Sex and Sexuality

Since it debuted in 2011, the U by Kotex brand of pads and tampons (aimed at pre-teens) has made its mark with funny commercials and frank talk about periods. But recently, Kotex has decided to launch a part of their site that addresses period myths and the general lack of awareness many pre-teens have about their bodies. Their latest campaign, Generation Know, offers a site where girls can anonymously ask questions about periods and get answers from experts, peers, and moms. And holy cow, are these girls misguided.

I mean...there are no “wrong” questions when it comes to the complexities of the female body, and a lot of the questions are pretty basic (like “what happens during a pelvic exam?”). But some are a truly frightening demonstration of the absolute lack of information that young girls get when it comes to matters of their own health.

Here is a sampling of the more alarming questions from the site:

“Is it ok to wrap your tampon in toilet paper and then change the paper but not the tampon? Then the tampon lasts longer because it remains dry.”

“Once you are sexually active, do you need to go to the doctor so they can cut a piece of your vagina off?”

 “Do tampons cause cancer?”

Writing this series has been amazing! Time for a few shout-outs to those who have helped the good ship Thinking Kink along its voyage...

As with the issue of female sexual submission, racial imagery in a BDSM context is an issue apt to cause heated debates, so I want to include both sides of the argument. Today, I’ll examine the objections to the use of racialized imagery in kink, and in my next post I’ll look at the responses by those who defend it.

Considering how restrictive so much kinky clothing is, when does sexy cross the line into sexist? Is shoe-horning oneself into corsets, latex or agonizingly high heels just part of fetishism, or is it just another way in which the female body is molded and manipulated? Today, I'm peeling back the PVC to find out...