Links Round-Up: Week ending 26 August 2012

[also-warriors.livejournal.com]

After a hiatus, welcome to our weekly 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 to the round-up, e-mail also_warriors@vaginapagina.com

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. 

This week's round-up includes: teaching good sex, a Victorian sex scholar; TV boosts the self-esteem of white boys; stigma and teenage pregnancy; sperm donation lawsuit; a collection of writings on "legitimate rape"

1. Teaching Good Sex at New York Times (Keywords: sex ed, teaching, parenting)
   

   Across the country, the approach ranges from abstinence until marriage is the only acceptable choice, contraceptives don’t work and premarital sex is physically and emotionally harmful, to abstinence is usually best, but if you must have sex, here are some ways to protect yourself from pregnancy and disease. The latter has been called “disaster prevention” education by sex educators who wish they could teach more ... “What if our kids really believed we wanted them to have great sex?” Vernacchio asked near the end of an evening talk he gave in January primarily for parents of ninth graders who would attend his sex-ed minicourse. “What if they really believed that we want them to be so passionately in love with someone that they can’t keep their hands off them? What if they really believed we want them to know their own bodies?”




2. The Sex Scholar at Stanford (Keywords: sexology, history)
   

   Decades before Kinsey, Stanford professor Clelia Mosher polled Victorian-era women on their bedroom behavior—then kept the startling results under wraps.




3. TV can boost self-esteem of white boys, study says at CNN (Keywords: media, racism)
   

   according to a new study, watching TV might actually boost your child's self-esteem -- that is, if he's a white male.
   Parents of white girls and African-American children, however, might want to limit the amount of time their kids spend in front of the tube. The self-esteem of white girls, black girls and black boys decreases with TV consumption, says the study, published in Communication Research.




4. What To Expect When You’re (Young And) Expecting at Reproductive Justice Blog (Keywords: parenting, stigma)
   

   When I look back on those frightening moments in the hospital room and being too afraid of the nurse’s judgment to push the call button, I wonder about how many young moms and dads hesitate to reach out for help and support when they need it?




5. Sperm Donation Lawsuit: Woman Sues FDA Over Sperm Donation Regulations at Huffington Post (Keywords: artifical insemination, wealth)
   

   "Jane Doe," who is in a relationship with another woman, filed the suit after FDA regulations prohibited her from attempting to become pregnant via artificial insemination without an intermediary such as a sperm bank. Instead, Jane wanted to use the sperm of a trusted friend and involve him in her child's life.
   
   But according to FDA guidelines, all donors must go through a medical intermediary and undergo expensive and time-consuming medical tests before each conception attempt, even if several are required. In the end, each attempt can cost up to $2000, and is highly regulated by the intermediary.

   Bonus: since 2005, there has been an FDA ban on men who have had sex with a man or had sex for pay in the past 5 years donating sperm. Read the FDA guidelines here.


A collection of links on defining "legitimate" rape. Read with care and be gentle with yourself.


6. 1. Background: Rep. Todd Akin: The Statement and the Reaction at New York Times
      

      The sequence of events after Representative Todd Akin, Republican of Missouri, commented to a St. Louis television station on pregnancy as a result of rape.

   2. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I’VE WRITTEN ABOUT MY RAPE, AND I’M DOING IT FOR YOU, TODD AKIN at xojane
   3. Hard words: Do we know what we’re talking about when we talk about rape? at National Post
   4. Pregnant Woman Relieved To Learn Her Rape Was Illegitimate at The Onion

What have you been reading (or writing!) this week?

Painful Period

[latechgrad26.livejournal.com]

Greetings All

I'm currently experiencing severe menstrual cramps. I feel the pain throughout my abdomen, legs, and back. I've been having my menstrual cycle since I was 12 and I've had painful periods since then, I'm now 30. I've tried birth control pills (Lybrel, Ortho Tricyclen, Seasonique, Ovcon 35, Microgestin), Lupron, painkillers (Vicodin, Vioxx, Ponstel, Motrin), and nothing seems to work. I had a laparoscopy to determine if I had endometriosis in 2005 and the results were negative. I also had a D&C at the same time. I've had ovarian cysts since 2005 and I have fibroid tumors, some have now calcified but I have several others.

I was taking Junel but after I started my current pack of pills 3 weeks ago, I've been bleeding. I saw my doctor on Thursday and he told me that he'd be switching me to Junel Fe 1.5/30 but I'm wary of continuing to take birth control pills at this point. He also informed me that my blood platelets were extremely low, I don't know if that's related to the lengthy bleeding or not. He prescribed Ponstel but I feel like I just threw $42 away for medicine that has never worked for me in the past. He's unable to prescribe stronger pain medicine so I'm out of luck.

Is there anything else that I can do? Thank you in advance for any suggestions or advice that you can offer.

back pain on right side around bra band

[dolphin-grl.livejournal.com]

I have had terrible ache (flu like) for a week. I get chills and then I'm hot but no temperature, I don't do anything active so it is not muscle related. The pain is concentrated on the right side where my bra is. Occationally, I get lower pain in my overt region but it is maybe twice in the last week and goes away.
I feel tired all the time. There is no pain when I go to the bathroom. Could this be a cyst? Or something else? I have considered kidney, cyst, gall bladder, ulcer, hormonal issues, etc. I have long wondered if I had pcos because of the excess hair I have on my stomach but I've never checked into it.


I'm not on any medications.
Yesterday I got this full feeling in my stomach and today I started spotting with dark blood.
I cannot be pregnant so you can rule that out. Any ideas?

Probiotics

[skay210.livejournal.com]

Hi all! Sorry this isn't exactly directly vagina related, but I know you guys will be able to help as always. 

Brief backstory on me in case this matters -- 24, female, in fairly good vaginal health (no STDs, never had a YI or BV, etc.). However I had this minor little bladder cancer thing happen this year, and while I've never had a UTI before this year in my life, all the procedures (catheters, cystoscopies, etc.) I've had for the cancer have made me a bit prone. Therefore I've been on quite a few antibiotics this year.

I take probiotics when I'm taking antibiotics on my doctor's advice and luckily (knock on wood!) have not had the antibiotics cause any disturbances down below. My question is this -- can I keep taking probiotics daily even when I'm not on an antibiotic? What are the benefits? What are the risks? What is the best brand or does it not really matter?

Thanks in advance!