Tuesday, January 27, 2009

The Postmodern Geek's Guide to Sex #37: The POTUS is Rocking My Sexgeek Socks

Download the MP3 here!

Hi folks! I"m back after a rather long holiday hiatus. I chat a bit about some of the exciting policy decisions that have come out of our new President's policy decisions as well as throw in some random sexgeekiness that has struck my fancy recently.

Global Gag Rule: LIFTED!
UNFPA Funding: RESTORED!


I mention NARAL's Blog for Choice Day and the entry I made on that day which I was then happy to see start coming true the next day as mentioned above. :-)

Also, Condoms do help protect against HPV, Tonsils are not friendly to HIV and in Weird Sex News: Blow Up Doll Bandit.


Email: postmodern.sexgeek@gmail.com


Twitter: http://twitter.com/PMSexgeek


Feed URL: http://marieb.libsyn.com/rss

Intro and Outro music is "We Carry On" by Portishead

Friday, January 23, 2009

Hidden Agenda? Who me???

Nevada ogles the potential tax dollars of legal prostitution - Los Angeles Times
"I think it's an appalling way for a state to make money," said Melissa Farley, executive director of the nonprofit Prostitution Research and Education group in San Francisco. "Once there's an awareness of what prostitution does to women, it makes no sense to allow it, to tax it, to decriminalize it or mainstream it."


Nevermind that Farley relies on funding that is predicated on the idea that all women in sex work are poor helpless victims. She just wants to save them all from a life of sin and loose morals. She doesn't care about the money! *nod nod*


Perhaps she needs to talk to actual sex workers before saving them from making a living?

The article itself is fairly informative.  I'm just annoyed that as usual they interviewed another would be savior of prostitutes everywhere (whether they want to be saved or not) but couldn't be arsed to speak to an actual sex worker to see what she thought.

Oh Thank You Thank You Thank You!!!!!

Obama To Alter Abortion Policy -- Courant.com
In one of his first acts as president, Barack Obama is planning to lift a rule that prevents federal money from going to international family planning groups that counsel women on abortion or perform the procedure.

Obama's repeal of the abortion aid policy is one of several executive actions that he will take soon after his inauguration today, according to several Obama transition aides. He is also considering lifting Bush administration restrictions on federally funded stem cell research.


My thanks to Mr Rubix for first bringing this to my attention. I can't tell you how happy this makes me. It is almost enough for me to forgive him for this: Obama Sides With Bush in Spy Case.



Note: I said "almost".

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Blog for Choice Day

I almost missed it! Thank god for Twitter...

This year's topic? What is your top pro-choice hope for President Obama and/or the new Congress?

Well let's see.
  • I want medically accurate information about condoms put back on the CDC web site
  • I want the US to stop throwing money away on abstinence only education that has been shown not to work and in fact that actually hurts the kids receiving it
  • I want the global gag order lifted
  • I want us to be able to provide money for HIV prevention to agencies even if they have not come down on the side of the moral majority regarding sex work
  • I want access to medically accurate information about human sexuality, contraception and disease prevention to be available to kids and adolescents in a way that they can easily access it
  • I want pregnancy to stop being seen as punitive damages paid for having sex
  • I want there to be safe, medical abortions available for women who have to make that tough choice

Yes, that's a long list and perhaps an ambitious one but I believe that if enough of us pay attention, make some noise and insist that our government listen to us, we can make some if not all if it come to pass.

Go here for more info about Blog For Choice Day.

Monday, January 19, 2009

I Have a Dream



I find myself brought to tears listening to this speech on the day before we inaugurate our first African American President. I wonder what Dr. King would have to say on such a momentous occasion and I give thanks that I am here to witness it.

Some may ask why I, a Latina, feel so strongly about this speech and Dr. King. I know many non-African Americans who feel no sense of significance on this day and to them I say, you're a fool. Dr King spoke of the shared slavery every one of us suffered when even one member of our society was not free. For those who live in Texas, remember, there was a time when those of Mexican descent were being made to accept "separate but equal" accommodations. A time when our people were lynched for perceived crimes. There was a time when signs were put in the windows that said "No dogs or Mexicans allowed". Make no mistake, Dr King's legacy was as important for our equality as it was for the African American community and to forget history is to be foolish enough to repeat it.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Condoms Do Help Prevent HPV Infection

SIECUS
On December 2, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published final rules governing the labeling of male latex condoms set to go into effect January 9, 2009. The biggest change to come out of the new labeling is the FDA’s conclusion that correct and consistent condom use reduces both the risk of infection with HPV (the Human Papillomavirus) as well as rates of HPV-related disease including cervical cancer and genital warts.


This is an important bit of info for everyone to know about. Hopefully it is also one more nail in the coffin of abstinence only education.



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Monday, January 12, 2009

This is Me Geeking out on Sex Related Info

And yes, it is very likely that I will manage to work this into a conversation with someone about prevention.

Aidsmap | Cellular infection study partially explains lower HIV infection rates through oral sex
A study in which slices of human mucosal tissue were infected with HIV has partially explained why HIV is caught so much more easily through anal sex than through oral sex. The study, in which tissue samples from the tonsils and the rectum were infected with two different kinds of HIV, found that rectal CD4 cells express five times as much of the CCR5 receptor molecule on their surface as tonsil cells. This is the co-receptor for R5 or M-tropic virus, the variety of HIV that is usually transmitted. Rectal CD4 cells, once infected, also produced more of this virus than tonsil cells.

The study also found that in response to infection with the other kind of HIV, X4 or T-tropic virus, tonsil cells, but not rectal ones, secreted chemicals called chemokines that blocked further access to the CCR5 receptors.

However, while showing why CD4 cells in the tonsils are so much less susceptible to R5 infection than rectal ones, it does not show why these cells – most of which also carry the CXCR4 receptor – are so much less likely to be infected with X4 virus in vivo than in the laboratory. The researchers say that another so far undetected defence against X4 virus must exist.

The research team was led by scientists from the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Bethesda, Maryland, and also included prominent microbicide researchers Ian McGowan from UCLA and Robin Shattock from St George’s Hospital, London.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Well imagine that...

Womanist Musings
Throughout the film Eastwoods character kept referring to the visible minorities as spics, chinks, gooks, and niggers, all while he demanded to be addressed with respect. It seems that only whiteness deserves to be acknowledged as human and not referenced by a racial epithet. I continuously marvelled how Eastwoods character was able to assume such a position of superiority based solely in race and have this premise accepted by every single person of colour that he interacted with.



When I started seeing the ads for this movie I couldn't help but notice the casting of characters and the fact that Eastwood was the sole voice of moral superiority in each clip they showed. I guess my initial misgivings where on the money.

Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Are you lonesome tonight.....

Police seek blow-up doll sex bandit - Yahoo! News
SYDNEY (Reuters) – An Australian man broke into three adult shops, had sex with blow up dolls named "Jungle Jane" and then dumped his plastic conquests in a nearby alley, local media reported Wednesday.

"It's totally bizarre. It's a real concern that someone like that is out on the street," said one of the owners of the adult sex shops in Cairns in northern Queensland state.

"He has been taking the dolls out the back and blowing them up and using the dolls and leaving them in the alley," the owner, who gave the name of Vogue, told the Cairns Post newspaper.

Police told the Cairns Post that scientific officers had taken DNA samples, fingerprints and pictures of the crime scene.

(Reporting by Pauline Askin, Editing by Dean Yates)

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

A shout out to my LJ friends...

Who may be making it over this way for the first time. *waves* Nice to see you! Take off your coat, have a seat and stick around for a while. It's usually quite cozy.