Sexuality news roundup
Posted by Lance Gravlee on September 11, 2008
Filed Under In the news
If you have any doubt about the relevance of this class to the real world, just pick up a newspaper. Sexuality has been all over the news lately. The “Mommy Wars” inspired by Sarah Palin’s VP nomination, which we discussed in class, is just one example. Other stories appear faster than we can keep up with them on the blog, so here’s a roundup of some recent news about sex around the world.
- Sex, drugs, and oil. This morning news broke about a scandal involving drug use and sexual relations between people in the oil industry and federal officials who oversee that industry.
- Mate choice and the Pill. The film we watched earlier this week discussed research on the role of smell in mate choice. That research indicates that we can literally sniff out mates whose immune function complements our own. A recent report suggests that oral contraceptives interfere with that ability.
- Why men cheat. Again, picking up on themes from this week’s film, researchers recently reported that they had identified a genetic variant that appears to influence the likelihood that men will remain faithful to a partner.
- Baby smells and parenting. With still more news related to this week’s film, researchers at the University of Wisconsin found that male marmoset monkeys experienced lower testosterone levels after catching a whiff of their offspring. Researchers speculate about whether the changes in hormone levels affects parenting behavior.
- Sexy symmetry. Yesterday I asked you to comment on how Brad Pitt embodies masculine ideals. Several of you remarked on his six pack, broad shoulders, and angular jaw, but none of you referred to how symmetrical he is. New research by evolutionary psychologists in the UK shows that more symmetrical people are rated as more attractive, on average, by people of the opposite sex.
- HIV in NYC. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in New York City recently reported that the rate of new HIV cases in the city is three times the national average.
- Crackdown on sex workers in Nigeria. The BBC reported that Islamic authorities in the Nigerian city of Bauchi began rounding up sex workers who had been identified by a Red Cross census that was designed to help stop the spread of HIV.
- Nigeria arranging “HIV marriages.” Also in Bauchi, the BBC reports that Nigerian officials had begun arranging marriages between HIV-positive couples as a way of containing the virus.
- Natural immunity to HIV. A team of Canadian and Kenyan researchers identified a set of proteins that appeared to provide natural immunity to HIV infection in a sample of 3,000 Kenyan sex workers.
- Abstinence-only education. Sarah Palin’s nomination also cast new attention on questions about abstinence-only education. But even before Palin burst onto the scene, there were recent reports about growing evidence that the policy is ineffective.
- Thai sex trade. Prospect magazine published an exposé on the Thai sex trade, drawing attention to how poverty and power inequalities drive vulnerability to sex work.
- Transsexual professor. A professor at Yeshiva University stirred controversy by returning to campus after becoming a woman.
- Gender gap in wages. The persistent pay gap between men and women became a campaign issue after the Democratic National Convention.
- Growing gender gaps? The New York Times ran a controversial story citing the work of evolutionary psychologists who argue that increased gender equity in social and economic conditions exposes allegedly natural personality differences between the sexes.
- Russian judge allows sexual harassment. A female executive fell short of becoming only the third Russian woman to win a claim of sexual harassment against a male employer. Why? The judge said it was OK, according to news outlets. “If we had no sexual harassment,” the judge ruled, “we would have no children.”
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Leave a comment to share your reactions to any of these stories—or to let us know about one we missed.
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4 Responses to “Sexuality news roundup”
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This is the website for ANT 2301, Human Sexuality and Culture, at the University of Florida, Fall 2008. The professor is Dr. Clarence (Lance) Gravlee. Meet the TAs on our instructors page.
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I’m from Dubai and we recently had this really controversial case about a British couple being arrested and sent to jail for six years for having sex on a public beach. Anyone else hear about that?
The reason I signed up for this class was because my friend told me I will learn everything on earth today or what makes us do anything is sex. I am so glad i am taking this class, because it allows me the time to see what issues are in the news and say “its ok, I am watching tv for my class”!!!! I would like to say I stay involved in worldly affairs regardless, but unfortunately i get caught up in my classes and know nothing but orange and blue for four months straight!!!
And i did not hear about the bench sex. it must have been a thrill! lol.
lest we forget:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7374317.stm
basically, some footballer was caught picking up transvestite prostitutes in brazil.
what is particularly interesting is:
“Under Brazilian law, while pimping sex workers and running establishments where sex is sold are illegal, prostitution itself is not.”
@Sona,
I haven’t heard of that case, but a few years ago, there was a french boy who was raped in Dubai and subsequently charged with criminal homosexuality.
I couldn’t find the original article, but this one is from last october.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/world/middleeast/01dubai.html