Archives for January 2010

In Part II of my upcoming column on Carnal Nation (Feb. 3), I'll be revisiting my Semen Taste survey and describing the results for a special group of respondents - those who work as professionals in the realm of human sexual behavior. How do they differ from the general population in terms of using protection during fellatio?

In addition, learn about the availability of recipies that incorporate semen, including a cookbook called Natural Harvest, published by a San Francisco nurse. Is this a safe practice? What do you think? This column is an eye opener, in more ways than one.

Dell Williams Honored at Swedish Sexuality Education Conference

At a conference on sexuality education in Sweden on November 26, Dell Williams, the founder of Eve’s Garden, told the story of how she decided to start the first-ever feminist sexuality boutique.  The three-day program over Thanksgiving included feminist professors and young scholars from Scandinavia, Europe, Africa and the U.S.    

Nina Lykke, Professor of Gender Studies at Linkoping University and conference director, is writing a book on feminist sexuality boutiques in Europe and thought it was important for Dell to talk about founding the Garden to underline the differences between the feminist model and mainstream sex toy shops.

In her presentation Lykke pointed out how shops founded on the Eve’s Garden model differ from mainstream shops that present themselves as merely “women-friendly.“  The mainstream shops include products that appeal to women but not much...

The federal challenge to California's voter-approved same-sex marriage ban has raised a number of questions about the experiences of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, same-sex couples and families, among other issues.  It seems the trial is not only addressing the constitutional nature of a law that discriminates against a minority group because of their sexual orientation.  In fact, it seems as though the entire claim that LGBT people are marginalized in our society is on trial -- that, and tests for every stereotype about LGBT people (e.g., the supposed link between pedophilia and homosexuality).

One testimony seems to be the crux of the trial, but generally, in my opinion, irrelevant to whether discrimination is at play in banning same-sex marriage.  Prominent psychology researcher and professor, Professor Gregory Herek, was called to the stand to testify on the etiology of homosexuality and the experiences of LGBT people on Friday, January 22nd:

When I was home in the DC area for winter break, I met up with a good friend who had recently moved there from Indiana.  The first thing he told me was that a professor in his department had been murdered.  "Whoa, that's crazy!" I said, not sure what else to say, and then turning back to look at the books in the "lesbian interest" section of the queer bookstore we were browsing.  I had no idea how tragic the story really was, nor that it would quickly become national (to some degree, even international) news.  On December 28th, Indiana University Professor Don Belton was stabbed to death by Michael J. Griffin.  Griffin used a 10-inch-long knife to stab Belton five to six times, later telling police that he had done so because Belton had sexually assaulted him twice and showed no remorse.  Belton's department, IU Department of English, has expressed their