CATEGORIES: Politics Sexuality Education
February 25, 2008
Bad Gay Boy Scouts
So there I was at home yesterday, sitting with my cup of coffee and pouring over my neighbor’s New York Times. (They are out of town, I am not stealing, merely borrowing.) Anyway, I open the magazine section to an interview with Governor Perry (Texas). The words homosexual and scouts caught my eye. So I read the q and a. In response to the question about why he wants to remove "gays" from the Boy Scouts, he says:
Scouting ought to be about building character, not about sex. Period. Precious few parents enroll their boys in the Scouts to get a crash course in sexual orientation (Governor Perry).
Do any of us (gay, straight, lesbian, bisexual) walk around talking about our sexual orientation. If you’re not me (a sexuality educator) are you always talking about your sex life and your personal values about sexuality? Is he serious? This is ridiculous.
Perry basically defends the boy scouts’ decision to exclude gays, but more significantly, says that if homosexuality isn’t about sex, "perhaps they should call it something else". You know, because anything with "sex" in the word has to do with penetration. I mean am I wrong when I say that homosexuality is about attraction to one’s own sex (gender)? Last time I checked, these words have never been about the act of sex itself. Besides, if Perry’s argument is that homosexual troup leaders will talk about sex with their scouts, couldn’t a heterosexual (oops, there’s that "sex" word again) leader do the same thing? I mean their orientation does have those three letters too. Seriously, if my son was ever a scout (do they even have them in NYC?), as long as his leader inspired, educated, and protected him, I wouldn’t care what his orientation was - no matter what. Since when is a person’s character linked to who he is attracted to?
What do you think? Comments: (0)
CATEGORIES: Celebrity Current Affairs Sex
February 15, 2008
…and chivalry is by no means dead.
Valentine’s Day is like the Superbowl for sexologists, and this week definitely was busy, exciting, and overwhelming. I began my week with my regular roster of sex ed lectures and then trained to New Haven for my first of two lectures for Sex Week at Yale. Tuesday afternoon, two hundred and fifty people packed into a room to hear me about "What a Girls Wants: In Search of the Female Orgasm". Not only was it fun to be in front of a group of college students, but their questions were honest, poignant, and provocative. I was definitely impressed. I arrived back in NYC energized by the incredible opportunity the Yalies have to change how we look at sexuality today.
Fast forward to Wednesday, when I had a wonderful interview with Nicole Feliciano of Babble and Momtrends. We talked about sex, parenting, and what to do if your child walks in on you having sex. (Yes, it will eventually happen.)
Now, yesterday...the big V Day began at The Today Show where Dr. Ian Kerner and I talked about Valentine’s Day Expectations and the overall anxiety and pressure that Valentine’s Day engenders in many people, young and old. (Click here for the video.) Then it was off to the Divalysscious Moms luncheon, where I got to spend time talking to new moms about how to reintroduce sex back into their lives. It’s not easy - but definitely important.
The last stop on the Valentine’s Day tour was back in New Haven, where I got to participate in a dialogue about the chemistry of love with renowned anthropologist, Dr. Helen Fisher. While she tackled the "why’s" of love, I regaled the audience with the challenges and opportunities that relationships have today. And I also got to wax poetic (and slightly cynical) about Valentine’s Day and what constituted a thoughtful gift. (The iPod playlist - aka the modern day mix tape - and a Starbucks card were on my list.) Yes, I announced that my perfect gift was a Starbucks card - because it meant that my partner thought about how I spend my days and what would make those days a bit easier. And you know what? After my lecture, a young man in the audience gave me his Starbucks card. And that was definitely the nicest part of my day.
What do you think? Comments: (0)
CATEGORIES: Bloggers Book Tour Sexual Language Sexuality Education Television
February 07, 2008
Getting Prepped for Valentine’s Day
It’s been a long time since I have blogged. I have been writing everywhere else, but sadly my blog has been suffering due to my lack of time. No longer. I am committed to writing. And these days I am even more committed to speaking - about dating, sex, love, parenting, pregnancy, all of it. In fact, I have some pretty cool gigs coming up. I mean, it is the Valentine’s Day season, and that just seems to be a good time for those of us in the sex and relationship biz.
In fact, Valentine’s Day is going to be a bit crazy. I will be at Yale for their annual Sex Week. Yes, Yale has a Sex Week, and a pretty impressive one at that. On Tuesday I will be speaking about "The Female Orgasm" and Thursday evening (yes I will be there for Valentine’s night) the "Chemistry of Love". I will also be speaking at a special Mom’s Luncheon for Divalysscious Moms, and talking about Valentine’s Day Expectations on The Today Show that morning. But for now (at least for the end of this week), I will be diligently working on all of the things on my to-do list.
And last, if you want to see my tips for "Spicing Up Your Relationship", check out Woman’s Day. And in case you wanted to see another Third Base… book review, here it is by Tracee Sioux at So Sioux Me.
