"When the dust settles and the pages of history are written,
it will not be the angry defenders of intolerance who have
made the difference, that reward will go to those who dared
to step outside the safety of their privacy in order
to expose and rout the prevailing prejudice."
- John Shelby Spong
Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Newark, NJ
November 21, 1996
A Struggle for Acceptance
During World War II and especially the twenty years after brought great political and social changes to the U.S.. Undoubtedly, one of the major changes was the new awareness of homosexuality. If this new awareness was to the advantage or if it was really wanted by the gay and lesbian population is a question that arises; if they really had a choice in the matter is another.
I think gays= relentless struggle for acceptance into mainstream society came from the American constitution itself. After all, the gay liberation movement started in America, the land of the free, where all men are created equal and with an inalienable right to pursue their own happiness. No one should be able to take these rights away from anyone. Also, in the 1950s, the civil rights movement became active and words like desegregation and equal rights for all became synonymous with the American way of life. Stand up and fight against those who have done you wrong! This is what gave homosexuals such a conviction to start fighting for their own cause.
This paper will follow the progress of gay and lesbians in the twentieth century before, during and after World War II. What was their position in the armed forces during the war and what was government and military policy during and after the war on gays in the army and in government positions? How did gay and lesbians respond to the new policies after the war and why were organizations like the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis founded?
On December 7, 1941 at 7:55 a.m. local time, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. The Unites States declared war on Japan and was suddenly a participant in the largest war in the history of mankind. A massive military force of 12 million men was assembled. American soldiers were sent to Europe and Japan to participate and win the Big One. The military bureaucracy grew accordingly and thousands of new jobs were created. With the military=s enormous demand for personnel, drafted American men found themselves in isolated gender segregated environments. All the big war movies depict this with the GI=s longing for leave so he could go downtown and find himself a prostitute. What these movies do not show is a new community, within the military, of homosexuals who until now lived socially isolated lives because they were either unsure of what they were or of their sexual preferences or just plain scared of what people would think if they found out their secret. In the military, these people found other gay men who were in the same predicament. They weren=t alone.
Before the war, gays and lesbians were almost invisible from society. They were not mentioned in the popular media and the general population was oblivious to their existence. An occasional arrest or school expulsion of a Asexual psychopath@ were the only vague signs that the public would hear about. Now that the military accepted or at least needed the cooperation of all men, including homosexuals, an important page had been turned in the progress of gay rights, however, it also set the scene for discrimination and prejudice.
Homosexuals were in all branches of the armed forces, from paper pushing to front line combat. Before enlisting, interrogators had forced them to describe their lifestyle, which in turn made it impossible for homosexuals to continue hiding in the closet but instead had to take the first step in living a new open lifestyle. They were classified as Asexual psychopaths@ on their military records, however, they were not being discriminated by the military at this point in time. An apparatus was even set up to accommodate gay personnel. Through this apparatus, the military ended up with quite an extensive record of homosexual behavior and was considered an expert on the subject. Military scientists much later said that through studying homosexuals' behavior could find nothing to support evidence that gay and lesbians were in any way psychopaths or had any form of mental disorder. This report came out after the 1940s and 1950s; until then, the military denied having made any research on homosexuals.
After World War II, the military suddenly made a decision not to have gay or lesbians in the armed forces anymore. They would be discharged without any benefitsa even though they hadn=t done anything wrong. This caused gay veterans to unite and fight against sexual discrimination and some were later the founders of organized gay rights movements.
Exposed by the war, gays and lesbians decided to continue living their lives in the open, although many still preferred living quietly in discrete suburbs, coming out only under pseudonyms in articles or books.
Bars for gays and lesbians became a major gathering place. Here they could mingle and be themselves. These bars became wide spread and were not only confined to the major U.S. cities but were established in many small towns as well. The general public and media started noticing this growth and with the common knowing of homosexuals being perverted sexual psychopaths, child molesters, sex offenders and sex degenerates, a fear spread for the safety of women and children who could be snatched by these dangerous people. This fear initiated the anti-gay policies and sex psychopath laws of the late 1940s and early 1950s, where gay and lesbians were witch hunted and fired from their work place. The policy that had the greatest impact was President Eisenhower=s signing of Executive Order #10450, stating that sexual perversion was reason for prejudice hiring and firing of workers
Gay veterans were a select group of American patriots, who, for the most part wanted things to go back to how they were and just lead secure and stable lives. These new policies caused much irritation and the veterans felt they were constantly being mistreated, which gave them all the more reason to speak up. They could have continued to live quiet lives but they were pushed into the open by the government, and now that they were exposed, they weren't going to go back in the closet without a fight. The new strict moral values of the postwar period and the nuclear family did not help gays and lesbians blend into society. Instead, homosexuals were being scapegoated and considered sex deviates. The idea of deviates and wave builders went well together with the red scare and homosexuals were feared even more than before. Communist homosexuals would mean the downfall of western society as we know it....at least that is what the government wanted us to believe. The theory of homosexuals being sex deviates was also supported by psychiatrists who wanted more influence over the criminal justice system and allowed for the incarceration of homosexuals into mental institution. This caused arrests for sodomy, perversion and indecency to skyrocket and many men and women ended up in these institutions.
The military=s turnaround and postwar treatment of homosexuals and the homophobia and irrational fear of gays that they caused, made its way to the civilian bureaucracy. In the 1950s, senators launched an attack on gay employees. Senator Joseph McCarthy led the crusade against homosexuals and communists and was feared by nearly all American; he had the power to dismiss you from your place of work and put you in an institution. Homosexuals were even considered to be easier targets for communist propaganda and were also the main reason for the purges in the government sector. People were afraid gays would deliver U.S. secrets to the Russians.
Even though gays and lesbians were hounded everywhere, they didn=t defend themselves from the attacks. Homosexuals had no one to speak up for them at that time and were unsure of what to do. Instead they isolated themselves and bottled up the anger and fear they felt for society. Gay veterans were no exception, however, they didn't accept the circumstances and conditions that had been set before them. They understood it was impossible for them to live the way they used to; in order for them to lead an open life, the hounding had to stop. They had fought a war to preserve their liberty and no one should be able to take that away from them now.
The first organization for gays was founded in Germany. The Scientific Humanitarian Committee wanted to abolish the German anti-gay penal code and to educate the public on being gay. The movement was short lived and was disintegrated when the Nazi regime came to power. There was also an effort for gay organizing in Chicago during the 1920s but they dissolved without major recognition. Then came the Mattachine Society. It was founded in 1950 in Los Angeles as a response to anti-gay campaigns in Washington, the constant police raiding of gay bars and that gays were an oppressed minority and should have someone to speak for them. The Mattachine Society would help gays out of jail, consult gays and refer them to psychiatrists, if they needed one. However, staying above budget was not easy. Call says the active members were doing more than they were getting paid for. Publishing the Mattachine Review, a gay magazine, was a demanding occupation and member fees did not cover all the work that had to be done. A bar directory was also published by the Society together with the Daughters of Bilits=s own magazine, the Ladder. The original founders were gay veterans from WWII and consisted of Chuck Rowland, Bob Hull, Harry Hay, Rudy Gernreich, Konrad Stevens, Dale Jennings, Stan Witt and Paul Bernard. The most charismatic of these was Chuck Rowland. He himself was an army veteran and an idealist. After the war, he had joined the American Veterans Committee and later the communist party. Being a member of the communist party would later cause him his seat with the Mattachine Society. These founders had a vision that all homosexuals would eventually come out and parade down the streets of LA. Until then, they sought refuge under pseudonyms when publishing anything of homosexual nature.
Many joined the Society but no one knew who ran the organization. Rowland and the others thought it safest to keep it that way in the beginning. In 1954, the founders decided to become an open democratic organization and a vote was held as to whom should be the leaders. Rowland and the others wanted a radical group of expansionists and protesters. Hall Call, their opposition, wanted to take a more conservative approach. He meant that for the group to survive, they did not want to attract unnecessary attention to themselves; also to have an open organization, they had to eliminate everything that could give the government, especially McCarthy, an excuse to shut the organization down, which meant removing the communist faction from the group. Call won the vote and most if not all of the original founders were asked to resign. This decision left them very bitter and the question whether they had done the right thing by going "public" they way they had is still asked. Rowland claimed Call was the reason for the Mattachine=s downfall, having not an ounce of organizational spirit in his whole body. Call on the other hand, who was a journalist, saw the McCarthy threat as real and if the Mattachine Society wanted to enhance the Society and do some good, staying low was the only answer. Membership later decreased in the late 1960s and members instead joined a seceded branch of the Society called SIR.
Up until 1950s, no Aopen-minded@ study had ever been made of male homosexuals. However, in 1956, Dr. Evelyn Hooker, a professor at UCLA, presented a paper to the American Psychological Association in Chicago, in which she had conducted an experiment of homosexuals and heterosexuals to study their Afundamental personal behavior@ using the Rorschach, the Thematic Apperception and the Make a Picture tests. The judges were internationally recognized scientists and were not told who had been taking the tests. The result came out and the judges could not find any relation between the subjects= sexual preferences and their answers. Dr. Hooker received the Distinguished Contribution Award for her study.
Dr. Hooker was also confronted by many lesbians, asking her to conduct a test on them as well. She refused on the grounds that a woman conducting tests on women would be considered biased and not be taken seriously.
In 1955, lesbians in San Francisco founded the lesbian equivalent to the Mattachine Society; they called it the Daughters of Bilitis. The movement was unsure on how to proceed; whether they should engage in picketing and other civil rights activities or whether it should challenge the medical profession's claim that homosexuality was an illness. Their task consisted of counseling lesbians and educate mothers who thought their daughters might be lesbian. One sad case was when a daughter confronted her parents and told them of her being a lesbian. The parents didn=t take it as well as she might have hoped for. Instead they raised a gravestone with her name on it and declared her dead by listing her in the obituaries in the local newspaper.
In June of 1969, the Stonewall Inn, Greenwich Village, was considered the dawning of the gay liberation movement. A police raid caused homosexuals to riot, not accepting the constant terrorizing from the authorities. The three day rioting led to the beginning of a new mass movement, the Gay Liberation Front, derived from the controversial Vietnamese National Liberation Front; wanting radical change, much like Chuck Rowland and the founders of the Mattachine Society and fighting fiercer and with more pride and confidence than before. Gays and lesbians began joining forces and recognized their common cause; to stand up for their rights as human beings and not willing to be suppressed any longer. This historic event is every year embodied in New York's Gay Parade.
There was a nationwide protest against the discrimination of gay military personnel but it didn=t have much impact. Military policy is still very much biased against homosexuals in the armed forces; even after government institutions loosened up their restrictions on gay policy. The military argued that homosexuals in service would threaten the moral and job performance of enlisted personnel. The discharge policy backfired. Instead of producing Asexual security@ for the soldiers, it reinforced hostility and prejudice among personnel. This policy goes against the secret military reports that say gays are suited for the military and the gay history of World War II, which showed that gay men could be just as courageous as straight men. It only leaves us to believe that the military has no respect for gay personnel and are only using them when in a crisis and being in need of cannon fodder.
Looking back, the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis were the pioneers for all gay and lesbians. They created a sturdy foundation on which to build a national recognition and understanding of homosexuals. Without them there would most probably not have been a Stonewall Inn incident. Who is to blame for homosexuals having to fight for recognition and acceptance against what seemed to be the entire American public? Before World War II, the public was uneducated and unaware of the gay and lesbian society they lived with. Like a child, they were easily affected by government doctrine, justified by the government=s need to keep the economy growing by uniting the people with false anti-Communist anti-gay propaganda and thereby creating an illusionary external and internal enemy. From a purely economic view, the government wanted Keyen=s AAnimal Spirits@ (herd mentality) to be positive and united and not have them go into another depression of pessimistic thinking. The postwar years were the first time the government had this much control over industry and officials thought it should stay that way. To do this, the public had to be satisfied and not worried about another recession. Communism and the gay threat were just the excuses the government needed to unite the population. They would foster the American ideal on how to be and act and deviance from this ideal, would cause the ARussian Bear@ to invade the American peace loving neighborhoods.
I think homosexuals were used as scapegoats and were a minority that could be sacrificed for the governments proclaimed Agood@ of the nation.
SOURCES:
$ The American Record; volume II: since 1865, by William Graebner & Leonard Richards, McGraw-Hill, Inc.
$ Making History; The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights 1945 - 1990, by Erik Marcus, HarperCollins Publishers
INTERESTING AND MORE DETAILED EXCERPTS FROM INTERNET SOURCES FOR FURTHER READING:
The Stonewall Inn, (named after the Confederate General 'Stonewall' Jackson), was a gay bar (said to be sleazy and Mafia-run) at 51-53 Christopher Street just east of Sheridan Square in New York's Greenwich Village. On the night of 27/28th. June, 1969, a police inspector and seven other officers from the Public Morals Section of the First Division of the New York City Police Department arrived shortly after midnight, served a warrant charging that alcohol was being sold without a license, and announced that employees would be arrested.
The patrons were ejected from the bar by the police while others lingered outside to watch, and were joined by passers-by. The arrival of the paddy wagons changed the mood of the crowd from passivity to defiance. The first vehicle left without incident apart from catcalls from the crowd. The next individual to emerge from the bar was a woman in male costume who put up a struggle which galvanized the bystanders into action. The crowd erupted into throwing cobblestones and bottles. Some officers took refuge in the bar while others turned a fire hose on the crowd. Police reinforcements were called and in time the streets were cleared. During the day the news spread, and the following two nights saw further violent confrontations between the police and gay people.
The event was important less for its intrinsic character than for the significance subsequently bestowed on it. The Stonewall Rebellion was a spontaneous act of resistance to the police harassment that had been inflicted on the homosexual community since the inception of the modern vice squad in metropolitan police forces. It sparked a new, highly visible, mass phase of political organization for gay rights that far surpassed, semi-clandestine homophile movement of the 1950s and 1960s, exemplified by the Mattachine Society. The Mattachine Society newsletter described the rebellion as 'the hairpin drop heard round the world'.
The event has been commemorated by a parade held each year in New York City on the last Sunday in June, following a tradition that began with the first march on 29th. June, 1970, and by parallel events throughout the United States.@
STONEWALL: THE HISTORICAL EVENT
The confrontations between demonstrators and police at The Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village over the weekend of June 27-29, 1969 are usually cited as the beginning of the modern movement for Lesbian/Gay liberation. What might have been a routine police raid on a bar patronized by homosexuals, became a signal event which sparked a movement. The Stonewall riots have developed into the stuff of myth, about which many of the most commonly held beliefs are probably untrue.
In 1969, it was illegal to operate any business catering to homosexuals in New York City-as it still is, today in 1991, in many places in the United States and elsewhere. The standard procedure was for the New York City police to raid such establishments on a semi-regular basis, to arrest a few of the most obvious 'types' and to fine the owners prior to letting business continue as usual by the next evening. It has been suggested that the majority of the patrons at the Stonewall Inn were black and Hispanic drag queens, but perhaps the goddess has always valued these rare creatures much too highly to ever let them become a majority. In fact, most of the patrons that evening were most likely young, college-age white men expecting to spend the rest of their lives in the quiet desperation of the middle-class closet. They knew that it was reasonably safe to enter the Stonewall Inn precisely because there were a few colored drag queens, butch bulldykes and others whose double-minority status made them far more likely candidates for arrest; this gave everyone else time to cover their faces and run for the nearest exit.
After midnight June 27-28, 1969, four men and two women from the New York Tactical Police Force called a raid on The Stonewall Inn at 55 Christopher Street. After leaving the bar, many of the patrons decided to wait around outside while the police dispatched the 'usual suspects' into the vans. It is said that this was the first time where Lesbians and Gay men fought back; in fact, there had already been several incidents in both Los Angeles and New York where sizable groups of Gays had resisted arrest. More to the point, the queens targeted for arrest had always fought back, alone and unsupported as they were led time and again to the vans. What was unique about Stonewall and gives it a resonance which continues to inspire today was that it was perhaps the first time when Lesbians and Gay men as a group were able to see beyond the lipstick and the high heels, beyond the skin color and recognize the oppression which threatens us all.
The greatest great myth concerning the Stonewall riots is that it was a Lesbian/Gay event. It is likely that many of those who began pitching pennies, then beer bottles, at the police that night weren't even homosexual. The only publicly reported arrest was a straight folk singer who was appearing next door and who joined the melee after leaving work. The streets of Greenwich Village were home to many young people whose politics were defined by the blossoming anti-war movement, left-wing political ideologies and the successes of the Women's liberation and Black Civil Rights movements. Like their Lesbian/Gay brothers and sisters, they were prepared to recognize oppression and thus willing to respond to it. (Anyone who thinks being able to see oppression is easy has to only remember the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings.)
In all, some 300 to 400 people became involved in the attempt to stop the arrests, erupting into violent protest. The police and the bar owners, who were perceived to be part of the repressive system at work, barricaded themselves inside the Stonewall Inn for protection. While they awaited reinforcements, the crowd outside attempted to burn the bar down with the cops inside. Eventually, a squadron of patrol cars arrived and chased the crowd away from the bar, and then around the narrow village streets for several hours. The following night, a new crowd assembled outside the Stonewall and rioted when the police attempted to break it up. Provocative articles appearing in the NY Post, Daily News and especially The Village Voice helped to consolidate Gay willingness to fight back.
Within a few days, representatives of the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis organized the city's first ever "Gay Power" rally in Washington Square. On July 27, 1969, speeches by Martha Shelley and Marty Robinson were followed by a candlelight march to the site of the Stonewall Inn. Five hundred people showed up, thought to have included almost the entire 'out-of-the-closet' population of Lesbians and Gay men in New York, as well as their supporters from the political left. The rest as they say is history... STONEWALL: The Movement
Before Stonewall, there were a number of groups working for homosexual rights, ever since the concept had been defined in nineteenth century Germany, home to the world's first politically organized movement. In the United States, since April 1965, Frank Kameny of Washington, DC had been organizing Homosexual Reminder Days on the ellipse across from the White House and at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. These were sedate affairs of a few dozen picketers with the men in jackets and ties and the Lesbians in skirts and dresses. Their principal demand was for civil service protection and the right of homosexuals to hold government jobs. The New York delegation that attended the July 4th picket in 1969, one week after Stonewall, held hand and shouted down the other marchers. This was the last Homosexual Reminder Day and a clear sign that the Stonewall riots had set something new in motion.
During the first year after Stonewall, a whole new generation of organizations emerged, many identifying themselves for the first time as "Gay" meaning not only a sexual orientation, but a radical new basis for self-identification and with a sense of open political activism. Older groups such as the Mattachine Society or the Westside Discussion Group whose members had used first names or altogether fictitious ones to protect their identities soon made way for the Gay Liberation Front and the various regional Gay Activists Alliances. The vast majority of these new activists were under thirty, new to political organizing and believed everything was possible. Many groups were affiliated with specific colleges and universities, again with "Gay" replacing "Homophile" in the names of most older groups and almost all new ones. By the summer of 1970, groups in at least eight American cities were sufficiently organized to schedule simultaneous events commemorating the Stonewall riots for the last Sunday in June. The events varied from a highly political march of three to five thousand in New York to a parade with floats for 1200 in Los Angeles.
MATTACHINE SOCIETY
One of the earliest gay movement organizations in the USA. It began in Los Angeles in 1950-51. Its name was given by the pioneer activist Harry Hay in commemoration of the French medieval and Renaissance SociJtJ Mattachine, a musical masque group which he had studied while preparing a course on the history of popular music for a workers' education project. The name was meant to symbolize the fact that "gays were a masked people, unknown and anonymous", and the word, also spelled matachin or matachine , has been derived from the Arabic of Moorish Spain, in which mutawajjihin , relates to masking oneself. Such an opaque name is typical of the homophile movement of the time in which open proclamation of the purposes of the group through a revealing name was regarded as imprudent.
At first the structure of the society followed that of freemasonry with a pyramid structure, where cells at the same level would be unknown to each other. The founders were Marxists and analyzed homosexuals in terms of an oppressed cultural minority. The communist leanings of the organization put it under some pressure during the anti-Communist phase in the USA. The era of McCarthyism had begun on 9th. February, 1950 with a speech by Senator Joseph R. McCarthy of Wisconsin, at Lincoln's Birthday dinner of a Republican League in Wheeling, West Virginia. Paul Coates wrote in a Los Angeles newspaper in March 1953 linking "sexual deviates" with "security risks" who were banding together to wield "tremendous political power". The Mattachine Society was restructured, with a more transparent organization, and its leadership replaced. It also changed its aims to the assimilation of homosexuals into general society, which reflected its rejection of the notion of a homosexual minority. However the Society declined, and at its convention in May 1954 only forty-two members attended.
The Mattachine Society produced the monthly periodical ONE Magazine , starting in January 1953 and eventually achieving a circulation of 5000 copies. The regular publication of the magazine ceased in 1968, but its publisher, ONE Inc., still exists.
In January, 1955 the San Francisco branch of the Mattachine Society began a more scholarly journal, Mattachine Review , which lasted for ten years. The periodicals reached previously isolated individuals and helped Mattachine to become better known nationally. Chapters functioned in a number of USA cities through the 1960s. However, they failed to adapt to the radical militantism after the Stonewall Rebellion and faded away.
a to loose your benefits in the military, such as a military pension, you normally had to act undisciplined, refuse orders and putting your buddies life in danger.
1
Sunday, December 30, 2012
The pros and Cons of Pornography
As the debate over pornography and its place in society grows hotter every day, several authors in particular shed a new light on the subject. Both their intuition and insight involving their beliefs can help the reader a great deal in seeing aspects of this debate that might have otherwise gone without the consideration that they so deserve.
I believe that pornography is not only okay, but is allowing our country to take a step back and ask ourselves how far we are willing to go and what we are willing to sacrifice in order to preserve free speech and our rights to personal choice.
The argument over pornography is not merely the debate over right or wrong, but also involves the theory that its existence requires, or possibly even causes, an inequality between men and women.
I ask you, how could something like pornography cause an in-equality between men and women when women are the major contributors to the industry? Who is going to watch a porn without women in it? Therefore, at least at first glance, it would seem that since women are actively contributing to the business of pornography maybe they should be criticized at least equally if not more so than the men who watch it.
According to author J.M. Coetzee and his article "The Harms of Pornography", the real questions here are, "what is the difference between obscenity and pornography", and even more importantly, "where do we draw the line between the two"? Coetzee brings up a good point here. A point on which the entire debate over pornography hinges. What is the defenition of "obscenity"? An excerpt from a speech by Mike Godwin, Online Counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, gives a good definition of obscenity in his on-line article: "Fear of Freedom: The Backlash Against Free Speech on the 'Net'".
Everybody more or less knows something about what qualifies as obscene.
You know it has something to do with "community standards," right? And
with appealing to the "prurient interest." A work has to be a patently
offensive depiction of materials banned by state statute and appeal to the
prurient interest to be obscene and it also has to meet one other
requirement. It also has to lack serious literary, artistic, social,
political or scientific value. That's how something is classified as
"obscene."
Godwin states that one of the criteria for decency or absence of obscenity is that something must contain social political or scientific value. Is it possible that pornography is an outlet for people that prevents ideas that start out as fantasies or desires from becoming real? If so, then it's possible that the porn industry is doing us a bigger favor than we know. In an article written by Donna A. Demac, the history of censorship, obscenity, pornography and the rights of "the people" are conveyed with a decidedly liberal attitude. Demac's article gives an intelligent overview as to the actions of various political parties, groups and activists that have fought either for or against some of the issues regarding pornography, and his article can be effectively used to defend free speech.
The most opinionated and conservative of the authors included is Catherine MacKinnon, who touches on the thought that there is a great deal of similarity between pornography and black slavery. In her article "Pornography, Civil Rights and Speech" she states that "the harm of pornography does not lie in the fact that it is offensive but that, at least in developed societies, it is an industry that mass produces sexual intrusion, access to, possession and use of women by men for profit". MacKinnon approaches pornography not from a "moral" standpoint, but strictly from the "political" point of view that says pornography is a threat to the gender equality of our nation. I say she is wrong and that not only is pornography okay, but in many cases could contribute to the health of our society. I will quickly agree that pornography should be kept away from the eyes of our children, and that there is a proper time and place for it, but consider some of the acts that, providing that pornogrpahy was made illegal, would not only go under ground but might actually become real instead of acted out.
Coetzee goes to great lengths to bring to light indescrepancies and unclarified ideas throughout MacKinnon's article. One of Coetzee's most prominent points is that the differences between "obscenity" and "pornography" go far beyond a difference in term based on either political or moral argument. While at times Coetzee seems to generally disagree with or at least greatly challenge MacKinnon's ideas, there are times at which the two authors trains of thought almost seem to coincide. One such issue would be that MacKinnon is not necessarily looking to hunt out all occurrences of pornography in today's literature and media, but to snuff out the commercial end of it. The end that makes billions based on women being "used" by men, and does nothing at all to improve their social standing in our society. But why must everything be used to bolster the social position of women? It is this topic specifically that seems to have gone un-argued by Coetzee.
Coetzee's stand on this issue of pornography and obscenity as a part of today's culture is never quite addressed may very well remain a mystery to the reader. From many of the author's statements and criticism's of MacKinnon, one could gather that he takes a much more liberal stand and yet somehow successfully avoids pressing his opinions. He also does a wonderful job of highlighting some of the more minute intricacies related to MacKinnon's writing which may have otherwise gone unnoticed.
If you read Demac's article you may find that "Sex", throughout history has been more than merely a method of procreation. In Demac's article it is also stated that the editorial and news press at times found sexual content the only way to keep the political news interesting. Based on Demac's article, sex has always been sort of a "mystery" or something dark that nobody liked to talk about, and yet everybody was interested in. Maybe this is the reason that our society today has such a hard time talking to there children about sex and the prevention of such things as pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. I am often amazed that people have such a hard time talking about sex and sex related topics when it rates second in priority among human drives. Second only to the drive to eat.
Pornography is nothing new, in fact prostitution is sometimes called "the world's oldest profession". All that has changed is the degree in which it is used. People become numb to what once was erotic or dangerous and eventually want more. Demac's article illustrates this extremely well as he gives a general overview of the history of pornography. His view is very helpful in seeing how pornography has progressed and where it is now, relative to where it has been.
Unfortunately as all of our authors have, in their own way stated, sex is not the real issue at hand here. The issue is "Obscenity". Pornography in these writers eyes seems to be a mixture of sex which is completely natural and nearly every person enjoys at one time or another and obscenity which is the element that MacKinnon says "keeps sex interesting for men". It seems that if things (sex and pornography) were less extravagantly portrayed on the television, print and even the radio, that less would be needed to fulfill one's "appetite" for eroticism. If there actually were some "line" that were drawn, unable to be crossed, would that given amount of "danger" be enough? I doubt it. The thing that keeps men (the major supporters of the pornography industry) so interested in women according to MacKinnon is the idea of having the power over a woman. It's this power that breeds obscenity as men want more and more of this "power". Sometimes it's taken much to far, but where can you draw the line? When is too much too much?
Coetzee brings up a good point when he quotes Mackinnon:
"In visual media...it takes a real person doing each act to make what you see; pornography models are real women to whom something real is being done".
Coetzee challenges this argument by asking the reader about violence in movies. He asks, "Are knife thrusts and gunshots not just as real?" According to Coetzee, the acts of sex portrayed on a television screen are happening to real people, yet one of the greatest attributes of sex, and one of the things that make it sacred are the feelings involved between the two people. Therefore, if there are no feelings between the two actors, isn't it merely acting? The models are being paid and have most likely been made aware of what will happen and therefore given their consent. What about the possibility that the problem not only lies in the hands of the men who watch these acts on a video tape, but the women who make them. Without the availability of women who were willing to produce this kind of material the pornography industry would come to a screeching halt. What's there to watch without women? Maybe it all comes down to; "If you're not a part of the solution, you're part of the problem".
The lines between right and wrong are often much more gray than black and white, which is most likely where most people live. No one can say to another what is right and wrong, or what should or shouldn't be done, that decision has to be left to the individuals themselves. It's this issue of pornography having an effect on women who aren't even involved in the industry of making or even watching it. We as a nation and even a world stand to learn a lot from simply listening to ourselves. We like to stand up and say what is right, and yet acting on it rarely happens. In order for our society to come to any sort of peace on this issue of pornography, it needs to be accepted that people need to be allowed to make decisions for themselves without the intervention of some government medium, but only as long as those decisions don't effect or hinder the rights of others.
Pornography is an immense opportunity for an experiment in freedom of speech
and democracy. The largest scale experiment this world has ever seen. It's up to you and it's up to me and it's up to all of us to explore that opportunity, and it's up to all of us not to lose it. I'm not yet a parent myself, and I may not be for some time, but I worry about my future children and pornography all the time. Here's what I worry about. I worry that 10 or 15 or even 20 years from now she will come to me and say, "Daddy, where were you when they took freedom of the press and speech away from us?" and I want to be able to say I was there -- and I helped stop that from happening.
I believe that pornography is not only okay, but is allowing our country to take a step back and ask ourselves how far we are willing to go and what we are willing to sacrifice in order to preserve free speech and our rights to personal choice.
The argument over pornography is not merely the debate over right or wrong, but also involves the theory that its existence requires, or possibly even causes, an inequality between men and women.
I ask you, how could something like pornography cause an in-equality between men and women when women are the major contributors to the industry? Who is going to watch a porn without women in it? Therefore, at least at first glance, it would seem that since women are actively contributing to the business of pornography maybe they should be criticized at least equally if not more so than the men who watch it.
According to author J.M. Coetzee and his article "The Harms of Pornography", the real questions here are, "what is the difference between obscenity and pornography", and even more importantly, "where do we draw the line between the two"? Coetzee brings up a good point here. A point on which the entire debate over pornography hinges. What is the defenition of "obscenity"? An excerpt from a speech by Mike Godwin, Online Counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, gives a good definition of obscenity in his on-line article: "Fear of Freedom: The Backlash Against Free Speech on the 'Net'".
Everybody more or less knows something about what qualifies as obscene.
You know it has something to do with "community standards," right? And
with appealing to the "prurient interest." A work has to be a patently
offensive depiction of materials banned by state statute and appeal to the
prurient interest to be obscene and it also has to meet one other
requirement. It also has to lack serious literary, artistic, social,
political or scientific value. That's how something is classified as
"obscene."
Godwin states that one of the criteria for decency or absence of obscenity is that something must contain social political or scientific value. Is it possible that pornography is an outlet for people that prevents ideas that start out as fantasies or desires from becoming real? If so, then it's possible that the porn industry is doing us a bigger favor than we know. In an article written by Donna A. Demac, the history of censorship, obscenity, pornography and the rights of "the people" are conveyed with a decidedly liberal attitude. Demac's article gives an intelligent overview as to the actions of various political parties, groups and activists that have fought either for or against some of the issues regarding pornography, and his article can be effectively used to defend free speech.
The most opinionated and conservative of the authors included is Catherine MacKinnon, who touches on the thought that there is a great deal of similarity between pornography and black slavery. In her article "Pornography, Civil Rights and Speech" she states that "the harm of pornography does not lie in the fact that it is offensive but that, at least in developed societies, it is an industry that mass produces sexual intrusion, access to, possession and use of women by men for profit". MacKinnon approaches pornography not from a "moral" standpoint, but strictly from the "political" point of view that says pornography is a threat to the gender equality of our nation. I say she is wrong and that not only is pornography okay, but in many cases could contribute to the health of our society. I will quickly agree that pornography should be kept away from the eyes of our children, and that there is a proper time and place for it, but consider some of the acts that, providing that pornogrpahy was made illegal, would not only go under ground but might actually become real instead of acted out.
Coetzee goes to great lengths to bring to light indescrepancies and unclarified ideas throughout MacKinnon's article. One of Coetzee's most prominent points is that the differences between "obscenity" and "pornography" go far beyond a difference in term based on either political or moral argument. While at times Coetzee seems to generally disagree with or at least greatly challenge MacKinnon's ideas, there are times at which the two authors trains of thought almost seem to coincide. One such issue would be that MacKinnon is not necessarily looking to hunt out all occurrences of pornography in today's literature and media, but to snuff out the commercial end of it. The end that makes billions based on women being "used" by men, and does nothing at all to improve their social standing in our society. But why must everything be used to bolster the social position of women? It is this topic specifically that seems to have gone un-argued by Coetzee.
Coetzee's stand on this issue of pornography and obscenity as a part of today's culture is never quite addressed may very well remain a mystery to the reader. From many of the author's statements and criticism's of MacKinnon, one could gather that he takes a much more liberal stand and yet somehow successfully avoids pressing his opinions. He also does a wonderful job of highlighting some of the more minute intricacies related to MacKinnon's writing which may have otherwise gone unnoticed.
If you read Demac's article you may find that "Sex", throughout history has been more than merely a method of procreation. In Demac's article it is also stated that the editorial and news press at times found sexual content the only way to keep the political news interesting. Based on Demac's article, sex has always been sort of a "mystery" or something dark that nobody liked to talk about, and yet everybody was interested in. Maybe this is the reason that our society today has such a hard time talking to there children about sex and the prevention of such things as pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. I am often amazed that people have such a hard time talking about sex and sex related topics when it rates second in priority among human drives. Second only to the drive to eat.
Pornography is nothing new, in fact prostitution is sometimes called "the world's oldest profession". All that has changed is the degree in which it is used. People become numb to what once was erotic or dangerous and eventually want more. Demac's article illustrates this extremely well as he gives a general overview of the history of pornography. His view is very helpful in seeing how pornography has progressed and where it is now, relative to where it has been.
Unfortunately as all of our authors have, in their own way stated, sex is not the real issue at hand here. The issue is "Obscenity". Pornography in these writers eyes seems to be a mixture of sex which is completely natural and nearly every person enjoys at one time or another and obscenity which is the element that MacKinnon says "keeps sex interesting for men". It seems that if things (sex and pornography) were less extravagantly portrayed on the television, print and even the radio, that less would be needed to fulfill one's "appetite" for eroticism. If there actually were some "line" that were drawn, unable to be crossed, would that given amount of "danger" be enough? I doubt it. The thing that keeps men (the major supporters of the pornography industry) so interested in women according to MacKinnon is the idea of having the power over a woman. It's this power that breeds obscenity as men want more and more of this "power". Sometimes it's taken much to far, but where can you draw the line? When is too much too much?
Coetzee brings up a good point when he quotes Mackinnon:
"In visual media...it takes a real person doing each act to make what you see; pornography models are real women to whom something real is being done".
Coetzee challenges this argument by asking the reader about violence in movies. He asks, "Are knife thrusts and gunshots not just as real?" According to Coetzee, the acts of sex portrayed on a television screen are happening to real people, yet one of the greatest attributes of sex, and one of the things that make it sacred are the feelings involved between the two people. Therefore, if there are no feelings between the two actors, isn't it merely acting? The models are being paid and have most likely been made aware of what will happen and therefore given their consent. What about the possibility that the problem not only lies in the hands of the men who watch these acts on a video tape, but the women who make them. Without the availability of women who were willing to produce this kind of material the pornography industry would come to a screeching halt. What's there to watch without women? Maybe it all comes down to; "If you're not a part of the solution, you're part of the problem".
The lines between right and wrong are often much more gray than black and white, which is most likely where most people live. No one can say to another what is right and wrong, or what should or shouldn't be done, that decision has to be left to the individuals themselves. It's this issue of pornography having an effect on women who aren't even involved in the industry of making or even watching it. We as a nation and even a world stand to learn a lot from simply listening to ourselves. We like to stand up and say what is right, and yet acting on it rarely happens. In order for our society to come to any sort of peace on this issue of pornography, it needs to be accepted that people need to be allowed to make decisions for themselves without the intervention of some government medium, but only as long as those decisions don't effect or hinder the rights of others.
Pornography is an immense opportunity for an experiment in freedom of speech
and democracy. The largest scale experiment this world has ever seen. It's up to you and it's up to me and it's up to all of us to explore that opportunity, and it's up to all of us not to lose it. I'm not yet a parent myself, and I may not be for some time, but I worry about my future children and pornography all the time. Here's what I worry about. I worry that 10 or 15 or even 20 years from now she will come to me and say, "Daddy, where were you when they took freedom of the press and speech away from us?" and I want to be able to say I was there -- and I helped stop that from happening.
The Oedipus Complex
February 1, 1997
Michelle Bauknecht
RESEARCH METHODS TEST 1
Definition of the Oedipus Complex:
The positive libidinal feelings of a child to the parent of the opposite sex and hostile or jealous feelings toward the parent of the same sex that may be a source of adult personality disorder when unresolved. It is a pattern of profound emotional ambivalence, a troublesome mixture of love and hate.
The Oedipus Complex occurs during the phallic stage, from roughly ages 3-6 years. Freud believed that during this stage boys seek genital stimulation and develop both unconscious desires for their mother and jealousy and hatred for their father, whom they consider a rival. It was said that boys felt guilt and lurking fear that their father would punish them, such as by castration. Freud also believed that conscience and gender identity form as the child resolved the Oedipus Complex at age 5 or 6, but this actually happens earlier. A child tends to become strongly masculine or feminine without even having the same sex parent present.
Freud argues that all sons unconsciously desire to kill, even if they love, their fathers. He found his own unconscious wish to murder his father in his intensive self analysis in 1897, shortly after the death of his father.
Freud says it is only the male child that we find the fateful combination of love for the one parent and simultaneous hatred for the other as a rival. Freud believed Oedipal was a normal part of human psychological growth and it is during this stage children produce emotional conflicts.
Other psychoanalysts believed that girls experience a parallel called the "Electra Complex". This comes from a Greek legend of a women named Electra who helped plan the murder of her mother.
The Oedipus Complex originates from a myth about a Greek hero named Oedipus, written by Sophocles. Oedipus was the son of Laius and Jocasta who in the fulfillment of an oracle unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother. When Oedipus and Jocasta realize what has happened, Jocasta hangs herself and he rips the golden brooches from his dead mothers gown and plunges them deep into his eyes. Now blinded, he finally sees the truth and banishes himself to a distant land. The fact that Oedipus kills his father and sleeps with his mother without knowing that he has done either shows that it was done---unconsciously.
THEORY:
If a subject in the experimental group shows more aggressive behavior toward his father and increased affectionate behavior toward their mother after receiving the subliminal messages and the control group shows no increase when shown neutral messages, then it will be proven that the Oedipus Complex does in fact exist in the unconscious. To prove this we bring the behavior out from the unconscious to the sub conscious through the subliminal messages. These boys have repressed these feelings for so long because it is too painful for them to deal with.
HYPOTHESIS:
Ho: Boys in the experimental group will not increase their aggression to their fathers or more affection for their mothers after receiving subliminal messages. (no change)
Hi: Boys in the experimental group receiving subliminal messages will show more aggression toward their father and demonstrate more affection for their mother's. The control group will not demonstrate a changed behavior (Change in behavior)
OPERATIONAL HYPOTHESIS:
Independent Variable: Experimental group receiving subliminal messages, either aggressive, affectionate or neutral.
Dependent Variable: The change in behavior observed from before the subliminal messages to after.
METHOD:
I evaluated 10 heterosexual boys from the Winnipeg area, all who were between the ages of 15 and 18 and still living at home with both parents. As the head psychologist in the experiment I entered into an agreement w/ the participants that clarified the nature of the research and the responsibilities for both them and myself. The participants were informed that they could withdraw from the experiment at anytime. Questions about the study were asked (participants were told the experiment was a visual test of some sort), therefore deception was being used. After obtaining informed consent to participate (those under age had a consent signed by their guardian) we randomly broke the boys and their families into two groups. One became the control group and the other the experimental group. I then proceeded to observe the families interaction with each other, particularily between the son and his mother and the son and his father. Observations were made through hidden cameras in the house (field research) for the first week (Monday to Friday). This was to provide a baseline measure. I was looking specifically for any type of rivalry between the sons and fathers and affection towards the mothers. Observations were made on behaviors demonstrated and recorded into categories. These categories are :
Positive affection toward the mother
Negative behavior toward the father
Positive = hugs, compliments, gazing & I love you's
Negative = swearing, hitting, rolling of eyes & glaring
On the Saturday and Sunday the boys were brought into the laboratory (laboratory research in order to control the confines) where they were shown either aggressive & affectionate or neutral messages. Examples of these messages are listed below:
Aggressive & Affectionate Neutral
Beating dad is fun Trees have leaves
Destroy father Mars is a planet
I love mom The grass is green
I am going to have mom Clouds in the sky
Mom is sexy People are human
The boys were shown a series of these messages using a tachistoscope which flashes the visual stimuli on a screen to measure unconscious perception. Note: The control group only received neutral messages. In week two (Monday to Friday) the subjects were again observed through the same methods and the data were recorded.
Data were reviewed for patterns in increased aggressive behavior towards the father & increased affection for the mother after receiving the aggressive & affectionate stimuli Data from the control group were also reviewed for any correlations.
DATA:
RESULTS:
Reject the Ho because these calculations indicate a change in behavior after receiving aggressive & affectionate messages and no change after the neutral messages.
DISCUSSION:
The Oedipus Complex appears to be a common feeling among young boys. Studies have indicated boys between the ages of 3-6 have strong feelings of desire to their mothers and hostile feelings of jealousy to their fathers. These studies have found that the boys repress these memories because they are so painful. It looks like subliminal messages cause the Oedipal Complex to come out from the unconscious by bringing it to the sub-conscious where the boys know what they are feeling but can't understand why they are having these feelings. Because we could not control all the variables we could not make a positive identity that the subliminal messages actually cause the Oedipal Complex. All though we can now assume, that from these findings boys do repress their feelings in the unconscious until they are somehow brought into the sub-conscious.
Means and standard deviations were used (which are the descriptive statistics most frequently encountered in psychological research) to describe my set of scores adequately. These calculations indicate the control group to have no significant difference from week one to week two and the experimental group a significant difference between week one and week two.
There was of course some flaws with the experiment. Having such a small sample could have lead to misleading results or a biased sample (a sample that doesn't reflect the population as a whole). A simple random sample was not used and therefore each member of the population did not have an equal chance of being selected as a member of the sample. The hidden cameras were completely unethical, the families were unaware that any taping was occurring. I may have also missed interactions that were not caught on tape and therefore not recording accurate data, this could lead to distorted data sets and calculations.
It was felt that deception had to be used, because it was believed we could not do the procedure and get accurate results without the use of it. All participants were debriefed at the conclusion of the experiment. I revealed the true purpose of the experiment and reduced any stress or other feelings that the participants expressed as experiencing. At the completion of the study I provided all the participants information about the experiment and results of the research. Any misconceptions they may have had were lifted and they were reassured that no harm was done or risks taken. Complete confidentiality was maintained throughout the experiment.
By being able to reject the Ho, there by supporting the Hi hypothesis (that is ever so close to my heart) I have proven that the Oedipus Complex exists too some degree in males. So basically (and hypothetically) I have performed this entire study, went through all the proper analyses, and the difference came out to be significant at the .05 level. So now I consider my life to have immense meaning and I am sure I will impress all my friends at parties with my statistics and new found knowledge on the Oedipus Complex. I am absolutely positive that I have also impressed you with all the work I have put into this cooked experiment. :)
GLOSSARY OF TERMS:
Laboratory Research: research that occurs within the controlled confines of a scientific laboratory.
Field Research: research settings more closely match the situation we encounter in daily living & results of these studies might generalize more easily than lab studies.
Basic Research: most research is about psychological concerns, describing and predicting and explaining fundamental principles of behavior.
Applied Research: has direct and immediate relevance to the solution of a real world problem.
Mundane Realism: refers to how closely the experiment mirrors real life experiences.
Experimental Realism: concerns the extent to which an experiment has an impact on the subjects, forces them to take the matter seriously and involves them in the procedures.
Operational Definitions: science must be objective and precise, that all concepts should be defined in terms of a set of operations to be performed.
Converging Operations: psychology uses this --->the idea that our understanding of some behavioral phenomena is increased when a series of investigations, all using slightly different operational definitions & experimental procedures is performed.
Serendipity: used to refer to the kind of accidental observation that lead to creative ideas for research.
Theory: a set of statements about some behavioral phenomena.
Construct: a hypothetical factor that can not be observed directly but is inferred from certain behaviors and assumed to follow from certain circumstances. e.g.] expectation--> why a behavior occurred? because of ABC
Deduction: reasoning from a set of general statements toward the prediction of some event.
Hypothesis: an educated guess about what should happen under certain circumstances.
Induction: the logical process of reasoning from the specific (individual exp. outcome) to the general, used when the results of specific research studies are used to support or refute a theory.
Falsification: emphasizes putting theories to the test by trying too disprove or falsify them.
Parsimony: includes the minimum number of constructs & assumptions in order to adequately explain & predict.
Programs of research: a series of interrelated studies.
Replication: study that duplicates some or all of the procedures of some prior study.
Extension: this resembles a prior study and usually replicates part of it, but goes further and adds at least one additional feature.
Partial Replication: part of the study which replicates some earlier work.
Valid: if a behavioral measure, measures what is has been designed to measure.
Face Validity: granted when a measure appears on the surface to be a reasonable measure of some trait.
Predictive Validity: concerns whether the measure can accurately forecast some future event.
Construct Validity: 2 issues: whether the construct being measured by a particular tool is a valid construct and whether the particular tool is the best one measuring the construct.
Population: a group.
Sample: any sub-group of the population.
Biased Sample: a sample that doesn't reflect the population as a whole.
Simple random sample: a probability sample--> each member of the population has equal chance of being selected as a member of the sample.
Descriptive Statistics: summarize the data collected from the sample of subjects participating in your study.
Inferential Statistics: allow you to draw conclusions about your data that can be applied to broaden the population.
Frequency Distribution: way to organize a set of scores by creating a picture of them (graph).
Null Hypothesis: there is no difference in performance between the different conditions that you are studying.
Alternative Hypothesis: Ho= research hypothesis, the outcome you are hoping to find. (therefore in my study I am hoping to disprove or reject the Ho, thereby supporting the Hi, the hypothesis close to my heart)
Type I Error: rejecting the null when null is in fact true.
Type II Error: fail to reject null, but you are wrong. You didn't find a significant effect in your study, naturally feel depressed about it, but are in error.
Oedipal: resulting from or relating to the Oedipus Complex.
Michelle Bauknecht
RESEARCH METHODS TEST 1
Definition of the Oedipus Complex:
The positive libidinal feelings of a child to the parent of the opposite sex and hostile or jealous feelings toward the parent of the same sex that may be a source of adult personality disorder when unresolved. It is a pattern of profound emotional ambivalence, a troublesome mixture of love and hate.
The Oedipus Complex occurs during the phallic stage, from roughly ages 3-6 years. Freud believed that during this stage boys seek genital stimulation and develop both unconscious desires for their mother and jealousy and hatred for their father, whom they consider a rival. It was said that boys felt guilt and lurking fear that their father would punish them, such as by castration. Freud also believed that conscience and gender identity form as the child resolved the Oedipus Complex at age 5 or 6, but this actually happens earlier. A child tends to become strongly masculine or feminine without even having the same sex parent present.
Freud argues that all sons unconsciously desire to kill, even if they love, their fathers. He found his own unconscious wish to murder his father in his intensive self analysis in 1897, shortly after the death of his father.
Freud says it is only the male child that we find the fateful combination of love for the one parent and simultaneous hatred for the other as a rival. Freud believed Oedipal was a normal part of human psychological growth and it is during this stage children produce emotional conflicts.
Other psychoanalysts believed that girls experience a parallel called the "Electra Complex". This comes from a Greek legend of a women named Electra who helped plan the murder of her mother.
The Oedipus Complex originates from a myth about a Greek hero named Oedipus, written by Sophocles. Oedipus was the son of Laius and Jocasta who in the fulfillment of an oracle unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother. When Oedipus and Jocasta realize what has happened, Jocasta hangs herself and he rips the golden brooches from his dead mothers gown and plunges them deep into his eyes. Now blinded, he finally sees the truth and banishes himself to a distant land. The fact that Oedipus kills his father and sleeps with his mother without knowing that he has done either shows that it was done---unconsciously.
THEORY:
If a subject in the experimental group shows more aggressive behavior toward his father and increased affectionate behavior toward their mother after receiving the subliminal messages and the control group shows no increase when shown neutral messages, then it will be proven that the Oedipus Complex does in fact exist in the unconscious. To prove this we bring the behavior out from the unconscious to the sub conscious through the subliminal messages. These boys have repressed these feelings for so long because it is too painful for them to deal with.
HYPOTHESIS:
Ho: Boys in the experimental group will not increase their aggression to their fathers or more affection for their mothers after receiving subliminal messages. (no change)
Hi: Boys in the experimental group receiving subliminal messages will show more aggression toward their father and demonstrate more affection for their mother's. The control group will not demonstrate a changed behavior (Change in behavior)
OPERATIONAL HYPOTHESIS:
Independent Variable: Experimental group receiving subliminal messages, either aggressive, affectionate or neutral.
Dependent Variable: The change in behavior observed from before the subliminal messages to after.
METHOD:
I evaluated 10 heterosexual boys from the Winnipeg area, all who were between the ages of 15 and 18 and still living at home with both parents. As the head psychologist in the experiment I entered into an agreement w/ the participants that clarified the nature of the research and the responsibilities for both them and myself. The participants were informed that they could withdraw from the experiment at anytime. Questions about the study were asked (participants were told the experiment was a visual test of some sort), therefore deception was being used. After obtaining informed consent to participate (those under age had a consent signed by their guardian) we randomly broke the boys and their families into two groups. One became the control group and the other the experimental group. I then proceeded to observe the families interaction with each other, particularily between the son and his mother and the son and his father. Observations were made through hidden cameras in the house (field research) for the first week (Monday to Friday). This was to provide a baseline measure. I was looking specifically for any type of rivalry between the sons and fathers and affection towards the mothers. Observations were made on behaviors demonstrated and recorded into categories. These categories are :
Positive affection toward the mother
Negative behavior toward the father
Positive = hugs, compliments, gazing & I love you's
Negative = swearing, hitting, rolling of eyes & glaring
On the Saturday and Sunday the boys were brought into the laboratory (laboratory research in order to control the confines) where they were shown either aggressive & affectionate or neutral messages. Examples of these messages are listed below:
Aggressive & Affectionate Neutral
Beating dad is fun Trees have leaves
Destroy father Mars is a planet
I love mom The grass is green
I am going to have mom Clouds in the sky
Mom is sexy People are human
The boys were shown a series of these messages using a tachistoscope which flashes the visual stimuli on a screen to measure unconscious perception. Note: The control group only received neutral messages. In week two (Monday to Friday) the subjects were again observed through the same methods and the data were recorded.
Data were reviewed for patterns in increased aggressive behavior towards the father & increased affection for the mother after receiving the aggressive & affectionate stimuli Data from the control group were also reviewed for any correlations.
DATA:
RESULTS:
Reject the Ho because these calculations indicate a change in behavior after receiving aggressive & affectionate messages and no change after the neutral messages.
DISCUSSION:
The Oedipus Complex appears to be a common feeling among young boys. Studies have indicated boys between the ages of 3-6 have strong feelings of desire to their mothers and hostile feelings of jealousy to their fathers. These studies have found that the boys repress these memories because they are so painful. It looks like subliminal messages cause the Oedipal Complex to come out from the unconscious by bringing it to the sub-conscious where the boys know what they are feeling but can't understand why they are having these feelings. Because we could not control all the variables we could not make a positive identity that the subliminal messages actually cause the Oedipal Complex. All though we can now assume, that from these findings boys do repress their feelings in the unconscious until they are somehow brought into the sub-conscious.
Means and standard deviations were used (which are the descriptive statistics most frequently encountered in psychological research) to describe my set of scores adequately. These calculations indicate the control group to have no significant difference from week one to week two and the experimental group a significant difference between week one and week two.
There was of course some flaws with the experiment. Having such a small sample could have lead to misleading results or a biased sample (a sample that doesn't reflect the population as a whole). A simple random sample was not used and therefore each member of the population did not have an equal chance of being selected as a member of the sample. The hidden cameras were completely unethical, the families were unaware that any taping was occurring. I may have also missed interactions that were not caught on tape and therefore not recording accurate data, this could lead to distorted data sets and calculations.
It was felt that deception had to be used, because it was believed we could not do the procedure and get accurate results without the use of it. All participants were debriefed at the conclusion of the experiment. I revealed the true purpose of the experiment and reduced any stress or other feelings that the participants expressed as experiencing. At the completion of the study I provided all the participants information about the experiment and results of the research. Any misconceptions they may have had were lifted and they were reassured that no harm was done or risks taken. Complete confidentiality was maintained throughout the experiment.
By being able to reject the Ho, there by supporting the Hi hypothesis (that is ever so close to my heart) I have proven that the Oedipus Complex exists too some degree in males. So basically (and hypothetically) I have performed this entire study, went through all the proper analyses, and the difference came out to be significant at the .05 level. So now I consider my life to have immense meaning and I am sure I will impress all my friends at parties with my statistics and new found knowledge on the Oedipus Complex. I am absolutely positive that I have also impressed you with all the work I have put into this cooked experiment. :)
GLOSSARY OF TERMS:
Laboratory Research: research that occurs within the controlled confines of a scientific laboratory.
Field Research: research settings more closely match the situation we encounter in daily living & results of these studies might generalize more easily than lab studies.
Basic Research: most research is about psychological concerns, describing and predicting and explaining fundamental principles of behavior.
Applied Research: has direct and immediate relevance to the solution of a real world problem.
Mundane Realism: refers to how closely the experiment mirrors real life experiences.
Experimental Realism: concerns the extent to which an experiment has an impact on the subjects, forces them to take the matter seriously and involves them in the procedures.
Operational Definitions: science must be objective and precise, that all concepts should be defined in terms of a set of operations to be performed.
Converging Operations: psychology uses this --->the idea that our understanding of some behavioral phenomena is increased when a series of investigations, all using slightly different operational definitions & experimental procedures is performed.
Serendipity: used to refer to the kind of accidental observation that lead to creative ideas for research.
Theory: a set of statements about some behavioral phenomena.
Construct: a hypothetical factor that can not be observed directly but is inferred from certain behaviors and assumed to follow from certain circumstances. e.g.] expectation--> why a behavior occurred? because of ABC
Deduction: reasoning from a set of general statements toward the prediction of some event.
Hypothesis: an educated guess about what should happen under certain circumstances.
Induction: the logical process of reasoning from the specific (individual exp. outcome) to the general, used when the results of specific research studies are used to support or refute a theory.
Falsification: emphasizes putting theories to the test by trying too disprove or falsify them.
Parsimony: includes the minimum number of constructs & assumptions in order to adequately explain & predict.
Programs of research: a series of interrelated studies.
Replication: study that duplicates some or all of the procedures of some prior study.
Extension: this resembles a prior study and usually replicates part of it, but goes further and adds at least one additional feature.
Partial Replication: part of the study which replicates some earlier work.
Valid: if a behavioral measure, measures what is has been designed to measure.
Face Validity: granted when a measure appears on the surface to be a reasonable measure of some trait.
Predictive Validity: concerns whether the measure can accurately forecast some future event.
Construct Validity: 2 issues: whether the construct being measured by a particular tool is a valid construct and whether the particular tool is the best one measuring the construct.
Population: a group.
Sample: any sub-group of the population.
Biased Sample: a sample that doesn't reflect the population as a whole.
Simple random sample: a probability sample--> each member of the population has equal chance of being selected as a member of the sample.
Descriptive Statistics: summarize the data collected from the sample of subjects participating in your study.
Inferential Statistics: allow you to draw conclusions about your data that can be applied to broaden the population.
Frequency Distribution: way to organize a set of scores by creating a picture of them (graph).
Null Hypothesis: there is no difference in performance between the different conditions that you are studying.
Alternative Hypothesis: Ho= research hypothesis, the outcome you are hoping to find. (therefore in my study I am hoping to disprove or reject the Ho, thereby supporting the Hi, the hypothesis close to my heart)
Type I Error: rejecting the null when null is in fact true.
Type II Error: fail to reject null, but you are wrong. You didn't find a significant effect in your study, naturally feel depressed about it, but are in error.
Oedipal: resulting from or relating to the Oedipus Complex.
Swingers
Tanya Holt For: Details
Swinger's not just on playgrounds anymore
By: Tanya Holt
Dave's marriage had hit the rocks. His wife had lost interest in sex, and Dave did not know how to deal with it. He did not know whether she was bored with him or simply bored with sex. In his search for an answer Dave and his wife attended a swinger's party. This would eventually end Dave's marriage, but it would also lead him to greener pastures.
"She did not want to share the lifestyle with me, and sharing is an important part of swinging. Swingers swing to enhance the relationship with their mate, not to destroy it," Dave said.
Dave met his second wife more than 15 years ago at a swinger's party.
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The couple has now turned their lifestyle into their business. For the past nine years Dave and his wife Dawn have run their own swing club in the Chicago suburbs.
"We own Couples Choice, and though it's listed as a swing club it's a lot more social than people imagine," Dave said.
This socialness includes dances, special theme parties, dinners and vacations. The couples who attend are also interested in learning about relationships, meeting new friends and for exposure to something new. One of the most common misconceptions is that people come just to have sex. However, this is an option at Dave and Dawn's club.
Their club is known as an 'on-site' club. This means that Dave and Dawn provide bedrooms for their members' enjoyment.
"Ours is an on-premise club. We have bedrooms where sex does take place, but only if it is consensual. We do not force our activities on anyone," Dave said.
Dave adds that having sex is something most people associate with a swing club, but often this is not true.
Bob McGinley, whose self-given title is the grandfather of swing, believes
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more
many people have misconceptions about swinging. He says swinging cannot be
categorized as mate swapping or as group sex. In fact McGinley believes swinging cannot be put into a category at all.
"Putting a label on the activity is wrong. People call us swingers because we have sex with someone other than our mate, but you don't call someone a tenniser because they enjoy hitting a ball over a net. Someone involved in swinging is also involved in many other things . . . it's really unfair to label that person a swinger," McGinley said.
McGinley has been involved in the swinging lifestyle since 1969. He has since founded Lifestyles Organization in Anaheim, Calif. His organization holds a swing convention every year and this year he expects more than 3,000 to attend. This weekend convention offers people a chance to educate themselves, socialize and make new friends. This is what McGinley thinks draws so many to the convention. He does not believe most come simply for the sex, and that most people who attend are not what generally comes to mind as 'swingers.'
He believes Americans are uncomfortable thinking about sex, and out of this uncomfortableness the misrepresentations of swinging adults are born.
"Swingers are not just beautiful, horny and young. Because someone is
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more
older does not mean, they lose their sexual desire. People's most common
misconception about sex and swinging is that it's for the young and that is simply not true," McGinley said.
McGinley, who has his doctorate in psychology, conducted a 1979 study on senior citizens and their sex lives. His study concentrated on the seniors who travel America in their recreational vehicles. His study found that swinging among RV people is as common as their mud flaps displaying their names.
"Older people do not lose their sexual desire just because they are older. In fact, many senior citizens become are more comfortable with their sexuality than many young people. They tend to lose their inhibitions with age," McGinley said.
When Bob and Linda met 17 years ago they had both just been burned. Linda had recently gotten out of an 'open-marriage,' and Bob had just divorced his first wife. Both wanted to change lifestyles before embarking on another relationship and swinging helped the couple do this.
"On our first date Tom and I went to a swinger club. Neither one of us did anything that night, but we continued to go to the club. Eventually we did get involved in swinging, and now we have been in the lifestyle for 17 years," Linda said.
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The couple who are now in their late 50's have their own swing club,
Perfect Pairs, in Orlando Fla. Their club is an off-site club. No sex occurs at the actual club, but what people do once they leave the club is up to them. The club has been going strong for nine years, and their marriage has been just as strong for the past 17. They believe the strength in their marriage comes from their swinging activities.
"There is very little divorce in this lifestyle. Most people involved in it are on their second marriage, but the end of their first marriage was in no way caused by swinging. Most people choose the swinging lifestyle on their second marriage as an alternative to what might have gone wrong with the first," Linda said.
To have a successful relationship was Alan's goal when he first began attending swing parties 20 years ago. He was going through a tough divorce, and he decided to try something new. This something new just happened to be swinging, and after 20 years Alan couldn't be happier with his choice.
"I've been married to my second wife for nine years now, and if I hadn't been involved in swinging I would have never met her. The two of us understand that we are not looking for anything better than our marriage, we're simply looking for a way to enhance it," Alan said.
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Alan, who is an owner of The Tennessee Social Club, believes that anyone
who swings must have a very stable relationship. The people involved in swinging are not interested in finding a constant sexual companion other than their mate.
Alan's swing club is quite different from the others. During the week The Tennessee Social Club, in Nashville, is a strip club open to anyone. On the weekends however, it becomes a private club for swingers only, but no sex occurs on-premise. Many couples come just to enhance their own sex life, not to have sex with others.
He says they are looking for a "toy," someone that can add variety and excitement to their ongoing relationship. Many couples who come to his club are never involved in any swinging activities. They come simply to go home that night and have incredible sex.
McGinley agrees with Alan, and adds that a swinging marriage is a step- above a straight marriage.
"These people have been open enough to talk to each other about their sexual desires. They're not hiding anything from each other, and they're open enough to tell their partner of their desires for other people," McGinley said.
While swingers are open enough to talk about their activities with other couples,
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they are rarely open enough to talk about their activities with the media.
Most people who swing believe the media exploits their activities and paints a picture of them that is an abstract one.
"What people see and hear about swinging on television and in magazines is far from the truth. Television is interested in selling, not in entertaining or educating," McGinley said.
McGinley's annual Lifestyles Organization convention was the subject of HBO's Real Sex 16. He feels it was a good representation for that type of show, but was not a true representation of the swinging lifestyle.
"Real Sex was about what we expected it would be for what it is. They paid many people who appeared on it for their services, and this is not something that occurs in swinging," McGinley said.
He says that many who appeared on the HBO special were porn stars, and not the typical swinger. The typical swinger in McGinley's eyes is the married couple next door who keep their sex life to themselves.
This is how Bill and Linda describe themselves and the members of their group. Media coverage has also left a bad taste in this couple's mouth.
"Swingers have been exploited so often by the media that generally they
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shut down and don't want to talk to anyone about their lifestyle," Bill said.
In the past two years Bill and Linda have had offers to appear on the Sally show, Geraldo and other talk shows, but they have refused all invitations.
"We're not crazy, why would we want to get up there and let the audience throw tomatoes at us without giving us a chance to talk about our lifestyle? These shows are simply there to exploit the issues, not to understand them," Bill said.
Bill believes the main problem is that many times people think that those who lead alternative lifestyles want their story told. This is not so however, and was not so when Linda and Bill had their first experience with the media.
"When we were having our first convention, we were not going to tell anyone, including our best friends. The couple we were having the convention with did tell people and the story eventually made it to an area newspaper. Here we are just a group of people who want to be left alone, but because we don't live just like everyone else they do not grant us this courtesy," Linda said.
This is not the only run-in with the media the couple has had. They have also experienced the modern technology of hidden cameras. A news director at TV 6 in Orlando came to one of the couple's Saturday night parties and filmed everything without their knowledge. When the couple learned of TV 6's plans to
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more
air the party on their Monday newscast, they quickly spoke to their attorney and
had the showing blocked.
"Our clients' faces were going to be on television. People would have seen their dentists, teachers and anyone else who was involved in our club. Here we were just minding our own business doing our own thing and look what happened," Linda said.
McGinley says the media portrays swinging as something dirty, something wrong, and this isn't the case. It's just a lifestyle choice no different from other lifestyle choices. In fact Linda and Bill's club is based on the Golden Rule.
"Our main philosophy in this lifestyle is 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto yourself," McGinley says.
Nevertheless, perhaps Linda puts it better when she explains her philosophy.
"Leave my husband just like I will leave yours: with a smile on his face," she said.
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--30--
Sources:
Bill and Linda Perfect Pairs (407) 678-2540
Bob McGinley Lifestyles Organization (714) 229-4870
Alan The Tennessee Social Club (615) 244-2438
Dave Couple's Choice (708) 333-4860
Swinger's not just on playgrounds anymore
By: Tanya Holt
Dave's marriage had hit the rocks. His wife had lost interest in sex, and Dave did not know how to deal with it. He did not know whether she was bored with him or simply bored with sex. In his search for an answer Dave and his wife attended a swinger's party. This would eventually end Dave's marriage, but it would also lead him to greener pastures.
"She did not want to share the lifestyle with me, and sharing is an important part of swinging. Swingers swing to enhance the relationship with their mate, not to destroy it," Dave said.
Dave met his second wife more than 15 years ago at a swinger's party.
1
more
The couple has now turned their lifestyle into their business. For the past nine years Dave and his wife Dawn have run their own swing club in the Chicago suburbs.
"We own Couples Choice, and though it's listed as a swing club it's a lot more social than people imagine," Dave said.
This socialness includes dances, special theme parties, dinners and vacations. The couples who attend are also interested in learning about relationships, meeting new friends and for exposure to something new. One of the most common misconceptions is that people come just to have sex. However, this is an option at Dave and Dawn's club.
Their club is known as an 'on-site' club. This means that Dave and Dawn provide bedrooms for their members' enjoyment.
"Ours is an on-premise club. We have bedrooms where sex does take place, but only if it is consensual. We do not force our activities on anyone," Dave said.
Dave adds that having sex is something most people associate with a swing club, but often this is not true.
Bob McGinley, whose self-given title is the grandfather of swing, believes
2
more
many people have misconceptions about swinging. He says swinging cannot be
categorized as mate swapping or as group sex. In fact McGinley believes swinging cannot be put into a category at all.
"Putting a label on the activity is wrong. People call us swingers because we have sex with someone other than our mate, but you don't call someone a tenniser because they enjoy hitting a ball over a net. Someone involved in swinging is also involved in many other things . . . it's really unfair to label that person a swinger," McGinley said.
McGinley has been involved in the swinging lifestyle since 1969. He has since founded Lifestyles Organization in Anaheim, Calif. His organization holds a swing convention every year and this year he expects more than 3,000 to attend. This weekend convention offers people a chance to educate themselves, socialize and make new friends. This is what McGinley thinks draws so many to the convention. He does not believe most come simply for the sex, and that most people who attend are not what generally comes to mind as 'swingers.'
He believes Americans are uncomfortable thinking about sex, and out of this uncomfortableness the misrepresentations of swinging adults are born.
"Swingers are not just beautiful, horny and young. Because someone is
3
more
older does not mean, they lose their sexual desire. People's most common
misconception about sex and swinging is that it's for the young and that is simply not true," McGinley said.
McGinley, who has his doctorate in psychology, conducted a 1979 study on senior citizens and their sex lives. His study concentrated on the seniors who travel America in their recreational vehicles. His study found that swinging among RV people is as common as their mud flaps displaying their names.
"Older people do not lose their sexual desire just because they are older. In fact, many senior citizens become are more comfortable with their sexuality than many young people. They tend to lose their inhibitions with age," McGinley said.
When Bob and Linda met 17 years ago they had both just been burned. Linda had recently gotten out of an 'open-marriage,' and Bob had just divorced his first wife. Both wanted to change lifestyles before embarking on another relationship and swinging helped the couple do this.
"On our first date Tom and I went to a swinger club. Neither one of us did anything that night, but we continued to go to the club. Eventually we did get involved in swinging, and now we have been in the lifestyle for 17 years," Linda said.
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more
The couple who are now in their late 50's have their own swing club,
Perfect Pairs, in Orlando Fla. Their club is an off-site club. No sex occurs at the actual club, but what people do once they leave the club is up to them. The club has been going strong for nine years, and their marriage has been just as strong for the past 17. They believe the strength in their marriage comes from their swinging activities.
"There is very little divorce in this lifestyle. Most people involved in it are on their second marriage, but the end of their first marriage was in no way caused by swinging. Most people choose the swinging lifestyle on their second marriage as an alternative to what might have gone wrong with the first," Linda said.
To have a successful relationship was Alan's goal when he first began attending swing parties 20 years ago. He was going through a tough divorce, and he decided to try something new. This something new just happened to be swinging, and after 20 years Alan couldn't be happier with his choice.
"I've been married to my second wife for nine years now, and if I hadn't been involved in swinging I would have never met her. The two of us understand that we are not looking for anything better than our marriage, we're simply looking for a way to enhance it," Alan said.
5
more
Alan, who is an owner of The Tennessee Social Club, believes that anyone
who swings must have a very stable relationship. The people involved in swinging are not interested in finding a constant sexual companion other than their mate.
Alan's swing club is quite different from the others. During the week The Tennessee Social Club, in Nashville, is a strip club open to anyone. On the weekends however, it becomes a private club for swingers only, but no sex occurs on-premise. Many couples come just to enhance their own sex life, not to have sex with others.
He says they are looking for a "toy," someone that can add variety and excitement to their ongoing relationship. Many couples who come to his club are never involved in any swinging activities. They come simply to go home that night and have incredible sex.
McGinley agrees with Alan, and adds that a swinging marriage is a step- above a straight marriage.
"These people have been open enough to talk to each other about their sexual desires. They're not hiding anything from each other, and they're open enough to tell their partner of their desires for other people," McGinley said.
While swingers are open enough to talk about their activities with other couples,
6
more
they are rarely open enough to talk about their activities with the media.
Most people who swing believe the media exploits their activities and paints a picture of them that is an abstract one.
"What people see and hear about swinging on television and in magazines is far from the truth. Television is interested in selling, not in entertaining or educating," McGinley said.
McGinley's annual Lifestyles Organization convention was the subject of HBO's Real Sex 16. He feels it was a good representation for that type of show, but was not a true representation of the swinging lifestyle.
"Real Sex was about what we expected it would be for what it is. They paid many people who appeared on it for their services, and this is not something that occurs in swinging," McGinley said.
He says that many who appeared on the HBO special were porn stars, and not the typical swinger. The typical swinger in McGinley's eyes is the married couple next door who keep their sex life to themselves.
This is how Bill and Linda describe themselves and the members of their group. Media coverage has also left a bad taste in this couple's mouth.
"Swingers have been exploited so often by the media that generally they
7
more
shut down and don't want to talk to anyone about their lifestyle," Bill said.
In the past two years Bill and Linda have had offers to appear on the Sally show, Geraldo and other talk shows, but they have refused all invitations.
"We're not crazy, why would we want to get up there and let the audience throw tomatoes at us without giving us a chance to talk about our lifestyle? These shows are simply there to exploit the issues, not to understand them," Bill said.
Bill believes the main problem is that many times people think that those who lead alternative lifestyles want their story told. This is not so however, and was not so when Linda and Bill had their first experience with the media.
"When we were having our first convention, we were not going to tell anyone, including our best friends. The couple we were having the convention with did tell people and the story eventually made it to an area newspaper. Here we are just a group of people who want to be left alone, but because we don't live just like everyone else they do not grant us this courtesy," Linda said.
This is not the only run-in with the media the couple has had. They have also experienced the modern technology of hidden cameras. A news director at TV 6 in Orlando came to one of the couple's Saturday night parties and filmed everything without their knowledge. When the couple learned of TV 6's plans to
8
more
air the party on their Monday newscast, they quickly spoke to their attorney and
had the showing blocked.
"Our clients' faces were going to be on television. People would have seen their dentists, teachers and anyone else who was involved in our club. Here we were just minding our own business doing our own thing and look what happened," Linda said.
McGinley says the media portrays swinging as something dirty, something wrong, and this isn't the case. It's just a lifestyle choice no different from other lifestyle choices. In fact Linda and Bill's club is based on the Golden Rule.
"Our main philosophy in this lifestyle is 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto yourself," McGinley says.
Nevertheless, perhaps Linda puts it better when she explains her philosophy.
"Leave my husband just like I will leave yours: with a smile on his face," she said.
9
--30--
Sources:
Bill and Linda Perfect Pairs (407) 678-2540
Bob McGinley Lifestyles Organization (714) 229-4870
Alan The Tennessee Social Club (615) 244-2438
Dave Couple's Choice (708) 333-4860
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD)
There are now more than twenty disorders recognized as being transmitted primarily by sexual means. The more familiar STD's are AIDS, gonorhea, syphilis, chlamydia-related infections, genital herpes, candidiasis, nonspecific vaginitis, trichomoniasis, pediculosis, scabies, and urinary tract infections.
GONORRHEA
One of the most frequently encountered communicable diseases in the U.S.
It is caused by the bacterium Neisseria Gonorrihoeae, which is common all over the world
today and can only thrive in human beings. There is no way to acquire immunity to this disease. Anyone who is sexually active is susceptible to gonorrhea.
This disease is transmitted by the way of direct contact with the secretions of mucos membranes such as those of the urethra, cervix, vagina, anus, eyes and throat.
The contact involved in transmitting gonorrhea is almost always sexual in nature. It is possible that contaminated fingers can transfer infection from one region of the body to another, however, this is highly unlikely because the bacteria dies rapidly when
demed the warmth and moisture of mucous membranes.
Symtoms of infection usually appear within two to ten days after exposure but might take up to thirty days.
In males, gonorhea usually strikes first at the urethra, the tube that extends from the bladder to the tip of the penis. A burning sensation during urination may be experienced due to the irritation of the urethra's mucosal lining. Many males may also notice and abnormal discharge from the penis. The penis itself may be red or swollen at
the tip. Urination may become more frequent or difficult. Occasionally, no symptoms are evident immediately.
In females, gonorrhea seems to strike selectively at the cervix (the entrance of the uterus, but it also can appear elsewhere. As many as 80% of the females with gonorhea have no immediate signs or symptoms. One symptom in women is a foul smelling vaginal discharge. Since vaginal discharges are not uncommon, women should be alert to any change in the color, odor, or other appearance of discharges. If gonorrhea has
affected the urethra, a women may experience a burning sensation upon urination.
Gonorrhea can also infect the anal region, the oral cavity, and the eyes.
The period of communicability for gonorrhea is uncertain but probaly lasts as long as discharge continues, anywhere from three to six months.
Precise diagnosis of gonorrhea requires cuttures of discharge specimens. Under most circumstances gonorrhea is easily treated. It is now clear however, that larger and larger doses of penicillin may be necessary to kill some resistant strains.
Untreated gonorrhea may result in irreversible complications. Infertlity and
sterility can develop in males and females. Gonococcal arthritis in major joints and a generalized infection that irreversibily damages the brain, heart, liver and other key organs can be produced in either sex.
The most reliable form of protection is the use of condoms during sexual episodes. The sexually active individual should also be selective about sexual partners and stay alert to obvious signs and symptoms of disease.
Gonorrhea is known by such street names as "clap","drip","dose","strain",
"gleet", and "jack".
SYPHILIS
Syphilis is perhaps the best known of all the STD's. Once confined to certain parts of the world, syphilis now occurs universally. Treponema Pallidum is it's
causative agent. It belongs to a group of organisms that resemble bacteria. Humans provide the only known host for T. Pallidum. There is no vaceine or other acquired immunity for syphilis. Only about 30% of the people exposed result in infections.
Syphilis is transmitted by direct contact with infection sores, called chancres, syphitic skin rashes, or mucous patches on the tongue and mouth during kissing, necking, petting, or sexual intercourse. It can also be transmitted from a pregnant woman to a fetus after the fourth month of pregnancy.
The incabation period for syphilis is from ten to ninety days with twenty on days being the average. The diagnostic blood test for this STD is likely to be negative during the incubation period.
Syphilis goes through several stages. In its primary stage, it is characterized by the appearance of a chancre at the first site of infection. A chancre resmembles a blister,
pimple, or raised open sore. It is infectious and contains a large number of spiral bacteria
(spirochetes). Chancres are often painless and may be hidden in the mouth, throat, vagina,
cervix, or anus, making detection difficult. Chancres tend to heal themselves in two to six weeks but leave behind thousands of infectious spirochetes. Primary syphilis may be accompanied by swollen glands near the site of primary infection.
Once the chancre dissappears the secondary stage begins. Secondary symptoms can occur from six weeks to six months after the primary infection "disappears". New symptoms usually include the presence of a rash or raised leisions anywhere on the skin. The rash is not painful or itchy, but is infectious. Patches of white in the mouth, nose, or rectum may appear. These mucous patches can also transmit disease. Additional symptoms at this stage may include patchy hair loss, mild fever and body aches, swollen glands and flulike symptoms. Secondary symptoms disappear in two to six weeks but may recur for up to two years
If still untreated, syphilis enters what is called the latent stage. At this point, symptoms are absent and the person is probaly no longer infectious to others. (The exception is the pregnant woman who is still able to transmit the disease to the unborn child.) The length of the latent stage is variable but can last at least five years and perhaps as many as twenty years or more. Some cases of syphilis remain dormant for an indefinite length of time. Others evolve into the final stage of symptoms.
Tertiary or late-stage syphilis usually occurs between five and twenty years following initial infection. This condition leads to permanent disabilities and even death. Neurosiphilis, in which the brain and the spinal cord are affected, produce paralysis, insanity and blindness. Cardiovadcular syphilis includes major damage to the heart and the aorta, possibly resulting in death. Late begin syphilis is characterized by the appearance of large destructive lesions virtually at any internal or external site.
The period of contagiousness for syphilis is variable. It is clearly infectious in its primary and secondary stages. Active bacteria are wipred out in twenty four to forty eight hours by adequete treatment with penicilline. Infected individuals must be followed
closely after treatment and repeated blood test must be performed to assure the complete absence of the disease.
People hoping to avoid syphilis must avoid contact with syphilitic lesions. The use of a condom sharing during sexual intercourse can assist in this, but a condom will not protect other exposed surfaces.
Syphilis has been nicknamed "syphpox" or "bad blood".
CHLAMYDIA-RELATED INFECTIONS
Chlamydia trachomatis may be the most common STD in the U.S today.
This organism, an intracellular parasite, is resposbile for more thatn one disease condition
nonspecific urethritis (NSU), or nongonococcal urethritis (NGU), and lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) are among these conditions.
NSU involves an inflamation of the urethra. If symptoms are present they may resemble those of gonorrhea. Chlamydia currently accounts for approximately 50% of
NSU cases. Transmission of NSU, however is probable during sexual intercourse, and transfer from mother to infant at birth is also possible.
To tell the difference between NSU and gonorrhea, cultures of smears or discharged must be examined in a laboratory. The treatment for NSU is telracycline. Both
partners should be treated in order to avoid the so-called "Ping-Pong" effect. The most severe complication of NSU in females is PID (Pelvic Inflammatory Disease) This condition often leads to infertility. NSDU can be controlled by using condoms during sexual intercourse, washing the genitals with soap and water before and after intercourse, and contacting sex partners when infection presents itself.
C. Trachomatis is also responsible for the STD called (LGV). Symptoms
include sores in the genital area that resemble pimples. It is most commonly seen among gay men and persons having multiple sex partners. Transmission occurs through direct contact with lesions, usually during sexual intercourse. Complications from LGV area rare, though inflamation of the urethra, cervix, and rectum are possible Tetracycline provides reliable thereapy for this STD.
GENITAL HERPES
Genital herpes is rapidly gaining attention as an STD. Once reason is that thousands of new cases are being identified each year. Another reason is a lack of any known cure. Herpes simplix virus type 2, because it is viral, makes antibiotic drugs useless in treating the symptoms and eliminating infection frmo the body. In most cases, the herpes sores blisters and crusty form on the genitals and heal and disappear on their own in a few days or weeks. The virus itself, however, stays in a dormant stage: the absence of symptoms does not necessarily mean the absence of active virus. Herpes may flair up from time to time, causing the sores to reappear. These sores are usually visible and painful in both sexes; however, signs of herpes in women can be internal and painless. It is possible for women to be unaware of the virus's presence.
It is not well understood what triggers recurrences of herpes. Towered resistance, other infections, chafing or irritation of the affected area, emotional upset, and even certain foods are implicated to some extent.
Of a few sensible points are observed, life can continue to be full and enjoyable. Herpes victims are advised to be especially conecientious about controlling stress factos that may aggravate the dormant HSV-2 organism. It is advised that a condom be used during intercourse to provide protection for the uninfected partner. The person who follows a well-balanced fitness routine should experience minimal life disruptions resulting from herpes.
Women who have herpes need to take a few extra precautions. There is an association between HSV-2 infection and the development of cervical cancer. A woman with herpes may be advised to have pap tests more frequently and watch for any unusual vaginal bleeding. Because of the danger of infecting the newborn infant, women who know they have herpes should share that information with their doctor.
There is no cure for genital herpes at this time. Some relief of symptoms is
available using topical ointments.
CANDIDIASIS (MONILIA)
Candidiasis also known as monilia is a common yeast infection caused by Candida also known as monilia is a common yeast infection caused by Canidida albicans.
Candidiasis frequently may be acquired by other than sexual means. It is a normal part of the human flora. Many predisposing factors can cause an outbreak of the yeast organisms:
Acute infections are accompanied by intense itching at the infected site, along with redness and perhaps swelling. In women, Candidus may also produce vaginal discharges of a white, curdlike quality.
The principal complication is recurrence, resulting when the infection is passed back and forth between partners. Consequently, when flare-ups occur, both partners are often treated. The most common and reliable treatment is topical application of nystatin for both partners.
Acute episodes of candidiasis can generally be avoided or minimized by using condoms during intercourse, wearing clothes that are not tight fitting, and keeping the genital area dry.
NONSPECIFIC VAGINITUS
Nonspecific Vaginitis (NSV) is thought to be caused by the bacterium Gordnerella Vaginalis whenever other organisms cannot be identified in NSV. Symptoms of NSV are almost always restricted to females, though a male may experience itchy, burning symptoms of disease in his penis, similar to the vaginal symtoms that females report.
Symptoms in the female include a foul-smelling vaginal discharge, vaginal itching, and burning, upon urination, however the complete absence of symptoms is not uncommon treatment is accomplished with oral metronadozole, and transfer is prevented by the use of condoms.
TRICHOMONIASIS
Trichomoniasis is caused by the presence of Trichomonas vaginalis, a protozoan, which may exist without symptoms in the vaginal flora of 50 percent of the
females in the U.S between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five. Susceptibility is general, though clinical disease is usually restricted to females.
Though the organisms can be acquired during sexual intercourse, they may also be picked up by non-sexual means from freshly soiled bedclothes, towels and other items.
Symptoms of females with trichomoniasis may include a foul-smelling discharge, localized itching redness and burning during urination. Males seldom experience any demonstrable symptoms. Treatment is oral metronidazole, usually given to both partners since "trich" is another of the "ping-pong" STD's
PEDICULOSIS AND SCABIES
Pediculosis and scabies are two disorders labeled infestations than infections. Both are caused by parasites, pediculosis by the crab louse and scabies by the
itch mites. These organisms may be found anywhere on the body but show a preference for pubic hair. They lay their eggs at the base of the hiar, just underneath the skin. Crabs
and mites can produce an agonizing itch after their eggs hatch. Transfer of these organisms can occur from person to person in a variety of ways. Direct body contact, particularly during physical intimacy, is a common mode. Contact with personal items can also facilitate transfer.
Complications are rare though secondary infections can result from breaks in the skin due to intense itching and irritation. Treatment is provided by application of medicated shampoos. Good personal hygiene and careful laundering of clothes and bedding prevent reinfestation.
URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) occur with pathogenic organisms enter the urethra and migrate to the bladder. Ordinarily they are confined to the host but they can be sexually transmitted. Bacteria and other organisms may produce UTI. Women, perhaps because of their shorter urethras, are much more susceptible to UTIs than men. Pechthogens can sometimes be "flushed" from the system by having the individual drink large quantities of water. Rersistent symptoms of UTI should be treated by a physician.
There are now more than twenty disorders recognized as being transmitted primarily by sexual means. The more familiar STD's are AIDS, gonorhea, syphilis, chlamydia-related infections, genital herpes, candidiasis, nonspecific vaginitis, trichomoniasis, pediculosis, scabies, and urinary tract infections.
GONORRHEA
One of the most frequently encountered communicable diseases in the U.S.
It is caused by the bacterium Neisseria Gonorrihoeae, which is common all over the world
today and can only thrive in human beings. There is no way to acquire immunity to this disease. Anyone who is sexually active is susceptible to gonorrhea.
This disease is transmitted by the way of direct contact with the secretions of mucos membranes such as those of the urethra, cervix, vagina, anus, eyes and throat.
The contact involved in transmitting gonorrhea is almost always sexual in nature. It is possible that contaminated fingers can transfer infection from one region of the body to another, however, this is highly unlikely because the bacteria dies rapidly when
demed the warmth and moisture of mucous membranes.
Symtoms of infection usually appear within two to ten days after exposure but might take up to thirty days.
In males, gonorhea usually strikes first at the urethra, the tube that extends from the bladder to the tip of the penis. A burning sensation during urination may be experienced due to the irritation of the urethra's mucosal lining. Many males may also notice and abnormal discharge from the penis. The penis itself may be red or swollen at
the tip. Urination may become more frequent or difficult. Occasionally, no symptoms are evident immediately.
In females, gonorrhea seems to strike selectively at the cervix (the entrance of the uterus, but it also can appear elsewhere. As many as 80% of the females with gonorhea have no immediate signs or symptoms. One symptom in women is a foul smelling vaginal discharge. Since vaginal discharges are not uncommon, women should be alert to any change in the color, odor, or other appearance of discharges. If gonorrhea has
affected the urethra, a women may experience a burning sensation upon urination.
Gonorrhea can also infect the anal region, the oral cavity, and the eyes.
The period of communicability for gonorrhea is uncertain but probaly lasts as long as discharge continues, anywhere from three to six months.
Precise diagnosis of gonorrhea requires cuttures of discharge specimens. Under most circumstances gonorrhea is easily treated. It is now clear however, that larger and larger doses of penicillin may be necessary to kill some resistant strains.
Untreated gonorrhea may result in irreversible complications. Infertlity and
sterility can develop in males and females. Gonococcal arthritis in major joints and a generalized infection that irreversibily damages the brain, heart, liver and other key organs can be produced in either sex.
The most reliable form of protection is the use of condoms during sexual episodes. The sexually active individual should also be selective about sexual partners and stay alert to obvious signs and symptoms of disease.
Gonorrhea is known by such street names as "clap","drip","dose","strain",
"gleet", and "jack".
SYPHILIS
Syphilis is perhaps the best known of all the STD's. Once confined to certain parts of the world, syphilis now occurs universally. Treponema Pallidum is it's
causative agent. It belongs to a group of organisms that resemble bacteria. Humans provide the only known host for T. Pallidum. There is no vaceine or other acquired immunity for syphilis. Only about 30% of the people exposed result in infections.
Syphilis is transmitted by direct contact with infection sores, called chancres, syphitic skin rashes, or mucous patches on the tongue and mouth during kissing, necking, petting, or sexual intercourse. It can also be transmitted from a pregnant woman to a fetus after the fourth month of pregnancy.
The incabation period for syphilis is from ten to ninety days with twenty on days being the average. The diagnostic blood test for this STD is likely to be negative during the incubation period.
Syphilis goes through several stages. In its primary stage, it is characterized by the appearance of a chancre at the first site of infection. A chancre resmembles a blister,
pimple, or raised open sore. It is infectious and contains a large number of spiral bacteria
(spirochetes). Chancres are often painless and may be hidden in the mouth, throat, vagina,
cervix, or anus, making detection difficult. Chancres tend to heal themselves in two to six weeks but leave behind thousands of infectious spirochetes. Primary syphilis may be accompanied by swollen glands near the site of primary infection.
Once the chancre dissappears the secondary stage begins. Secondary symptoms can occur from six weeks to six months after the primary infection "disappears". New symptoms usually include the presence of a rash or raised leisions anywhere on the skin. The rash is not painful or itchy, but is infectious. Patches of white in the mouth, nose, or rectum may appear. These mucous patches can also transmit disease. Additional symptoms at this stage may include patchy hair loss, mild fever and body aches, swollen glands and flulike symptoms. Secondary symptoms disappear in two to six weeks but may recur for up to two years
If still untreated, syphilis enters what is called the latent stage. At this point, symptoms are absent and the person is probaly no longer infectious to others. (The exception is the pregnant woman who is still able to transmit the disease to the unborn child.) The length of the latent stage is variable but can last at least five years and perhaps as many as twenty years or more. Some cases of syphilis remain dormant for an indefinite length of time. Others evolve into the final stage of symptoms.
Tertiary or late-stage syphilis usually occurs between five and twenty years following initial infection. This condition leads to permanent disabilities and even death. Neurosiphilis, in which the brain and the spinal cord are affected, produce paralysis, insanity and blindness. Cardiovadcular syphilis includes major damage to the heart and the aorta, possibly resulting in death. Late begin syphilis is characterized by the appearance of large destructive lesions virtually at any internal or external site.
The period of contagiousness for syphilis is variable. It is clearly infectious in its primary and secondary stages. Active bacteria are wipred out in twenty four to forty eight hours by adequete treatment with penicilline. Infected individuals must be followed
closely after treatment and repeated blood test must be performed to assure the complete absence of the disease.
People hoping to avoid syphilis must avoid contact with syphilitic lesions. The use of a condom sharing during sexual intercourse can assist in this, but a condom will not protect other exposed surfaces.
Syphilis has been nicknamed "syphpox" or "bad blood".
CHLAMYDIA-RELATED INFECTIONS
Chlamydia trachomatis may be the most common STD in the U.S today.
This organism, an intracellular parasite, is resposbile for more thatn one disease condition
nonspecific urethritis (NSU), or nongonococcal urethritis (NGU), and lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) are among these conditions.
NSU involves an inflamation of the urethra. If symptoms are present they may resemble those of gonorrhea. Chlamydia currently accounts for approximately 50% of
NSU cases. Transmission of NSU, however is probable during sexual intercourse, and transfer from mother to infant at birth is also possible.
To tell the difference between NSU and gonorrhea, cultures of smears or discharged must be examined in a laboratory. The treatment for NSU is telracycline. Both
partners should be treated in order to avoid the so-called "Ping-Pong" effect. The most severe complication of NSU in females is PID (Pelvic Inflammatory Disease) This condition often leads to infertility. NSDU can be controlled by using condoms during sexual intercourse, washing the genitals with soap and water before and after intercourse, and contacting sex partners when infection presents itself.
C. Trachomatis is also responsible for the STD called (LGV). Symptoms
include sores in the genital area that resemble pimples. It is most commonly seen among gay men and persons having multiple sex partners. Transmission occurs through direct contact with lesions, usually during sexual intercourse. Complications from LGV area rare, though inflamation of the urethra, cervix, and rectum are possible Tetracycline provides reliable thereapy for this STD.
GENITAL HERPES
Genital herpes is rapidly gaining attention as an STD. Once reason is that thousands of new cases are being identified each year. Another reason is a lack of any known cure. Herpes simplix virus type 2, because it is viral, makes antibiotic drugs useless in treating the symptoms and eliminating infection frmo the body. In most cases, the herpes sores blisters and crusty form on the genitals and heal and disappear on their own in a few days or weeks. The virus itself, however, stays in a dormant stage: the absence of symptoms does not necessarily mean the absence of active virus. Herpes may flair up from time to time, causing the sores to reappear. These sores are usually visible and painful in both sexes; however, signs of herpes in women can be internal and painless. It is possible for women to be unaware of the virus's presence.
It is not well understood what triggers recurrences of herpes. Towered resistance, other infections, chafing or irritation of the affected area, emotional upset, and even certain foods are implicated to some extent.
Of a few sensible points are observed, life can continue to be full and enjoyable. Herpes victims are advised to be especially conecientious about controlling stress factos that may aggravate the dormant HSV-2 organism. It is advised that a condom be used during intercourse to provide protection for the uninfected partner. The person who follows a well-balanced fitness routine should experience minimal life disruptions resulting from herpes.
Women who have herpes need to take a few extra precautions. There is an association between HSV-2 infection and the development of cervical cancer. A woman with herpes may be advised to have pap tests more frequently and watch for any unusual vaginal bleeding. Because of the danger of infecting the newborn infant, women who know they have herpes should share that information with their doctor.
There is no cure for genital herpes at this time. Some relief of symptoms is
available using topical ointments.
CANDIDIASIS (MONILIA)
Candidiasis also known as monilia is a common yeast infection caused by Candida also known as monilia is a common yeast infection caused by Canidida albicans.
Candidiasis frequently may be acquired by other than sexual means. It is a normal part of the human flora. Many predisposing factors can cause an outbreak of the yeast organisms:
Acute infections are accompanied by intense itching at the infected site, along with redness and perhaps swelling. In women, Candidus may also produce vaginal discharges of a white, curdlike quality.
The principal complication is recurrence, resulting when the infection is passed back and forth between partners. Consequently, when flare-ups occur, both partners are often treated. The most common and reliable treatment is topical application of nystatin for both partners.
Acute episodes of candidiasis can generally be avoided or minimized by using condoms during intercourse, wearing clothes that are not tight fitting, and keeping the genital area dry.
NONSPECIFIC VAGINITUS
Nonspecific Vaginitis (NSV) is thought to be caused by the bacterium Gordnerella Vaginalis whenever other organisms cannot be identified in NSV. Symptoms of NSV are almost always restricted to females, though a male may experience itchy, burning symptoms of disease in his penis, similar to the vaginal symtoms that females report.
Symptoms in the female include a foul-smelling vaginal discharge, vaginal itching, and burning, upon urination, however the complete absence of symptoms is not uncommon treatment is accomplished with oral metronadozole, and transfer is prevented by the use of condoms.
TRICHOMONIASIS
Trichomoniasis is caused by the presence of Trichomonas vaginalis, a protozoan, which may exist without symptoms in the vaginal flora of 50 percent of the
females in the U.S between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five. Susceptibility is general, though clinical disease is usually restricted to females.
Though the organisms can be acquired during sexual intercourse, they may also be picked up by non-sexual means from freshly soiled bedclothes, towels and other items.
Symptoms of females with trichomoniasis may include a foul-smelling discharge, localized itching redness and burning during urination. Males seldom experience any demonstrable symptoms. Treatment is oral metronidazole, usually given to both partners since "trich" is another of the "ping-pong" STD's
PEDICULOSIS AND SCABIES
Pediculosis and scabies are two disorders labeled infestations than infections. Both are caused by parasites, pediculosis by the crab louse and scabies by the
itch mites. These organisms may be found anywhere on the body but show a preference for pubic hair. They lay their eggs at the base of the hiar, just underneath the skin. Crabs
and mites can produce an agonizing itch after their eggs hatch. Transfer of these organisms can occur from person to person in a variety of ways. Direct body contact, particularly during physical intimacy, is a common mode. Contact with personal items can also facilitate transfer.
Complications are rare though secondary infections can result from breaks in the skin due to intense itching and irritation. Treatment is provided by application of medicated shampoos. Good personal hygiene and careful laundering of clothes and bedding prevent reinfestation.
URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) occur with pathogenic organisms enter the urethra and migrate to the bladder. Ordinarily they are confined to the host but they can be sexually transmitted. Bacteria and other organisms may produce UTI. Women, perhaps because of their shorter urethras, are much more susceptible to UTIs than men. Pechthogens can sometimes be "flushed" from the system by having the individual drink large quantities of water. Rersistent symptoms of UTI should be treated by a physician.
Sexuality
Sexuality means the concern with or interest in sexual activity according to the Oxford Dictionary. The meaning of sexuality changes from time to time, from land to land, and from people to people. Social historians hold different points of view about sexuality relating to what the common people are thinking especially on the relationship between sexuality and mythology. The majority think that it is impossible to have a sexual history. However, the social historians state that sexual behaviour and its significance had changed time to time from their research, and therefore, they believed that sexuality has history. Sex relationship can be found among the Greek Gods in the Greek Myths. The Greek myths are an excellent example of the predominance of sexuality on human creativity. Since the Greek Gods have sexual relationships, there will be some similarities and differences between the sexuality nowadays according to the status of both sexes, sexual desire, and sex behaviour.
The sexual desire in ancient Greece and nowadays are quite similar. In Greek myths, Zeus is a sexually-active person, "It has been estimated that, besides his legal wife Hera, Zeus had over 100 women." (Reinhold,80) Poseidon is also sexually obtrusive. For instance, Poseidon loved Demeter. When Demeter transformed herself into a mare, Poseidon changed himself into a stallion and chased after Demeter. Today, the boys always fond of dating many girls who they love. "From the male's point of view there simply aren't enough females to go around with and so a male must compete for sexual success with other sex-seeking males" (Hutchison,202) They will have sex quite a lot in a short time. In 20th century, the youngsters are very open-minded to sex and love relationships. When they like or fall in love with anybody, they will go on a date with their targets. According to research, 35 percent of teenagers have had sex in 1976. But in 1985, the total was 58 percent of teenagers who have had sex. This trend is increasing further. In a statistics of Next Change Magazine, teenagers have an idea that having sex is an extremely natural phenomena when one has a girlfriend or boyfriend. Many boys are eager to have both sex with girls which is the same as what Zeus and Poseidon did in the Greek Myths. Many girls are also eager to have both sex with boys which just like Aphrodite. She had sex not only with her husband, Hephaestus, but also her lovers. By the way, some of the Greek gods will not really indulge in sex, for instance, Hades and Hermes. Some people still care about their virginity in this present time. However, some of the eagerness of sex will result to rape. The rate of rape is increasing because it is quite often to see it from the daily newspaper. In Greek Myths, Hades once kidnapped Persephone to the underworld and wanted her to live with him. It is a kind of rape because Persephone is not willing to be with Hades "Hades seized her forcibly, and took her to his palace under the earth. Demeter heard her cry of terror, but the rape of Persephone ..." (Reinhold, 88) Ares attempts to rape Athena too but he fails to do so.
Bisexuality was also practised in Ancient Greece. Apollo is very attractive because of well-built and good-looking. He fell in love with many boys and not only women. One of the boys was called Hyacinth. Zeus fell in love with a handsome Trojan boy called Ganymedes. Zeus brought him to Olympus too. From these examples, the Greek gods did not care their sex partners form. Their only concern is to see if they love their targets or not. Bisexuality is also common based on the statistics in the Next Change Magazine. "Some men think that women are a tool of giving birth while men are their real love partners and sexual intercourse happens. What they really want is the care from others. They love the other man's beauty. Those men are either lack love from their wives or they love another men as a good friend, but their wives will be the long-term sex partners." (Next, 35) It reflects that both men in Ancient Greece and this modern world enjoy the so-called "target" idea. They love to have sex with women to gain good feelings or to reproduce. But they will not hesitate to date or fall in love with another male if they find that man is either physically beautiful or mentally beautiful (love-care) or both.
Incest was frequently practised in Ancient Greece. Zeus married with his own sister, Hera, and had sex with her. They had many offspring. In this modern world, incest also happens. According to research, "as many as 100 million young girls may be raped by adult men-usually their fathers- often day after day, week after week, year in, year out." (Women, 65) The statistics also indicates that one in four families are incestuous among the US, Australia, Egypt, Israel and India. In the vast majority of cases, about 80 to 90 percent of these girls are being sexually used by their male relatives, usually their father.
The world would not only have similarities, the differences should not be omitted.
The role of men and women are an absolute difference between the Greek myths and the present time. The way that men and women are treated is different. The male gods could have sex with a lot of women even when they had a wife already. For example, Zeus indulged in having sex with women even though his only legal wife was Hera. When a goddess, who had a husband, and had sex with another male, then she would be punished . Once
Hephaestus knew the clandestine meetings of his wife with Ares, constructed a skilfully woven net which he hung invisibly over the pair's bed. Here it fell upon them in their lovemaking and entrapped them. Hephaestus then summoned all the other gods to see and laugh at the helpless pair. (Reinhold,100)
In addition, it was not allowed for women to be lesbians. Lesbians were punished harshly. Also, the Greek myths had an idea of "the earth is female, mother earth, and the sky is male" As a sex historian says "The base of many [sexual] assumption often appears in the creation myths." (Highwater, 8) It shows "attitudes arise out of various mythologies and are then socialised in Custom" (Highwater, 8) Men should be at the top and women should be at the bottom when they have sexual intercourse. Men dominant over the women in sex.
In modern societies, women play an important part in sex. Women break free from the repression, fear and anxiety following the sexual revolution. Some of the women in America tried to break free from the male-dominant society by discussing their feeling about sex with other woman. Education leads them know more about sex. There are handbooks teaching women masturbation technique because "masturbation, in fact, could increase the power of women. Women could arouse and satisfy themselves, males would no longer be required, or, if allowed to participate, would no longer be in charge." (Hutchison, 41) It shows that women can now be "self-served" and the necessary of the man to exist can be neglected. Now, women have the right to choose and not subserient to what the men said. It is because there is an alternative for woman to fulfil their sexual desire which is masturbation. They can achieve sex by themselves and may get a better feelings. They can now enjoy it and it is not sex is for men to enjoy" (Women, 61) "Marketing surveys and a variety approaches convinced publishers that women were also eager for sexually arousing materials" (Hutchison, 48) It further implies that sex is not only for the men but also for the women. Woman
are starting to refuse to force their bodies into the fantasy-forms of male-defined sex ... are searching instead for that rare man who is willing to forsake the the divisive power of pornographic sex for the confusing, frightening, vulnerable intimacy of eroticism. (Women, 68)
After the second sexual revolution, female could refuse the men's sexual needs. Som of the women turned to each other during the second sexual revolution to explore lesbian sex. Women were not punished. Sodomy is not uncommon in Greek myths. The Greek Gods would have intercourse with animals in the form of an animal, "Zeus approaches Leda as a swan, Persephone as a snake: pasiphae falls in love with a bull and has intercourse with it, and the fruit of this passion was the Minotaur." (Licht, 504) In this world, sodomy sometimes occur but people will not indulge in it.
Homosexuality is quite different between the Ancient Greece and 20th century. In Ancient Greece, the Gods love men owing to the boy's beauty. "Zeus ... the handsome young Trojan Ganymedes, with whom he had fallen in love" (Reinhold, 81) There is a line by Athenaeus, "Boys are beautiful, For as long time as they look like women." In Western point of view, "think of sexuality in terms of binary opposites: male and female, heterosexual and homosexual, marital sex and pre- or extramarital sex. And in every case, one of these pairs is privileged, is seen as the normal" (Highwater, 15) Quite often, the gay people think that women are insecure to love because women are becoming more and more independent. Moreover, an old man could have a lot of boys but a boy can't have a lot of boys or old men. Nowadays, gay people are mostly found not having a great age-gap. The disallowance of a boy to have a lot of boys or old men is not common or even exist.
There are similarities and differences in sexual attitude, sexual behaviour and sexual desire between the Ancient Greece and this modern societies. The attitude and behaviour of homosexuality and some of the Greek's sexual behaviour, for instance, sodomy, will be different from what it is nowadays. The Greek Gods very concern only about the beauty while people will not only concern about the beauty. In Ancient Greece, sex was necessary to men and there was less concern about the satisfaction of women in sex. Women was unfairly treated. In this modern world, women will fight for their rights and they are more independent. They can masturbate to achieve their own sexual climax without the need of men. The laws protect women because the laws always achieve the goal of "fairness". No men can dominate over women. The sexual desire of men to women is still very strong nowadays which is the same as what it was in Ancient Greece. They love having sexual intercourse. They only concern about their targets. From the trend of sexual needs nowadays, the idea of having sex will become more and more open. The importance of women's roles in society will eventually increase.
Bibliography
Highwater, Jamake. Myth and Sexuality. USA: Meridan, 1990.
Reinhold, Meyer. Past And Present. Canada: Makkert, 1972.
Hutchison, Michael. Anatomy of Sex and Power. New York: William Morrow & Company, Inc., 1990
Licht, Hans. Sexual Life in Ancient Greece. New York: Dorset Press, 1993.
------. Women: A World Report. Great Britain: Methuen London Ltd, 1985
------. Next Change Magazine. Hong Kong: 1996
End
The sexual desire in ancient Greece and nowadays are quite similar. In Greek myths, Zeus is a sexually-active person, "It has been estimated that, besides his legal wife Hera, Zeus had over 100 women." (Reinhold,80) Poseidon is also sexually obtrusive. For instance, Poseidon loved Demeter. When Demeter transformed herself into a mare, Poseidon changed himself into a stallion and chased after Demeter. Today, the boys always fond of dating many girls who they love. "From the male's point of view there simply aren't enough females to go around with and so a male must compete for sexual success with other sex-seeking males" (Hutchison,202) They will have sex quite a lot in a short time. In 20th century, the youngsters are very open-minded to sex and love relationships. When they like or fall in love with anybody, they will go on a date with their targets. According to research, 35 percent of teenagers have had sex in 1976. But in 1985, the total was 58 percent of teenagers who have had sex. This trend is increasing further. In a statistics of Next Change Magazine, teenagers have an idea that having sex is an extremely natural phenomena when one has a girlfriend or boyfriend. Many boys are eager to have both sex with girls which is the same as what Zeus and Poseidon did in the Greek Myths. Many girls are also eager to have both sex with boys which just like Aphrodite. She had sex not only with her husband, Hephaestus, but also her lovers. By the way, some of the Greek gods will not really indulge in sex, for instance, Hades and Hermes. Some people still care about their virginity in this present time. However, some of the eagerness of sex will result to rape. The rate of rape is increasing because it is quite often to see it from the daily newspaper. In Greek Myths, Hades once kidnapped Persephone to the underworld and wanted her to live with him. It is a kind of rape because Persephone is not willing to be with Hades "Hades seized her forcibly, and took her to his palace under the earth. Demeter heard her cry of terror, but the rape of Persephone ..." (Reinhold, 88) Ares attempts to rape Athena too but he fails to do so.
Bisexuality was also practised in Ancient Greece. Apollo is very attractive because of well-built and good-looking. He fell in love with many boys and not only women. One of the boys was called Hyacinth. Zeus fell in love with a handsome Trojan boy called Ganymedes. Zeus brought him to Olympus too. From these examples, the Greek gods did not care their sex partners form. Their only concern is to see if they love their targets or not. Bisexuality is also common based on the statistics in the Next Change Magazine. "Some men think that women are a tool of giving birth while men are their real love partners and sexual intercourse happens. What they really want is the care from others. They love the other man's beauty. Those men are either lack love from their wives or they love another men as a good friend, but their wives will be the long-term sex partners." (Next, 35) It reflects that both men in Ancient Greece and this modern world enjoy the so-called "target" idea. They love to have sex with women to gain good feelings or to reproduce. But they will not hesitate to date or fall in love with another male if they find that man is either physically beautiful or mentally beautiful (love-care) or both.
Incest was frequently practised in Ancient Greece. Zeus married with his own sister, Hera, and had sex with her. They had many offspring. In this modern world, incest also happens. According to research, "as many as 100 million young girls may be raped by adult men-usually their fathers- often day after day, week after week, year in, year out." (Women, 65) The statistics also indicates that one in four families are incestuous among the US, Australia, Egypt, Israel and India. In the vast majority of cases, about 80 to 90 percent of these girls are being sexually used by their male relatives, usually their father.
The world would not only have similarities, the differences should not be omitted.
The role of men and women are an absolute difference between the Greek myths and the present time. The way that men and women are treated is different. The male gods could have sex with a lot of women even when they had a wife already. For example, Zeus indulged in having sex with women even though his only legal wife was Hera. When a goddess, who had a husband, and had sex with another male, then she would be punished . Once
Hephaestus knew the clandestine meetings of his wife with Ares, constructed a skilfully woven net which he hung invisibly over the pair's bed. Here it fell upon them in their lovemaking and entrapped them. Hephaestus then summoned all the other gods to see and laugh at the helpless pair. (Reinhold,100)
In addition, it was not allowed for women to be lesbians. Lesbians were punished harshly. Also, the Greek myths had an idea of "the earth is female, mother earth, and the sky is male" As a sex historian says "The base of many [sexual] assumption often appears in the creation myths." (Highwater, 8) It shows "attitudes arise out of various mythologies and are then socialised in Custom" (Highwater, 8) Men should be at the top and women should be at the bottom when they have sexual intercourse. Men dominant over the women in sex.
In modern societies, women play an important part in sex. Women break free from the repression, fear and anxiety following the sexual revolution. Some of the women in America tried to break free from the male-dominant society by discussing their feeling about sex with other woman. Education leads them know more about sex. There are handbooks teaching women masturbation technique because "masturbation, in fact, could increase the power of women. Women could arouse and satisfy themselves, males would no longer be required, or, if allowed to participate, would no longer be in charge." (Hutchison, 41) It shows that women can now be "self-served" and the necessary of the man to exist can be neglected. Now, women have the right to choose and not subserient to what the men said. It is because there is an alternative for woman to fulfil their sexual desire which is masturbation. They can achieve sex by themselves and may get a better feelings. They can now enjoy it and it is not sex is for men to enjoy" (Women, 61) "Marketing surveys and a variety approaches convinced publishers that women were also eager for sexually arousing materials" (Hutchison, 48) It further implies that sex is not only for the men but also for the women. Woman
are starting to refuse to force their bodies into the fantasy-forms of male-defined sex ... are searching instead for that rare man who is willing to forsake the the divisive power of pornographic sex for the confusing, frightening, vulnerable intimacy of eroticism. (Women, 68)
After the second sexual revolution, female could refuse the men's sexual needs. Som of the women turned to each other during the second sexual revolution to explore lesbian sex. Women were not punished. Sodomy is not uncommon in Greek myths. The Greek Gods would have intercourse with animals in the form of an animal, "Zeus approaches Leda as a swan, Persephone as a snake: pasiphae falls in love with a bull and has intercourse with it, and the fruit of this passion was the Minotaur." (Licht, 504) In this world, sodomy sometimes occur but people will not indulge in it.
Homosexuality is quite different between the Ancient Greece and 20th century. In Ancient Greece, the Gods love men owing to the boy's beauty. "Zeus ... the handsome young Trojan Ganymedes, with whom he had fallen in love" (Reinhold, 81) There is a line by Athenaeus, "Boys are beautiful, For as long time as they look like women." In Western point of view, "think of sexuality in terms of binary opposites: male and female, heterosexual and homosexual, marital sex and pre- or extramarital sex. And in every case, one of these pairs is privileged, is seen as the normal" (Highwater, 15) Quite often, the gay people think that women are insecure to love because women are becoming more and more independent. Moreover, an old man could have a lot of boys but a boy can't have a lot of boys or old men. Nowadays, gay people are mostly found not having a great age-gap. The disallowance of a boy to have a lot of boys or old men is not common or even exist.
There are similarities and differences in sexual attitude, sexual behaviour and sexual desire between the Ancient Greece and this modern societies. The attitude and behaviour of homosexuality and some of the Greek's sexual behaviour, for instance, sodomy, will be different from what it is nowadays. The Greek Gods very concern only about the beauty while people will not only concern about the beauty. In Ancient Greece, sex was necessary to men and there was less concern about the satisfaction of women in sex. Women was unfairly treated. In this modern world, women will fight for their rights and they are more independent. They can masturbate to achieve their own sexual climax without the need of men. The laws protect women because the laws always achieve the goal of "fairness". No men can dominate over women. The sexual desire of men to women is still very strong nowadays which is the same as what it was in Ancient Greece. They love having sexual intercourse. They only concern about their targets. From the trend of sexual needs nowadays, the idea of having sex will become more and more open. The importance of women's roles in society will eventually increase.
Bibliography
Highwater, Jamake. Myth and Sexuality. USA: Meridan, 1990.
Reinhold, Meyer. Past And Present. Canada: Makkert, 1972.
Hutchison, Michael. Anatomy of Sex and Power. New York: William Morrow & Company, Inc., 1990
Licht, Hans. Sexual Life in Ancient Greece. New York: Dorset Press, 1993.
------. Women: A World Report. Great Britain: Methuen London Ltd, 1985
------. Next Change Magazine. Hong Kong: 1996
End
Sexual Harassment and the Clarence Thomas Hearings
Sexual Harassment
The sexual harassment allegations filed by Professor Anita Hill against Clarence Thomas and the proceeding Senate Judiciary Hearing thrust the issue of sexual harassment into the political arena, the workplace, and every day life.
Introduction
Sexual harassment is a very broad term and can be interpreted in a variety of ways. The National Organization of Women (NOW) defines sexual harassment as "any repeated or unwarranted verbal or physical advance, sexually explicit derogatory statement, or sexually discriminating acts made by someone in the workplace which is offensive or objectionable to the recipient or which interferes with the recipients job performance." (Redress for Success, page 74) Before 1972, there was no penalty for sexual harassment of women at the workplace. Not until, that is, the Education Amendments of 1972 were enacted. Title IX of the Education Amendments states that "sexual harassment is a form of sexual discrimination and is illegal." (What is Sexual Harassment?, page 20) After the Education Amendments were enacted, women began to see that the law was on their side and that it was designed to protect them. Women now saw that
Verbal harassment or abuse
Subtle pressure for sex
Unnecessary patting or pinching
Constant brushing against another employee's body
Demands for sex accompanied by threats of termination
Demands for sex in return for preferential treatment
qualified as components of sexual harassment.(Redress for Success, page 75) Soon after that women began to realize that they could be sexually harassed by anybody, such as by employers, supervisors, co-workers, customers, or even by subordinate employees.(Redress for Success, page 74) With this new understanding that they deserved equal treatment as their male counterparts, women began to hold men responsible for their actions and use the laws to their advantage. The sexual harassment allegations made by Anita Hill in 1991 were not the first and were by far not the most controversial. May cases and hearings prior to the Clarence Thomas Hearing set the stage for the out break of hysteria in 1991.
Landmark Cases
Back as far as 1975, women began to realize that men could not act as they did and still stay within the perimeters of the law. The case of Monge v. Beebe Rubber Company brought the issue of sexual discrimination out into the open in late 1974. The circumstances were that Monge had been fired after her supervisor demanded sex favors that Monge chose not to give. Monge was subsequently fired and she sued for her job back. Previously similar cases had been thrown out of court for lack of evidence (most sexual harassment cases are her word versus his). Also, before 1972 (the Education Amendments), there was no legislation to back women up in their quest for social and economic equality. The Supreme Court ruled that Beebe Rubber Company was unlawful in firing Monge and she was awarded her job back. This sensational ruling set the stage for an outburst of cases of similar circumstances. To further substantiate the newly formed definition of sexual harassment, the ruling in the case Algermarle Paper Co. v. Moody stated that sexual harassment is only illegal if
Sex is a condition of employment
Submission or rejection to sexual suggestions affects decisions concerning the individual
When sexual advances hinder job performance or create an intimidating environment
Based on these definitions, in the case Corne v. Bausch and Lomb, Inc. in 1975 the Supreme Court ruled that if a supervisor sexually harasses a subordinate employee, causing that individual to quit her job, that does not constitute sexual discrimination; he was merely satisfying a personal urge. Along the same line, the case Halpert v. Wetheim stated that the use of coarse language that was not directed at the plaintiff did not constitute sexual harassment. This ruling was reinforced in the Neeley v. American Fidelity Assurance Co, which specified that a supervisors conduct (telling dirty jokes, putting his hands on the employees shoulders) is an action of personal standing, not sexual harassment.
In 1977, however, those rulings was overturned and Corne and Halpert were compensated for their losses. The case that overturned those rulings was Barnes v. Costle, which ruled that if a woman was fired due to refusing to submit to sexual advances, that that was in violation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 and the employer who fired her in liable for his acts. Further advances in equality were achieved in the Marentette v. Michigan Host, Inc. decision, which stated that requiring provocative dress as a term for employment violates Title VII of the Education Acts of 1972.
The greatest preliminary scandal involving sexual discrimination and harassment which ultimately led to the hysteria of the Thomas hearing was the Tailhook Scandal. At the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas, on September 7th, 1991, Paula Coughlin, including a dozen other women, was man- handled, groped, squeezed and abused at a Naval Officer party after the annual Tailhook Convention for Naval Officers. The government tried to cover up the incident, but that was unsuccessful. Finally, women were fed up with dealing with unexcusable sexual misconduct. In the end, one admiral had been reduced in rank, and two others were censured for failing to intervene and stop the harassment. This seemingly unsuccessful event for social equality was in fact a turning point. It broke the seal of the sexual harassment issue for all the nation to see. The Los Angeles Times, in 1992, said that the Tailhook Scandal was "a chilling message to women."(Rights and Respect; What You Need to Know About Gender Bias and Sexual Harassment, page 35)
Clarence Thomas and Sexual Harassment Allegations
In October of 1991, one month after the Tailhook Scandal, Professor Anita Hill testified before a Senate Judiciary Committee regarding sexual harassment charges made against Supreme Court Justice nominee Clarence Thomas. Note, this was not a suit or trial. It was simply a Senate Committee assembled to find out if Clarence Thomas was indeed fit to serve on the Supreme Court. There were no official charges of sexual harassment filed against Judge Thomas, but none were needed. This hearing thrust the sexual harassment issue into the open. The allegations were that Thomas had sexually harassed Anita Hill while both worked for the federal office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) during the 1980's.
The Senate Committee tore into Anita Hill throughout the entire hearing. They questioned why she had waited so long to come into the open with the allegations, or why she chose that specific point in time to make the allegations. Anita Hill brought many other women with her to prove that Thomas was not simply "satisfying a personal urge." All of her attempts to sway the Committee failed. Hill was destroyed by harsh interrogation by both the Committee and by Thomas himself. The ruthlessness by which she was attacked for every allegation by Thomas was astounding. The public, too, was astonished. The overall opinion of the nation was that Thomas had not sexually harassed Hill and that she was making most of it up for her own reasons. Black men especially rallied for Thomas. They saw that the principal of having a black Supreme Court Justice was more important than standing up for the rights of women. Nearly all women agreed with Hill in that Thomas had broken a law and that he should be held accountable for his actions.
Professional criticisms were slightly different. Marcia Greenberger, co-president of the National Women's Law Center, noted that the Hill-Thomas hearings "prompted a sea change. . . in the societal and corporate understanding of sexual harassment and the laws in place to stop it." ("Rights and Respect, page 29) People, for the first time, began to realize that sexual harassment happened on all levels, to all people, and that it was wrong and had to be stopped. An ad in the New York Times stated that "Clarence Thomas outrageously manipulated the legacy of lynching in order to shelter himself from Anita Hill's allegations."(Rights and Respect, page 31) This is in the utmost a correct statement. Thomas stated that Hill's allegations were a modern day lynching of the black man and that her only reason for bringing up the allegation were to better her own position. On the other hand, David Brock, a guest writer for the American Spectator, stated that "Anita Hill is a bit nutty and a bit slutty."(Rights and Respect, page 32) This points out the utter hatred for Hill. Brock, a white male, represented the general opinions of that group almost to the tee. Marcia Greenberger fully represented the women's point of view.
The Senate Judiciary Committee's vote to confirm Judge Clarence Thomas' nomination to the Supreme Court was 52 to 48, the closest vote to confirm a Supreme Court nomination in history.
The Impact of the Hill-Thomas Hearing
The nation, along with Congress, was evenly split across the sexual harassment issue. The reason that this hearing, and not the Tailhook Scandal, thrust the sexual harassment issue into the national spotlight was because judges were supposed to be fair and just, not sexual dominators. If the allegations of sexual misconduct had been confirmed by the Committee, it would have created a great turmoil within the government. The public would trust no government official, even those chosen to lead the nation.
The hearing drastically changed traditional gender role expectations. Men, according to Help Yourself; A Guide for Dealing With Sexual Harassment, page 19, must be "competitive, aggressive, the initiator of social and sexual interactions, responsible, have all the answers, fearless, emotionally stable, secure, strong, self-assured, financially successful, and sexually experienced." After the hearing, along with quickly changing attitudes towards gender role expectation, men saw their roles differently. Being the initiator of social and sexual interactions, being strong and sexually experienced and self-assured could land them in jail. This forced men to stop and think if the woman wanted his sexual advances to continue or not. A new respect for women came with this realization of right and wrong. Women were no longer thought of as "good moms and homemakers, polite, pretty, neat, smelling nice, sensitive and intuitive, supportive of 'her' man, needless, quiet, happy, passive, coy, dependant, and feminine." (Help Yourself, page 19) Women were finally beginning to be seen as equals, deserving equal treatment.
Conclusion
Even with the realization of right and wrong actions concerning man to women interactions, sexual harassment continue
The sexual harassment allegations filed by Professor Anita Hill against Clarence Thomas and the proceeding Senate Judiciary Hearing thrust the issue of sexual harassment into the political arena, the workplace, and every day life.
Introduction
Sexual harassment is a very broad term and can be interpreted in a variety of ways. The National Organization of Women (NOW) defines sexual harassment as "any repeated or unwarranted verbal or physical advance, sexually explicit derogatory statement, or sexually discriminating acts made by someone in the workplace which is offensive or objectionable to the recipient or which interferes with the recipients job performance." (Redress for Success, page 74) Before 1972, there was no penalty for sexual harassment of women at the workplace. Not until, that is, the Education Amendments of 1972 were enacted. Title IX of the Education Amendments states that "sexual harassment is a form of sexual discrimination and is illegal." (What is Sexual Harassment?, page 20) After the Education Amendments were enacted, women began to see that the law was on their side and that it was designed to protect them. Women now saw that
Verbal harassment or abuse
Subtle pressure for sex
Unnecessary patting or pinching
Constant brushing against another employee's body
Demands for sex accompanied by threats of termination
Demands for sex in return for preferential treatment
qualified as components of sexual harassment.(Redress for Success, page 75) Soon after that women began to realize that they could be sexually harassed by anybody, such as by employers, supervisors, co-workers, customers, or even by subordinate employees.(Redress for Success, page 74) With this new understanding that they deserved equal treatment as their male counterparts, women began to hold men responsible for their actions and use the laws to their advantage. The sexual harassment allegations made by Anita Hill in 1991 were not the first and were by far not the most controversial. May cases and hearings prior to the Clarence Thomas Hearing set the stage for the out break of hysteria in 1991.
Landmark Cases
Back as far as 1975, women began to realize that men could not act as they did and still stay within the perimeters of the law. The case of Monge v. Beebe Rubber Company brought the issue of sexual discrimination out into the open in late 1974. The circumstances were that Monge had been fired after her supervisor demanded sex favors that Monge chose not to give. Monge was subsequently fired and she sued for her job back. Previously similar cases had been thrown out of court for lack of evidence (most sexual harassment cases are her word versus his). Also, before 1972 (the Education Amendments), there was no legislation to back women up in their quest for social and economic equality. The Supreme Court ruled that Beebe Rubber Company was unlawful in firing Monge and she was awarded her job back. This sensational ruling set the stage for an outburst of cases of similar circumstances. To further substantiate the newly formed definition of sexual harassment, the ruling in the case Algermarle Paper Co. v. Moody stated that sexual harassment is only illegal if
Sex is a condition of employment
Submission or rejection to sexual suggestions affects decisions concerning the individual
When sexual advances hinder job performance or create an intimidating environment
Based on these definitions, in the case Corne v. Bausch and Lomb, Inc. in 1975 the Supreme Court ruled that if a supervisor sexually harasses a subordinate employee, causing that individual to quit her job, that does not constitute sexual discrimination; he was merely satisfying a personal urge. Along the same line, the case Halpert v. Wetheim stated that the use of coarse language that was not directed at the plaintiff did not constitute sexual harassment. This ruling was reinforced in the Neeley v. American Fidelity Assurance Co, which specified that a supervisors conduct (telling dirty jokes, putting his hands on the employees shoulders) is an action of personal standing, not sexual harassment.
In 1977, however, those rulings was overturned and Corne and Halpert were compensated for their losses. The case that overturned those rulings was Barnes v. Costle, which ruled that if a woman was fired due to refusing to submit to sexual advances, that that was in violation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 and the employer who fired her in liable for his acts. Further advances in equality were achieved in the Marentette v. Michigan Host, Inc. decision, which stated that requiring provocative dress as a term for employment violates Title VII of the Education Acts of 1972.
The greatest preliminary scandal involving sexual discrimination and harassment which ultimately led to the hysteria of the Thomas hearing was the Tailhook Scandal. At the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas, on September 7th, 1991, Paula Coughlin, including a dozen other women, was man- handled, groped, squeezed and abused at a Naval Officer party after the annual Tailhook Convention for Naval Officers. The government tried to cover up the incident, but that was unsuccessful. Finally, women were fed up with dealing with unexcusable sexual misconduct. In the end, one admiral had been reduced in rank, and two others were censured for failing to intervene and stop the harassment. This seemingly unsuccessful event for social equality was in fact a turning point. It broke the seal of the sexual harassment issue for all the nation to see. The Los Angeles Times, in 1992, said that the Tailhook Scandal was "a chilling message to women."(Rights and Respect; What You Need to Know About Gender Bias and Sexual Harassment, page 35)
Clarence Thomas and Sexual Harassment Allegations
In October of 1991, one month after the Tailhook Scandal, Professor Anita Hill testified before a Senate Judiciary Committee regarding sexual harassment charges made against Supreme Court Justice nominee Clarence Thomas. Note, this was not a suit or trial. It was simply a Senate Committee assembled to find out if Clarence Thomas was indeed fit to serve on the Supreme Court. There were no official charges of sexual harassment filed against Judge Thomas, but none were needed. This hearing thrust the sexual harassment issue into the open. The allegations were that Thomas had sexually harassed Anita Hill while both worked for the federal office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) during the 1980's.
The Senate Committee tore into Anita Hill throughout the entire hearing. They questioned why she had waited so long to come into the open with the allegations, or why she chose that specific point in time to make the allegations. Anita Hill brought many other women with her to prove that Thomas was not simply "satisfying a personal urge." All of her attempts to sway the Committee failed. Hill was destroyed by harsh interrogation by both the Committee and by Thomas himself. The ruthlessness by which she was attacked for every allegation by Thomas was astounding. The public, too, was astonished. The overall opinion of the nation was that Thomas had not sexually harassed Hill and that she was making most of it up for her own reasons. Black men especially rallied for Thomas. They saw that the principal of having a black Supreme Court Justice was more important than standing up for the rights of women. Nearly all women agreed with Hill in that Thomas had broken a law and that he should be held accountable for his actions.
Professional criticisms were slightly different. Marcia Greenberger, co-president of the National Women's Law Center, noted that the Hill-Thomas hearings "prompted a sea change. . . in the societal and corporate understanding of sexual harassment and the laws in place to stop it." ("Rights and Respect, page 29) People, for the first time, began to realize that sexual harassment happened on all levels, to all people, and that it was wrong and had to be stopped. An ad in the New York Times stated that "Clarence Thomas outrageously manipulated the legacy of lynching in order to shelter himself from Anita Hill's allegations."(Rights and Respect, page 31) This is in the utmost a correct statement. Thomas stated that Hill's allegations were a modern day lynching of the black man and that her only reason for bringing up the allegation were to better her own position. On the other hand, David Brock, a guest writer for the American Spectator, stated that "Anita Hill is a bit nutty and a bit slutty."(Rights and Respect, page 32) This points out the utter hatred for Hill. Brock, a white male, represented the general opinions of that group almost to the tee. Marcia Greenberger fully represented the women's point of view.
The Senate Judiciary Committee's vote to confirm Judge Clarence Thomas' nomination to the Supreme Court was 52 to 48, the closest vote to confirm a Supreme Court nomination in history.
The Impact of the Hill-Thomas Hearing
The nation, along with Congress, was evenly split across the sexual harassment issue. The reason that this hearing, and not the Tailhook Scandal, thrust the sexual harassment issue into the national spotlight was because judges were supposed to be fair and just, not sexual dominators. If the allegations of sexual misconduct had been confirmed by the Committee, it would have created a great turmoil within the government. The public would trust no government official, even those chosen to lead the nation.
The hearing drastically changed traditional gender role expectations. Men, according to Help Yourself; A Guide for Dealing With Sexual Harassment, page 19, must be "competitive, aggressive, the initiator of social and sexual interactions, responsible, have all the answers, fearless, emotionally stable, secure, strong, self-assured, financially successful, and sexually experienced." After the hearing, along with quickly changing attitudes towards gender role expectation, men saw their roles differently. Being the initiator of social and sexual interactions, being strong and sexually experienced and self-assured could land them in jail. This forced men to stop and think if the woman wanted his sexual advances to continue or not. A new respect for women came with this realization of right and wrong. Women were no longer thought of as "good moms and homemakers, polite, pretty, neat, smelling nice, sensitive and intuitive, supportive of 'her' man, needless, quiet, happy, passive, coy, dependant, and feminine." (Help Yourself, page 19) Women were finally beginning to be seen as equals, deserving equal treatment.
Conclusion
Even with the realization of right and wrong actions concerning man to women interactions, sexual harassment continue
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