Errata! Also, Hilarious Cartoon on Female Orgasm (and Reproductive Rights).
2012 28 Feb
Yesterday I published a post called Feminist S&M Lessons from the Seduction Community. There was a formatting error in the post that removed three paragraphs from the first section and created an incoherent sentence where they used to be. Should’ve caught that in my initial edits, but I’ve been running my brain into the ground lately trying to finish up some stuff in time for my awesome upcoming panel appearance on pickup artists and feminists at the SXSW conference! I fixed the error yesterday evening, and the correct version of the post is available here.
And with that … I have little interest in mainstream politics, but this made me dissolve in laughter. I hope that on the off chance I actually have any conservative readers, y’all aren’t too offended. I present you with an episode of the political cartoon “This Modern World” by Tom Tomorrow (click the image to embiggen):
Does that remind you of my article A Unified Theory of Orgasm? Me, too! Also it is such a perfect send-up of the ridiculousness going on these days around reproductive rights. If it amuses you, maybe consider donating to Planned Parenthood.
Description of the comic:
PANEL 1 shows two religious figures:
CAPTION: A new culture war explodes!
RELIGIOUS FIGURE #1: “The pursuit of the orgasm leads women to have sex — which leads to abortions!”
RELIGIOUS FIGURE #2: “And that’s why the female orgasm is a violation of our religious liberty!”
PANEL 2 shows two guys in suits:
CAPTION: Conservative pundits weigh in!
PUNDIT #1: “There’s nothing in the Constitution that guarantees the right to a female orgasm!”
PUNDIT #2: “If such a thing even exists!”
PUNDIT #1: “I’ve certainly never seen one!”
PANEL 3 shows two guys on the street:
CAPTION: Worrisome scenarios proliferate!
GUY #1: “For instance — if a female government employee spends part of her pay on a vibrator — aren’t we being forced to subsidize her taxpayer-funded orgasms?”
GUY #2: “I demand an exemption of conscience!”
PANEL 4 shows two new guys in suits:
CAPTION: Sensible moderates look for common ground.
MODERATE #1: “Can’t we all agree that women should be allowed to have the occasional orgasm, in the context of a societally-sanctioned monogamous heterosexual relationship –”
MODERATE #2: “– as long as it doesn’t take too long?”
PANEL 5 shows two guys in front of a columned building:
CAPTION: But state legislators in Virginia have some ideas of their own.
LEGISLATOR #1: “We believe women suspected of orgasms should be forced to submit to an invasive gynecological exam!”
LEGISLATOR #2: “No reason! We just want to show them who’s boss!”
LEGISLATOR #1: “Too bad our governor caved to the orgasm lobby!”
PANEL 6 shows the conservative pundits again:
CAPTION: Of course, it’s important to make certain distinctions in a debate like this.
PUNDIT #1: “Obviously the male orgasm is biologically necessary for reproduction!”
PUNDIT #2: “Indeed! If God had intended women to have orgasms –”
PUNDIT #1: “– he would have given them penises!”
Tags: humor, orgasmic dysfunction
Since we already are on poking fun at certain people, I chime in with a joke I find both funny and profound:
“If electricity comes from electrons,
does morality come from morons?”
(Art Kumbalek)
Obamacare requires health insurance companies to provide birth control to women, but not to men. This means women can get condoms free with a prescription, but men have to pay out of pocket.
Catholic Bishops are against all birth control, including condoms and vasectomies. They make no gender distinction. So who is really sexist?
Firstly: I wonder whether any so-called Men’s Rights groups are campaigning nearly as hard for men to get condoms as women’s groups have campaigned for women to get birth control? Secondly: the fact that women are expected to be responsible for birth control is not necessarily so awesome for us … see also Charlie Glickman’s recent post on “who uses condoms.” And thirdly: I don’t think it’s reasonable to blame “Obamacare” for this state of affairs. Obamacare is operating in the context of a wider culture that greatly limits its ability to do the right thing.
That having been said, it would be awesome if everyone (male or female) got free condoms.
I hope someone tells a feminist joke next.
Clarisse – there’s something I’ve been wondering about for a while. No criticism intended, but I’m just curious – why do you use “S&M” in many of your articles, rather than “BDSM?”
I try to keep my blog accessible to people who don’t have much experience in the community. It’s hard, because most of the stuff I write is detailed and in-depth, and maybe it’s silly of me to put so much effort into it, but I really try to avoid BDSM jargon (another example would be the word “scene,” which I usually replace with “encounter”). I see “S&M” as more colloquial than “BDSM,” and more people at least have a vague idea of what you’re talking about when you say “S&M” than when you say “BDSM.” My friends and I usually talk about “S&M,” not “BDSM,” even though we all know plenty about the practice and theory of that set of sexual activities. I do think that “BDSM” is a better acronym overall — it covers all the associated activities, not just some of them — but I don’t want people to feel like they have to learn a whole new vocabulary just to read my work.
That’s what I was guessing! “S&M” may be less accurate, but being more accessible is always a good goal.
Can’t come up with a feminist joke, but…
The ugly little secret here?
This invasive gynecological exam war with the Orgasm Lobby? It’s actually a secret, hush-hush, cloak and dagger one, being waged by the Republican Hentai Confederacy. Specifically, the tentacle caucus. Ia! Ia! Santorum fhtagn, and all.
RHC and RNC look the same in R’lyeh. It’s the geometry. And that last panel is obviously a reference to futanari.
(taps nose)
You didn’t hear it from me.
@ Infra:
OMG it’s so obvious! Why didn’t I see it before?!
Question is, are their tentacles aliens, or demons?
@SnowdropExplodes:
Who knows? But there are those who say that they’re both the same. Above my rank, unfortunately, and I’m afraid that I’ve said too much already.
(glances around quickly)
I’m still trying to figure out which one of the candidates is actually Choji Suitengu in disguise.
Fear the elephant, my friend. It only looks like a pachyderm from a distance.
Part of the last panel actually makes sense. There’s little evolutionary advantage of female orgasms, so it’s reasonable to guess that can partly explain the difficulty (i.e. cause part of the difficulty) many women have achieving it.
People are sometimes offended by this kind of explanation because they think it means that their fate (if they are a woman, in this case) is sealed, which is completely wrong. They fail to appreciate the interplay between environment and behavior. Just because the environment’s of the past gave little or no evolutionary incentive for female orgasm, today’s might. If you achieve orgasm easily, it could be because things in your environment, such as sex-positive ideas, did not exist in the past.
@BowLowKnee
Not exactly. The male orgasm is not biologically necessary for reproduction. Ejaculation yes, orgasm no. One can exist without the other and shouldn’t be treated as the same, especially in consideration of evolutionary advantages. People are more offended by those who ignore this and try to lump the two together.