Impact of the Media on Sexuality- By Sara Pelletier

It's an indisputable fact that the media has an impact on American sexuality. Sex is used to sell and advertise many a good or service this day and age. But how long has it been this way? How long has sexuality been commonplace in mass media? Sexual imagery has been incorporated in mass media outlets such as advertisements and literature, and aired on television and film since the 19th century.
It has become normalized to see sexual innuendos in regular television programs, magazine advertisements, and even on billboards that everyone is exposed to in our society. As shown below, from 1910 to the 21st century, sexual content in the media has only increased and gotten more and more risque.

 Perhaps the most controversial part of this however is that most often (96%) this sexually objectifying imagery is of female bodies, rather than male. It seems that mostly the portrayal of women in the media is changed and gets more and more airbrushed and sexualized, but a study that involved taking a look back at Rolling Stone covers dating back to 1967 shows, however, that the portrayal of BOTH genders has become far more sexualized over the years. Why do we do this? Why do companies feel the need to over sexualize the human body in order to sell a product or make people watch a certain broadcast or film? Bringing up children surrounded by this sex filled culture could desensitize our future generations and bring about even more objectifying imagery in popular media. That's not too much of a good thing either. This very process of making people appear oversexualized and perfect in the media negatively affects many people of both genders in terms of mental health problems (eating disorders, anxiety, depression, body dysmorphic disorder.) Ideally, PEOPLE should treat other PEOPLE like the truly complex and magnificent beings they are, rather than objects. But for that to happen, we need to stop objectifying ourselves and accept that there isn't just one body type or one perfect look out there. It's important to know that humans of both genders have more to bring to the table than simply body parts.

diaryofamadfashionista.blogspot.com 
http://bolditalic.net/2014/03/14/sexual-objectification-works-both-ways/
http://youtu.be/u_4dPB9MVS8 
http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/08/11/medias-growing-sexualization-of-women/28539.html

True Life: I used to be a Slut-Shamer by Kate Potenzano

        

In January, on the first day of class I am ashamed to admit that I never really knew what slut-shaming was and even more so embarrassed that I actually participated in it. If I didn’t like a girl or disagreed with her decisions, I would say, “oh she’s just a slut” or something demeaning just to prove that I looked down on her choices and how she lives her life. Our generation should be more aware of how wrong that truly is just to put down someone because you don’t like them for whatever reasoning, using hurtful words and names whether you agree with how they sexually express themselves or even if they just don’t conform to the social norms 1. If they have the guts to lead their own life and step out of the boundaries that have been set for us as a society, we should celebrate them not diminish that. In simplest terms, slut shaming is humiliating a person for expressing their sexuality; having multiple sexual partners, or even just talking about sexual feelings they have more openly than people are used to 2. However, some people, like those on urban dictionary misconstrue the term for “good way to make a ho feel guilty because she doesn't know how to have fun without spreading her legs.” used with the example “Jenni gets offended when we start slut shaming her, but honestly there's nothing wrong with it.” stated by username PlayaCardzRight 3. Five months ago, that sentence wouldn’t have bothered me all that much, I’d brush it off and go about my business but now after learning about how it affects our culture today and that if I as a woman degrade another woman for her decisions, it seems to make a guy or someone else to normalize it. This slut-shaming behavior has to stop making people feel badly and name-calling just for having sexual experiences and/or being open about it 1. How do we put an end to this and spread awareness? Be Aware! Watch your mouth! 2 Especially since attending Mrs. Moore’s slut-shaming lecture, I’ve become more aware of what I say. Who are you and who am I to judge people? Loose Girl by Kerry Cohen also taught me that just because someone seems promiscuous you never really know what happens behind closed doors and what is going on in someone’s head (Cohen)4. Overall, since taking History of Sexuality, attending out of class lectures and reading the memoir of the inside story of a woman whose need for love drives her to questionable sexual experiences, my eyes have been open for the better and I will continue to educate people of the rape culture and slut shaming that this culture has normalized, starting with making changes with how I view people as well as society’s outlook on women and sexualizing this generation.  

1- Moore, Crystal “Slut Shaming Lecture” April 10, 2014

2- "FAQ: What is "slut-shaming"?." Finally A Feminism 101 Blog. http://finallyfeminism101.wordpress.com/2010/04/04/what-is-slut-shaming/ (accessed April 30, 2014).

3- http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=slut%20shaming

4- Cohen, Kerry. Loose Girl. New York 2008.

Should teens be allowed to obtain birth Control without parental consent?

By Jayshawn Pickett

Should teens be allowed to obtain birth Control without parental consent?

Being a teen and knowing what goes on now a days I do believe that teens should be able to obtain birth control anonymously. Teens don’t want to talk to their family members about sex or the idea of birth control because their parents will assume they are planning on having sex or already have had sex. For me, I wouldn’t want my parents knowing I was sexually active at a young age. Either way I believe that we need protection from unwanted pregnancies so we should be able to obtain birth control without parental consent.

Most parents believe that telling your child to wait until marriage to have sex will keep them from having sex which is very wrong. You should still give them access to condoms and birth control because kids often experiment. If a kid wants to have sex, they should have access to proper contraception without having to tell their parents. Talking to your kids about the idea of sex is very awkward and weird subject to talk about.

Teenagers are becoming more and more sexually active as time progresses, which means birth control should be readily available to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Birth control can be more protection for teens than any other contraceptive. Some teenage girls also use birth control to soothe acne outbreaks, help against menstrual cramps, and also help regulate your period. People don’t understand that birth control has many other uses besides preventing pregnancies.

According to the Affordable Care act that President Obama signed in 2010, private health insurance plans are beginning to offer birth control and other preventative services without copays or deductibles.

WebMD. "Birth Control Center - WebMD." WebMD. http://www.webmd.com/sex/birth-control/default.htm?names-dropdown=ME (accessed April 29, 2014).

"Teens' Rights to Services & Confidentiality." - Planned Parenthood. http://www.plannedparenthood.org/nyc/teens-rights-services-confidentiality-15235.htm (accessed April 29, 2014).

Deeper Than Black and White

Deeper than Black and White By: Jalen Robinson

Back during the Jim Crow days the thought of a black man being in any kind of relationship with a white woman was unheard of and looked down upon. On the other hand there was an acceptance for white males to be with black women. This roots all the way back to slavery times when the slave master would rape or have sexual relations with his black female slaves. The traditional image of black men was that they wanted nothing more than to rape white women. This was shown in DW Griffith film “The Birth Of A Nation” during the silent era.[1] 

But overtime things have evolved and changed. In clip we watched in class called “Sex in 69” this change was nationally claimed during the 1960’s when Jim Brown, former professional football player, was the lead actor in the movie “100 Rifles”.[2] This movie showed an interracial relationship with Raquel Welch and that love could exist between a black male and white woman. This was a part of the sexual revolution. 

This went against tradition because it was the first time the black man was seen a lover in a film. Jim Brown wanted this film to break barriers for other males and help make a case for sexual equality. As Jim Brown stated “Many black men wanted to date white women because they couldn't do it before. They were like the forbidden fruit and they wanted that”[3]. It is now common in this day and age that you see an interracial couple. This subject personally affects me because my great grandparents were an interracial couple, which being my great grandfather was black and great grandmother was white. It’s a beautiful thing that we are able to come together for love no matter what race we are.

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[1] Sex in '69. Film. New York: A & E Television Networks :, 2008.

[2] Sex in '69. Film. New York: A & E Television Networks :, 2008.

[3] Sex in '69. Film. New York: A & E Television Networks :, 2008.

Average Masturbation

Average Masturbation

Josh Shapiro

Have you ever wondered what the opposite sex masturbates to, when they do it, how often they do it, or if they even do it at all?  Well in my opinion, the biggest mystery of my life was if women masturbated because every single woman will swear up and down that they would never do such a thing.  Well it is proven that 92% of women masturbate about three times a week but consider it private one on one sessions with themselves.  Also an interesting fact is that the number was only 62% in 1953 so this means that a lot of women have fallen victim to the new sexual norms of the 60’s and 70’s.  This number will only increase as women continue to experiment more and more with themselves and others.  Now onto the masturbation of men due to the fact that it is much more common than women.  It is found that 98% of men all have masturbated at least one time in their lives.  Another interesting fact is that 12.2% of men who are married and over the age of 70 admit to masturbating instead of sleeping with their partners.  Men on average masturbate about 12 times per month and women are only around 4.7 and this was a college undergraduate study so people our age.  85% of men and about 60% of women have admitted to masturbating even though they were living with a sexual partner in the past 60 days.  I was actually surprised by the next stat because it says that only 28% of men masturbate more than once a week.  I would have sworn that it was more than that.  Only 5% of men and 11% of women have never masturbated once in their lives.  What are they thinking?? Some people ask questions such as is masturbating too much a thing or are all the myths about masturbating true?

The answer to this is no.  You can do it as many times and however you want to as long as you do not hurt yourself in the process.  There are ways such as choking yourself right at orgasm and this is obviously a dangerous method that not many people would recommend.  It is also very possible to get an STD through masturbating.  We talked about all the risks of getting one in class through sexual interactions with a partner in class but never talked about the high possibility of getting one through self-interactions.  Finally there is no normal amount of masturbation, any amount that you choose to do, is normal to you.

1.     http://www.webmd.com/men/guide/male-masturbation-5-things-you-didnt-know

2.     http://www.askmen.com/dating/love_tip_60/92b_love_tip.html

3.     http://www.reddit.com/r/AskWomen/comments/1q5n4w/how_many_times_on_average_do_you_masturbate_per/

4.     http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/resources/FAQ.html#masturbation

5.     http://jezebel.com/5107639/92-of-women-masturbate-but-how-often-do-they-do-it

6.