Sexuality Group One's Blog: March 2014

Monday, March 31, 2014

Women are not the only ones!

By Abriana Cantaffa

I have recently read an article online that made me want to address the topic of the rape of men. Women are not the only ones who are victims of rape and sexual assault. The article speaks about men in Uganda and their stories. Owiny was to help people in Africa with their traumas. One women was having difficulty with her husband, and eventually the man told Owiny what had happened to him. This man had been captured and rapped three times a day, every day. For three years. He was not the only one, there were many men being raped.

We hear only of stories that the few women tell. Not many men, if any, tell theirs.

Little men have told the story of what has happened to them. In African countries, men can be arrested for being gay. If these men report what has happened to them, not only could they be arrested, but their families and friends would shun them.

A man, Jean Paul (not his real name, due to keeping him protected) told his story of being captured along with other men and women. The men that were captured were raped by different men 11 times the night that they were captured and the nights after that, until Jean Paul was able to get away. Jean Paul could not tell his family, he was so ashamed that this had happened to him. In many countries the gender roles are so strictly defined that he was afraid that he would no longer be considered a man. Men are supposed to be strong, not vulnerable. The wives tend to leave these men because they question whether or not they are still their husband. [1]

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/jul/17/the-rape-of-menWomen have support groups, medical treatment and such things. What about the men? They are just dying on the inside. The rape of men is real, but people do not talk about it.

Gender role is a big part of why men do not report what has happened to them. Men are the strong, family supporter, protector, invulnerable. Women are the dependent, weak and vulnerable. Because of the role of the genders men are too scared to come forward as a victim of rape. Sometimes it is easier for men to deny the truth because society doesn’t see the rape of men as something that happens. Men are not see as victims of rape, rather they are seen as the rapist or aggressor.

[1] Storr, Will. "The rape of men: the darkest secret of war."The Observer, Jully 16, 2011. http://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/jul/17/the-rape-of-men (accessed March 31, 2014).

The Clery Act

by Zachary Agovino

Being safe and secure, and feeling safe and secure, on campus is very important to the wellbeing of all the students here at UNCC and college campuses around the country. One way that makes people more comfortable and safe is knowing what has happened on campus and around the campus in terms of crimes. This has been accomplished by the Clery Act, which came about after the rape and murder of Jeanne Clery in her dorm room at Lehigh University.[1] Jeanne was attacked in her dorm because the doors to the hall were propped open for the convenience of the students.[2] Jeanne’s parents said that they were not worried about safety because “they assumed it was as safe as it looked.” But they were not aware of the crimes that had occurred there recently because the campus security was not required to disclose that information to the public.[3] This lured students into a false sense of security thinking that they had nothing to worry about on a campus that actually had quite a bit of crime.

Clery Act

With the increase in incidents nationwide on college campuses, the Clery Act has become very important to us as college students. The Clery Act itself “requires colleges and universities publish an Annual Security Report (ASR) by October 1, documenting three calendar years of select campus crime statistics including security policies and procedures and information on the basic rights guaranteed victims of sexual assault” and “to have a public crime log”[4] Basically this means the college has to report crimes that happen on or near campus and put the information in an accessible place, i.e. the internet. One of the best way for people to be prepared and make good decisions is to be knowledgeable about the world around them and especially about where they spend about 80% of their time.

College is one of the best times in our lives but it is also the time in our lives when people take the most risks. Knowing about the world we live in significantly reduces the risks we take, and the Clery Act has given us the ability to be prepared.

[1] Gross, Ken, and Andrea Fine. "After Their Daughter Is Murdered at College, Her Grieving Parents Mount a Crusade for Campus Safety." Time Magazine, January 19, 1990. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20116872,00.html (accessed March 31, 2014).

[2] Ibid

[3] ibid

[4] Clery Center, "Summary Of The Jeanne Clery Act." Last modified 2012. Accessed March 31, 2014. http://clerycenter.org/summary-jeanne-clery-act.

Forced Marriages: The Effect on Individuals

By: Sebastian Alvarez Espinoza

Since the establishment of marriages in civilization the practice of forced marriage has been a common one. It has been thought to benefit the couple and the party arranging such union. In many parts of the world men and women are told by their relatives to be part of a union that involves no love. This kind of union is supposed to economically, religiously, and culturally beneficial for the parents and the couple. An example of such unions can be seen in our modern society in groups which are more ethnic with traditions that have been passed down generations. Though this may been seen as a culturally normal aspect there is no established love between the two parties which does not necessarily comply with the right and obligations that have to be fulfilled between them and their children. The effect that marriage produces on an individual is of great length and a burden which also the state may have to pay for. In many countries such as Afghanistan where the number of women that are forced into marriage is 80% percent.[1] Many of these women that are forced into this kind of union are under 18 and are paired with men that are far beyond their age. Though the practice of forced marriage is strange in the Western World this practice was not as strange in the 18th century.

During this time period many individual were forced into marriages in America and Europe for the benefit of both families. An example of this would be the marriage between monarchies to ensure treaties and to control territory. This all changed for better at the turning of the 19th century during the Victorian Era where the importance of romance in a union was of more value than the benefits of it. This part of history brought a great deal of change to the American which became the foundation for other movements such as Transcendentalist and Romanticism movement. Due to this movement many individuals started to look over their life and value the love for one another than their rational benefits. Though the Victorian Era brought a big change on how marriages worked it also created many laws which would need to be follow up. An example of this laws would be not being able to marry your deceased wife's sister.[2] Another law would be proving the ability to support the lifestyle of your wife. In my opinion many of these changes in the Victorian Era shaped how we view marriage now in the western world. These changes have allowed us to marry and share our life with our special other. Unlike us many individuals are forced to marry another person whom they have no love for or due to their situation. Marriage is the founding part of every nation and by not allowing happiness to flow in a community they can be foreseen to fall apart. A nation like Afghanistan which is mostly composed of forced marriages, the effect that is has on the country is massive by having a broken economy and almost no human rights. The importance of marriage is a great value which affects on how communities are affected and how they lived today.

[1] Linny, Hon. "80% of brides in Afghanistan are forced into marriage." . http://www.233prime.com/80-of-brides-in-afghanistan-are-forced-into-marriage/ (accessed March 30, 2014).

[2] "Victorian Days." Accessed March 31, 2014. http://www.angelpig.net/victorian/engagement.html.

Sunday, March 30, 2014

March Blog- Danger of Birth Contro

Danger of the Pill and Other Forms of Birth Control

By: Caroline Christy

In todays society the media is flooded with “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom 1,2,3..”, and even some of my friends that I grew up with and are my age are havin

g kids. I have to ask myself have they never heard of birth control? Well after doing some research even if they have its not always 100% effective.

It is estimated that 150 million women worldwide take birth control. Many people take birth control pills not only to prevent pregnancy but also to help with cramping, spotting, acne and irregular periods. [1] But they do not consider what the birth control is masking over; it could be a very serious medical problem. One of the main concerns with taking birth control pills is that you are putting synthetic hormones into your body and tricking your body to think that you are pregnant, and then when you start taking the placebo pills your body experiences a huge drop in its estrogen levels which causes your body to go on its period. This is problematic as your body gets used to having a certain level of estrogen and then all the sudden it drops to a much lower level.

The pill is not the only form of birth control that has risks. The birth control shot, which is commonly known as the Depo-Provera shot, can increase a women’s chance of getting HIV. [2]Also the shot has not been around for to long of a time so the long-term side effects are up in the air. Another downfall is women can react differently coming off the shot, it is unclear how long it would take a women to get pregnant after coming off of the shot. It could be as soon as 3 months or as long as 2 years. The uncertainty is what is scary.

The NuvaRing is another form of birth control that is inserted vaginally and then removed during your menstrual week. The main problem with the NuvaRing is that it can cause blood clots, just like any other birth control, but NuvaRing is

notorious for causing these in women.[3] Many people have filed law suits against this company because of the horrible side effects it has caused and even death in some cases.

Just like any other medicine out there in the world birth control has its pros and cons. At least in this day and age we do not have Comstock Laws[4] that prevent the information for circulating. It is a women’s job to be informed and look up which birth control will would best for her. I know for me personally writing this blog has given me a lot of information I did not know before.

[1] "Body Ecology Healthy Diet." All Body Ecology Articles. N.p., 29 May 2008. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.

[2] "Body Ecology Healthy Diet." All Body Ecology Articles. N.p., 29 May 2008. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.

[3] "How Does NuvaRing Work?" NuvaRing: How It Works. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014

[4] Opposition of Birth Control (Lecture, UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, 2/4/2014)

The Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Diseases in the Victorian Era

by Sam Ackels

The 19^th Century, or “Victorian Era,” was an extremely revolutionary time in America. The American Revolution was now over and America began to see exponential economic growth. Society became increasingly industrialized and modernized. Science and medicine also had a giant breakthrough in this era with many bright minds like Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell. All of these new ideas and technologies inspired Americans to question their roots and begin to ask more questions. This led to much experimentation, especially sexual experimentation, in this era as shown through these various social and biological ideas.[1] This newfound sense of liberation encouraged young Americans in this time period to be free and express themselves without the fear of going against old traditions.

As one can imagine, the amount of sex Americans were having during this time period was extremely higher than the past. Sex became extremely widespread throughout this time period and began to reach a point where it could not be well controlled. STDs began to infect people at an alarming rate and no methods of combating STDs were yet developed. The most common STD in Victorian America was syphilis with an estimated ten percent of all Americans suffering from it.[2] Syphilis is a chronic contagious usually venereal and often congenital disease caused by a spirochete (Treponema pallidum) and if left untreated producing chancres, rashes, and systemic lesions in a clinical course with three stages continued over many years.[3] Since medicine and contraception was a relatively new thing in this era, help was nearly impossible to come by and there was no readily available cure. In an attempt to combat syphilis, doctors and inventors such as Charles Goodyear began developing and advocating the use of rubber condoms which were now extremely cheap and easy to make compared to the sheep guts condoms previously reserved for the upper class.[4] Treatment and prevention was not just reserved for males, however. Most females used douching as a method of treating syphilis and other possible STDs.[5] Douching is essentially spraying water into the vagina in an effort to clean it out. No real cures would arrive until the twentieth and twenty-first centuries but at least the American people had a head start on treating these awful diseases.

[1] Marsh, Jan. Victoria and Albert Museum, "Sex & Sexuality in the 19th Century." Accessed March 30, 2014. http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/s/sex-and-sexuality-19th-century/.

[2] John H. Stokes, The Third Great Plague: A Discussion of Syphilis for Everyday People (Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company, 1920), 26.

[3] Merriam-Webster, "syphilis." Accessed March 30, 2014. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/syphilis.

[4] Case Western Reserve University, "19th Century Artifacts." Accessed March 30, 2014. http://www.case.edu/affil/skuyhistcontraception/online-2012/19thCentury.html.

[5] Ibid