Category Archives: feminism
Back When Abortion Was Illegal
The Ms. Blog asked readers to share stories of what it was like to get illegal abortions before the 1973 Supreme Court decision on Roe v Wade that gave women the right to terminate a pregnancy.
With permission, I have reposted a few of their stories. You can go to their blog to see more stories. Read the rest of this entry
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Men React to “Nude” Sly Stallone
Sly Stallone on Vanity Fair Cover
I recently asked my students to write down their thoughts when looking at nude-ish pictures of Cindy Crawford and Sly Stallone.
Had attitudes changed since sociologist, Beth Eck, studied reactions a decade ago?
We’ve spent a lot of time with thoughts on Cindy. Now let’s turn to Sly. Read the rest of this entry
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You Can Help Stop Super Bowl Sex Trafficking
Super Bowl sex trafficking
By Courtney Cooper and Wesley Russell
This originally appeared in the San Jose Mercury News on January 20, 2016.
Sara Kruzan grew up with an abusive, drug addicted single mom. By age nine she was depressed and attempting suicide.
At age eleven she met an affectionate 30-year-old man who seemed to be the loving father figure she had yearned for. He said she was special. So special that people should pay for the privilege of having sex with her. Eventually, he had her walking the streets every night from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. In between displays of affection he terrorized and raped her to keep her in line. Read the rest of this entry
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Cindy Crawford Makes Me Feel Inadequate
I recently asked my students to write down their thoughts on a nude-ish picture of Cindy Crawford to see if attitudes had changed since sociologist, Beth Eck, studied reactions more than a decade ago.
Dr. Eck found that these images made women feel bad about their own bodies.
Do they still? Read the rest of this entry
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Women React to Sexy Cindy Crawford
Cindy Crawford on Rolling Stone cover
Want to know how women and men experience skin-revealing images of men and women?
I recently asked my students to write down what thoughts came to mind when looking at nearly-nude pictures of Cindy Crawford and Sly Stallone.
My participants included 35 straight women and 19 straight men, from three different women’s studies classes that met during the 2014-15 school year. I surveyed them on the second or third day of class.
First, let’s look at how women experienced Cindy. Read the rest of this entry
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Strong Men Can’t Cope With Breakups?
Kelsey Annese, killed by enraged ex-boyfriend.
Why do some men feel like it’s a male thing to be “stronger than a woman,” but when a relationship ends, it’s often the man who “can’t cope”?
Why do some guys handle their distress with violence?
Why do some men feel entitled, yet have such low self-esteem that they explode after a breakup?
“Bob” asked me those questions after a recent double murder-suicide: Read the rest of this entry
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Girls Bullying Girls Who Are “Too Pretty”
Lady Gaga says Bullying is for losers
I’m told I’m good-looking, but I think I’m more average. But that could be a remnant of how often I was bullied in middle and high school.
That’s from a woman who commented on my blog.
But being bullied doesn’t mean you aren’t attractive.
Plenty of women are bullied because they’re “too pretty.” Read the rest of this entry
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Homophobes Aroused by Gay Porn
You’d think homophobic men would be the least likely to get aroused by homoerotic images.
Think again.
Researchers at the University of Georgia surveyed young men on the degree of homophobia they felt, as measured by their self-described levels of aversion to gay men, and specifically, the intensity of “dread” they experienced interacting with them. Read the rest of this entry
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Why Does Mayor Blame Assault Victims?
Henriette Reker, Mayor of Cologne, Germany
Why would Henriette Reker, the mayor of Cologne, Germany, blame women for being sexually assaulted?
You’ve probably heard about Cologne’s New Year’s Eve celebration, where groups of men — maybe more than 1,000 of them — surrounded individual women, groped them and stole their belongings. There were at least two rape accusations.
Yet the mayor merely told women to keep more than an arm’s length away from men? That’s hard to do in a congested square, where people are pushing to get in.
Or, maybe women should just avoid crowded festivities altogether? Read the rest of this entry
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Casual Sex Distresses Women?
The double standard
Women who do casual sex are, on average, more distressed than other women.
Men who do casual sex are, on average, more confident than other men.
That’s what sociologists, Mark Regnerus and Jeremy Uecker, found as they researched their book, Premarital Sex in America.
That means the double standard is neither good nor bad. It just is. They say. Read the rest of this entry
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