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 [...]]]> 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.

Advice to a twentysomething raised by sex-negative religious parents… who now feels terrible guilt about sex, even while married.

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!

ROCK also got more free press [...]]]> First off: the Kentucky House has approved an In God We Trust plate. As you might recall, ROCK’s been at it to get a vanity IGWT plate for years—should this pass, it effectively kills ROCK’s fundraising strategy, and if it doesn’t pass, we’re spared license plate theocracy. A true win-win!

ROCK also got more free press from WAVE-3 this week when their demands weren’t met by the Clarksville Town Council. Not so amusingly, half the very anti-ROCK comments were deleted, but it would seem public opinion actually isn’t so much on ROCK’s side. The WAVE-3 reporter’s email is above the text of the article and Clarksville’s Town Council can be reached at trishAtdigicoveDOTcom. Let’s make our sex-positive voices heard!

Another ROCK member got a letter in the Courier today. She writes,

When I read “A Super Bowl advertisement we can do without” by Timothy Rutten in The C-J’s Feb. 3 edition, I was already nodding my head in agreement to what I was sure was going to be a detractor of Go Daddy’s blatant use of porn culture and sexuality of women to sell its product.

Interestingly, the idea of porn culture is not strictly far right—many very liberal thinkers object to an oversexualized culture. PAPER, of course, advocates not a wholesale condemnation of pornography and sexuality, but striving toward a culture where sexuality is just one aspect of whole, healthy people. What’s more interesting, though, is the idea that sexuality of women is something objectionable. So much of porn’s titillation factor is in seeing women behave in unladylike ways; it might lose its more addicting quality if everyday women weren’t shamed for being sexual entities.

The Courier also printed an editorial on the terrorist Scott Roeder and more abortion-related letters to the editor.

Amanda Marcotte takes down “101 Reasons not to Have an Abortion” spectacularly.

A new anti-choice bill in Utah illegalizes miscarriages. Yeah, the anti-choice movement cares about women. Sure.

And more on Tebow: there are actually TWO anti-choice Tebow ads, both funded by the extremists at Focus on the Family. Unfortunately feminist reaction to the ad has not been received well.

At least there are the following touching and/or funny videos.

Planned Parenthood hired two sports notables–wisely, men, as anti-choicers aren’t going to respect women talking about why abortion is a force for good–to make the official counter-ad.

Florida’s Raging Grannies sing it like it is.

Jimmy Kimmel makes the most biting counter.

On the sad career of choice.

Meanwhile, Kentucky’s own Planned Parenthood and ACLU made a great showing in Frankfort for real sex ed. Real sex ed is getting proper funding again, thanks to Obama–Planned Parenthood’s Cecile Richards responds.

In other sex ed news, a new study said abstinence education works. Huh? Well, it’s not abstinence-only education, it’s sex ed that highlights the positives of abstinence while giving good health and contraception information. More on this here.

Sexting as kiddie porn is nothing short of absurd.

The Courier also opined on repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and whew, the homophobia came rolling in. It’s not just Louisvillians: Ollie North said repealing DADT will lead to NAMBLA being in uniform, the American Family Association said gayness ought to be illegal, as did the Family Research Council. Remember, the AFA and FRC are two of ROCK and their ilk’s biggest sources of “evidence.” Neighborly, huh?

Although Obama and Hillary Clinton attended the National Prayer Breakfast, put on the theocratic group The Family, they condemned the Family’s work in hate-mongering and would-be genocide in Uganda. In the Courier, another religious GLBTQ-friendly voice was heard–come on, sane Christians, keep making noise.

A top Canadian music magazine named a transman for Canada’s sexiest man. Yay progressiveness!

Another disgusting little ploy: homophobes aren’t content with saying gays are evil, they’re ugly, too.

LA will not make condoms mandatory in porn, for a variety of reasons… link is more NSFW than most.

People always have questions about sex, most of which boil down to, “Am I normal?” Who cares?

Got a painfully curved penis? Help may be on the way.

The anatomy of sperm.

Here’s an interesting piece about biology, religion, and rights.

Over in Uganda, the fundie bigot who proposed the Kill [...]]]> It’s been a relatively good week for gay rights in the US: a gay marriage vote passed the DC Council, and Houston elected an openly gay mayor. In California, however, it’s big business to oppose gay rights.

Here’s an interesting piece about biology, religion, and rights.

Over in Uganda, the fundie bigot who proposed the Kill the Gays Bill promises not to back down about the death penalty. We can only hope the other Ugandan legislators will vote this travesty down. Ironically, in the midst of the controversy, they have passed a law banning female genital mutilation.

On the conflict of psychology, profits, and transgendered people.

Congress just passed a remarkably progressive and sane appropriations bill, which ends abstinence-only funding, allots money for sexual health research and teen pregnancy prevention, and improves abortion access, among other very good things. Also, the healthcare reform bill can do much good for sex ed.

Lois Capps [D-CA] responds to Stupak.

On the power of pro-choice men as allies.

Egypt is moving progressively on abortion.

Make love, not porn: a sex-positive site reminding people that porno sex isn’t all that realistic. You can email suggestions—go on, we all have our little porn gripes.

See classism, sexism, and sex-negativity intertwine here, where no one believes a prosititute would know what hypocrisy is. But, in happy sex work news, Nevada now allows male prostitutes.

A new study says casual sex doesn’t bother young people, but many young people have been left with misconceptions and ignorance after abstinence-only education. It’s worse than we feared, including widespread beliefs that birth control causes cancer.

Did you know adultery is still illegal in New Hampshire?

Unfortunate: vaginal gel does not block HIV.

Girl-bashing and its very real consequences.

Something fun indeed: Fleshbot’s top ten sex toys of 2009. I’m sure there are still some adult stores having xmas sales!

Here’s something gleeful: check out the ROCK-mocking in this C-J article. ROCK’s radio show continues, and ROCK prez Bryan Wickens got more free press from the Southeast [...]]]> And your intrepid webmistress has news, action alerts, and adventures for you. First off, TOMORROW, 10/28, is National Comprehensive Sex Education Call-In Day. Learn more from the organizers here.

Here’s something gleeful: check out the ROCK-mocking in this C-J article. ROCK’s radio show continues, and ROCK prez Bryan Wickens got more free press from the Southeast Outlook. The radio show is essentially an hour-long advertisement for ROCK—the other “practical solution” Wickens has offered on the show is going into school libraries and asking for books to be removed. Charming. In the SECC article, Wickens reminds us that “‘liberty’ is at the heart of everything,” which is funny, since censorship doesn’t seem much like liberty. Wickens adds that without Judeo-Christian principles this country will be torn apart, and that the country’s “moral decay” is shown by “the need for greater government control.” The article does not seem to be online, but it is nothing more than the usual back-patting incoherence one expects from ROCK. Also, Thursday, 10/29, ROCK will be having an event at Kye’s. Email us at paperkyanaATgmailDOTcom if you want to be involved in counter-activities.

And on to more dumb things: SuperFreakonomics asks why all women don’t become prostitutes. While PAPER wholeheartedly supports sex workers and believes it can be a great career choice, to wonder why all women don’t wander into the field at any level smacks of bad econ, attention-grabbing, and a misogynistic undertone. More here.

About the online prostitution subculture. Rather sex-negative in tone, but a look into how the internet is affecting the world’s oldest profession.

Utter crap: a new documentary says HIV and AIDS aren’t connected.

How do we like our contraception? Well, condoms now rival the Pill.

Snarking sexist shite from Details, Jezebel style.

Excellent and informative: The Pro-Life Pretense, which debunks “pro-life” legislators. This article was heavy on my mind Saturday when I escorted at the abortion clinic; and, I’m pleased to say, your intrepid webmistress’ take on Saturday morning is an editor’s pick at Open Salon.

More abortion links: study on abortion and mental health, and anti-choice FAIL from Law and Order. Seriously, cut the shit, TV shows.

Out of state homophobes again threaten gay marriage. Maine, don’t do another Prop 8!

In better news, hate crimes against gays are now federally prohibited. About time.

Lamda Legal has a new documentary out about getting anti-sodomy laws repealed. More good legal news: ruling eases transgender name change process.

Awesome: William & Mary students have elected a transgender homecoming queen.

Lastly in news: a gallery of photos from the Loveland Park in Korea. Very interesting—we hope to see more!

Lastly: we’ve added links to the blogroll, to the feminism page, and the abortion page.

And a very happy Halloween to you all.

Interview with Max Blumenthal, author of Republican Gomorrah. It’s a must-read for understanding what’s behind the nonsense social conservatives want to inflict on us.

Some thoughts on sex and morality, especially considering Alabama’s absurd dildo ban. And here’s more on just how common [...]]]> Housekeeping: PAPER will now be updating on Tuesdays. And now, on to the links:

Interview with Max Blumenthal, author of Republican Gomorrah. It’s a must-read for understanding what’s behind the nonsense social conservatives want to inflict on us.

Some thoughts on sex and morality, especially considering Alabama’s absurd dildo ban. And here’s more on just how common sex toy use is.

A new study zipping through the blogosphere postulates that the Pill makes women prefer less masculine men. That’s the study in a nutshell; there’s some interesting stuff here, and the scientists are wise to conclude with wishing for more research to be done.

HPV vaccines could wipe out cervical cancer within 50 years. Remember, though, that we all have to get the vaccine for this to happen.

Guttmacher’s in the news, for a study on the costs of unsafe abortions in developing countries and by showing that abortion restriction does NOT reduce abortion. And in horrifying abortion news, Oklahoma now mandates that personal details of all abortions be shown online. Thankfully the constitutionality of this measure is being challenged—but it’s more proof that anti-choicers will sink to any low.

Speaking of low, here’s some debunking of anti-choice starlet Lila Rose.

No surprise: women’s genital self-esteem affects their sex lives.

A new book studies why women have sex. This book takes an evolutionary psychology bent, and the author interviewed in the linked article seems… reasonable. But isn’t there something horribly wrong when this question is being seriously asked?

About Outrage, the new HBO documentary chronicling how repressed gay lawmakers have hurt GLBTQ Americans. Incidentally, Republican Gomorrah discusses this to an extent, too.

Good news for gays in California: Schwarzenegger signs two important GLBTQ rights measures into law.

And here’s some more on DADT. As in, some real nonsense that tries to defend the policy. Read it and get your bile up.

Think your kid is getting sex ed? You may be mistaken, like New Yorkers are.

Speaking of nonsense, Egypt is now freaking out about fake hymen kits, saying it will promote promiscuity in women. Yo, drop the patriarchy already.

Florida schools are banning freak dancing. Hm. Meanwhile, here in our own fair city, a pedophile has just been ordained as a minister at a Pentecostal church. We guess they learned nothing from the ongoing Catholic example.

Speaking of sex offenders, doesn’t it make sense to differentiate between violent and nonviolent? The Courier-Journal thinks so. Read the comments at your own risk.

Weird: bestiality is going to the SCOTUS. Well, for the record, PAPER does not approve of bestiality.

Yay Al Franken! His amendment barring companies that discourage female employees from filing sexual harrassment suits from sweet government contracts passed. Awesome. And, eat it, Halliburton.

Finally, on a fun very NSFW note: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/rasputins-foot-long-preserved-penis”>Rasputin’s preserved penis is a star exhibit at the Russian sex and erotica museum.

More Republican wackiness: the conservative women calendar. Also this week, old school conservative lady Phyllis Schafly reminded us that feminism is “the most dangerous, destructive force [...]]]> First off: Even TEXAS is admitting abstinence only sex ed doesn’t work, yet a clatch of those wacky Republicans just restored $50 million to fund abstinence only sex ed. Sigh.

More Republican wackiness: the conservative women calendar. Also this week, old school conservative lady Phyllis Schafly reminded us that feminism is “the most dangerous, destructive force in our society today”—and presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee was all over this. Remember, friendly though he may seem, he is not our friend.

On women and dating and sex: OkCupid’s data suggests women like being treated like human beings by prospective partners, while this cartoon attempts wit and fails miserably.

But back to politics. The healthcare reform debate has focused on abortion: abortion complicates healthcare, and the language regarding abortion in the bills cause strife. But you know it’s coming to a boil when a Congressman goes so far as to call Obama an “enemy of humanity”—and doesn’t distinguish between fetuses and people.

NARAL and Planned Parenthood both have action alerts regarding abortion and healthcare reform. Please, click and use.

Also this week, child rapist and auteur Roman Polanksi may finally be brought to justice… except that a lot of people want don’t seem to mind that he raped a 13 year old girl. Truly sad. Also truly sad, the Vatican would like to remind us that its priests mostly raped teen boys, not little boys, so it’s not as bad! “Family values,” right.

A happy note: Germany’s likely next foreign minister will be Guido Westerwelle, who is openly gay.

Finally, some sex and culture stories. Read a history of college paper sex columns here, about the legacy of American sexploitation films here, and about rape tunnel art installation that turned out to be a hoax. Thankfully. Between the actual rape, abortion denigration, and abstinence only funding this week, the last thing we need is an actual rape tunnel.

Here’s hoping next week we have a few more happier stories.

Daniel Radcliffe donates to the Trevor Project, which counsels GLBTQ teens.

Join the March for Equality.

Profile of the conservative who’s preparing to fight for nationwide gay marriage rights.

The evangelical solution, if you don’t want to abstain: marry early.

More damning info about abstinence-only education.

Study shows that the [...]]]> Sad but, well, inevitable: the internet is undercutting the porn business.

Daniel Radcliffe donates to the Trevor Project, which counsels GLBTQ teens.

Join the March for Equality.

Profile of the conservative who’s preparing to fight for nationwide gay marriage rights.

The evangelical solution, if you don’t want to abstain: marry early.

More damning info about abstinence-only education.

Study shows that the HPV vaccine’s benefits outweigh the risks. (PAPER does question some of the sentiments in this article, however—what’s with some doctors not wanting to stamp out HPV?)

Oral sex is a natural and beautiful thing.

Is porn changing teen sex practices? While we here think it’s probably futile to try to generalize the way this article does, a wider variety of sexual expression is probably a good and healthy thing—especially if it is empowering. We link this piece because it’s some solid food for thought.

ROCK was at Chik-fil-A Tuesday. See coverage and scroll down for the wonderful comments here and here.