unused travel funds David

RRBIMI $107

hiv review panel

--
Christopher White, PhD
Past-President, Western Region - The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
2012 Conference Co-Chair, American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists

Certified Health Education Specialist
(National Commission for Health Education Credentialing)
Certified Sexuality Educator
(American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists)

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--
Christopher White, PhD
President, Western Region - The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality
2012 Conference Co-Chair, American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists

Certified Health Education Specialist
(National Commission for Health Education Credentialing)
Certified Sexuality Educator
(American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists)

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http://nsrc.sfsu.edu/Index.cfm?Page=72

--
Christopher White, Ph.D., C.H.E.S.
Director of Education and Training
National Sexuality Resource Center
San Francisco State University
835 Market Street, Suite 517
San Francisco, CA 94103
415.817.4513

cscottwhite@gmail.com


See what we're up to on our homepage:
http://www.nsrc.sfsu.edu/

For provocative articles on sexuality, visit American Sexuality Magazine:
http://www.americansexuality.com/

You can also visit our blog:
http://www.americansexuality.blogspot.com/

FAGGOT

There seems to be a lot of folks calling a lot of other folks not-so-nice names these days. Michael Richards calls some audience members niggers. Mel Gibson goes on a drunken anti-semitic rant. Isaiah Washington calls T.R . Knight a faggot, not once but twice - and once on national television, and then goes to "rehab" for his homophobia. Now, Anne Coulter has called John Edwards, who is not gay as far as I know, a faggot during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Woooooweeee! That's a lot of name calling.

Of course, every single one of these folks has been attacked by the media and the PC-police. I say we applaud them. I say we encourage these "compassionate conservatives" - or not so compassionate in Ann Coulter's case - to truly speak their mind. You see, the religious right and the social conservatives have spent the past decade or so hiding their hateful, sexist, homophobic, racist attitudes behind their politically correct language. Not that the democrats are that much better.

Imagine if we heard our politicians and leaders say that they were against faggots and dykes getting married. Or that they wanted to make sure that no more spics illegally crossed the border. Or that they were tired of those niggers being on welfare. This is what they mean when they hide their hate-filled rhetoric behind homosexual, same-sex, illegal immigrant and African-American or Black labels. Why not just say what they really mean? Use those words that they won't say in "polite company." Let the truth ring out across the land. As evil as Fred Phelps and his followers are, at least they truly speak their minds when they have young children standing on fresh graves with signs that say "God hates fags." We are repulsed when we see those images and hear those words. I am repulsed when I see pundits and politicians on CNN and FOX News pretend to engage in legitimate debate about the sanctity of marriage and same-sex marriage. I hear them say that faggots and dykes shouldn't be allowed to get married and that faggots like to fuck little children. Nice, huh?

The next time you listen to one of these assholes on television or read interviews with them in the newspapers and magazines or online replace their polite PC-speak with the slang words they really mean and see how it sounds. And in the words of Sarah Silverman remember that we all "LOVE CHINKS!"

Not Your Family Values

This morning, I heard Senator Sam Brownback, the senior senator from Kansas, on NPR discussing his platform in the race for the republican candidate for president. He talked about his fight for human rights, such as those for the children in Darfur, his stance on stem cell research, and the rights of unborn American citizens. From what I could tell, he believes that it is a violation of human rights for a woman to get an abortion because ending the pregnancy is a violation of the rights of the embryo. Without getting into a discussion of embryo rights, I am feeling a strong need to address Senator Brownback's preposterous statement that he supports human rights.

First, yes, I believe that there is a need to stand up for the rights of humans around the world and to put an end to such atrocities as torture, murder, genocide, human trafficking, and numerous other horrors that occur at the hands of men - and yes, I mean men. I don't believe that there are many women (although there are some evil, bad women in the world) who are committing these heinous acts. I applaud Senator Brownback for reaching across the aisle to work with democrats and others to put an end to these atrocities; however, I also feel the need to point out the hypocrisy of Mr. Brownback and how ludicrous his declaration of a commitment to human rights is.

Senator Brownback has been an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage warning that legislation that allows same-sex marriage and civil unions will destroy the family as we know it. He is also a staunch supporter of and author of legislation for abstinence-until-marriage sexuality education that forbids the teaching of condoms and other contraceptives. Senator Brownback, along with the rest of his party, claims that both of these stances are in support of family values and are necessary to protect the moral fiber of this great country!

"Hypocrite!" I say. "Bullshit!"

I believe that Mr. Brownback's statement of believing in human rights and his commitment to "family values" are in direct conflict with one another. Same-sex marriage (and I believe marriage is the answer not civil unions - we already know how well "separate but equal" works!) would do nothing but strengthen my family and ensure that me, my partner, and our future children have the same basic human rights as anyone else. Marriage would allow us to have access to same-sex benefits, make medical/health decisions, adopt each other's children, strengthen our relationship, and along with countless other benefits that heterosexual married couples have. By denying this right to us, one or both of us may not be eligible for employment benefits, such as insurance. We both could not have the same rights to childcare and providing health insurance to our children as heterosexual couples. I won't even go into all the issues of property and taxation!

Abstinence-only education is also a violation of basic human rights. Every individual has the right to make decisions regarding their reproductive and sexual health and access to information that will help them make those decisions. Abstinence-only education does not allow medically and scientifically accurate information to be made available to children and adolescents. Proponents of abstinence education say that abstinence is the only "choice" that should be available to young people. The truth is that these programs teach young people that sex is something wrong and that the result will be unwanted pregnancy, disease, or even death. How about teaching kids that sexuality is something beautiful, something that feels great, something that can bring a great deal of happiness to one's life? How about teaching them that to be sexually active requires being mature and responsible and that sometimes waiting is the right choice? How about making sexuality education just that sexuality education?

Same-sex marriage and comprehensive sexuality education are steps towards ensuring human rights for all people. It's time for us to speak up against Senator Brownback and the rest of his party and demand that they stop denying basic human rights to all people!

By the way, did you know that the United States is only one of two member nation states to not ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child? Somalia is the other. You can read the basics of the convention here http://www.anationalvoice.org/rights/rotchil2.htm More on this later.

Next: Ann Coulter called John Edwards a FAGGOT an nobody said anything

Texas Cheerleading Teen Sluts

The other day, I was listening to OUTQ radio on Sirirus Satellite Radio much like I do pretty much every time I'm driving somewhere. For the most part, the shows on OUTQ are frivolous, annoying, and hosted by pompous jackasses who seem to believe that they are somehow qualified to give advice and dispense judgements about the lives of their sad-ass callers (seriously, I have to change the channel because I get so embarrassed for some of the losers who call into radio shows!). However, I greatly enjoy Frank DeCaro and Doria Biddle because they're very funny, and Michangelo Signorile, while at times repetitive and annoying, makes some interesting points and actually challenges some of the bullshit that others say. Anyway, I was listening to some show the other day and there were some rather disparaging remarks made about Texas, and it pissed me off.

I grew up in West Texas, Odessa of Friday Night Lights fame to be specific. I've lived in Austin for over thirteen years having moved back to Texas after a 3 1/2 year stint in New York City. Both sides of my family have long histories in Texas, even if my mom was unfortunate enough to have been born in Oklahoma. I have two degrees from the University of Texas. My mister (as Michael Stipe says) is from West Texas and has a family history in Texas. I am a full-blooded, native Texan and proud of it. I am also gay, highly educated, and liberal. Yes, we do exist, and we're not that rare of a breed.

Growing up, I was taught to be proud of being a Texan; being from Texas meant that you were fiercely independent, strong, friendly, and not afraid to stand up for what you believed in. I was taught that I should be proud to don my cowboy boots and western belt, that my accent was a sign of greatness. We are descendants of cowboys, farmers, and roughnecks who have survived tough times. Hell, we're the only single state that was once an independent nation.

My parents were teens when I was born, so I spent a great deal of time being raised by my paternal grandparents. My grandfather was skinny, gristly man with a constant tan from painting houses who always wore starched shirts and pants and smelled of an odd combination of men's hairspray (never a hair out of place), cigarettes, coffee, and housepaint. I remember that he slept outside in his white boxer shorts on many a long, hot summer night. My grandmother, who turned 91 in December, is a fairly conservative and religious woman (Baptist), yet she let me dress up in her shoes and makeup, make dresses out of old curtains, and filled the role as my assistant chef/stagehand/lab assistant/guinea pig. She taught me that I could do whatever I wanted in life and that there wasn't anything that could stop me from fulfilling my dreams. Apparently, I told her at the age of five that I was going to live in New York City when I grew up and drive a Mercedes (what ambition!) and I've done both (I drive a hand-me-down, gold 1984 Mercedes-Benz sedan). She's still conservative and religious and we don't agree on everything (we once had an entire lunch in complete silence following my suggestion that she could take her medications every day if there was socialized medicine instead of spacing them out to last longer because she couldn't afford to buy more!). I was taught to fear God and live by strict morals but to pursue my dreams and be true to myself - this later became more difficult than anticipated.

So, I'm proud to be from Texas, and it pisses me off when I hear people, especially jackasses from the East Coast and California who have never even visited, talk shit about my state and make fun of those of us who are proud to call it home. Screw you. Without Texas, the world wouldn't have had the late Ann Richards and Molly Ivins, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, great music, Tex-Mex, Farah Fawcett, Beyonce, (did I mention that I'm gay?), a chainsaw massacre, a ruling that sodomy laws are unconstitutional, and the list goes on. On the other hand, there are a few things about Texas that can make it hard to feel proud at times. George Bush and Tom Delay are a couple of the first things that come to mind. And when it comes to sex, well...

It's illegal to sell and own dildos in Texas (more on this later). Our legislators recently attempted to pass a law banning "sexy cheerleading" in high schools - did I mention the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders? When the state board of education adopted new health textbooks for high schools a few years ago, they refused to include information about contraceptives and adopted books that advised getting enough rest, hanging out with the right people, and attending pray groups as methods to prevent teen pregnancy! Yeah. What the fuck, right? The only reason that the sodomy laws were declared unconstitutional is because two men were arrested because they were having sex in a private residence (more on this later, as well). If you live in Texas, don't play with yourself, don't have sex until your married, and whatever you do, don't have sex with someone of the same gender!

Well, we were just as shocked as the rest of the nation a few weeks ago when our fearless leader, Gov. Rick Perry, who has been surrounded by rumors about his own sexuality for years, signed an executive order requiring all girls entering sixth grade to be vaccinated against HPV, which would prevent 99% of all cases of cervical cancer, much to the dismay of his own party. He was obviously possessed, why else would he so blatantly be promoting premarital, teen promiscuity? Turns out that Gov. Perry, like many of us, has had to deal with pain and loss associated with cancer in his own family and feels that any vaccine that can prevent cancer should be mandatory (and he's probably getting a kickback from the pharmaceutical company).

You have to understand that one of the strongest arguments that the abstinence-only nutcases have been able to throw around in support of their stance against teaching young people how to reduce their chances of getting an STD by using a condom or engaging in non-penetrative sex has been that HPV can be transmitted by skin-to-skin contact and causes cervical cancer - Sex outside of marriage will give you cancer and you will die. So, you can imagine how upset that they have become that their strongest argument can't hold water with the introduction of the HPV vaccine. It's been no surprise that they started screaming about how this vaccine would promote teen sex just as they did when emergency contraception was on the table to be made available over the counter (again, more on this later).

It's disgusting that anyone would think that it would be worse to prevent 99% of the cases of a particular cancer than have premarital sex. By the way, 95% of Americans report having premarital sex; this is the norm! I thought that things had gotten really bad until a certain Robert Morrow, a self-proclaimed grassroots activist here in Austin, took the stand at the State House earlier this week. He began his testimony by presenting an argument defending parents' rights and limiting government interference. Okay, maybe, but what about requiring other types of vaccinations? Plus this vaccine could PREVENT CANCER and save millions (billions?) in future health care. He then stated (this is for real, y'all!) that "the State of Texas should not be in the business of preventive healthcare for teenage sluts." Yes, he did. Sadly (or fortunately), he has completely exposed the entire religious right's, abstinence-only supporting beliefs on teen sex (and any premarital sex). If you get a disease, you deserve it.

Teenage girls who engage in sexual activity deserve to get cancer and die. Oh yeah, and AIDS. Fuck you, asshole.