Harm, responsibility, age and consent

This article explores the contradictory ways in which adolescents just under the age of consent are represented in illegal sexual relations with both men and women who are over the age of consent. We are specifically interested in the ways in which the gender of the adolescent and the adult affect public perceptions, legal responses and perceptions of harm of sexual relations. We argue that the development of an indiscriminate legal and policy narrative of child abuse which increasingly includes all aspects of adolescent sexuality, ‘erases’ adolescent subjectivity. By exploring the nuanced ways in which the historical construction of childhood as sexually innocent intersects with current cultural scripts of femininity and masculinity, this article hopes to add to the small but growing literature on the issue of sexual consent, sexual ethics and sexual citizenship for young people.

Scripts sexuales : un estudio normativo de las situaciones y fantasías de cortejo e intercambio sexual.

Investigar el conocimiento que tienen los individuos de distintas orientaciones sexuales (heterosexual y bisexual) y de distinto sexo (varon, mujer) acerca de las consecuencias de conductas que se llevan a cabo en las situaciones de cortejo y de intercambio sexual. También, comprobar cómo influyen las fantasías y los scripts en la conducta humana. Experimento I: 85 personas, 45 varones y 40 mujeres de edades entre los 18 y 25 años, con un nivel cultural heterogéneo. Distribuidos por orientación sexual: 30 heterosexuales, 25 homosexuales y 30 bisexuales. Experimento II: los mismos sujetos del experimento I. Experimento I: diseño correlacional. Variables independientes: sexo, orientación sexual, tipo de situación (de cortejo, de intercambio sexual, fantasía de cortejo y fantasía de intercambio sexual). Variables dependientes: los scripts elaborados por los sujetos. Experimento II: se trata de un diseño correlacional que utiliza un Rating-Scale. Variables independientes: sexo, orientación sexual; 32 scripts elaborados por los sujetos. La variable dependiente es la valoración que dan los sujetos en el Rating-Scale. Experimento I: autoinforme donde los sujetos elaboraban los scripts solicitados. Cuestionario adaptado del E. Torres, 1982, para seleccionar los sujetos. Experimento II: cuadernillo con hojas de respuesta. En general, los individuos describen de forma uniforme las conductas incluidas en cada situación, siendo mayor la uniformidad en los scripts reales. Los scripts presentan una estructura jerárquica interna. Los individuos tienden a describir los scripts en tercera persona y las fantasías en primera. Los scripts de los varones estan mejor estructurados que los de las mujeres. Las fantasías de los varones tienden a estar mejor estructuradas que las de las mujeres. Todas las personas estructuran mejor sus scripts y fantasías de intercambio sexual que de cortejo. Los varones describen más conductas verbales en las mujeres, mientras que éstas valoran más las verbalizaciones en los scripts y fantasías de cortejo. Las mujeres valoran más que los varones las conductas de acercamiento y las gestuales. Los varones homosexuales y bisexuales valoran más las conductas gestuales en el script de cortejo real que los varones heterosexuales. Las personas homosexuales describen una mayor cantidad de iniciativas mutuas en sus scripts que las heterosexuales. Los varones finalizan el cortejo con un mayor grado de intimidad que las mujeres; la mayor intimidad es alcanzada por varones homosexuales y bisexuales. Este estudio es un primer paso en la aplicación de la cognición social al área de la sexualidad. Debe profundizarse en: trabajar sobre los scripts sexuales que poseen los miembros de cada grupo, acerca de cómo se relacionan entre sí los individuos de los otros grupos (la auto y la heteropercepción), determinar qué pasos se siguen en el desarrollo ontogénico de los scripts sexuales.

Traditions and contradictions of sexual function definitions for portuguese heterosexual men and women: medicalization and socially constructed gender effects

© 2015 College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists

Heterosexual and nonheterosexual young university students’ involvement in traditional and cyber forms of bullying

Research has consistently found that school students who do not identify as self-declared completely heterosexual are at increased risk of victimization by bullying from peers. This study examined heterosexual and nonheterosexual university students’ involvement in both traditional and cyber forms of bullying, as either bullies or victims. Five hundred twenty-eight first-year university students (M= 19.52 years old) were surveyed about their sexual orientation and their bullying experiences over the previous 12 months. The results showed that nonheterosexual young people reported higher levels of involvement in traditional bullying, both as victims and perpetrators, in comparison to heterosexual students. In contrast, cyberbullying trends were generally found to be similar for heterosexual and nonheterosexual young people. Gender differences were also found. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of intervention and prevention of the victimization of nonheterosexual university students.

Back to the future : prohibiting surrogacy for singles, same-sex and shorter-term heterosexual couples in Queensland

This article considers the regulatory position concerning altruistic surrogacy in Queensland, focusing on the intended changes to the current legal framework announced by the government in June 2012. The previous government had made significant progress by reforming surrogacy laws in 2010. However, that progress is at risk of being reversed. The proposed changes to the law would make it a criminal offence to enter into an altruistic surrogacy arrangement for certain individuals or couples. If enacted, the offence would only apply in altruistic surrogacy cases where the intended parent or parents are either single, in a same-sex relationship, or are in a heterosexual relationship of less than two years. Moreover, if enacted, the offence would apply extra-territorially. The authors argue that these changes represent a retrograde step for the law and urge the government to reconsider. This is based on the fact that they are out of step with current social attitudes, are contrary to the spirit of anti-discrimination laws, and that they are unjustified in terms of child welfare concerns.

Ruptures in the heterosexual matrix through teenage flows and multiplicities

This article analyzes a series of stories and artworks that were produced in a collective biography workshop. It explores Judith Butler’s concept of the heterosexual matrix combined with a Deleuzian theoretical framework. The article begins with an overview of Butler’s concept of the heterosexual matrix and her theorizations on how it might be disrupted. It then suggests how a Deleuzian framework offers other tools for analyzing these ruptures at the micro level of girls’ everyday interactions.

Sexual desire, erectile dysfunction and the biomedicalization of sex in older heterosexual men

Aim To examine sexual desire in older age and the use of pharmaceuticals for sexual enhancement in the context of erectile dysfunction. Background The ability of the older person to fulfil sexual desire has not been well supported in Western society. Design The paper draws on themes that emerged during a phenomenological study of sexual desire in older age. Method Narratives were collected between 2008–2010 from in-depth interviews with six men and two women aged 65–84 years who were part of a larger Australian study of sexual desire in older age. Findings Emergent themes reveal that for some older people, the biomedicalization of sex can be a disappointing experience. Conclusion The findings illuminate the need for nurses who are at the front line of health care, health policy makers and educators, to consider sexual desire experienced in older age in the context of sexual health and healthy ageing. This study will contribute to a growing body of knowledge about sexual desire in older age

How does Nepal Television (NTV) frame natural disasters? A qualitative content analysis of news scripts using news frames and PPRR cycle

Introduction- This study investigates the prevailing status of Nepalese media portrayal of natural disasters. It is contributing to the development of a disaster management model to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of news production throughout the continuum of prevention, preparedness, response and recovery (PPRR) phases of disaster management. Theoretical framework- Studies of media content often rely on framing as the theoretical underpinning of the study, as it describes how the press crafts the message. However there are additional theoretical perspectives that underline an understanding of the role of the media. This article outlines a conceptual understanding of the role of the media in modern society, the way that this conceptual understanding is used in the crafting of media messages and how those theoretical considerations are applied to the concepts that underpin effective disaster management. (R.M. Entman, 2003; Liu, 2007; Meng & Berger, 2008). Methodology- A qualitative descriptive design is used to analyse the disaster news of Nepal Television (NTV). However, this paper presents the preliminary findings of Nepal Television (a government owned Television station) using qualitative content analysis of 105 natural disaster related news scripts (June 2012-March 2013) based on the framing theory and PPRR cycle. Results- The preliminary results indicate that the media focus while framing natural disasters is dominated by human interest frame followed by responsibility frame. News about response phase was found to be most prominent in terms of PPRR cycle. Limited disaster reporting by NTV has impacted the national disaster management programs and strategies. The findings describe natural disasters are being reported within the limited understanding of the important principles of disaster management and PPRR cycle. Conclusion- This paper describes the current status of the coverage of natural disasters by Nepal Television to identify the frames used in the news content. It contributes to determining the characteristics of effective media reporting of natural disasters in the government owned media outlets, and also leads to including communities and agencies involved in disasters. It suggests the frames which are best suited for news making and how media responds to the different phases of the disaster cycle.

Ruptures in the heterosexual matrix through teenage flows and multiplicities

Feminist research on girlhood has drawn extensively on Butler's conceptual work in order to theorise the normative forces of heterosexuality in the everyday construction of gender. This chapter explores girlhood by drawing on memories and artwork generated in a collective biography workshop held in Australian on the topic of girlhood and sexuality. We are interested in thinking through Butler's notion of the heterosexual matrix. Following Renold and Ringrose (2008) we do so with the help of Deleuze and Guattari, who invite us to think about difference as differenciation or continuous becoming, where difference is an evolutionary multiplicity.

Preparing test scripts

A set of downloadable resources containing information on course structures

Molecular epidemiology of the heterosexual HIV-1 transmission in Kunming, Yunnan Province of China suggests origin from the local IDU epidemic

Molecular epidemiological investigation was conducted among injecting drug users (IDUs) (n = 11) and heterosexuals (n = 15) in Kunming, Yunnan Province of China. HIV-1 genotypes were determined based on the nucleotide sequences of 2.6-kb gag-RT region. The distribution of genotypes among IDUs was as follows: CRF07_BC (5/11) and CRF08_BC (5/11); subtype B' (1/11). Similarly, a majority of Kunming heterosexuals (14/15) were infected with CRF07_BC (4/15), CRF08_BC (6/15), or subtype B' (4/15), known to predominate among IDUs in China. This contrasts with trends in the coastal regions of China and surrounding southeastern Asian countries, where CRF01_AE predominates among heterosexuals. The heterosexual HIV-1 epidemic in Kunming thus appears to derive from the local IDU epidemic. Of note, subtype B' was the most prevalent strain among heterosexuals before 1997, while CRF07_BC and CRF08_BC became predominant in 2002, indicating a transition of HIV-1 genotype distribution between the early and the more recent samples from Kunming heterosexuals.

Age Effects in Cultural Life Scripts.

Life scripts are culturally shared expectations about the timing of life events in an idealized life course. Because they are cultural semantic knowledge, they should be known by all adult age groups including those who have not lived through all events in the life script, but this has not been tested previously. Young, middle-aged and older adults from the Netherlands were therefore asked in this online study to imagine an ordinary Dutch infant and to name the seven most important events that were likely to take place in the life of this prototypical child. Participants subsequently answered questions about at what ages these events were expected to occur and about their prevalence, importance and valence. We found that the cultural life script was similar for young, middle-aged and older adults and for adults with different educational attainment.

The normative and the personal life: individual differences in life scripts and life story events among USA and Danish undergraduates.

Life scripts are culturally shared expectations about the order and timing of life events in a prototypical life course. American and Danish undergraduates produced life story events and life scripts by listing the seven most important events in their own lives and in the lives of hypothetical people living ordinary lives. They also rated their events on several scales and completed measures of depression, PTSD symptoms, and centrality of a negative event to their lives. The Danish life script replicated earlier work; the American life script showed minor differences from the Danish life script, apparently reflecting genuine differences in shared events as well as less homogeneity in the American sample. Both consisted of mostly positive events that came disproportionately from ages 15 to 30. Valence of life story events correlated with life script valence, depression, PTSD symptoms, and identity. In the Danish undergraduates, measures of life story deviation from the life script correlated with measures of depression and PTSD symptoms.