Sex and politics: Where the candidates stand

Earlier this semester, Dr. Gravlee distinguished between fact and value and clarified that our job as social scientists is to examine the range of variation in human sexuality across time and space. It is up to you to incorporate knowledge about human sexuality into your own value system.

The upcoming presidential election is an opportunity for you to put this principle into practice. For most of you, it will be the very first opportunity to vote in a presidential election. Don’t miss the opportunity. To vote in Florida, you must be registered by next Monday, October 6. Register, read up on the issues, and get to the polls to vote.

This year, as in other recent elections, the candidates are divided on issues related to human sexuality. Here’s a breakdown of where the presidential and vice-presidential candidates stand on abortion, sexuality education, and civil rights related to gender and sexual orientation. Read more

Teenage pregnancy and sex ed

With the news that the 17-year old daughter of Sarah Palin, the Republican Vice Presidential candidate, is five months pregnant, there has been a surge of media attention on teen pregnancy and sex education in the US. But the discussion has been going on for some time. Here’s what NPR had to say in 2004 about a study that had just been published:

The debate over whether to have sex education in American schools is over. A new poll by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government finds that only 7 percent of Americans say sex education should not be taught in schools… Nearly three-quarters of the principals (74 percent) say there have been no recent discussions or debate in PTA, school board or other public meetings about what to teach in sex ed. Likewise, few principals report being contacted by elected officials, religious leaders or other people in their communities about sex education.

Although there may broad agreement that sex ed should be taught, there remains plenty of debate over how to teach it.  Palin, for instance, is a proponent of abstinence-only education. She does not support teaching children about safe sexual practices, including the use of condoms.  Others believe that children should be provided all the tools necessary to make the most informed decision possible.

The message provided to teenagers is important. According to some estimates, each year approximately 750,000 teens get pregnant.  That’s one-third of all teen girls. Teen pregnancy obviously has a major impact on the lives of people directly affected, but it also has broader implications for society. For example, by one estimate, more than two-thirds of teen parents do no complete high school, costing the US economy some $7 billion annually.

Sexuality news roundup

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.