boxes midterm 3 soc 152a
abortion in the us key stats
• 21% Of established pregnancies in the US are terminated by abortion • most are done for social reasons • ½ of the women were using contraceptive techniques but not perfectly • 33% of all abortions are performed within the first 6 weeks of pregnancy and 89% within the first 12 weks • 1 in 1000000 chance of causing mother death • legal in all US states but 27 states have 4 major restrictions
gay and homeless
• 40% of homeless youth in the US identify as gay, lesbian, bisezual or trans • why are LGBTs homeless? 1. Ran away bc of family rejection of sexual orientation ro gender identity (46%) 2. Forced out by parents bc of sexual orientation (43%) 3. Left bc of physical, emotional or sexual abuse at home (32%) 4. Aged out of the foster care system (17%) 5. Left because of financial or emotional neglect from family (14%) • New York's Ali Forney Center- nations largest provider of shelter and support for LGBT youth • Homeless gay youth who are mostly people of color- represent the invisible underside of a community that people are more ikey to associate with security and affluence
personal points of view
• 64 subjects: sex therapists, members of sexual minorities and older people all whom claimed to have experienced great sex • 8 major components: 1. being present and focused 2. connection 3. intimacy 4. communication both verbal and nonverbal 5. authenticity transparency- getting to the point where I am completely stripped bare emotionally physically and spiritually 6. transcendence and bliss- experience of floating in the universe of light and stars and music and peace 7. exploration and risk taking 8. vulnerability • technique and performance were of secondary mportance to most people who ezperienced great se • being comfy in one owns skin
dyspareunia : a case history
• Case history describe by colleagues at McGIll University Health Center • A couple went to their gynecologist with a diagnosis of vulvar vestibultis • Planned to have children - similar family histories • Heather had genital pain that worsended during a stressful period of her career • Seen for a total of 18 session • Steven became less passive inside and outside the bedroom and they ended up with a successful sex life
on seeing a sex surrogate
• Childhood polio had to spend life inside an iron lung • Sex surrogate Cheryl cohen greene • They talked, then she took off his clothes, then they discussed body awareness, touching, scented oils • Changed his life, made him feel deserving
gay martyrs
• Harvey Milk→ city supervisor of SF and the first openly gay man to be elected to city government in the US Helped to reject proposition 6 which forced the state to fire openly gay teachers Shot dead by anti gay city supervisor Dan White • David Kato → Ugandan gay rights activist and the cofounder of sexual minorities Uganda Beaten to death by a man with a hammer
progress in coitus research
• Leonardo Da Vinci's anatomical drawing of a couple engaged in coitus • Incorrect depictions implied that sex was a suitable subject for study • Willibrord Schultz gynecologist • MRI scans of couples having sex- the first successful couple were acrobats because the space was so small • Penis has shape of boomerang when inside of women, missionary position would provide better stimulation to the female partner especially if she desires stimulation of the G-spot
global perspectives on sexual orientation
• Non-western cultures peoples gender identity is more salient than their sexual orientation 1. Conventionally gendered people and transgender people • Cultures where unmarried women are highly sequestered and cirtually invisible to unmarried men, those men may have sex with male youths 1. Ie in ancient Greece or in Afghanistan during the period when the Taliban imposed strict Islamic codes of behavior 2. "We can see which boys are beautiful but we cant see which women are"
does abortion traumatize women?
• Pro life activists claimed that a woman who chooses to terminate her pregnancy can expect to suffer serious consequences etc. • Women in a study were more likely to suffer psychological problems but this association resulted from the cact that certain infuences predisposed women to having an abortion and to suffering mental illness after the abortion • Another study in Denmark found that women who had an abortion were more liey to have psuchological pronlems BEFORE the abortion then were women who carried a pregnancy to term • * a higher rate of psychological problems after abortion is simply a continuation of a history of psychological problems from earlier in the women's life NOT an affect of the abortion itself • "post abortion syndrome" does not exist
sensate focus
• Quiet time with you and your partner with no distractions • Feel each other, switch roles etc. • A basic exercise whose purpose is to overcome performance anxiety, spectating and other distractions that impair many couples' ability to focus on the sheer pleasure of sexual interactions
sexual minorities and sexual disorders
• Some gay people are in heterosexual marriages or relationships 1. Gay partner has performance difficulties/avoid sex • Lesbian, gay, bisexual have a ulturally induced ;sense of shame or self hatred about their sexual orientation 1. Therapy • Some gay men have developed an unreasonable fear of sex bc of AIDS • Anal penetration can present performance diffuclties for either the receptive or the insertive partner • Trans and transsexual people have special concerns about sexual practices- may be dissatisfied with genitals • Lesbians lose interest in sex more than other kinds of couples
kegel exercises
• Strengthen muscles of the pelvic floor • Developed in 1950s by Arnold Kegel • First step→ identify muscles that need to be exercised • Learning how to contract your pelvic floor muscles, begin a regular exercise program • A set of ten 3-second contractions 3x a day Womens capacity for sexual arousal was assessed both subjectively and by measurement of vaginal engorgement
sex and the seasons
• Variations in sexual behavior around the year • Key control element is gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRh) 1. Release of GnRh by Hypothalmus in response to seasonal factors 2. Promotes release of LH and FSH from the pituitary gland 3. Increae spermatogenesis and testosterone asecretion in males • Conceptions peak at times of moderate temperatures and 12 hour daylight • Spring and fall peaks are not seen In the US bc most americans spend their time indoors and threofre have little exposure to seasonal signals • Peaked twice in the year onece in early summer and again in winter- peaks in condom sales, HIV tests, STI diagnoses • Driven by social factors such as vacation time and the alchol fueled party season
why gay genes?
• Why don't gay genes die out if they cause you to not reproduce as much as heterosexuals? • Not everyone who possesses a gay gene is actually gay • Man's gay gene could be transmitted to the next generation albeit not via the gay man's own offspring • Gay ales increase their sisters' reproductive success by their behavior - not being able to be parents themselves they might deovte their resources to their sisters enabling them to have more children and helping those children survive and reproduce in their turn • Boys who have older brothers are more likely to grow up gay than boys who don't
