Blood Donations by Gay Men

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

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

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

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!

More Post Secret

I'm feeling a little lazy, so sorry I don't have anything else to put up.

Post Secret

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

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

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

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

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.