

JED: Sure! Yeah. I figure that because I can’t do anything to go back in time and save myself, I might as well go around as a sort of living sexual martyr figure and spread the word of abstinence.

TINA: That’s sooo cool! What a great idea!

JED: It’s the best I can do. Here, let me give you the run-down: You can’t contract AIDS from another person, but you can get HIV, which leads to AIDS, through contact with various bodily fluids, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, pre-ejaculate, or breast milk. This majority of HIV/AIDS cases are in result of unprotected sexual relations, when one partner has the disease and their sexual secretion comes into contact with the genital, oral, or rectal mucous membranes of the other partner. This is why it’s better to just wait until you’re married, because if you know that you don’t have HIV, and your partner doesn’t have HIV, and you two are the only ones you have sex with, then you won’t have to worry about contracting the disease.

GINA: Okay… but what happens if you get it? Is it really that bad?

JED: You betcha! What HIV does is it makes the body incredibly and dangerously susceptible to otherwise not-so-harmful infections. That means that what your body could normally handle, now becomes possibly lethal. Personally, I know that I don’t have AIDS yet because I don’t have any of the symptoms. But if you see me with fevers, sweats (particularly at night), swollen glands, chills, weakness, and weight loss, skin rashes, oral ulcerations, and various respiratory infections, you’ll know that I probably have developed AIDS.

TINA: How long will it take you to get AIDS?

JED: Probably between five and eight years, but with some people it takes even longer.

GINA: Can’t you just take medicine to make it go away?

JED: Sadly, no. The scary thing about the epidemic is that as of yet there is no cure.

GINA: That is scary!

JED: Yeah. The only for sure way to prevent it is by preventing exposure to the potential causes. Which is what I’m advising you guys to do. However, there are various medications that are used to reduce the risk of an infection after known exposure. I’m currently taking some of these, and they aren’t very fun, but these antiretroviral treatments reduce both the mortality and the morbidity of the HIV infection, so I’m happy to take them. Unfortunately, these agents are expensive, and the majority of the world's infected individuals do not have access to medications and treatments for HIV and AIDS, making it much more common in poorer areas and countries with higher rates of poverty.

GINA: So that’s why AIDS is such a bigger problem in Africa than in the United States!

TINA: And that’s why you shouldn’t have sex.

JED: Right, but it still is an enormous problem here in the States.

GINA: Oh, yeah, like you.

JED: I’m glad that I could at least tell you guys that the only way to stay safe is to be abstinent, since it’s too late to save myself!

TINA: Boy, I’m sure glad we were lucky enough to have abstinence-only education written into our welfare reform bill 1996. Think how many kids it must have saved already! I’m so afraid of HIV/AIDS that I’m not going to have sex until I’m happily married.

GINA: Me too.

JED: That’s great, guys. I’m glad I could fulfill my role as the sort of living sexual martyr figure and promote abstinence. My work here is done.