I’m beginning to loose track of all the hysterically anti-woman-having-sex, anti-comprehensive sex-ed, and anti-contraception rhetoric we’ve heard from the Radical Rightwing, which is now being taught to young people in schools and has supplanted reason and science. Most of this rhetoric is outright contemptuous towards women’s sexuality, women’s reproductive rights, and the Queer Community–our three favorite scapegoats for all of society’s ills. Anyway, here’s more Rightwing zaniness in the sphere of sex-education (or lack thereof) via Feministing. And of course, it’s all directed towards young women who are solely to blame for STDs, teen pregnancy, and expenses. Never mind hormonal adolescent males as they are–as usual–absolved of any responsibility by the Rightwing for any of this.
Republicans don’t favor comprehensive sex ed for high school students, but apparently it’s a-OK by the time you’re a Capitol Hill staffer. That must be why Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma sponsored a “Star Wars”-themed STD slide show yesterday for young Congressional aides.
At the event, Coburn hypocritically advised staffers to use condoms. He has long been an anti-condom crusader.
Coburn’s STD presentation even contained a special message for the ladies. Apparently, it’s up to us alone to stop the spread of STDs:
“What would happen in this country if the young women would say no [to sex] until they’re 20?” [Coburn] asked. “Disease would go down, the pregnancy rate for unwed mothers would go down, the social costs for the next two generations would go down.”What else can we learn from Coburn? The death penalty should be applied to abortion providers. Women with breast implants are healthier. And “rampant lesbianism” is ruining Oklahoma high schools. Plus, it’s a good idea to serve pizza to accompany a graphic STD slide show. Ewwww.
Um, copyright infringement anyone? Does George Lucas know about this? Darth Vader, my favorite villain of all time, would be very displeased with Coburn abusing the Dark Side of the Force for this kind of stupidity. And Vader’s sex-ed classes would probably be much more informative for young people. After he gets done choking them with his mental powers. But at least young people would learn something, unlike in Abstinence-Only courses.
So if all girls refrain from sexual activity until they’re in their twenties, boys and young men will have to a.) masturbate, b.) ask the twenty-something-year-old women to have sex with them, c.) refrain from anything sexual themselves, or d.) “experiment” with homosexuality…or find out that they were Gay to begin with anyway. But hey, it’s not boys’ and young men’s fault for STDs, teen pregnancy, sexual “promiscuity”, or the costs that come with it. Females’ are the sexual “gatekeepers”, so let’s just look in the mirror and blame ourselves (for the millionth time), ladies. Gotta love all those gender prescribed burdens we have…
Don’t forget the right wing’s latest efforts to ensure millions of women die of cancer rather than risk giving them a vaccine that might encourage promiscuous behavior – yes, by girls.
http://asilentcacophony.blogspot.com/2005/05/right-wingnuts.html
Regarding the most asinine portion of the afore-mentioned idiocy:
What would happen in this country if the young women and young men were all taught about contraception, condoms, safe sex, making intelligent decisions and dealing with the emotional aspects of sex and, oh yeah, if young men were taught to respect women instead of objectifying and using them? And if everyone was taught how to recognize all types of abuse and how to prevent it and deal with it? And birth control, condoms, HIV tests and any other information anyone might need to make safe, informed decisions and act on them, were all made readily available with no stigma for using them?
Disease would go down, the unwanted pregnancy rate for women both married and unmarried (thus bringing the abortion rate down), domestic abuse and rape would decrease, and more people would feel perfectly happy, and safe, about whatever decision they made regarding sexuality.
And, of course, the last part of that would make this poor excuse for an elected official very, very upset. Imagine, women making their own, informed decisions, and enforcing them when they are threatened, and—maybe—having sex happily without the STD’s, pregnancy, and stigmatizing single-motherhood that wingnuts like this want to impose on them as punishment for not being meek little virgins before marriage and meek, obedient incubators after marriage.
And all of these wonderful results of my plan would happen without the need for millions of young women to sacrifice their sexual freedom. That’s the best part. Compared to the plan of Wingnut of the Moment here, I prefer the status quo.
Notice he never says anything about rape? What does that say about him? Does he honestly think that promiscuous young women are a worse problem than sexual assault? And did it occur to anyone else that some of the more manipulative young men might respond to the sudden lack of available classmates that they might forcibly override the girls’ refusal? They’d get their power, dispense punishment for making choices the guys find inconvenient, and sex all in one. Bet the Senator doesn’t give a damn. After all, it must have been something she wore, and how can you expect a guy to control his own urges?
I hope that he, too, meets a seagull who really has to go.
Ohhh, my, what a delightful idea. Darth Vader teaching sex-ed.
Wouldn’t need a cucumber to demonstrate condom use, either. That’s what the lightsaber’s for.
He’s your favorite too, Amp? Great minds think alike.
Uh, it was me who posted this, or are you actually asking Amp? But yeah, Darth Vader and his constantly loud wheezing-self is my favorite.
Why, why, why, why do people love to assume that saying no to sex is so easy for girls, so hard for boys. It’s always just too much to ask that the boys keep it zipped. I just don’t buy it. Never have, never will.
You know, I have to wonder if they think it’s so easy for girls to say no to boys because it’s so easy for girls to say no to them.
It’s fascinating the view of the world that this stuff gives you. It’s so animalistic, but we’re the freaks? Girls with no sexual drives, boys with nothing but…and sex only for reproductive purposes. Girls are responsible for boys’, and if anything happens, it’s all the girls’ fault.
It explains why so many conservative men take the slightest criticism as being from man-hating malebashers. Either they don’t see the process by wihch all their actions are blamed on women, or they’re perfectly fine with that process.
“Women with breast implants are healthier. ”
Hmm. That is the most picturesque statement I’ve ever heard of from a politician, I’m wondering how exactly does it relate to his other beliefs on sex and women.
Passive, choiceless, exclusively straight, irresistible sexual object for men but deprived of her own sex drive, and with breast implants… an inflatable doll?
That hardly seems sufficient for this level of assclownery. Better he should meet one hundred seagulls, a lit cigarette, and a detailed re-enactment of that gas-station scene from Hitchcock’s The Birds.
The worst part of this kind of right-wing chicanery is the lack of credible demonstration that there’s much of a problem to begin with. The facts seem to suggest that any of the supposed ills arising from teen sex have been declining steadily for some time now. Sure, it’s best to have real info and contraceptive/STD protection available to all who could use them, but the Christian right’s proposition that Rome is burning because of these things is a red herring. To my mind, it isn’t Rome that’s burning, merely some trashcans in isolated quarters of it.
We lib/lefts, of course, have our own versions of these harengs rouges designed almost with retention of the culture war’s viability in mind. I’m thinking of feminist hyperbole over ‘threats’ to Roe v. Wade and the equation of AIDS with bubonic plague or even the pneumonia pandemics of the early 20th century. The more things change…..
So being unable to obtain an abortion in 85% of US counties doesn’t count as a threat fulfilled? That’s interesting.
perhaps that’s because the rightwing *are* hormonal adolescent males.
over ‘threats’ to Roe v. Wade
Why do you believe that these threats are nonexistent?
i too was a bit taken aback by the implant comment. what, if anything, that had to do with the subject at hand (sorry, couldn’t help myself.), remains a mystery to me.
you left one very critical aspect out of your otherwise interesting rant: coburn didn’t get to congress by writing a “why i want to be a congressman” , in 250 words or less, application. he got there because lots of people voted for him. so did the rest of his ilk. therein lies the problem.
mr. coburn is, sadly, representative of a significant segment of the population. this segment truly believes what he says. until you can change the outlook of his constituents, the coburns will continue to wield power. that is the real challenge. unfortunately, it is a challenge not taken seriously so far by the democrats.
Let’s be honest, the real reason the fundagelicals don’t wanty women to have sex until marriage is because they don’t want their wives to know how bad they are in bed.
Y’know, if I were a woman from a state where there were a lot of men like Coburn, I might be driven to rampant lesbianism too. (Note: I don’t really think lesbians are usually “created” by bad encounters with men any more than straight women are “created” by bad encounters with women. I was just making fun of Coburn.)
Hmmm… evidently <FONT> tags don’t work when posted. I meant to make the disclaimer the same color as the background, so that it had to be highlighted to be read, so it wouldn’t come off as taking things to seriously, but now I’ve gone and taken things to seriously with my monologue on why the disclaimer is visible so I’ll shut up now.
Women are allowed to have sex, they just arn’t allowed to enjoy it.
Young men and women are taught about these things to varying degrees both in school and society. Are you saying that because someone demonstrates safe sex, people (teens!) are mature enough to choose what is best for them? The safest choices? Dream on.
Women are allowed to have sex, they just aren’t allowed to enjoy it.
Well, married women, anyway. Those of us who would prefer to never marry are expected to stay off sex our whole lives, too. You know, it’s only fair– From the POV of a completely deranged person or elected official.
They are mature enough by default- nature made them so. They are sexual, they can reproduce. Since we have more or less come to a consensus that teen marriage is undesireable, then we have to deal somehow with their sexuality, not pretend it doesn’t exist and not feed them lies. Babies cry, toddlers throw tantrums and teenagers are sexual and engage in risky behavior. ALL of them, not just the boys. Safe sex education is the most effective way of curtailing the risky sexual behavior, and it is also a way to prepare teens for their futures as husbands and wives. Maybe if we called it “marriage prep class” it would appeal to the hide you head in the sand types who apparently have amnesia about their youth.
“Never mind hormonal adolescent males as they are”“as usual”“absolved of any responsibility by the Rightwing for any of this.”
Well, that seems unfair, to be sure, but when it comes to sex, hormonal adolescent males satisfy the M’Naghten Test for insanity and are by definition not culpable.
“ALL of them, not just the boys. Safe sex education is the most effective way of curtailing the risky sexual behavior, and it is also a way to prepare teens for their futures as husbands and wives.”
Surely you jest.
Elena, not everyone marries and remember that some of those teens aren’t heterosexual so what would be the point of them learning how to be “good wives and husbands” if they aren’t allowed to marry their partner? Teaching teens how to be responsible adults period when it comes to sexual encounters (ie: condoms, birth control pills, knowing your partner, etc) would be more effective and realistic as not everyone ends up married. And those that do marry stand the chance of ending up divorced for various reasons. I seriously doubt that there can be a realistic “marriage prep course” as all marriages are different and there is no such thing as the perfect marriage. Reasonbly stable and successful–yes, but not perfect. A lot of those “marriage prep courses” are also deeply tied in with a religious beliefs that not all teens and people in general share within a public school system. And people certainly shouldn’t marry due to pressure from others especially if they themselves are still unsure of the stability of their relationship with their partner.