vaginapagina | Links Round Up: Week Ending 23 March 2013 (Reply)

Hey all, and welcome to the latest edition of our Links Round Up!

The LRU is a compilation of items from the past week that may be of interest to VPers and is intended to broaden the kinds of conversations we have here.

To submit articles for next week's round-up, e-mail frolicnaked@vaginapagina.com. If you have additional articles you'd like folks to know about this week, feel free to comment directly to this post.

As a reminder, in lieu of trigger warnings, I use keywords describing the themes of the piece. Please skim these before deciding to read the excerpt or click through for the full article. Outside sources are not safe spaces, and mainstream source's comments should almost always be avoided. The links I highlight don't necessarily reflect VP's views, or even my own, for that matter.

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This week's round-up includes: how to talk about sex and relationships with a special needs child, oral herpes, women who shaped America's health, unpacking the phrase "asking for it," and lingerie and power.

How To Talk About Sex & Relationships With A Special Needs Child by Emma Sterland at The Friendship Circle (Keywords: sex, relationships, consent, sexual health, disability, parenting)
Sadly, a lot of young people with special needs get negative messages about sex – ‘Don’t do that, it’s not nice!’ ‘Stop touching yourself, that’s bad!’ As your child turns into a young adult, they need sensible information and advice to help them develop positive, healthy attitudes.

STD Awareness: Oral Herpes by Anna at Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona Blog (Keywords: sexual health, sexually transmitted infections, herpes, cold sores)
Most cold sores are caused by herpes simplex virus type 1, or HSV-1. Around 60 percent of Americans are infected with HSV-1, and most of these infections are oral, asymptomatic, and acquired in childhood through nonsexual contact.

50 Women Who Shaped America's Health at The Huffington Post (Keywords: women in STEM, health, history)
In honor of Women's History Month, the Healthy Living staff has been thinking about the accomplishments of the women who pioneered work in the sciences. As health journalists, we believe that all doctors and researchers deserve more recognition for their contributions to society. And as women, we can't help but notice that our gender can affect the way we're treated in these disciplines -- from colleague discrimination to legislation aimed at lessening the control female patients have over their bodies, it can sometimes feel as though we're living in a previous era.

“Asking for It”: some personal thoughts on conquest, discipline, and girls’ bodies following the Steubenville rape verdict by by Allison Smith at theshadowsofbirds (Keywords: rape, rape culture, victim blaming, language)
“Asking for it” has come to be used in reference to perceived weakness and the perceived necessity of punishment. This is clear in uses of the phrase outside the context of sexual assault.

Men in Suits, Women in Lingerie: The Power Dynamics of Lingerie and Gender at The Lingerie Lesbian (Keywords: clothing, gender roles, power dynamics) This article also contains an image of a woman in lingerie that may be NSFW.
What then is associated with lingerie? Firstly, it’s not appropriate to show in public. It’s meant to be worn under your clothes, for yourself or shared only with a partner. As powerful as lingerie might make you feel, it’s not appropriate to be worn in a boardroom or to most jobs. Wearing lingerie for your job or in public is seen as attention-seeking or morally bankrupt.

Thoughts on any of these stories? Also, what have you been reading (or writing!) this week?

Links Round Up: Week Ending 23 March 2013

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