Give me my Plan-B! (by "me", I mean you.)

Jerome Stuart Nichols
News

Back on December 7, The Department of Health and Human Services vetoed the FDA’s decision to allow the Plan B oral emergency contraceptive to be available to all women, without a prescription. From the reports I have seen the decision was a made because the FDA did not “’conclusively establish’ that Plan B could be used safely by the youngest girls.” In case you’re wondering, they’re specifically referring to 11.1 year-olds, which is the youngest age a girl is known to be capable of child bearing.

On one hand I think that the decision by DHHS was smart, you always want to make sure you have the best information when dealing with people’s health. But, I also think it’s idiotic to force thosefor whom the drug is safe, up to age 16, to get prescriptions.

Because the reason is semi-valid, I’m not going to puff up and get all angry. But it does make me wonder, when are we going to stop using children as a shortcut to blocking the freedoms of adults?

How to change your words and your mind about sex

Jerome Stuart Nichols

In last print edition of Let’s Talk About Sex, we talked about the benefits of cuddling.  Overall the piece was well received. I got a few messages from people thanking me for considering the benefit non-sexual touching in a column that normally deals with topics of the raunchier variety.

Overall, I was pretty proud of the piece, and the issue as a whole. That was until I read the print version of the column, which featured this sentence, “Get your head out of the gutter, I’m talking about cuddling.” I know that one-hundred-ten percent of people ignored the statement but, being the neurotic masochist that I am when it comes to my work, I started freaking out.

Is cuddling like the best thing ever?

Jerome Stuart Nichols
Sexpert Wisdom (Advice)

At this point you’re probably tired of reading about fall. Yeah the leaves are beautiful, sure the food is amazing, and yes, sweaters are the most dope of all the seasonal trends, but that’s all so boring. Let’s be honest, sweaters are cool, but the best part of fall happens when the clothes come off. Get your mind into the gutter, I’m talking about cuddling!

Often cuddling gets a bad rap as something that is rather unsexy. People often connect it with hippies, those of the abstinence only sect, and clingy girlfriends. But I am here to tell you that, if you let it, cuddling can be the sexiest part of your physical affections. Lower that eyebrow and put on your softest and most comfortable pajamas, because cuddling is damn sexy.

Rape, That's Hilarious!

Jerome Stuart Nichols

 

Tuesday night, a new Facebook friend of mine posted a link to a website called “Is Rape Funny.” It’s a simple website which proclaims that it is “DEFINITELY NOT.” I immediately rolled my eyes.

For quite some time I have had major issues with the way that our culture has decided to deal with rape and rape survivors. Being in college and knowing several women, men, and transgendered persons whom have experienced a sexual assault of some sort, has allowed me a unique insight into the issue from many different angles. From all of that experience, as well as my work in the field of sexual education, I have concluded that no, rape is not funny. But who cares, let’s laugh about it any way.

Rape is an unfortunate part of our culture. It has been for a very long time and if I was a betting man, I’d wager that it will be for many years to come. Thus far we have dealt with rape in a fashion that I consider to be appalling.

Gender & Gender Socialization

Jerome Stuart Nichols

A question is a simple device used to extract information from someone else. What’s the weather going to be like on Tuesday? Most of the time, when asking a question the asker wants to gain the knowledge that the question pertains to. Would you like fries with that? But, there are other times where the actual response is judged and given weight based upon varying criteria. Are you having a boy or girl?

It may seem like a simple question, “boy or girl,” and it is. But, when the future of your child’s life in relation to everyone around them is determined by the answer, it’s no longer just a question. Keep in mind the question was not male or female; nor was the question penis or vagina. Those questions would lead you to a benign medical or scientific answer that would determine the biological sex of the child. As stated in the “Gender vs. Sex” lecture notes, the term sex, only refers “to inborn biological characteristics related to reproduction, such as sex chromosomes or sex organs” (Nugent, 2011).

The question is boy or girl, which is a different question entirely. That question is seeking to determine the gender of your child. Gender is infinitely more complex than sex as it, “refers to psychological characteristics and social categories that human culture creates” (Nugent, 2011).

Whether we like it or not, we answer the question with a smile send our children coasting down a preselected path of societally acceptable behaviors that follow them until they are nothing more than a faint memory in the minds of their loved ones. Basow (2008) states, “When a child is born it is immediately labeled a ‘boy’ or a ‘girl’ based on its genitalia a label that will define the expectations and responses of others throughout its life.”

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