At least once a semester I go on a rant to my students about virginity. To me, there are few more destructive concepts in the world. In making my point today, I could focus on cultures in which virginity is so overtly prized that girls are routinely subject to “virginity tests,” which means that an examination is performed on them to see if their hymen is intact—under the mistaken beliefs that a) ...
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The following exchange between Annie Lennox (previously of the Eurythmics) and an interviewer can be found on Pridesource.com: So what do you make of someone like Beyoncé? She recently performed on the MTV Video Music Awards and proclaimed herself a “feminist” during her set. I would call that “feminist lite.” L-I-T-E. I’m sorry. It’s tokenistic to me. I mean, I...
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Until recently, I was absolutely convinced that there was essentially no “generation gap” anymore. When I was young, adults were up in arms about long-haired hippies and rock and roll music. I don’t love all the current music and its messages, but really a lot of it is not all that different from what people my age have always listened to. And while certainly adults will always long for the “good ...
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My daughter is 12. Another mother brought up the idea of introducing the concept of masturbation to our daughters. I am contemplating this but don’t know how I’d bring it up, advise her, etc. For boys, it seems so natural and obvious. Girls have no road map to follow. Any suggestions on how to handle this delicate situation? This is a question near and dear to my heart. I believe very ...
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