- New York Allows Same-Sex Marriage, Becoming Largest State to Pass Law – NYTimes.com – “Lawmakers voted late Friday to legalize same-sex marriage, making New York the largest state where gay and lesbian couples will be able to wed and giving the national gay-rights movement new momentum from the state where it was born. “
- Thousands Cheer Same-Sex Marriage Law in Euphoric Pride Parade – NYTimes.com – “They came to shout, dance, cheer, strut, hug and shed tears of joy, knowing that on July 24, when the law takes effect, the season for tears will begin in earnest…The focus of much of the cheering was Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, who made legalization of same-sex marriage part of his election campaign and visibly led the fight for its approval in the Republican-led State Senate. Mr. Cuomo marched with several local politicians, including Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the New York City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, who is openly gay. But there was little question that the governor was the parade’s rock star, eliciting shrieks as he made his way down Fifth Avenue. “
- Gail Dines, SlutWalk, Saudi Arabia and The Place of Porn in a “Just Society” | violet blue ® :: open source sex – A professor of sociology and women’s studies, Dines shows a shocking disregard for women’s experience. She infantilizes “sluts” and women who consume porn (about whom I’ve never seen her make more than a passing reference) as women making not their own choices, but choices dictated exclusively by the pressures of men. Meanwhile, men make choices based exclusively on the pressures of porn. Which are driven by the desires of men. It’s a classic circular argument that places the responsibility for men who behave reprehensibly on the shoulders of women who self-identify as sluts, and of men who don’t always feel like making eye contact with their girlfriends during sex…But Dines is far more dangerous than that, because after decades teaching women’s studies, she doesn’t seem to have learned the explosive danger of the term “normal.”
- Sexual Orientation and the Law: A Research Bibliography – A research bibliography of legal literature discussing gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual persons, their rights and their families. Edited by law librarians from the American Association of Law Libraries Standing Committee on Lesbian and Gay Issues.
- Thanks, but no thanks! | Fearless Press – Keep in mind that you do not need to have a reason to say no – you are entitled to say no for any reason (or even no reason) at all. It’s YOUR decision whether to play or engage in sex. You also do not need to give them a “rain check” or tell them maybe another time unless you want to – in fact, in my experience it’s been worse for me to tell them “maybe” instead of just saying no and leaving it alone.
research
I had the pleasure of attending Richard Sprott’s lecture on the medicalization of BDSM at last year’s Shibaricon, which is why I’m passing along this request:
There have lately been extremely active discussions taking place within the leather/BDSM/fetish/kink community advocating for more fundraising for organizations, projects and causes specific to that community.
The Community-Academic Consortium for Research on Alternative Sexualities (CARAS) promotes serious academic research and professional education about alternative sexualities and polyamory. This work ultimately improves the
lives of everyone in the leather, kink, BDSM and polyamory communities.Money is desperately needed to continue this important work.
Please consider donating to CARAS, either individually or through fundraising efforts. You’ll find the CARAS donation page here:
https://carasresearch.org/index.php/donate/
Thank you for supporting CARAS!
- Gay rights activists rally outside Stonewall Inn two days after Benjamin Carver attack |NY Daily News – Early Sunday, Benjamin Carver, 34, of Washington, was attacked in the rest room of the Stonewall, where the gay rights movement was launched in 1969. Two Staten Island men were charged with assault as a hate crime, accused of yelling homophobic slurs at Carver and pummeling him.
- Archdiocese: Communion too sacred to be used as protest | Minnesota Public Radio NewsQ – St. Paul, Minn. — A spokesman for the Twin Cities archdiocese said Tuesday that Catholics should expect to be denied communion if they are wearing rainbow buttons or ribbons at church to support gays and lesbians.<br />
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The remarks come 10 days after Twin Cities Archbishop John Nienstedt refused communion to about 20 people wearing rainbow buttons and ribbons at a mass at St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minn. - National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior – Welcome to the information and download page for the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior(NSSHB). On this site, you can learn more about the NSSHB, download the special issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine in which the first 9 papers from the NSSHB are published, and find contact information for the investigators and study partners….The National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior (NSSHB), conducted by researchers from the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University’s School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, is one of the most comprehensive studies on these topics in almost two decades. It includes the sexual experiences and condom-use behaviors of 5,865 adolescents and adults ages 14 to 94.
- Largest Survey of American Sexual Behaviors Offers Snapshot of 21st Century American Sex | Cory Silverberg – The holidays came early for sex researchers and anyone interested in catching a glimpse of American sexuality at the beginning of the 21st century. They came today, to be precise, in the form of the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior (NSSHB). Conducted by a team of researchers at The Center for Sexual Health Promotion based at Indiana University, with funding from Church & Dwight (the company that brings us, among other household products, Trojan condoms), the NSSHB represents the largest nationally representative survey of sexual behaviors conducted in the U.S. since 1994, and in many ways a significant leap in sophistication and specificity in terms of what we mean when we talk about sex.
- The Secret Lives of Big Pharma’s ‘Thought Leaders’ – The Chronicle of Higher Education – What if there were a way to avoid the masses and simply concentrate on the special people? Today the pharmaceutical industry uses the terms "thought leader" or "key opinion leader"—KOL for short—to refer to influential physicians, often academic researchers, who are especially effective at transmitting messages to their peers. Pharmaceutical companies hire KOL's to consult for them, to give lectures, to conduct clinical trials, and occasionally to make presentations on their behalf at regulatory meetings or hearings.
- In Vitro Fertilization delivers Medicine Nobel Prize | Ars Technica – The Nobel Prizes in science and medicine typically recognize the collaborative nature of modern science by recognizing groups of individuals that contributed towards a significant breakthrough. This year, however, the Physiology or Medicine prize is going to a single individual, Robert Edwards, for his efforts in developing in vitro fertilization (IVF). Although Edwards had many key collaborators over the years, his focus on fertilization started in graduate school and spanned decades before culminating in the birth of the first "test tube baby," Louise Brown, in 1978. There are now approximately 4 million individuals alive due to IVF procedures.
- Adult Services" and Craigslist" (October 1, 2010) | On The Media (WNYC) – In 2001, Craigslist created a separate category on its website called "erotic services" (later renamed "adult services"). In addition to posting apartments for rent or sofas for sale, this site now facilitated sex – presumably between consenting adults. And so it went for nine years, until early last month when Craigslist closed down the service amid pressure from government prosecutors and child advocates. Daily Beast columnist Michelle Goldberg explains that many using the service were in fact trafficking minors.
- PurrVersatility: The 6 Feet Under Club – Until she asked me if I would join her for this Arse Elektronika experiment exploring private and public space. And how did they want to do this? By creating a coffin for two, with a night vision camera, burying it in a dumpster in SoMa, and recording/projecting the camera's visuals onto the side of a building, of course. I mean, what better way to explore what privacy means in an internet age?
