Sexuality // Current TV

Nevada Woman Gets Life Sentence for 13 year old touching her breasts

Is this a result of prison privatization? Corporate Correctional Facility Railroad?... more

ablindeye
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Virginity is STILL a Big Deal?!

Emaline Mae...who are you? I somehow found this pretty strange, yet interesting blog... more

simonsays
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Slutty Virgin? Does Such a Thing Exist?!

Emaline Mae...who are you? A slutty virgin? Please explain. This is the strangest... more

simonsays
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The REAL Gay Agenda [video]

You hear a lot about the gay agenda in political talk. If you ever wondered what the... more

GrrlScientist
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Interview with Mitzi Szereto

Check out my latest interview at Eden Fantasys, where I discuss writing, blogging,... more

MitziTV
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3 comments

Stephen Elliott Should be Seen and Heard - Part 1

Professional Dominant Eve Minax talks to Stephen Elliot, author of "The Adderall... more

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Stop sexualising children, says David Cameron

Conservative leader David Cameron has called for an end to the "inappropriate... more

CarolineS
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2 years ago
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Why are so many girls lesbian or bisexual?

You've probably heard about Constance McMillen by now. She's the openly-gay high school senior who wanted to take her girlfriend to the high school prom at Itawamba High School in northern Mississippi. The principal told the girls that all prom couples have to be boy-girl. Ms. McMillen called the ACLU, which threatened the school with legal action. In response, the school board canceled the prom. The ACLU then asked U.S. District Court Judge Glen Davidson to intervene and reinstate the prom. The judge ruled that although the school had violated Ms. McMillen's civil rights, he wouldn't force them to hold a prom. On Friday, April 2, Ms. McMillen attended an alternative prom at the Fulton County Country Club. According to the Associated Press, her girlfriend's parents wouldn't allow the 16-year-old girlfriend to go, so McMillen escorted another young woman instead. To make the story even worse, it turns out that the alternative prom at the Fulton County Country Club was a fake, with only seven kids attending, according to McMillen. The real prom, i.e. the prom which most of the seniors attended, was held at a still-undisclosed location, and McMillen wasn't invited.
The story continues to attract national attention because it's just so darn quaint. Imagine: there are still people who get upset when they see girls kissing other girls! Who knew?

Psychologist John Buss estimates that for most of human history, perhaps 2% of women have been lesbian or bisexual (see note 1, below). Not any more. Recent surveys of teenage girls and young women find that roughly 15% of young females today self-identify as lesbian or bisexual, compared with about 5% of young males who identify as gay or bisexual (see note 2, below).

As a physician and a psychologist, what I found missing in the noise surrounding the Constance McMillen story was any serious discussion of why a growing number of girls self-identify as lesbian or bisexual. Not that there's anything wrong with that, as Seinfeld might say. But why are young women today at least three times more likely than their brothers to identify as bisexual or homosexual? "I kissed a girl and I liked it," Katy Perry told us in her #1 hit single. Megan Fox, Lindsay Lohan, Lady Gaga, Anna Paquin, Angelina Jolie, Drew Barrymore - they all want us to know that they are bisexual. There is no comparable crowd of young male celebrities rushing to assure us that they go both ways. Imagine a young man singing "I kissed a boy and I liked it." Would that song reach #1 on the charts? Why not?

Why is it OK for girls to be bisexual or homosexual, but not boys?

Over the past seven years, I've posed this question to hundreds of teenagers and young adults across the United States. The most common answer I get isn't really an answer. "Girls kiss other girls at parties because guys like it," one teenage girl told me. "It makes the guys hoot and holler, so the girls do it again. They're just doing it for attention. It's not for real."

I point out, as gently as I can, that that response doesn't answer my question. Pretending to be lesbian or bisexual doesn't explain why a growing proportion of young women are lesbian or bisexual.

Or does it?

Female sexuality is different from male sexuality. If a straight boy kissed another boy, perhaps to amuse some girls who might be watching, he would be unlikely to undergo a change in sexual orientation as a result. But, as Professor Roy Baumeister at Florida State University and others have shown, sexual attraction in many women seems to be more malleable (see note 3 below). If a teenage girl kisses another teenage girl, for whatever reason, and she finds that she likes it - then things can happen, and things can change. If a young woman finds her soulmate, and her soulmate happens to be female, then she may begin to experience feelings she's never felt before.

Especially if all the guys she knows are losers.

Which brings me to the second point I've encountered in my interviews with young people. Twenty years ago, when I opened my practice in a suburb of Washington DC, it was rare to find 14-year-old boys who were looking at pornography every day. Today it's common, in fact it's becoming the norm. When I meet with a group of 14-year-old boys and I ask them, "how many of you guys subscribe to a porn site?", all hands go up. I don't believe them. But today, no boy wants to admit that he's the weirdo who doesn't look at online porn. Twenty years ago, hardcore pornography was tucked away in adult bookstores. Today any 14-year-old can access such photos online in seconds. Role models for young men, from pop singer John Mayer to the 2009 World Series MVP Hideki Matsui, talk openly about their collections of porn (see note 4, below).
More on linkYou've probably heard about Constance McMillen by now. She's the openly-gay... more

02
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2 years ago
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Gay Symmetry : Homocentric Nude Art Prints

The Flesh of Ephebe Leopards....or My Leopard Skin rug!... more

Pinkpasty
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2 years ago
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Confusing Personal Lubrication Magazine Ad !

Posted from " I Am Bored " -You just have to let it sink in. Ouch! That... more

remanns
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2 years ago
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A bOObies "Git er Done" Compilation,...Know your Babes

Can you identify them all ? Hump Day: National Signing Day and Eat Shitt Pitt... more

remanns
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2 years ago
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Oprah Winfrey loses grey matter covering trans-issues

Oprah Winfrey has made it clear again and again that she knows nothing when it comes... more

transreporter
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2 years ago
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'Tennis Girl' one of the best selling photo history

Photography 'Tennis Girl' by Martin Elliott in September 1976, is an icon... more

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2 years ago
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Wild Relationships, Part 6

A countdown of short films about unusual approaches to love and intimacy. Features an... more

ctv
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2 years ago
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infoMania sneak peek: That's Gay NoHomo

This week infoMania's sneak peek is another edition of That's Gay. Bryan... more

joshuaheller
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2 years ago
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From Cyborgs to Hacktivists: Postfeminist Disobedience and Virtual Communities

Postfeminism is that indicator that shows us the organism formerly known as feminism... more

worrg
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2 years ago
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Gay couple turned away from B&B by Christian owners

A gay couple were turned away from a bed and breakfast by its Christian owner who... more

TravG73
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2 years ago
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VAMPIRE lore

----A mesmerizing overview; a seductive web of lore to command your 'gaze'!... more

remanns
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2 years ago
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'Power Button' Design Wins NYC Condom Wrapper Contest

Power buttons on your condom bro.

joshuaheller
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2 years ago
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Austrailian group wants 'trans' option on facebook

An Australian lobby group has said that Facebook users should be given the option of... more

CarolineS
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2 years ago
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