Emily Skidmore: True Sex: The Lives of Trans Men at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

Feminists Betraying Feminism to Restrict Faculty–Student Romances Abstract In this brief commentary I add a new set of criticisms to the rise of stricter bans against consensual relationships between faculty and students. Although there are already compelling criticisms of these bans, the new stricter bans should be met with a new set of criticisms.

People’s Perceptions of the Role of Education on Sexual Behaviour of Youths in Fiji Abstract The main aim of this paper was to explore people’s perceptions of the role of education on youth’s sexual behaviour. The findings from this study confirmed that people perceive that education can change the behaviour of youths in both positive and negative ways. People perceive that education has helped youths to make informed choices, adopt safe sex practice and realise the importance of using contraceptives but it has also exposed youths to live-in relationships and different types of sexual behaviour. Education has also changed the mindset and attitude of youths on sexual behavior. This study has implications for policy makers and academics.

Smartphone Battery Levels and Sexual Decision-Making Among Men Who Have Sex with Men Abstract Smartphone-dating and hook-up apps are undeniable factors in the modern landscape of sexuality. In particular, gay and bisexual men have bridged social and societal barriers for connection by using these apps. Despite advantages afforded by such technological advancements, when individuals are faced with a low phone battery, a sense of urgency may be experienced, which can increase risk-taking behaviours to accommodate an impending phone “death”. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a draining smartphone battery would facilitate a greater likelihood of agreeing to a hookup encounter. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three battery life condition groups (5%, 20%, 100%) and were asked how likely they were to agree to a hookup with a simulated potential sexual partner. We discovered that, relative to a full battery condition, participants were more likely to agree to a hookup in the lowest battery condition. Additionally, men who reported a greater likelihood of agreeing to a hookup also endorsed a greater propensity for sensation seeking, regardless of the battery condition. These findings have practical implications for educating smartphone users who utilize dating and hookup apps about how scarcity decision-making and sensation-seeking can impact the ability to practice safe sexual behaviours.

The Influence of School Contextual Factors on Educators’ Efforts in Teaching Sexuality Education in Secondary Schools in Durban, South Africa Abstract In a bid to reduce rates of HIV and AIDS, teenage pregnancy and STIs in the high-risk age group of adolescence, a sexuality education programme has been implemented in South African schools. The programme is dependent on Life Orientation (LO) educators as the main point of guidance regarding sexuality education. This study aims to investigate the status of resources in the schools and the extent to which these enable or present challenges to LO educators’ teaching of sexuality education. Qualitative semi-structured in-depth interviews with six LO educators from four schools in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, were conducted and analysed using Thematic Content Analysis. LO educators were selected via purposive sampling, representative of poverty quintile two to five. The findings of the study demonstrate that teaching in all schools was adversely impacted by the lack of financial, social-capital and human resources, which adversely impacted the quality of sexuality education lessons. However, LO educators reported having high levels of social-networking which they regarded as an enabling factor to teaching sexuality education. Furthermore, educators in lower resourced schools were able to mobilize the resources they did not possess through their resourcefulness and reliance on social capital to assist them in teaching impactful sexuality education to learners. It is recommended that schools continue to promote and encourage the attendance and provision of training for LO educators and continue having and growing networks of social support. Current LO educators should be awarded and recognised for their immense efforts in going above and beyond their duties at school.

“The Western Feminists Want to Make Us Gay”: Nationalism, Heteronormativity, and Violence Against Women in Bulgaria in Times of “Anti-gender Campaigns” Abstract The abolishment of women’s and LGBTQ rights has become one of the main goals of the so-called “anti-gender campaigns” emerging on a global scale. This study investigates discourses and notions that reject the concepts of “gender” and “gender-based violence” in times of “anti-gender campaigns” in Bulgaria. Based on discourse analysis and data from social media comments, the study demonstrates how “gender politics of fear” in Bulgaria have been included in the heteronormative, political, religious, nationalistic, and anti-feminist discourses and how gender and LGBTQ equality policies are identified as a threat to the traditional Bulgarian values. Engaging with the concept of hegemonic femininity, the analysis identifies four main types of notions among women opposing women’s rights policies and demonstrates how the socialist past of Bulgaria has strengthened these beliefs. Finally, the analysis discusses some possible directions towards a constructive and evidence-based dialogue in times of “anti-gender campaigns”, taking into account the strategic “delegitimization” of gender studies globally and the potential of the progressive and feminist religious scholarship and “contextual reasoning”.

Sexuality and Sexual Health in Prisons Abstract Incarceration appears capable of very profound and potentially harmful implications for sexuality and sexual health of incarcerates and the broader public. The intent of this review and analysis is to examine the potential psychosocial causes and effects of prison-based sexual behavior. An important consideration when examining all aspects of sexual behavior and sexual health during incarceration appears to be sexual identity, including the impact of certain aspects of prison life that reinforce or alter identity. Built on the foundation of a comprehensive psychosocial theory of sexuality, some suggestions for improving the sexual health of inmates while incarcerated and after release will be discussed briefly.

A Rhetoric of Contradiction: SuicideGirls, Female Empowerment, and Sexuality Abstract The intersection of female empowerment and sexuality is prevalent in contemporary public discourse. In this analysis, we critique the rhetoric of female empowerment from the SuicideGirls, a soft-core pornography website that claims to promote an alternative beauty. Existing literature on SuicideGirls provides consensus that the website promotes female empowerment. We critique SuicideGirls’ rhetoric as an example of why consistency between rhetoric and action are important to analyze in a sex-positive culture that embraces contradiction as empowerment. A rhetoric of contradiction emerges when the language of empowerment is not supported with empowering action, and ultimately we argue that this undermines the goals of a sex-positive culture for women. Our conclusions address the complexity of cultural texts that equate sexuality with power, and to ultimately illuminate the boundaries to challenging the status quo in a society that embraces a rhetoric of contradiction as female empowerment.

Gender Differences in Identity Concerns Among Sexual Minority Young Adults in China: Socioeconomic Status, Familial, and Cultural Factors Abstract This paper examines gender differences in the identity concerns of sexual minorities in China and the impact of individual and community-level socioeconomic statuses, familial, and cultural factors. A sample of 1076 non-heterosexual young adults (employed, aged 20–35) completed an online questionnaire on only child status, co-residence with parents, traditional values, familial pressure to marry, identity concerns, and demographic information. The findings show that gender impacts identity concerns. Men indicated a higher level of identity concern than women. Both traditional values and familial pressure to marry positively predict the level of identity concern for men and women. While co-residence with parents is a significant predictor for men, women are more affected by region of residence. The findings suggest that the identity concerns of men are mainly related to familial and cultural factors while women’s concerns are also influenced by community-related socioeconomic-status factors. This paper contributes to a better understanding of the role of gender in shaping the lives and experiences of sexual minority people in contemporary China.

Does Religious Counselling on Abortion Comply with Sweden’s ‘Women-Friendly’ Abortion Policies? A Qualitative Exploration Among Religious Counsellors Abstract The abortion discourse in Sweden is marked by historically liberal ideals about women’s inviolable right to make autonomous reproductive decisions. However, to respond to the increase in cultural and religious pluralism building up over several decades, religious organizations have been given opportunities to provide so-called spiritual care in affiliation with Swedish hospitals since the 1980s. In this study we asked: in what ways do religious counsellors, affiliated with Swedish hospitals, construct their ideas on abortion, and how well do their ideas comply with Sweden’s ‘women-friendly’ abortion policies? Through interviews with Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, and Buddhist religious counsellors, we wanted to empirically test the presumption underlying the decisions to grant space to religious actors in Swedish healthcare, i.e., that religious counselling serves to complement existing services. We found that it cannot be expected that religious advice on abortion will always comply with Swedish abortion law and with the women-friendly abortion policy that the Swedish state seeks to impose. When policy-makers open up possibilities for diverse norms on abortion to manifest in close affiliation with healthcare institutions, they must be aware that some religious counsellors argue that only God—and not the woman herself—can decide whether a woman can terminate a pregnancy. We argue that the findings in this study speaks to what researchers have referred to as the “diversity-equality paradox”, which highlights the tension between the promotion of religious ideas on abortion on the one hand and the promotion of liberal ideas about women’s reproductive freedom on the other.