Don’t dwell on the dunny. Forget about reading on the dunny. It may be relaxing and it may be a refuge from domesticity or your desk, but it may also be bad for your rectum. The latest medical advice is to be efficient at stool. Don’t loll about. If you cannot achieve complete satisfaction just clean up and return later.

The habit of reading, smoking or taking phone calls while on the toilet encourages prolonged straining. The longer you sit, the longer you strain. Straining builds up the pressure in the lower abdomen, blood collects in the rectum and the tissue becomes engorged. This often leads to haemorrhoids.

Over years, straining also stretches the nerves supplying your pelvic-floor muscles. In turn, this causes the muscles to lose tone and strength and the pelvic floor sags. The result is that you become less effective at evacuation. Because this often happens to women after childbirth, this problem is sometimes overlooked in men.

Laxatives can be used, from time to time, to help things along, but it is far better to rely on a high-fibre diet. Overuse of laxatives can be harmful, too. People who are laxative dependent may have continuously runny motions so their anus is never challenged to open. They end up with anal inelasticity and also get haemorrhoids.

While women frequently trace their haemorrhoids to pregnancy and to bearing down during childbirth, many men are chronic strainers. They delay going to the toilet, perhaps because of work commitments or perhaps as a result of bad instruction when they were boys. The longer they delay, the harder it may be to pass a stool.

During a delay, the water content of the stool is slowly reabsorbed back into the bowel wall and the stool hardens. When these men finally get to the toilet, the motion is more difficult to pass and so they strain.

Everyone has three anal cushions just inside their anal ring. These cushions are analogous to the lips at the other end of the alimentary canal. They are highly sensitive and are important in retaining continence as they have receptors which receive signals about initiating the bowel action. When the anal cushions become stretched, engorged or prolapsed, they are commonly called piles, or haemorrhoids. These cushions may fall out and be trapped on the outside where they may become strangulated because their blood supply is cut off by a tight anal sphincter. Or, if the muscles around the anus are stretched through chronic overstraining, they may be weakened and unable to contract efficiently enough to retract the piles.

Piles are common and most men have a problem with them at some time in their lives. Maintaining a good diet with lots of fibre can reduce your chances of getting them. But it is important to remember that fibre alone is insufficient. You have to drink a lot of water (not beer) to make the fibre effective and bulky.

You may first suspect you have haemorrhoids because you notice blood in the toilet or on your underwear. Many men never look in the bowl, but if they did happen to notice some blood, a large number of them wouldn’t act on it, anyway. They would delay in the hope of it resolving spontaneously.

It is essential to know where the blood is coming from. You cannot tell the source just on a description, no matter what people say. You should be investigated quickly to eliminate the possibility of anything sinister, such as bowel cancer. If you’re over forty and have a family history of bowel cancer or polyps, you should go straight to your doctor.

Once you’re certain the bleeding is because of haemorrhoids, you can decide whether they are troublesome enough to be treated. If they are not severe you may decide to leave them.

There are many myths about piles. In Britain in winter people say you’ll get haemorrhoids from sitting on a radiator. In the Australian summer they say you’ll get them from sitting on a cold concrete floor. This is nonsense.

Lifestyle factors are regarded as very significant in the development of piles and this is reflected in the shift in the method of treating them. Thirty years ago there were far more operations. Now patients are instructed to modify their diet first: to eat regularly, to increase fibre and water, to exercise and to go to the toilet at first urge. If diet fails, there are other treatments. Bleeding prolapsed piles can be injected with a chemical which shrinks them or they can be tied off with elastic bands, or both. Surgery is usually only performed now on severe, complicated piles.

If you don’t feel confident enough to rely on St Fiacre (the patron saint of haemorrhoids) to protect you, then follow the four golden rules for good rectum maintenance:

• Respond promptly to a call to stool.

• Don’t dwell on the dunny.

• Eat lots of fibre (remember the water).

• Watch out for blood (especially if you are forty or over).

*17\136\4*

A diaphragm looks like a little round shallow bowl, on average about 6 to 8cm across and 2cm deep. It is made of soft latex rubber and is usually a creamy colour. You wear it inside your vagina. It covers the cervix and the upper part of your vagina. It has a rim that is firm but flexible and can be squeezed into a narrow oval shape so that you can slide it into your vagina easily.

Diaphragms are made in a range of sizes from 5 to 9.5cm. It is not safe to go and buy one the same size as your friend’s just because you wear the same size in clothes. You will need a doctor or nurse to examine you and tell you what size is right for you. It has to do with the length of the vagina and the position of the cervix and pubic bone, and the size you need can change if you gain or lose weight, or have a baby.

Are there different types of diaphragms? You can get two types of diaphragms in Australia. One is called the Coil Spring diaphragm and the other is the Arching Spring or All-Flex diaphragm.

The Coil Spring diaphragm has a coiled spring inside the latex rim. The spring is quite strong and flexible and holds the diaphragm firmly in place by pressing against the walls of your vagina. This sounds like it could be uncomfortable, but if the diaphragm is the right size for you, and it is in the correct position, you can’t feel it The rim of the All-Flex diaphragm is a litde thicker and bends into a C shape which can sometimes make it easier to put in place behind the cervix.

The doctor or nurse who fits you with a diaphragm will decide which type suits you. Basically it will be the one that fits best in your vagina so that it presses firmly against the vaginal walls without slipping out of place.

*14\132\4*

Coming too soon. When a new patient discloses that he suffers from premature ejaculation, his doctor may feel a little jolt of pleasure. This is the pleasure of knowing that, almost certainly, something can be done to treat the man and that in a few months he will be enjoying a much more gratifying sex life.

More than 90 per cent of men with this condition can be cured within an average of fourteen weeks. But before the advent of modem sex therapy, most premature ejaculation (PE) sufferers were burdened with their problem for life.

All healthy men begin as premature ejaculators. By their late teens most have learnt some control, but it is estimated that about 10 per cent never do. It is a natural impulse which men have to unlearn.

In evolutionary terms, rapid ejaculation made perfect sense. Sixty thousand years ago, men were dead by the age of twenty-two and life was dangerous. Out there in the wilds they didn’t want their backs turned for too long. The longer it took, the more vulnerable they were. Women became fertile at around the age of fourteen, and because 80 per of babies died, the men had to ensure the women were constantly pregnant. Basically, the men who were most successful were quick.

Nowadays, there is a perception that the men who are most successful are slow. Before the 1900s there was virtually nothing in medical literature about PE being a problem. It is only since the rise of the women’s movement in the seventies that it has become an issue.

At about the age of seventeen or eighteen, most young men discover ejaculatory control. One week they have no control and the next they have it. For the others it is more of a struggle, but by the age of twenty, about 90 per cent can exert a degree of voluntary control. Some men who suffer from PE compensate by climaxing twice. The second time is usually slower, however. This remedy is not available to all men because, with age, the ability to regain an erection quickly is lost.

By the age of fifteen, a male can gain a second erection within five minutes, a third within ten minutes and a fourth within twenty minutes. The interval doubles up each time. By the time he is twenty-five, he has to wait twenty minutes for his second erection and forty minutes for the next. By the age of forty-five, this initial interval has expanded to more than two hours, and by the time he reaches seventy he might have to wait eighteen hours before he can get a second erection. These are averages, and of course, there are enormous individual variations.

For a long time, PE was defined in terms of number of thrusts the man could deliver or the number of seconds he could last. But this was found unworkable as no one could put an exact time or thrust limit on what constituted normal ejaculatory control. A new definition states that ‘the essential feature of PE is that the man lacks adequate voluntary ejaculatory control with the result that he climaxes involuntarily before he wishes to’. This definition has been adopted by the World Health Organization.

In her book PE. How To Overcome Premature Ejaculation the late Dr Helen Singer Kaplan notes that some men accept they climax rapidly and this does not impact on their sexual pleasure. But, more often than not, it is a source of distress.

‘In our society, men often measure their self-worth by the hardness of their erection and by their “staying power”. Men who have poor control, especially if they are unsure of themselves in other ways, may end up with a general sense of inadequacy and failure and may develop additional sexual difficulties.’

Men with PE may become anxious about their performance and begin feeling noticeably stressed in anticipation of intercourse. It is physically impossible for a man to maintain an erection if he is stressed. During such periods, the body releases its ‘emergency’ hormones (adrenalin and noradrenaline which cause immediate detumescence.

Ninety-nine per cent of PE has a psychological cause, although it may also result from illness or as a side effect of medication. PE that occurs in later years can sometimes be the first sign of more serious problems, such as diabetes or a neurological disease like multiple sclerosis. Urethritis may also be a cause.

In general, men who suffer from PE are no more neurotic than men who don’t. The only difference is that they are too quick. Apart from possible deeper psychological issues, the immediate cause of PE is always a lack of sexual sensory awareness. PE sufferers never develop a normal sense of what their genitals feel like when they are highly excited and about to climax. Dealing with this sensory deficit is the key to the cure.

*10\136\4*

Are there any particular reasons why I may not be able to use condoms?

There may be reasons why you don’t want to use condoms. A small number of people may be allergic to latex rubber or a particular lubricant However, this is very rare. If you or your sexual partner gets a rash or has any discomfort around your genitals, that is, your penis or vagina, check with your doctor or clinic.

How do you use a condom? Each condom comes in its own little packet.

To put it on:

1. The first thing you do is tear open the packet, taking care not to tear the condom with your fingernails or the sharp edge of a ring while you are opening the packet, or taking the condom out. You can push the condom out of the way while it is still inside the packet before you start

2. The condom will be rolled up and will look like a circle of loose fine rubber with a thick rim. The rim is actually the body of the condom tightly rolled up. As you hold it while it is still rolled up, check that the rim is rolled towards the centre on the side facing you. This is important, so that when you unroll the condom over the penis, it will roll down easily.

3. Hold the edge of the rolled up condom with one hand. With the thumb and first finger of your other hand, take hold of the loose part at the centre of the circle and squeeze it. This makes sure that there is space at the end of the condom to collect the semen when the man comes. Some condoms have a special little shape like a teat or nipple, at their closed end, especially for this.

4. The penis must be erect before you put the condom on it.

5. While the condom is still rolled up, and you are still holding the tip squeezed between your thumb and first finger, put the condom on the head of the penis like a cap.

6. Using the thumb and first two fingers of your other hand, roll the condom all the way down so that it covers the penis, with the rim of the condom around the base of the penis. Make sure there is still space at the tip to collect the semen.

7. Put some water-based lubricant on the condom.

8. After that you can safely have sex.

To take it off:

1. After sex and before the penis has become soft, you need to hold onto the condom at the base of the penis so that the condom does not come off, and semen does not leak out, and carefully pull away from your partner.

2. Point the penis down, hold the condom just behind the teat to keep the semen in and pull the condom off.

3. Tie a knot in the open end of the condom to keep the semen inside.

4. Wrap the condom in a tissue, or paper towel, or a plastic bag, and put it in the bin. Do not flush it down the toilet because condoms do not dissolve, and the toilet could get blocked.

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Richardson’s way. One Saturday morning, the late Dr Derek Richardson was sitting in his Sydney rooms when, as expected, a couple arrived for their appointment. They had been coming for sex therapy every second Saturday for several months, but this week they behaved differently. Without saying a word, they cleared his desk and spread a white cloth over it. Richardson didn’t know what to expect. Then they produced a bottle of French champagne and three glasses. They wanted to celebrate the woman becoming orgasmic. This couple, whom Richardson described as being in their ‘early thirties, intelligent, but poorly sexually educated’, had finally learnt how to make love to each other. They had demonstrated one of Richardson’s central beliefs: that people need to be taught the necessary skills to be able to make love well.

‘Parents teach their children about everything but sex because they think that good sex comes naturally, but it does not,’ he said. ‘You need as much learning to be a good lover as you do to learn a trade, and that takes three to five years.’

People always listened to Richardson. Until his death in 1995, he was probably Australia’s most well respected sex therapist. Six months before he died, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners awarded him an honorary fellowship, saying that when he ventured into full-time

practice as a sex therapist in 1977 he ‘overcame much prejudice and rejection by some of his medical colleagues to become a leading expert in the field.’

In the last interview before his death, Richardson said that people tended to confuse sensuality and sexuality. Sensuality, which he defined as ‘pleasuring the body’, was very important in successful lovemaking. It was different to sexuality, which was any activity likely to make you feel fiorny.

He firmly believed that quick sex didn’t give fulfilment. It provided gratification, but that’s all. It was his understanding that sex goes wrong when the focus is wrong. People make the mistake of equating successful sex with orgasm,- if there is no orgasm they feel disappointed and upset and regard the whole encounter as a failure. Shifting the focus and aiming instead for mutual pleasure can make a tremendous difference. There is less pressure to achieve, less anxiety, and more time for sensual enjoyment.

There are going to be quite a number of times for both partners when they don’t have an orgasm, and it doesn’t matter,’ he said. ‘What does matter is that two people should share intimacy and pleasure. If they don’t, then the quality won’t be there . . . One problem is that we have never learnt how to enjoy ourselves physically. Our Judeo-Christian ethic doesn’t put a lot of emphasis on getting hedonistic pleasure for its own sake.’

Richardson told the story of a woman, married for twenty years, who came to his rooms and complained she was bored. Sex had become totally predictable, and she knew the first seventy-six things her husband would do when he set about making love to her. This couple was stuck; there was no contact, no intimacy and, for the woman, no pleasure. They needed sex education. Richardson said sustaining quality lovemaking over many years takes imagination.

There has to be variety to avoid what can often become deadening predictability. The time discrepancy between female and male arousal is another source of sexual difficulty. From a cold start, in five minutes a man can achieve all physiological changes necessary to make him fully aroused and ready for sex. In the same situation, it takes most women close to an hour to become

similarly aroused.

Equally, within minutes of ejaculating, the man feels completely relaxed and ready for sleep. Female arousal, however, is physiologically more complex,- after climax a woman is left with congestion from her knees to her neck. She needs to be ‘brought down’. Leaving a woman’s body congested is the same as leaving a man with a prolonged erection. For twenty-four hours afterwards he has aching testicles.

This is the time for afterplay, because once her congestion is relieved she will get that lovely feeling of relaxation, turn over to sleep, and feel wonderful for twenty-four to seventy-two hours afterwards.

In quality lovemaking, the actual mechanical aspect of sex plays a very small part. The sensual build-up followed by sexual arousal is far more important.

While men peak sexually at about the age of twenty-five, women do so in their forties. To illustrate the total myth that older people don’t want to have sex, Richardson told of a woman who came to his practice in the 1960s. His partner examined her, noted her prolapsed uterus and said it would be no trouble to fix. As she was eighty-four, he would simply take it out and stitch up her vagina.

‘But Doctor,’ the woman protested, ‘Mr. Smith wouldn’t like that at all.’

*3\136\4*

As we grow and explore our body parts, we need words to describe them. It is important to learn the proper, scientific names of the part of the body.

The proper names for body parts are the same names used by scientists and health care workers. The proper names, such as “testes” and “vagina,” are technical terms just like “liver,” “lung,” “leg,” and so on.

However, we often learn the slang terms instead. Slang names are words that people use instead of the proper scientific names. Slang name; may also be real words that are used incorrectly. Certain slang words are made by using a word we know in place of one we don’t know.

For example, when people speak of the testes, they may use the slang term “balls.” Another slang word for testes is “huevos,” which means “eggs” in Spanish. Because the testes are round, they may remind us of balls or eggs. Balls or huevos may seem more familiar, easier to remember, and easier to pronounce than “testes.” Another example is that of the slang words “tits” or “titties”—for women’s breasts. An animal’s nipples are properly called “teats.” “Teats” was changed to “tits” and “titties.” Other slang words seem to make no sense. For example, a penis is sometimes called a “Johnson.” We do not know who or what a Johnson is. Or having vaginal intercourse for the first time is often called “losing one’s cherry”—for both women and men. Obviously, there is no cherry or any other fruit inside our sex and reproductive structures. Yet “cherry” has become slang for “hymen.”

Slang is handed down from generation to generation. New slang terms are also created by the pop culture or media in each generation. Slang in one family or community is often different from the slang used in another family or community.

Some women and men agree to use slang during sex play to express and increase their excitement. Otherwise, the slang names of the sex and reproductive organs can create communication problems between men and women, people of different ages, cultures, and economic classes, and people of different professions. There are more slang terms for the sex organs and the sex acts than for any other body part or function. For example, it’s difficult to think of slang terms for “finger,” “toe,” or “elbow.”

Imagine being a doctor or nurse. To understand your patients, you may need to understand all of the slang terms that your patients use. Imagine being a patient who doesn’t understand the words the health care worker is using. A confusing situation for both people! Slang can be a real communication problem.

Respect is another reason to use the correct scientific names of our sex and reproductive organs. The person using a slang term may feel that the word is the right one to use, but the person hearing the term may be offended or hurt. For example, one person may think that “balls” is the right word to use for the testes. Another person may feel that “balls” is a very rude word. Slang names often cause strong negative emotions because many people find them rude, impolite, hurtful, or disrespectful of our own and each others’ bodies.

If using slang creates difficulty in communicating and risks the disrespect of others, why do people still use it?

Slang begins at home when parents and relatives teach a child that a “рее-pee” is a penis, “boobies” are breasts, and a “vaginy” is a vagina. These slang terms may seem harmless at the time. The terms may even seem easier for a young child to say. But learning and using slang continue as a child grows. Soon the child becomes an adult who is using a whole vocabulary of slang expressions that she or he passes on to another generation.

It is important for parents to know that children can easily learn the proper names at an early age. When they grow up, they will hand down to their children the correct names of the sex and reproductive organs. Using proper language can help people better understand their sexuality.

If everyone used the proper names for body parts, there would be fewer problems communicating with each other. No matter what family or community, age, sex, or culture, each person would be using the same terms. More important, when we use the proper names, we are showing respect for our bodies, others’ bodies, and both genders—male and female. Of course, when we use the correct names, we should use them correctly. Many well-educated people, for example, use the word “vagina” when they really mean “vulva.”

Positive Talk and Proud Bodies

The many reasons we have slang tell us something about ourselves. It shows that many of us are not comfortable talking about our bodies—especially our sex and reproductive parts. Slang shows that we may not even know much about our bodies. We create slang to hide our embarrassment. But embarrassment keeps us ignorant. Ignorance keeps us from becoming comfortable with our bodies.

A body is an incredible, fascinating structure. It is normal to want to learn about it. It is normal to ask questions about it. It is normal to be proud of it. Parents, relatives, and friends can help promote greater self-esteem among young children and teens by using the proper names of the sex and reproductive organs.

Talking to children positively about their bodies, puberty, and sexuality helps them develop a positive sexuality. Positive talk replaces embarrassment with pride. It replaces ignorance with knowledge and gives us comfort instead of discomfort. Positive talk also helps children learn to respect the sexuality of others.

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Primary Sex Characteristics

From the first day of our lives, as newborn babies, we have all the major sex organs and structures that we have as adults.

A baby has the same internal and external sex and reproductive organs that an adult does. These characteristics are called primary sex characteristics. We will have the primary sex characteristics with which we are born for the rest of our lives.

Secondary Sex Characteristics

As our bodies grow, our sex organs grow, too. As girls and boys grow, changes will happen to their bodies that make girls look more like women and boys look more like men. These changes happen during puberty and affect our secondary sex characteristics.

Changes That Occur in Puberty

Puberty is a time when hormones stimulate change in all parts of the body. The changes affect what happens to the body on the inside—girls begin to menstruate, and boys begin to produce sperm and ejaculate. The changes affect our bodies on the outside as well. Girls develop breasts, and boys develop facial hair. Every person goes through puberty, but when and “how quickly” puberty and secondary sex characteristics develop are different for every person. Puberty generally lasts for a couple of years.

Puberty doesn’t happen at the same time for girls and boys. Very often, girls begin puberty between the ages of eight and 14. Boys usually begin puberty about two years later, between the ages of 10 and 15.

During puberty, young people of the same age may look very different. In a group of three friends, all age 13, the first may be almost done with puberty, the second may just be starting puberty, and the third may not yet have started. These three people have very different secondary sex characteristics, and they will all be normal. The time puberty begins does not indicate whether children will be bigger or smaller than anyone else when they are adults.

Puberty may be embarrassing for young women and men. The numerous changes our bodies go through may feel awkward. Erections or periods may happen at unwanted times. Breasts may make one feel self-conscious. Sweat may be produced in large amounts. Body odor becomes stronger than it was in childhood. Acne—pimples on the face caused by bacteria and trapped oil—may make one feel unattractive.

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The penis gets a great deal of attention for several reasons:

• It is the most obvious sex organ because it extends out from the body.

• It gets handled often. Every time a boy or man urinates, he handles his penis. The penis is the organ through which urine passes out of the bodies of boys and men.

• The penis is the most sexually sensitive organ in boys and men. From the first moments of sexual excitement, the penis begins to enlarge and stiffen—become erect.

At the height of sexual excitement in adolescent and adult men, a fluid called semen spurts out of the penis.

The penis has two parts: the shaft and the glans. The shaft is the largest part of the penis. It is shaped like a tube. At one end, it is connected to the body; at the other end is the glans— sometimes called the head or tip of the penis. The glans is made up of softer, fleshier tissue than the shaft. It is highly sensitive and can be a source of sexual pleasure. It is equivalent to the clitoris of a woman. There is a small opening at the tip of the glans called the urethral opening. Urine and semen pass out of the man’s body through this opening. The sensitive area of skin that attaches the underside of the glans to the foreskin is called the frenulum.

At birth, all penises have a loose tube of skin called the foreskin that covers the glans. The foreskin protects the glans. Shortly after birth, the foreskin is removed from the penises of some boys. The operation to remove the foreskin is called circumcision. A penis that has no foreskin is called a circumcised penis, and one that has not had the foreskin removed is called uncircumcised.

Circumcision was popularized in the United States during the early part of this century in a misguided effort to decrease masturbation among boys. Religious and cultural beliefs and hygienic concerns are the reasons that parents now have their sons circumcised. The other common reason for circumcision today is that fathers want their sons to look like them.

The foreskin can easily be pulled back to allow a boy or man to urinate or clean himself. It is important to clean under the foreskin; otherwise, smegma forms. Smegma is a sticky, white substance that often has an unpleasant smell. It is formed by oils produced by the body and bacteria that feed on the oil. Proper cleaning of the glans and shaft of the penis is important.

The inside of the penis is made up of the urethra and two tissues called the corpus spongiosum and the corpus cavernosa.

The urethra is a very versatile structure within the penis. It is involved with both functions of the penis—urination and ejaculation. It is a long tube that passes from the bladder, through the center of the penis, to the urethral opening. Urine flows from the bladder through the urethra during urination. The male urethra is also connected to the reproductive system. It carries semen through the penis. The spurting of semen from the urethra is called ejaculation.

The shaft of the penis is formed of tissue called the corpus spongiosum and corpus cavernosa. These tissues form caverns and spongy areas. Normally, blood passes through these tissues and around the caverns and spongy areas, which remain empty. During sexual excitement, however, tiny muscles in the tissue relax and open, allowing the caverns and spongy areas to fill up with blood. As these tissues fill with blood, the penis becomes “tumescent.” It gets longer and thicker and becomes less flexible and more stiff. This is called an erection.

When sexual stimulation ends, the muscles close off the emptied caverns from the bloodstream, the erection ends, and the penis softens into its normal flaccid state.

Boys and men are often concerned about the size and shape of their penises. There is no standard penis size, shape, or length. Some are fat and short. Others are long and thin. There is no truth to the idea that a bigger penis is a better penis.

Size has little to do with any reproductive or sexual function. It is true that some people prefer that their partners have a certain size penis. Preferences for penis size can be compared to preferences about height—there are just about as many people who want tall lovers as want short lovers.

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The Sexual Revolution of the 1960s

The 1960s were marked by enormous political and social upheavals. President John F. Kennedy and civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., were assassinated. The Civil Rights Act was passed, the antiwar movement led to mass protests across the country, and the Equal Rights Amendment for women was debated in statehouses across the nation. The increasing availability of contraception allowed women and men to seek sexual pleasure with decreased fear of unintended pregnancy. A new “singles” culture developed among young people, and marriage was no longer seen as the only option in women’s lives.

Second-Wave Feminists: The Women’s Movement of the 1960s and 1970s

Since the beginning of the century, women had gained the right to vote, they were more competitive in the workplace, and they had made many strides in gender equality. But American culture remained dominated by men. Women’s share in positions of political and economic power was still small. In 1966, Betty Friedan founded the National Organization for Women to support the Equal Rights Amendment, end sexist discrimination in the workplace, and make abortion safe and legal.

Women began to meet in consciousness-raising groups to talk about sexism, gender roles, and the oppression of women. Out of this work came the understanding that “the personal is political”—that the sexual double standard, motherhood, and marriage had become elements in a system of gender roles that made women subordinate to men.

Women of the 1960s demanded the right to control their own bodies and broke the silence that concealed the crimes of rape, sexual abuse, and domestic violence. Hundreds of women’s groups and organizations were formed focusing on issues from pornography to prostitution, from lesbian rights to sexual pleasure, from child support to domestic violence.

Black Feminism

African-American feminists found unacceptable levels of sexism in the often male-centered civil rights, Black Nationalist, and Black Panther movements. Many also felt excluded from the mainstream women’s movement. In 1973, Audre Lorde and other black feminists formed the National Black Feminist Organization to address the combined effects of oppression related to race, gender, class, and sex-al orientation. In recent years, the black feminist movement has generated a variety of organizations that address specific concerns of the African-American community.

Third-Wave Feminists

For many young women, the term “feminist” has become suspect. Many, however, still speak out for increased gender equality and for the recognition of the many other problems women yet face in our culture. The 1990s ushered in a new era of young feminists. Rebecca Walker founded an organization for young feminists called Third Wave. Diversity is the hallmark of this chapter in the history of the women’s movement. It addresses the dynamics of ethnic, racial, class, and sexual diversity.

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Soldiers, away from home, want sex. That’s why sex workers flock to military camps. During World War I, sexually transmitted infections among soldiers were viewed as undermining the efficiency of the military. At home and abroad, soldiers lost nearly 7 million days of work as sick days because of sexually transmitted infections. Infection was also seen as a moral issue.

The Committee on Training Camp Activities was formed a few days after Congress declared war in 1917. It provided recreation to keep off-duty soldiers busy so that they would not succumb to sexual temptations. The committee also provided sex education for the soldiers. The teachers used fear tactics and advocated abstinence. Condoms were not discussed. Of all the soldiers in Europe during World War I, Americans had the highest rates of infection. They were the only ones who were forbidden the use of condoms.

Social hygienists volunteered to aid the committee’s moral reform effort. They urged soldiers to avoid infection for the good of their country and to protect the virtuous women at home from infection.

A law enforcement division of the committee was also formed to clear prostitutes out of cities near military camps. Most cities in America had “red-light districts” of brothels in which sex workers entertained customers. The committee closed these districts all across the country. Despite the shutdown, rates of infection remained unchanged. Sex workers simply moved to other neighborhoods. As brothels were closed, working the streets became common, and the risk of violence against prostitutes increased.

Although prostitutes were working-class women with few other employment options, many were stigmatized and blamed for the spread of infection and moral decay Men who hired them, however, were neither arrested nor blamed.

As brothels near military bases closed, soldiers turned to young women who were hanging around looking for excitement, adventure, and love. Soon these young women were being called promiscuous and blamed for infection rates among the soldiers. Public health campaigns were mounted that suggested it was women’s responsibility not to arouse the passions of men. Health messages suggested that “easy” women were usually infected and were not trustworthy.

Treatment centers, called prophylaxis stations, were set up in the camps to kill any infection a soldier might pick up before it got into his bloodstream. The social hygienists disapproved. They thought prophylaxis encouraged soldiers to have “illicit” sexual contacts.

Soldiers were supposed to be treated within three hours of sexual intercourse. Unsanitary conditions, long waiting lines, and embarrassment discouraged many of them. A man had to urinate, then wash his genitals and have them inspected by an attendant. The attendant injected a liquid solution into the penis that the man had to hold in his urethra for five minutes. He wasn’t to urinate for four or five hours after expelling it.

To encourage prophylaxis, men were threatened with court-martial if they became infected. Their pay was docked as well.

*34/155/5*

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