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Tag: "Sex"

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By Erich Vieth on October 16th, 2009

Internet porn and sexual irresponsibility

Remember the old argument that porn encourages rape? I’ve always been suspicious. It would seem that men who relieve their sexual frustrations in private would be less likely to harass real life women. I’ve sometimes wondered, then, whether sexual assaults have decreased since Internet porn has become more readily available.

Here are some rather startling statistics, and they suggest that many measures of sexual irresponsibility have decreased with the increased availability of Internet porn. This includes a decrease in sexually transmitted infections, teen sex, divorce, and rape (since 1995, rape has decreased by 44 percent). This article at Psychology Today concludes: “If Internet porn affects society, oddly enough, it looks beneficial. Perhaps mental health professionals should encourage men to view it.”

Communication • Featured • Psychology Cognition • Sex
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By Erich Vieth on October 06th, 2009

Animal sex, anyone?

These thirty stories about animal sex are stranger than fiction. I had heard of many of these stories before, but hadn’t known about all of these stories featured at “Neatorama.” I found this site looking for a video of porcupines having sex–I heard porcupine sex described by psychologist John Gottman tonight and I wanted to see it for myself. If anyone locates a video of porcupines having sex, do share!

I’ve seen videos of some of these thirty stories featured on David Attenborough’s nature documentaries. And I had previously seen a spectacular video of two flatworms mating on the video “The Shape of Life.” In fact, I found a another video of flatworms mating in the video below (as well as the mating of other invertebrates including sponges (sponges are animals!), jellies and horseshoe crabs–you’ll see the hermaphroditic flatworms double-penis-fencing at the 4:30 mark–the one who loses this battle has to be pregnant):

But back to the site featuring the 30 most unusual animal sex stories . . . I had never before seen the video of the moonwalking manakin, which made me chuckle. The clownfish story was ironic in light of Disney’s Nemo. The detachable penis of the nautilus probably wins the day. But there are so many worthy contenders for most bizarre animal sex . . . I’m glad that this website includes links to the sources of most of the stories because some of them are quite difficult to believe. But then again those other species would probably think it bizarre the way we humans display our sexuality and mate. It’s probably a matter of perspective.

Truly, all of these stories are stranger than fiction. Amazing.

Sex • nature
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By Erich Vieth on October 04th, 2009

Alabama Supreme Court restricts sales of dildos and vibrators based on “public morality”

In the recent decision of 1568 Montgomery Highway v. City of Hoover, the Alabama Supreme Court upheld the Alabama Legislature’s prohibition of dildos and vibrators, basing this decision on “public morality.” More specifically,

In its second counterclaim, Love Stuff asks to have Ala. Code § 13A-12-200.2 (which generally bans the sale of sex toys) deemed unconstitutional.

The trial Court had found that “The target market for Love Stuff [the name of the store in question] consists of females, ages 32-52.” The Court held that commercial public sales of devices geared toward masturbation can be prohibited (though the Court suggested that the decision would be otherwise if the devices were handed out gratuitously or if they were sold at private “Tupperwear”-like parties).

Geoffrey Stone harshly disagrees with the decision of the Alabama Supreme Court and properly characterizes this as an improper exercise of religion:

[W]hat is it about the use of a vibrator or a dildo that affronts the “public morality”? Why is a person who uses such a device “immoral”? The answer, I submit, turns entirely on religion. The pivotal shift from the world of the classical Greeks to our contemporary world, in this respect, was the advent of Christianity, with its emphasis on sexual pleasure as sinful. Much of this can be traced to Augustine, who reasoned in the fifth century that sexual pleasure was integrally related to Adam’s Fall from Grace. Adam’s original sin, he argued, had not been one of pride or disobedience, but of sex. Thus, sexual pleasure was born out of evil, and man’s best hope for redemption lay in repudiating the sexual impulse and, with it, the burden of guilt inherited from Adam. Sexual pleasure was therefore deemed defiling and shameful.

I agree with Stone’s thorough analysis.

Good and Evil • Sex
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By Erich Vieth on July 26th, 2009

Nature video shows that turtles are full fledged animals

I once saw this activity at the turtle exhibit at the local zoo, and it didn’t take a biologist to tell me that I was not misinterpreting what I was seeing. These turtles seem incredibly almost-human, even though they didn’t smoke cigarettes afterward. Captured here in living color close-up, I’m posting this video as an animals-in the-wild education video:

Watching this reminded me of watching David Attenborough “Trials of Life” series with my then four-year old daughter. One of these exquisitely filmed Attenborough videos, which was on the topic of animal reproduction, included more explicit animal sex videos than I could ever had imagined, including elephant sex. At first I wondered whether I should be letting the video keep running. While I was contemplating my options, my daughter looked up and asked, “Daddy, what are those elephants doing?” I found myself saying, “Those are elephants having sex.” I didn’t offer any further explanation and my daughter didn’t request one. We quietly watched the entire video and now, 7 years later, my daughter doesn’t seem to be emotionally damaged from having seen the episode.

Oh, and according to doctors polled by the U.K. Guardian, having sex before going to bed is the second-best way to have a good night’s sleep. The winning solution was for couples to sleep in separate beds.

Communication • Education • Sex
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By Erich Vieth on July 08th, 2009

Actors complain: too much sex in porn videos

The NYT has published an article featuring actors featured in pornography videos. They are complaining that the industry is not making films that allow them to display their acting talents. Too much sex.

Was it ever different? Apparently, yes:

Vivid, one of the most prominent pornography studios, makes 60 films a year. Three years ago, almost all of them were feature-length films with story lines. Today, more than half are a series of sex scenes, loosely connected by some thread — “vignettes” in the industry vernacular — that can be presented separately online. Other major studios are making similar shifts.

Entertainment • Films and Videos • Sex
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By Erich Vieth on July 02nd, 2009

What we buy versus what makes us happy

Geoffrey Miller has just published a new book, Spent: Sex, Evolution and Consumer Behavior. I haven’t read it yet, but I am now ordering it, based on Miller’s terrific prior work (see here, for example).

In the meantime, I did enjoy this NYT blog review of Spent, which includes this provocative question:

List the ten most expensive things (products, services or experiences) that you have ever paid for (including houses, cars, university degrees, marriage ceremonies, divorce settlements and taxes). Then, list the ten items that you have ever bought that gave you the most happiness. Count how many items appear on both lists.

If you’re looking for simplistic answers, you won’t get them from Miller. I won’t spoil the answers he obtained or his analysis of those answers, but you’ll find them here.

[addendum]

I found this one item refreshingly honest. Refreshingly, because I know a lot of parents, I see their faces, I hear their complaints (and their exhultations). I know that it’s PC to say that having children is a continuous wonderful joy and that all parents are glad they did had children. Miller’s research suggests that the answer is not this simple:

[Here's an answer that appears [much more on the ‘expensive’ than on the ‘happy’ lists [includes] Children, including child care, school fees, child support, fertility treatments. Costly, often disappointing, usually ungrateful. Yet, the whole point of life, from a Darwinian perspective. Parental instincts trump consumer pleasure-seeking.

American Culture • Consumerism • Economy • Evolution • Psychology Cognition • Sex • advertising
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Catholic Answers: don’t even lie in the same bed . . .
By Erich Vieth on June 28th, 2009

Catholic Answers: don’t even lie in the same bed . . .

Is it OK for unmarried adults to lie in the same bed, even if they don’t have sex. Quick answer: NO. That’s the advice I got here, at the Chastity Q&A. It’s a sexual catechism filled with all kinds of advice, such as how far you can go without committing a sin.

Is foreplay wrong? Here’s advice I had never before considered:

Perhaps the easiest way to find out if our actions conform to authentic love is to imagine God sitting on a nearby sofa watching us. If his presence would cause immediate shame or the desire to stop dead in our tracks, we need to ask ourselves why.

How creepy! Would a married couple have sex if God was sitting on a nearby sofa watching? And, BTW, isn’t God supposedly omniscient? Aren’t good Christians supposedly to always assume that God is on a nearby sofa?

Is it OK for homosexuals to raise children? No:

The impact of a mother in her family is unrepeatable, and the same can be said of the father. Two moms don’t make a dad, and two dads do not equal a mom. This is the way nature has designed it.

Oh, and don’t bother using condoms, because they cause greater numbers of unplanned pregnancies:

The fact is, increased condom use by teens is associated with increased out-of-wedlock birth rates.”

You’ll also learn that merely looking at women in swimming suits is akin to pornography and that “porn trains us to have mental polygamy.”

All of this advice was provided by spin-off (”Chastity”) site linked to a Catholic website (”Catholic Answers“) that provided so much Catholic esoterica that it left me disoriented in 20 minutes. Truly amazing that so many people are willing to discuss, as one example of many, the difference (if any) between the “holy spirit” and the “holy ghost.” Here’s another interesting question: Should rock music be allowed at church? Absolutely not, because “If you were before Christ being crucified on Calvary, truly there witnessing it, would you start up a rock band and clap and dance?” The argument seems to be that as Jesus was bleeding to death on the cross, he would rather have someone nearby playing solemn music on an organ.

If you want to be more than simply a good Catholic, “Catholicy Answers” is clearly the site for you.

Culture • Featured • Good and Evil • Religion • Sex
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By Erich Vieth on June 24th, 2009

Andrew Sullivan on Mark Sanford

The story on South Carolina governor Mark Sanford is now out:

After going AWOL for seven days, Gov. Mark Sanford admitted Wednesday that he’d secretly flown to Argentina to visit a woman with whom he’d been having an affair. He apologized to his wife and four sons.

Some in the media are urging that this is not really a story. It could have happened to anyone, which is true. And when it happens to most politicians it isn’t much of a story in my opinion. On the other hand, it’s not every politician who preaches sexual purity, “family values.” The Republicans have been thumping their chests and claiming moral superiority and that’s a valid reason for skewering cheating Republicans. Andrew Sullivan points out the hypocrisy:

The party that has gone on and on and on to prevent me getting married, and prevent my own marriage from being recognized by the federal government is the party of David Vitter, Mark Sanford, Rush Limbaugh and Larry Craig. It’s like taking lessons on sexual maturity from the Vatican. And, yes, Sanford was a dedicated opponent of gay couples being allowed to marry.

Psychology Cognition • Sex
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By Erich Vieth on June 23rd, 2009

Note to file: sex still sells

Calvin Klein pushes the envelope again and the network news once again feigns concern. Some of us with daughters continue to worry about long-term serious damage rather than momentary titillation.

Psychology Cognition • Sex • advertising
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1
By Erich Vieth on June 09th, 2009

Bill Maher: Sex always trumps religion

Bill Maher presents a basic advice aimed at those people who follow the lead of desert Gods:

Religion • Sex
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By Mike Pulcinella on May 29th, 2009

What is obscene?

I was watching TV recently. At the climax of one of my favorite shows a man was murdered. He was stabbed twice in the chest. I watched as the blade entered his chest two times, piercing his lungs and heart. The man fell to the ground and was kicked into a nearby fire where he burst into flames as he was dying.

This was shown on television, during prime time, with no outcry from the public or the censors. And why would there be an outcry? One can witness murders of this kind and worse on TV many times a week.

Now imagine this scenario…

Prime time TV. A loving husband and wife wish to have children. They take off their clothes and get into bed, as married couples do. We then clearly watch his erect penis enter her vagina two times as he tells her he loves her.

Cut to nine months later and she gives birth to a healthy baby boy. The couple rejoices. The husband kisses his wife on the forehead and we…Fade to Black.

Can you imagine the outrage? Can you imagine the FCC fines and the righteous letters of condemnation?

In the first case we see the brutal, senseless ending of a life, and we get to see it in great detail. In the second scenario we are witnessing the loving, natural creation of life between two married adults.

Which one is obscene?

American Culture • Censorship • Community • Entertainment • Media • Sex • hypocrisy
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Popular priest chooses both his girlfriend and a new flock
By Erich Vieth on May 28th, 2009

Popular priest chooses both his girlfriend and a new flock

The Rev. Alberto Cutié, a popular Miami Catholic priest, gave up on celibacy. The Catholic Church busted him, though and threw him out. This move by the Church was probably because the U.S. branch of the Roman Catholic Church already has lots of young popular priests. You know, supply and demand.

A popular Miami priest and media personality known as “Father Oprah” has left the Catholic Church to become an Anglican after he was photographed cavorting on the beach with his girlfriend . . . He was received into the Episcopal Church, the U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion, in a ceremony Thursday at Trinity Cathedral and may later announce he will marry his girlfriend, which is allowed in that denomination.

I can think of a few extremely good reasons why the Catholic Church should prefer to have sexually satisfied priests instead of sexually frustrated priests. But the Church doesn’t agree with me. And I suppose that God has clearly spoken that priests can’t have sex. I understand that this prohibition is somewhere in the Bible . . .

The Roman Catholic Church is that same church that still can’t admit that a significant chunk of its clergy should be sitting in prisons for raping children. It’s the same Church that disparages all efficient forms of family planning. It’s the same Church that disparages women by barring them from being priests because they are . . . WOMEN.

I know that a lot of us who were raised Catholic are privileged to enjoy sex extra-intensely because the Church taught us that sex is naughty. That extra enjoyment (if one can really call it that) is the silver lining of a huge dark cloud. It is hard to believe that an organization could be any more screwed up about sex than the Catholic Church.

I don’t understand why more U.S. Catholics don’t simply walk away from Rome and form their own locally controlled churches. Here are a few founding principles I humbly offer to any U.S. Catholics who want to found their own churches: A) Don’t disparage women, B) Don’t be idiots about sex, C) Don’t hire sexually frustrated priests.

Featured • Religion • Sex
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By Dan Klarmann on May 27th, 2009

Mormons Win in California, For Now

Anyone who has been following the 2008/2009 contest of California’s Proposition 8 (constitutional prohibition of marriage between people of the same sexual preference or same sexual identity) knows that it was submitted and promoted by Salt Lake City. The paper trail is clear. Arguably, Salt Lake City isn’t even in California. But that was not the issue, because the Utah money did persuade California voters.

Recently, the California Supreme Court upheld the amendment. But Friendly Atheist Hemant Mehta posted Am I a Bad Person If I Think The Prop 8 Ruling Was Correct?. His point is that this ruling will make it harder for anti-gay activists the next time around.

States are beginning to domino into accepting marriage between those of same gender much like they did for those of different races in the mid 20th century. Conservatives have a valuable role to play; they fear and resist change. They function as a drag anchor to force those who would move ahead to work out iron-clad methods before change is implemented. Our legal system therefore resists implementing anything new from the grass roots direction until it is acceptable to at least half of the voting population. Very frustrating, but a historical necessity. When the process is short-circuited, we get embarrassments such as the 18th and 23rd amendments to our Federal Constitution.

American Culture • Bigotry • Civil Rights • Communication • Current Events • Law • Politics • Religion • Reproductive Rights • Sex • ignorance
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