Welcome to PAPER, for People Against Persecuting Erotic Rights. We’re based in Louisville and here to keep you informed about research and policy issues related to all things sex. Please check the PAPER homepage often for news and updates, and click around through our always-growing collection of links. You’ll find all sorts of information and research. There’s always something new to learn!
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… we’re considering some major overhauls and what to do moving forward. Have a question, complain, or suggestion? Please comment or email us at paperkyanaATgmail.com. Thanks. A fairly brief newsfeed this week. Did any of you spot something we missed? New, more effective emergency contraception is on the way. And anti-choicers are mad. The Alliance Defense Fund, a fundie law resource, may represent Indiana in an abortion case. New disgusting tactic: anti-choice “freedom rides.” There’s government-funded abortion drama in Alaska, of all the places. Don’t disappoint when you’re playing to anti-choicers: two have been arrested for threating Bart Stupak, the big anti-choice hiccup in the healthcare reform saga. True stories of gay exorcisms. Surgery is no longer required for selecting one’s gender on passports. A happy story about viral campaigning on behalf of sex workers. We’re sorry to have been away so long, and we’re working on some ways to keep updates more frequent around here. [Stay tuned!] With that said, here’s the news on abortion, sex and politics, gay rights, sexual health, sex ed, porn, and more! Randall Terry endorsed Rand Paul, Kentucky’s Republican candidate for the Senate. Randall Terry heads Operation Rescue, a terroristic anti-choice organization. If it isn’t obvious by now, PAPER wholeheartedly endorses Jack Conway. Please have a look at his site–he’s been a good civil servant for Kentucky, and consider donating time or resources to his campaign. Honoring Dr. Tiller, a year after his murder. And his murderer, Scott Roeder, was no lone wolf. Abortion has become more concentrated among poor women. On anti-choice maneuvering at the state level, with more here and here. Webcams increase abortion access. Britain has aired an abortion ad on the telly, while American teachers distribute plastic fetuses in public schools and an American nun is excommunicated for authorizing a medically necessary abortion at a Catholic hospital. Speaking of Catholic misdeeds, Kentuckians have a lawsuit underway and Louisville’s Archbishop Kurtz is doing more homophobic meddling. In California, evangelicals end a school’s anti-bullying program, since it promoted acceptance of gays. Also, a longtime target of anti-pornsters, Movie Gallery, has shut down, to their delight–though as a former MG employee, I gotta say it has more to do with bad bankruptcy issues than stocking a little softcore porn. Meanwhile, the American Family Association has opined that Hitler’s SS comprised only gays, since they were the only recruits “savage and brutal enough” for the job, and that Hitler was gay. Never mind that Hitler actively imprisoned and killed gays and that no evidence exists that Hitler or the SS was gay. The AFA has outdone itself with this. The SCOTUS rules that sex offenders can be imprisoned “indefinitely.” After appointing a “proud homophobe” and subsequent outcry, Obama revoked the appointment. Yay! A tally of Obama’s GLBTQ accomplishments. [Not a glowing review.] Indiana’s own Mark Souder has resigned after an affair with a staffer. The following is an abstinence-only plug featuring Souder and his mistress–just rich, huh? … and here’s Souder crying and apologizing. He hopes to be remembered as “an evangelical”–well, no problem there! Another evangelical hypocrite for the long, long list. Sarah Palin’s been dropping the f-bomb a lot lately–that is, claiming to be a feminist. This is absurd, and you can read other takedowns here and here. Domestic partners are about to receive new federal benefits. In Malawi, a married gay couple was set to get 14 years in jail before a presidential pardon, after international pressure. Also interesting: one of the men is Another day, another hate crime. This one highlights the stupidity of the assailants. Gay men may soon be able to donate blood. The Family Research Council, closely affiliated with the AFA, was caught supporting Uganda’s kill the gays bill. The drama continues here. Civil disobedience and the LGBTQ community. By presidential proclamation, it’s LGBT Pride Month! After years of real sex ed, Canada’s teen pregnancy rate has dropped. Same deal in California. And Obama has paid attention and given more federal dollars to real sex ed. When feminists argue about porn. And there’s a Facebook page. And this illuminating video: Why does porn matter?–a pro-porn perspective. The world’s oldest sex toy has been found! And it did double-duty as a striking stone. More porn use stats. Mormons are still paying for the most porn, and Sunday is the most popular day for porn-browsing. Turns out bat fellatio can cause quite a ruckus. Sex research and fears of lube. Is free birth control on the way? Maybe, thanks to Planned Parenthood. A new Diva Cup-like menstrual product can collect stem cells! UTIs are getting harder to treat. Drink your cranberry juice, ladies. A cure for herpes may be on the way. Rest in peace: Rue McClanahan, best known for her Blanche Deveraux on The Golden Girls.
Louisville candidate Mike Slaton is getting some national attention. We highly endorse him–please vote for him in the primary! The Episcopal church has just ordained Mary Glasspool, a lesbian, as a bishop. New homophobic activist tactic: march around with a pro-pedophilia sign, since that’s next if the gays can marry. Let’s hope this doesn’t get trendy. Gay rights opponents are… inching closer to death. Elena Kagan has been nominated to be a Supreme Court Justice, and there’s confusion about her stance on abortion. We’re inclined to say that, as the linked article describes, Kagan’s history shows more of a sense of politics than anything. Missouri gets in on restricting abortion rights, while doctors in Oklahoma are criticizing stringent new state regulations. Meanwhile, forced-to-Independent former Republican Charlie Crist may veto an anti-choice bill in Florida. This could be excellent: scientists are at work on a male contraceptive that relies on ultrasound and would last for six months a dose. In other stupid Missouri news, a bill on sexual businesses has passed. From the article:
Here’s a great example of how politics can increase stupid legislated sex-negativity. A must-read piece detailing the Kentucky Values Coalition–another group claiming they defend “family values” while actually behaving in quite a slimy manner. Funny and informative Cracked list of sexperts who made the world a worse place [to do it]. Retro sex ed videos! And they are… interesting. And, happy birthday to the Pill! Here’s Loretta Lynn’s ode. Meanwhile… a prominent homophobe has been caught returning from a European vacation with a male sex worker, hired from RentBoy.com [link is to the site's statement on the outing]. The outed homophobe claims he was just trying to share the “good news of Jesus Christ” with the sex worker. [A second sex worker has come out saying he, ah, performed services for Rekers.] This is especially hilarious in light of just who this homophobe is–not a garden variety preacher or “family values” politician, but George Rekers, a founder of the Family Research Council and member of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality. Rekers has received government money to defend anti-gay Florida adoption laws–and was so homophobic they didn’t even accept his testimony. Rekers also preaches the usual sex-negative crap to teens on his site. Why does it seem closeted gays are the main ones spearheading homophobic movements? Rachel Maddow also has a response: Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy It’s quite plain, all in all: gayness can’t be “cured,” and we shouldn’t wish for a cure anyway; sexual shaming just can’t always overcome human nature; and, frankly, the sex-negative are people who’ve internalized the sexual shaming. Meanwhile, homophobia still gets prominent play in Uganda. One of the worst symptoms of sex-negativity is its pretense that women are simply less sexual than men–and, usually, religious sex-addiction programs are designed for men. However, some are “ministering” to “sex-addicted” women. Excerpt:
It is profoundly sad to us to see women taught that their desires are “addictions”–look at some what some of the women in the group had to say:
The very real issue of abuse for Michele is plainly left untreated, while Kelsie has been so brainwashed she thinks it would be “terrible” to get more pleasure out of masturbation than sex. Too bad if she’s one of those many women who don’t orgasm from intercourse, huh? Here’s some description of the graduation ceremony:
Think about that, dear readers–masturbation and lustful thinking are equated with self-mutilation, “Dad’s Bad Choices,” and unhealthy thoughts. This is the worldview trying to ban porn from brick-and-mortar stores and healthy sex ed from schools. It is not harmless. Anyway… a new study shows many women are easily aroused, too, and enjoy hooking up. The ACLU says our own EMW is one of the most-harrassed abortion clinics in the country. Your intrepid Webmistress went down last Saturday, and between being another friendly face for the patients, was told she had a “cold dead atheist heart” like the other “Deathscorts” by this high-volume sermonizing anti-choicer, John Heuglin of New Bethel Church [who, according to his other YouTube videos, doesn't believe in evolution, either--how surprising], and was screamed at in the face by multiple protesters. I also heard a couple sermons, a Mass, plus arguments from one idiot about how archaeology can’t disprove the Bible and the usual “You’re going to hell, God will judge you” nonsense. Immanuel Baptist is another significant fundie presence, seeming to be behind the “life escort” vests, designed to be confused with the “clinic escort” vests. All in all, the usual hate, judgmentalness, and lies one expects from the sex-negative. A new Guttmacher study says abortion has become more concentrated among low-income women. Hm… do “family values” weaken families? Yes! Oh, look: another deluded parent stealing a library book so the precious children won’t be corrupted. ROCK likes this tactic; what book is next? What encyclopedia content? Happy post-Derby recuperation, and here’s a [very distilled] round-up from the interim. An economic analysis of the relationship between pre-marital sex and its destigmatization. Study from the National Campaignt to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy finds unprecedented vast ignorance about reproduction and contraception among American youth. Thanks, abstinence-only and sex-negativity! What an anti-teen sexting bill ought to look like. Take heed, Kentucky legislators. ROCK’s been endorsing this stupid effort by the Family Foundation of Kentucky to make all strippers keep distance from clients and wear pasties. More investigation into the fundies with too much power in this country, from Rachel Maddow: Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Well, what do you know? Strip clubs are safer than churches! At least in Australia. Next Saturday is the day before Mother’s Day, and that means we ought to help EMW out. [And, you know, call our moms and such.] The protesters continue to get coverage, especially after anti-choice starlet Lila Rose leaked a heavily-edited two-year-old attack video about EMW. [See Planned Parenthood's response to such attacks here.] Meanwhile, a ten-year-old Mexican girl is being refused an abortion. Maybe this will be the tipping point for Mexican abortion rights–we can only hope. A woman live-tweeted her abortion. Abortion and contraception aren’t new–they have a 4000 year history! Pro-Choice Public Education Project: education about abortion-related SCOTUS cases. Gallup finds that education “trumps” gender in predicting abortion rights support. Now this is the sort of class homophobes can proudly claim: after a Mississippi lesbian student, Constance McMillen, asked to take her girlfriend to the prom [while dressed in a tux, *gasp*], the school canceled the whole prom. You can picture how much this pleased the rest of the students. After the school was forced to hold the prom, however, McMillen and her date and some disabled students were the only ones who attended. It was a decoy prom. The real prom had been held elsewhere, and kept secret from McMillen and the others. Well, at least DC passed a resolution against the Uganda kill-the-gays bill. More science shows that the Pill won’t kill us. What does porn for women really look like? A bunch of fundies got Morrison’s Song of Solomon banned from a school. ROCK frequently endorses this tactic–what did you read in school that someone objects to? A cornucopia of climaxes: the language of orgasm. Also, we’re updating, adding, and tweaking throughout the site. We’re also planning some new post features. Stay tuned! We’ll be back in May. Just what we need: proposed Indiana legislation making sexting a juvenile offense has been sent to a study commission. One might ask a few questions about the sexting panic. 1. Is this actually a problem? The answer to the first two would be an emphatic NO, and the answer to #3 would be an emphatic YES. Let’s hope the study commission reaches a smart conclusion. From The Courier-Journal: supporting the Fairness Ordinance and a veteran’s response to repealing DADT. Did you know that to join the EU, a country must protect gay rights? Good policy. Rick Santorum is spouting off more homophobic nonsense. Google “santorum,” if you don’t already know what it means as a slang term; we’re going to have a hilarious election cycle if Santorum, as the rumors have it, does run for president. A leader in ex-gay ministry is a convicted felon and con man. How utterly unsurprising. What to expect when you’re aborting. A black woman’s response to the lie that the pro-choice is racist. The Forty Days for Life harrass-a-thon begins again. Do consider escorting at our own EMW! Virginia anti-choicers are working to divert proceeds from a pro-choice license plate. More from pro-choice Catholics. Two sides of sexual anxiety: resizing condoms for male egos, and how much bleeding is normal with first intercourse? And, two sides of desire: debunking the myth that men always want sex, and… new hope for a female Viagra. On some notable feminists: lessons from Margaret Sanger, the brave life of abortion provider Susan Hill, and remembering Jody Howard. Super Bowl is finally behind us, but here’s some analysis on the Tebow-Focus on the Family commercial: He’s My Timmy, who almost didn’t make it into this world… and from the link in the commercial, DON’T KILL YOUR BABY! Ah, yes, the crazy was waiting in the wings. By the way, don’t fall for the horror movie stylings of Focus on the Family’s description of abortion—try Planned Parenthood’s instead. [And for one last shot of nasty, here's what conservative pundit Erick Erickson had to say. Yet again an anti-choicer shows how considerate he is.] Meanwhile, the dumb old trope that abortion providers are racist is getting play in Georgia. This stems from untrue accusations that Margaret Sanger, who founded Planned Parenthood, was a eugenicist. [Link is to the preservers and publishers of a new cache of Sanger's papers, which will handily dispel this rumor.] Terrorist Scott Roeder has no regrets. Why should he, when Operation Rescue has a bounty on abortion doctors? Over in the legislative end of anti-choice bullshit, some states are moving to mandate that abortion insurance can only be purchased as a rider. If you’re angry about all this—or optimistic!—sign up for the 2010 Southern Reproductive Justice Leadership Institute. Men and boys can get the HPV vaccine! If you think you’ve been exposed to HIV [or want to be prepared for that feeling], here’s a video about what to do. Lady Gaga and Cyndi Lauper are teaming up to fight unprotected sex. A wonderful essay on why “unnatural” sex acts aren’t just okay, butsome of the most beautiful, honorable, and deeply treasured parts of the human experience. Dan Choi, one of the most outspoken critics of DADT, is back in active duty. Yay! And, a majority of Americans think gays should be allowed to serve openly. Those who don’t, well, see the following: Louisvillians sound off on DADT. Homophobes fail to repeal gay marriage rights in Iowa and New Hampshire. [For true homophobia on display, check this.] Making a big mockery of straight-only marriage. In the religious world, pastor Ken Eastburn advocates Christians tending to their own morality rather than America’s, the Archbishop of Canterbury wants to get progressive, and a new religious institute report advises preaching reproductive justice. And in fundie idiocy, a Michigan fundie group has filed a lawsuit against hate crimes legislation, saying it will “eradicate” their religion. Treatment for gender identity disorder IS medical care! Should we teach feminism in school? Yep. Rhode Island has a sex-positivity institute! |
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Happy Father’s Day!
And now, onto some horrifying news: a Cornell doctor is performing female genital mutilation on girls with large clitorises, and using a vibrator to test the results. HORRIFYING. We suspect more will be unearthed with this case–are these girls with congenital adrenal hyperplasia, intersexed, or just not “perfect”?
Haha, a win for local porn stores: Indiana Supreme Court declines to hear the New Albany adult store case, presumably much to ROCK’s chagrin.
Elsewhere in the defense of porn, sex blogger and advocate Violet Blue has begun Our Porn, Our Selves. She slams anti-porn forces here and here, and other blogs notice. Meanwhile, sexologist Charlie Glickman describes both sides of the porn debate and includes an interesting study that notes correlation between high porn consumption and male aggressivity.
As a sex-positive, pro-sex industry advocate, I’ll write on this a bit. Glickman reminds us that correlation does not equal causation, an important reminder indeed. PAPER supports every adult’s right to enjoy porn [and other fun given us by the sex industry], and does not believe porn is a truly addictive substance. However, such studies are extremely interesting and worth pursuing, when ethical, non-sex-negative researchers are doing the work. Such research begs questions: what sort of content are these extremely aggressive men watching? Does it interfere with their relationships? Likewise, what underlies high porn consumption in various populations? When sex-negative groups point out violence and degradation in porn–which certainly is part of some porn content, and not in the sense of kink and consent–they have something of a point. It’s just that we at PAPER seriously doubt porn turns people into sociopaths, just like violent video games and movies don’t turn people into sociopaths.
One thing you can do, if you’re into porn, is make sure you’re consuming the work of good companies. Our best advice is to Google the company, and start digging. And look at the porn: do you see performers returning? Does the company include clips of the performers talking about the experience? Does the company proudly record that all performers are over 18? Exploitation happens, but not all companies exploit. Be sure what you’re watching doesn’t. And if you don’t care if it does, ask yourself, seriously, why.
Louisville’s Pride Parade was last Friday!
A homophobic recovery outfit is seeking to expand in the Clifton neighborhood.
Oh, those theocrats: they’re not giving up on the Uganda kill the gays bill. And apparently, neither is Texas. More about this particular conservative lunacy here. Also, Montana fundies are trying to overturn a new gay rights law.
Alert! Knockoff condoms are on the shelves and do not protect you. Another reason to practice safer sex, people.
The FDA has approved ella, a form of emergency contraception effective for five days after the possible conception. Awesome! Anti-choicers are, naturally, mad.
On Yaz? Good news: the generic Gianvi is now available.
Louisiana has passed an ultrasound requirement before getting an abortion. You’d think with the worst environmental disaster in American history on, right at their shores, they’d have better things to worry about than trampling on women’s rights.
The Radiance Foundation perpetuates anti-choice lies.
Lastly, a little more on that philandering evangelical, Mark Souder, who called his affair “torrid”:
To the evangelical mind–and here, your intrepid Webmistress is speaking from experience, as she was once herself a devout evangelical–this is the portrait of sinful nature. No matter how much good one does or fervent one’s belief, one gives in to sinful desires. I imagine Souder is either wondering why God never delivered him of these desires, or hating himself for being so sinful. As amusing as such scandals are, they are perhaps full of this sort of ontological heartbreak; as glad as I am to see a sex-negative legislator like Souder come crashing down, I feel a certain pity for him. His worldview has failed him. The reality is that most of us are hardwired for lust, and that we shouldn’t feel guilt for it. We should live in a world where this was an accepted fact, and people allowed to make arrangements for it, rather than repress ourselves in shame only to see that repression breed personal hell.
Remember this, dear readers: the theocrats who want to legislate our sex lives don’t believe the wide wonderful diversity of human sexuality is natural. They believe it is transgression against divine law. And even believing this, they cannot control themselves and cannot see the failure of their beliefs for what it is, because this belief has been drilled in so hard it overrides common sense.