Friday, March 13, 2009

Sex, It Leads to Dancing

abstinence, only, sex, education, lobby, vagina, misogyny, stupid,
Apparently, the abstinence only crowd (it doesn't work, but we don't care!) has realized that they are in for a little trouble. Science has proven that abstinence only doesn't work, and is in fact worse than no sex ed at all, and well, with the new President in place, the going might be a little rough.

What's a lobby to do?

Rebrand!

"the talking point repeatedly drilled into the young lobbyists’ heads was that their programs aren’t just about not having sex. Oh, no… they are actually “holistic approaches” to promote “healthy lifestyle choices”.

Longtime abstinence-only defender Robert Rector of the Heritage Foundation spoke, giving the standard false talking points of the movement . . . His most blatant falsehood is that “0%” of comprehensive sex education programs talk about abstinence.

This study was thoroughly debunked by ETR Associates in 2007, as they found that ACF merely studied curricula by doing word counts of “abstinence” and “condom”. . . limited use of the word “abstinence” stems from studies that have shown this word to turn off students and instead used language that produced better results.

Another falsehood he pushed was that “0%” of unintended pregnancies could have been prevented if they had access to or knowledge about contraceptives. Literally… zero. Why? Because they all wanted to have babies. One might say that he pulled this stat out of his “Rector”, so to speak.

Referring to the fact that abstinence only doesn't work, Rector laid out a strategy to spin this report to the media, saying “The other spin I think is very important is not [program] effectiveness, but rather the values that are being taught”, further stating that whether or not these programs work is a “bogus issue”.

That's right: protecting teens from unwanted pregnancies and STDs is a "bogus issue". I'm a little surprised he came out and said it, but that is the truth about the abstinence only crowd. They don't care if teens get pregnant or end up with STDs, in fact, as far as their concerned, babies and AIDS are simply justice for the sluts who dare to have sex. You like fucking? Hope you like herpes, too, whore!

The morals they're teaching, by the way, include the idea that what you're buying with an engagement ring* isn't a symbol of commitment, it's an unused vagina. The more used the vagina, the smaller the ring:

Following their next round of Congressional visits, they held a concert of sorts in front of the Russell Senate Building, full of raps and Christian rock songs about abstinence (including one speaker claiming that if a girl is not a virgin, she doesn’t deserve to have a nice engagement ring).

There's nothing like adding a little misogyny to the mix!

I love it when the religious right wants to lecture me about values.

*I don't wear an engagement ring, and neither my hubby nor I wear wedding rings. What I have instead is a house. I don't like diamonds, but do I ever love my hardwood floors!

9 comments:

  1. "The morals they're teaching, by the way, include the idea that what you're buying with an engagement ring* isn't a symbol of commitment, it's an unused vagina. The more used the vagina, the smaller the ring:"

    Bwahahahaha! That just made my morning!

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  2. i don't know if this ever came up before, but i am divorced.
    i got married at 17 (look, i was living in Alabama. that's excuse enough lol) and divorced at 19.

    when we got engaged, he decided he couldn't pick out the ring alone, i had to come and do it. he brought $3,000. CASH. for JUST THE ENGAGEMENT RING.

    i picked out a trio, an engagement and a wedding ring for each of us. cost something like $350 for all three. he was MORTIFIED that i wanted to spend so LITTLE. one of the few times i actually put my foot down. i literally CAN NOT understand the urge to spend as much on an engagement ring as you will spend on a car. i mean, a century ago, when you could sell it for something resembling its actual value in the event that the guy left, ok, yes - it was the equivilent of a dowry, a safety net. today? FUCK THAT.

    i don't want a HOUSE either. but i could go for a bought apartment, except they don't do that anymore (townhouses, ie condos, yes, but i want no stairs. can't find a FLAT for sale even in NYC, it seems, unless one is uber-rich. sigh)

    so... i mean, i have slept with a lot of people. i don't *deserve* an engagement ring? i would point out that A) in *MY* opinion, having sex with a virgin? NOT FUN. B) i am worth a fuckton more than my goddamn HYMAN, which by the way you misogynistic fuckwits was "stolen" from me at age 5. C) seriously, why isn't virginity important for your MALE children? why only women? does this not bother you? i mean, the way you have it set up in our patriarchy, if you have sex with a guy you aren't worth marrying - but in many (most!) cases, if you DON'T have sex with the guy, he either cheats on you or leaves you, so still not with the getting married.


    hrm... maybe the CC/wingnuts/extremeChristianRight is actually against marriage PERIOD. like, they have ALL totally bought into the Pauline version, to the point where they are rejecting marriage totally, but think that THAT is just too radical to actually say???

    (no, really, this might explain it. you know the story about the supposed "average" dad, who is ALWAYS going to hate ANYONE who his daughter dates, and *really* hates whoever she married because he KNOWS that this dude is fucking his daughter? maybe, because of this ideal of "perfect virginal daughter forever", these dudes are REALLY AGAINST MARRIAGE, because it means that their daughters will HAVE to have sex.
    it could really be so)

    ps. for the record, my dad adores Pete. i think he likes Pete more than he likes me. my dad actually makes Pete sorta umcomfortable, because my dad tries to.. erm... give him advice. sex advice. from all his years of experience. its THE funniest thing EVAR.

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  3. if that posted multiple times, i'm sorry
    i posted, got a "there was a problem with your comment message"
    i reposted, and the comment section (and JUST the comment section) pulled a "this page cannot be displayed", and i had to refresh the page 3 times...
    if it did multiple post, can you get rid of the extras? (i really hate multiple comments. i am quirky :p) thanx

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  4. getting married at 17 in AL basically made you an old maid!

    sex with a virgin seems like the sort of experience that, to me, would involve a lot of restraining oneself and apologizing.

    hubby: what would i do with a virgin, anyway?
    me: other than scare her into a coma?

    btw, if we are going by the "more used the vagina, the smaller the diamond" theory, my engagement ring would have required a magnifying glass to see!

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  5. Married people who don't wear wedding rings? There are some? I'm in love. with you all.
    Us, we have a car.

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  6. To be honest, I hate the way rings feel. And bracelets. And after watching Blood Diamond, I can't feel comfortable about diamonds.

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  7. i agree on the diamond issue. i hate diamonds, i hate where they come from, i hate all the stupid "meaning" now ascribed to them.

    i have a garnet "promise ring". its not an engagment ring, because i said we couldn;t get engaged until we had lived together for one year. i suspect on october 1st it will miraculously morph into an engagement ring.
    if i don't kill him first :D

    "old maid!" lol
    virgins? never did understand the fascination. really. especially in this day of condoms. the only reason i can see for wanting to have a virgin is the (supposed) guarantee that a virgin is disease free. but, like i say condoms. plus you can get STDs without intercourse...

    microscopic diamonds, what will they think of next?
    *I* think they should be given a size based on IQ.
    but who'd want to carry a diamond that big?
    hehehehe

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  8. I think my hubby might have a little trouble getting hold of the Hope Diamond ;)

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  9. i think the Hope diamond is MUCH to small for you!

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