Mass Observation: Sex and Sexuality

Blood Donations by Gay Men

2007-05-24T03:54:00.000-05:00

So there's been a bit of a big thing recently about the FDA deciding whether or not gay men (or, as the form says, men who have "had sex with another man, even once, since 1977") will be allowed to give blood. As of right now, they're not allowed to. This measure was initiated at the start of the AIDS epidemic in an effort to prevent spread of the disease. However, since that time, there have been significant advances in technology which allows the blood banks to determine if the blood is safe for use or not in a fairly short time period. Thus why does the resistriction remain? It almost seems to be a social block against the GLBT community—and gay men in particular; a retention of old stereotypes.

Interestingly, while the FDA has chosen to uphold the restriction, it is the blood banks (such as the Red Cross) which are requesting the restriction be lifted and arguing most stridently against its continued restriction.

If you're interested, here's a link for an article on the issue from Time:
Ban Kept for Gay Men Donating Blood

Quite a Headline

2007-05-24T03:29:00.000-05:00

How's this for a headline:

Cheney's Lesbian Daughter Has Son

Interesting, because the emphasis is more on the fact that Mary Cheney is a lesbian than on the fact that she just had a baby.

And really, when you think about it, don't most births just get announced in the "Births" section of the paper, rather than getting a whole article written about their birth? This must be one special baby. Geez.

FOUND

2007-04-30T18:40:00.000-05:00

So I discovered this great website this evening that kind of reminds me of Postsecret…only a little different. It's called FOUND Magazine. Basically, people just submit strange little things they find in random places (often notes, or drawings, or pictures) and the editors put them together in a magazine.

More pertinant to this particular blog, FOUND also has a companion website, DIRTY FOUND, which has all of the found things that are "too dirty for FOUND."

Another Post Secret

2007-03-22T00:41:00.000-05:00

I liked this one because of it's insinuation of inequality between heterosexual and homosexual couples. Even though we feel as though we're treating everyone with the same degree of respect, we aren't always. It's the little things we do that give away our true feelings and attitudes.

And I'm only slightly in love with Post Secret, I swear. :)

So I'm thinking I should post something that's not Post Secret soon, huh? That might get to be a copyright issue if I don't. Well, as I'm currently out of the country, in New Zealand, I will be posting things that are related mostly to Oceania, unless CNN gives me something good!

Post Secret

2007-01-04T14:11:00.000-05:00

Like any number of people out there, I am addicted to Post Secret. Each week, I faithfully check the Post Secret website to see what new secrets have been revealed. I realized while I was looking at them this week that quite a lot of the secrets have to do with sex and sexuality. Here's a quick sampling of some from this week:

Mary Cheney's Pregnancy

2006-12-06T22:57:00.000-05:00

Mary Cheney, the openly lesbian daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, has recently announced that she is pregnant. This is causing a bit of a ruckus amongst both gay-rights groups and those who do not support equal rights for the gay community. Beyond the fact that Mary Cheney and her partner, Heather Poe, are planning to raise this child together (an uncomfortable thought for many), the media also brings to light that Cheney and Poe moved to Virginia to be closer to America's Second Family (aka: the VP), yet Virginia is one of a few states that has very strict rules against same-sex couples, meaning that, should they stay in Virginia, Poe will not have custody over this child.

And of course, there is always the fact that the second most powerful man in the nation, who represents a conservative party which generally does not support gay rights, has a daughter who is openly gay and now having a child who will be raised with her female partner.

If anyone's interested, here's the article I read about this: http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/12/06/cheney.daughters.ap/index.html

(Professor, I know you will not be taking this post into consideration for grading, but I thought it was interesting and wanted to put it up anyway.)

Clothing selections despite frigid temperatures

2006-12-06T08:29:00.000-05:00

That Victoria's Secret ad appealing to the demand for cozy sweaters this holiday season must not be working. Regardless of temperature change, I have observed a large number of people wearing low-cut or sleeveless tops or open-toed shoes while out, braving the elements in the name of looking sexy.

In one bar I observed only 4 women wearing sweaters or any other type of clothing that seemed suited for winter wear. In the same bar, almost half the women present had on some sort of high heel or sandal, equipping them for a more sexualized appearance but perhaps not for winter walking. Of the 12 women I observed walking in the door in the course of 15 minutes, 5 of them removed bulky layers of scarves and coats. The others either came in light shawls, thin jackets or no coat at all. Many audibly complained of being cold but the answer "wear a sweater!" or something similar never came up.

While many of the women I observed sacrificed warmth for a sexy appearance, the men exhibited almost the complete opposite. I saw nearly all of the men in the same bar wearing warm clothes, from turtlenecks to sweaters to one man who even kept his gloves on. Just taking the whole bar in at once, the majority of skin visible belonged to the women. This ratio seems to remain consistent with the changing months and seasons.

More sexy advertising

2006-12-06T02:26:00.000-05:00

When I saw this, I immediately thought to myself, "do cozy sweaters really qualify as the world's sexiest gift?" The blatant display of sexually charged advertising seems to appeal to the gift-giving sensibilities of a romantically linked couple or maybe those who would like to be romantically linked. The slight, coy way the model cocks the pink, stylized Santa hat is a manner of channeling appealing imagery (like Santa's hat, maybe symbolizing gifts or happiness) and turning it into something sexually engaging. While this isn't the most obvious example of fetishizing and sexualizing otherwise neutral imagery and behaviors (a better one would probably be for Herbal Essences shampoo, for isntance), this ad is considerable in its attempts.

Sidenote: The location of the model is somewhat awkward, as she doesn't seem to stand out as much as the dark pink box advertising express delivery. The asymmetry at one time works to clearly define the model from the text, but at the other time prevents her from really being the center of attention. That further indicates the model's superfluous nature and her role as a selling device for cozy sweaters and scented lotions.

Private party

2006-12-06T02:05:00.000-05:00

Tonight hosted a private party of which I arrived for the aftermath. With empty drinks and plates of picked-over food littered about and only a few stragglers in the back sections talking over drinks, onlookers might have been curious as to what had taken place. Well over a majority of the couples talking were same-sex. The glassware selections ranged from dainty martini glasses to sugar-rimmed shot glasses, and the server seemed to be making no attempt to clean up after the party. To do so would have been an interruption. The patrons' clothing was business casual but nothing that would lead to speculation on the theme of the party. Still not a jeans and t-shirt crowd, though. Nonetheless, those who stayed remained coupled off. Surrounding the reserved section were the usual customers, seated with laptops, textbooks and coffee mugs. Despite their isolation, the private party appeared intimate and concealed. They contrasted the busy workers around them and made no moves to get up and leave, even when last call was made. A few couples left in twosomes eventually, but for the most part everyone left alone. The party that fostered a strongly-felt intimate atmosphere was evidently unsuccessful in translating it back out into the real world.

It Is Way Too Late and I Am Way Too Tired…

2006-12-06T01:50:00.000-05:00

…and there is simply not enough caffeine available at the moment. However…

LK is complaining about a professor and how he is not very pleasant to work with and hasn't graded papers they turned in at the beginning semester.

CK: Well, he needs to stop having sex with his wife and get some sh*t done!

Well, you probably had to be here for it to be funny, but it's interesting that we blame people's faults (in our eyes) on sexual habits that are not socially acceptable (like excessive sex).

Gender Differences in Ads

2006-12-06T01:03:00.000-05:00

Most media seems to present women in a rather unflattering light by highly sexualizing them, such as in this image:

Here, we see the woman dressed only in bra, panties, heels, and nylons, draped across a seemingly indifferent man fully dressed in a business suit.

This image, in contrast, is sexualizing the man. He is wearing no shirt to show off a well-toned body and is surrounded by women who are dressed fairly conservatively, as you might expect to see regular women dressed if you were walking through the Mall on a spring day.

Interestingly, the second ad is selling jeans (it is Guess, after all), but you really can't see the jeans in the add. And what the first ad is selling…I really couldn't say (if it wasn't a cut out, I might know better).

Another point, the ads probably sexualize the people shown based on the audience they are aiming it for. If the Guess ad is for men's jeans (which I presume it is as the man is the focal point of the picture), then they sexualize the man to say "If you wear Guess jeans then you, too, can have this amazing body and be surrounded by women!" The first ad could be aimed either at men or at women: to women, it could be saying that "You too can be this sexy if you buy product X!" but to men it could be saying "You too can have women in lingerie draping themselves over you if you buy product X!"

And if someone with more media understanding wants to give a better evaluation of the ads than I am capable of doing, do feel free. This, after all, is what we have comments for.

These images were taken from about-face.org.

Blogthings . . .

2006-12-05T23:19:00.000-05:00

What kind of sexy are you?

This is a quiz that girls are encouraged to put in their blogs. If you answer the questions an appropriate type of sexy is selected to "fit" you. Its interesting to see what kind of questions they ask and the fact that is is targeted to younger girls. Is sexy an appropriate topic for girls??? Check it out and find out what kind of sexy you are?? Post your type of sexy as a comment.

Sex at work Part 3: Sexuality and the Internet

2006-12-05T21:30:00.000-05:00

It's been quite the trip taking the time to really observe the quantity of sexual displays that take place at Tryst. I noticed that a few of the other mass observation blogs made note of Tryst's intense role among the D.C. youth demographic and just the sheer number of observable trends that transpire here, be it via clothing choices, laptops, sexual endeavors and dating rituals and more. As an aside, Open City (also mentioned in another M.O. blog) is owned by the same couple who owns Tryst and there is a significant amount of attention afforded to creating these atmospheres. To assume that none of this is at least a little intentional would be misguided.

The Internet thing has become a whole new beast in the dating game. Looking across the crowded floor, I see at least 25 laptops and on those screens that are visible, at least 5 are on MySpace. At least 3 are on craigslist.org, a dark horse in the online sexuality front. The "missed connections" segment of the craigslist.org community comes off as quite popular, with people seemingly screening the vast listings of people looking for people they may have passed by on the Red Line or in an elevator somewhere. Do people actively look for themselves or is there something to be said for observing the huge quantities of felt connections in the course of one day in one city?

Here are a few links to craigslist missed connections pertaining to sightings at Tryst:

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/mis/242578045.html
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/mis/242440467.html

MySpace lacks the definite anonymity of craigslist's missed connections but still bears the disconnected, technological method of finding potential mates. Throughout the day, many people are observed taking breaks from what appears to be legitimate work to peruse MySpace profiles.

More about sex at work

2006-12-05T18:07:00.000-05:00

Interesting anecdote:

A girl was serving on the floor at work the other day and a younger man sat down at her table. He ordered a beer and she asked to see his ID, as is customary. She noticed he had an ID from her university in his wallet and asked if he went there. His response was, "surely you aren't going to card your professor, right?" She took a moment to remember the face and realized that he had been her professor indeed, many years ago. She said she still had to check his ID and he obviously started flirting with her about it and she walked away to get his beer. While talking to the bartender, she mentioned the former professor flirting with her, and the bartender's response was, "sounds like a win-win situation. You get with a teacher and he gets with a student."

Is that a win-win situation?

Sexy Commercial

2006-12-05T12:14:00.000-05:00

So, youtube is amazing and I just found this ridiculous commercial with Paris Hilton in a bathing suit cleaning a car and then she randomly starts to eat Carl Jr's Spicy BBQ Six dollar burger and the tagline is "That's Hot." Its pretty insane you must see it . . .

Paris Hilton and Spicy Six dollar burger . . .is this sexy?"

Being Sexy in the Office

2006-12-05T11:29:00.000-05:00

This is an observation of my commute to work this morning:

When I got on the bus there were only two people on it. A woman reading a book entitled "Something borrowed," which was obviously about marriage. Is reading this book in a public environment sexy? I would have to say no she was clearly single and reading this book . . . I don't know for sure obviously but to me it seemed a little pathetic. Anyway, she had long wavy brown hair, a lot of make-up, a nice coat, a skirt and insane knee-high boots. I do believe she was on her way to work downtown because she got on the metro going that way and why else would you be awake at 7:30am. Anyway if she were going to work, the make-up and the boots were probably a little too much for the office, because in my opinion being overtly sexy in the office is inappropriate.

Then there was a man in the usual get-up of the shirt, tie, nice pants, and since it has gotten cold out a nice winter coat. However, men can be sexy without much effort. This man was devastatingly handsome without much effort; he was just wearing the office "uniform."

Then I was walking to the metro and both of the fellow bus riders got on the train going the opposite way.

But, while waiting for the train I saw a group of people waiting to get on the train. All in a similar office "uniform": pants/skirts for some women, a button up blouse/shirt and tie/no tie while they were in various colors, navy, black, gray, they were very similar. So, sexy seemed to stay out of the office for them.

Then I was walking from the metro to my office building and I stumbled upon a woman who I guess thought sexy belonged in the office because she was wearing a very very short red dress black tights and black stilettos. Apparently she works in my building, on my floor, in the office next to mine for another company. So she was definitely going to work. Interesting . . .

Carrie Bradshaw: Sexy vs. Skanky

2006-12-05T10:40:00.000-05:00

So, how can anyone talk about "what is sexy?" without mentioning Sex and the City??? When I was trying to pick a good episode that discusses this concept I remembered the Cover Girl episode in season 5 where Carrie is shooting the cover for her book and Samantha offers to help, but their two ideals of sexy don't exactly match up. This is a summary of what goes on between Carrie and Samantha:

Carrie is appalled to see a mocked-up photo of herself all but naked on the proposed cover of her "Sex and the City" book. While browsing for book cover ideas at Barnes & Noble, Samantha offers to help Carrie create a look that says 'smart and sexy.' Things get tense between Carrie and Samantha as they disagree on the right look for the book cover. Carrie finds Samantha's selections a little too risque because Samantha keeps trying to put Carrie in lingerie.

So, I guess the answer to the question "what is sexy?" is not universal. We all have very different perceptions of "what is sexy?," even Carrie and Samantha.

in the thick of it: sex, sexuality and the workplace

2006-12-04T17:37:00.000-05:00

Now, that title was a mouthful.

But so is tackling the concept of sexuality and sex while in a peer group like 20-somethings in D.C. Mass observation often takes place within the very social networks that we all occupy, so my first post will deal with just that. I work at a tried and true 18th Street establishment in Adams Morgan, and the sexual frustration and tension is tangible in the air.

The very name of my place of employment is loaded with sexual meaning. Touted as a place where people can commingle under the soft glow of dimmed lighting, cushy sofas and little regard for personal responsibility, the intentional purpose of this establishment is to foster an environment of sex, sexiness, sexuality and everything in between.

There have been several occasions where I look out across the restaurant and see people exchanging words and phone numbers. Yesterday I served two people at two very separate, very isolated tables. At some point over the course of the shift, one person had relocated to pose questions like, "what do you do?" "What's your major?" "Where do you go to school?" And since this is D.C. and everyone is a transplant, "where are you from?" The two people wound up leaving together and I remarked on the event to my manager, who pointed out that it happens all the time. Almost as if that's why this place exists.

Public displays of sexuality are indeed rampant. Several couples occupy the tables and couches while on dates. I recently served a couple who ordered several bottles of wine and several plates of bread and when the (rather large) check came, the man nonchalantly handed me a credit card to the vehement protests from the woman he was with. Despite her protests, she was clearly happy with the outcome and they left arm and arm. People sitting nearby audibly commented on the positive nature of this date and the tone of the restaurant almost seemed to shift towards the more intimate.

Anyway, clearly this topic can be discussed at lenght. Stay tuned!

"How to Create a Sexy Pop Star"

2006-12-03T13:14:00.001-05:00

Here's a very funny YouTube movie from Before the Music Dies about how a "sexy popstar" is created in the music industry.

How to Create a Sexy Pop Star

In case you are unable to view the video, here's the premise of it:

a 45-year-old man writes a song about "Mama's not coming home tonight"
the producers find a 17-year-old girl who works as a model to sing the song and do the video
the producers have to do a lot of editing to make the song sound radio-worthy
BUT…"it could be a hit!"

Thanks to Kara for telling us about this video!

Sexy Extravaganza!

2006-12-03T12:45:00.000-05:00

If anyone is interested, Tuesday is "Television's Sexiest Night" because the Victoria's Secret fashion show is on. And Justin Timberlake, "The Sexiest Pop Performer," is performing. With "The Sexiest Supermodels in the World" (aka: the Victoria's Secret models, in case you didn't catch that).

Here's the link, if you're interested:
Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

Sexy vs. Beautiful

2006-12-02T23:52:00.000-05:00

[Sorry to be posting with such a similar topic to my last post, but it's so interesting!]

There are a number of ad campaigns out there that are advocating for women to be comfortable in their own bodies, such as Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty and NOW's Love Your Body Day. But these campaigns are emphasizing beauty rather than sexiness. In fact, in the campaign itself, the word "sexy" is never used (although it can very occasionally be found on the message boards).

However, if we look at other campaigns such as Nike's ad campaign for their women's line, which seems to be advocating for female empowerment in the male dominated world of athletics, there is definitely a strong undercurrent of sexuality.

The Bar Scene

2006-12-02T19:34:00.000-05:00

In an effort to see what the DC perception of sexy is, I went to a bar and observed men and women in an environment where attracting one another is a priority.   Women were in very small tank tops, even though it’s December, tight jeans, and there hair was mostly long. Men were in jeans button up shirts and nice shoes with an occasional blazer.   When sitting at the bar before the music got too loud I overheard a short conversation between a young man and woman in their early to mid twenties. The woman was singing along to the song and dancing and the man was just watching her. They obliviously knew each other so the conversation was easy going. He said "You look nice tonight." and she just kept dancing and smiled. It seemed to me that he really like her but she wasn't into to it. But, she was wearing jeans and a tight black top, with a plunging neckline. And as I observed them it was rare for the man's eyes to avert from her chest. But, she didn't seem to mind.   Later there was a Maxim model contest as soon as this announced women looked pissed and the guys moved closer to the front to cheer and ogle. All of the models were wearing jeans and a black spaghetti strap tank top that was anything but conservative. The models were all in great shape and very voluptuous. There didn't seem to be a crowd favorite, but something that I did notice was that they all looked very similar. All blonde but one and light eyes and great bodies . . . I guess that is what the judges in the Maxim competition think is sexy.

Match Point

2006-12-01T21:11:00.001-05:00

To begin with, you should all watch Match Point if you haven't already. It's quite interesting.

In any case, there is a scene where Nola (Scarlett Johansson) is discussing with Chris (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) the differences between herself and her sister, where Nola describes her sister as "beautiful," but herself as "sexy." Chris disagrees, and Nola elaborates on what she means:

Nola: You should see my sister, she's…she's very beautiful.…

Chris: I'm sure she's not more beautiful than you are.

Nola: What I am is sexy. But…my sister, is classically beautiful.

Chris: So you are aware of your effect on men?
…
Nola: Men always seem to wonder. They think I'd be something very special.

Chris: And are you?

Nola: Well, no one's ever asked for their money back. [note: she's joking here, she's not really a prostitute.]

What is Sexy?

2006-11-29T14:00:00.000-05:00

Is this sexy?

Adriana Lima

Victoria's Secret Models

Victoria's Secret 2003

Victoria’s Secret has basically become synonymous with sexy and in this ad campaign they attempt to answer the question “What is sexy?” by showing off their models. By observing the behavior, attitudes, and dress one can discern what their perceptions of sexy are. Sexy is having an amazing body with long beautiful hair, incredibly white teeth, endless confidence, and wearing basically nothing.