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Research Participants Needed! San Francisco Bay Area, Adult Women, First Sexual Experience with another Woman in Last 5 Years.

I’m passing this on for a friend because I do not qualify…repost if you don’t either to spread the word!

Hi,
I am looking for people to participate in the research I am doing for my psychology doctorate. Please read to see if you or someone you know might qualify and be willing to do an interview with me. It is very hard to find participants, so all the help I can get is greatly appreciated.

I am looking for WOMEN who are over 18 in the SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA (within 2 hrs driving) who have had their FIRST SEXUAL EXPERIENCE with another WOMAN in the LAST 5 YEARS.

Interviews so far have been very positive for participants, 45-90 minutes, and I can offer a gift of appreciation of $20.

If you or someone you know might qualify and be willing to participate, please give them my contact info and encourage them to contact me for more information. I can be contacted via facebook or email: ngintel@gmail.com.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Happy New Year’s everyone and thanks again,
Natasha

THE THIN WOMAN: Sex and romance

rev:

huruma:

Since I don’t believe that romantic love is any more meaningful than platonic attachment and should not be held to a higher standard, I disagree with the assumption that romantic relationships should progress toward some ‘higher goal’ rather than just being appreciated for what they are. If there’s no expectation for best friends to cohabit, I don’t see why romantic partners should view doing so as necessary or as proof of their ‘commitment’ to one another. Since platonic friends don’t have ceremonies to officialize their relationships, I don’t really see the point in weddings, even though I’m not opposed to them or cohabitation. Marriage as a legal institution, which evolved so men could legally own women as sexual property, should be abolished since it perpetuates the idea that romantic relationships warrant actually being legally recognized by the state in a way that the deepest emotional bonds between close platonic friends aren’t. I think a lot of the importance people place on romantic relationships ultimately comes down to the issue of procreation, since the point of marriage has traditionally been for men to ensure paternity by claiming ownership of their wives’ sexuality. Good platonic friends who want to raise children together should not have to be romantically interested in one another in order to do so. Aside from my issue with procreation in general (I think it would be a good idea if humans at least temporarily stopped reproducing, if not on the basis of risk aversion than for ecological reasons as well as the fact that any resources that will be spent on an unborn child could have been spent on already existing children), I don’t see anything wrong with platonic friends who aren’t romantically interested in one another living together and raising a child together, whether the child is adopted or the biological offspring of both, whether the parents are a heterosexual man and woman, two hetero women, 3 homosexual men etc. makes no difference to me. Actually, I think platonic love is a much better basis for deciding who to have or raise children with.

…

I believe jealousy is mostly a conditioned response based on the view of other people as sexual property, the erroneous belief that jealousy is ‘proof’ of truly valuing someone or maybe even the ego boost that someone is interested in you alone. Whether sexual jealousy is ‘hardwired’ in humans or not, I don’t see why it’s the one negative emotion people are expected to accept as inevitable and insatiable.

This is great. I recommend you click on the title to read the whole thing.

(via theanimalawake)

Source: huruma

glittergeek:

check it, the new video from Reteaching Gender and Sexuality - the totally awesome group of Seattle queer youth & adult allies that i am so happy to be a part of.

check it (me, us) out!

(via projectqueer)

Source: glittergeek

ChristineLeeM: Disclaimer—I am not saying all bisexual men are nerdy, were nerds or were nerds because they didn’t know they were bisexual. This is just a cutesy play-off of the common “I used to be a tomboy, but now I’m a full-grown lesbian” photos. I edited this image because I thought it was important for such an image to be put out there. There are phrases out there, said by lesbian or gay people, emphasizing the magnitude of their gayness, such as: “I’m a big o’ lesbian,” “I’m such a big homo,” “I’m so gay,” “I’m the biggest dyke ever,” and of course, the phrase in which I stole my idea from, “I used to be a tomboy, but now I’m a full-grown lesbian.” For some reason, there is no such thing as being “so bisexual,” or “such a big bisexual,” and bisexuals are not seen as a “full-grown” anything. Bisexuality is hardly seen as anything that you can be completely engrossed in or a part of, because bisexuality does not fall within the dichotomy of heterosexuality and homosexuality and is often invisible; bisexuality is seen as half straight and half gay, or not straight enough and not gay enough, instead of wholly bisexual. I’d like to see bisexuality being portrayed as a final destination of a sexual orientation and something we can be engrossed in, because for most bisexuals it is and they are. I made this image to spread the word. I’m a full-grown bisexual. I’m such a queer. I’m such a bi nerd. I’m so pansexual. I’m such a huge bisexual. I’ll bisexual the shit out of anything.
Pop-upView Separately

ChristineLeeM:

Disclaimer—I am not saying all bisexual men are nerdy, were nerds or were nerds because they didn’t know they were bisexual. This is just a cutesy play-off of the common “I used to be a tomboy, but now I’m a full-grown lesbian” photos.

I edited this image because I thought it was important for such an image to be put out there.

There are phrases out there, said by lesbian or gay people, emphasizing the magnitude of their gayness, such as: “I’m a big o’ lesbian,” “I’m such a big homo,” “I’m so gay,” “I’m the biggest dyke ever,” and of course, the phrase in which I stole my idea from, “I used to be a tomboy, but now I’m a full-grown lesbian.”

For some reason, there is no such thing as being “so bisexual,” or “such a big bisexual,” and bisexuals are not seen as a “full-grown” anything. Bisexuality is hardly seen as anything that you can be completely engrossed in or a part of, because bisexuality does not fall within the dichotomy of heterosexuality and homosexuality and is often invisible; bisexuality is seen as half straight and half gay, or not straight enough and not gay enough, instead of wholly bisexual.

I’d like to see bisexuality being portrayed as a final destination of a sexual orientation and something we can be engrossed in, because for most bisexuals it is and they are. I made this image to spread the word.

I’m a full-grown bisexual.

I’m such a queer.

I’m such a bi nerd.

I’m so pansexual.

I’m such a huge bisexual.

I’ll bisexual the shit out of anything.

A great effort has been made to make condoms more pleasurable for men, but you don’t hear about this same effort going toward reducing the negative impact of contraception on women’s sexual functioning.
Nicole Smith, lead researcher on an Indiana University study that examines the sexual side effects of all hormonal forms of birth control. (via newsweek)

(via fuckyeahfeminists)

Source: thedailybeast.com

We've All Been There: Confessions of a Half Dyke

confessionsofahalfdyke:

This is something I’ve been mulling over for awhile and would like some input on. There are two sections to this thought.

1. I think that sexuality and gender are different. I’m not entirely sure why transgender is tacked onto GLB. I think that the fight transgendered individuals go through is more difficult (overall-there will always be exceptions) than that of the GLB fight. However, aren’t they two separate fights? Or should we just go with it because there is power in numbers?

2. Since we are grouped together (for good or bad), why is there so much misunderstanding between the two groups? Do GLBs not care enough to educate themselves or they’re thinking, I’m looking out for me then I’ll look out for you or did Ts hitch themselves to the GLB bandwagon in order to move ahead faster? If so, (for either one) is that necessarily a bad thing? Or did society hitch Ts to GLBs and we went with it?  What does everyone think?

ChristineLeeM:

While gender and sexuality are different, there is some overlap. Among trans people, there is a disproportionate no. of LGB people compared to the cis population. Also, LGB people, as well as trans people can be discriminated against for their gender expression. A lot of times when a gay, lesbian, or bisexual person is discriminated against, it usually isn’t even about being with a same-sex person—though sometimes it is—(because a lot of the time, people aren’t walking around with their significant others, or they may be single, etc.), instead, it’s about the way they look and the way they act. If someone is going outside of the expected gender roles or gender presentation, they’re assumed to be gay or otherwise queer, and assholes will call someone out on it (even if they’re not actually gay or queer in any way). Also if you ARE with a same-sex significant other, being gay (or being seen as gay) is going against traditional gender roles as well. Trans people are also discriminated against for their gender expression, and not following what is seen as the status quo gender role. Also, gender and sexuality are not completely unrelated. The label you may use for your sexuality may depend on your gender. If I am female and I identify as female and I only like other females, I’ll probably call myself a lesbian. The word lesbian not only tells you that I’m attracted to females, but also that I am a female. Now, of course, not all sexual identities necessarily depict my gender (i.e. bisexual, pansexual…). But what if I’m genderqueer? And I only like one sex? I’m not going to call myself gay or straight, necessarily, because then it makes it seem like I am of one gender, which I don’t feel as though I am. I may choose another word to describe my sexuality; queer, perhaps, due to my gender identity.

Though the T is tacked onto the LGB, trans people definitely need and have their own separate space, community etc. (as do bisexuals) because each group has their own separate issues, though we may have some in common. It’s important to have a larger community as a whole, but it’s also important to break down into small groups to be able to discuss the specific issues of each of these letters. Also, Let’s be real, when you show up to an “LGBT” event, it usually means “gay” event. The event revolves around the fact that people there supposedly are attracted to the same-sex and only the same-sex and that’s the only thing that makes them feel queer or be a part of the queer community, and it tends to assume that everyone there is not only a binary gender, but that we’re all cis. So yeah, it’s really annoying when the B and T are tacked on for superficial inclusiveness when the reality is, it’s not inclusive. I think the problem when that happens, is, it started out as the gay community, then the lesbian and gay community…then bisexuals and trans people got tacked on in that order. What happened, was lesbians, bisexuals and trans people realized that the most privileged in the group took over the discussion, so we needed our own time and space to just get together with our own letter. And then the general discourse started to be more inclusive of lesbians, and then the bisexuals and trans individuals even more so needed their own space. I just think that the most privileged of a group is going to get their voices heard first, so while others are a part of the group, it sometimes feels like they’re not. It’s the privileged ones job to hear the others out. It’s okay for each letter to have their own parties, rallies, etc. but when we do all get together, it can’t be this fake “LGBT” thing; if you invite all letters to something, all issues should be discussed.

I do think that when it comes to things like passing laws, we often do have a common direction we’re heading for; LGB people don’t want to be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation, trans people don’t want to be discriminated against because of their gender identity, and all of us don’t want to be discriminated against because of our gender expression; that’s often what it’s about. And to completely separate the LGB from the T makes it seem likes lesbian, gay and bisexual people aren’t and can’t be trans, and that trans people aren’t and can’t be lesbian, gay and bisexual, which is obviously not true. Sadly though, the privileged of the underprivileged group often drop the less privileged of the group when it comes to things like laws…”Oh, you’ll accept the whole sexual orientation thing in your policy, but not gender identity? Um, okay, yeah, we’ll take that, that’s good enough, we’ll come back for the others…later…”

Like I said before, often times when people use “LGBT,” they don’t actually mean LGBT, they sometimes mean G, they sometimes mean LG, and they sometimes mean LGB. (Sometimes they actually mean LGBT! Hooray!) I just ask that people think about who they’re actually talking about, before throwing out an “LGBT,” like the media often fails to do. However, I do sincerely think that there are times and places where all LGBT people in the same space is beneficial and makes sense. Sadly, I think some G people fail to learn about Ls, and LGs fail to learn about Bs, and LGBs fail to learn about Ts. And the reason for this: privilege. There is a lot of ignorance among the LGBT community, specifically the more privileged of the underprivelaged group tend to be more ignorant and not knowledgeable about the issues of the less privileged individuals. (Now, I’m not saying ALL gay men are more privileged than all lesbians, and all lesbians are more privileged than all bisexuals, and all bisexuals are more privileged than all trans people, especially since you have to take into account many other factors like race, class, etc. etc., but as a general rule, I’d say that’s how it is. So while it seems silly to tack on the “T” to “LGB” when a lot of gays, lesbians and bisexual don’t know anything about gender identity or any of the issues that trans people have or go through, that isn’t a reason to not have trans people as part of the community, it just means that the privelaged of us in the LGBT community need to get our heads out of our ass and learn about the other underprivelaged people in our community who have a lot of issues in common but also have their own separate issues.

I hope I answered the question, I kind of just rambled on.

Also, yes, there is strength in numbers.

LG 1.7

B 1.8

T 0.3%

vs. 3.8% of LGBT

(according to those who IDENTIFY as LGBT [as opposed to those who ARE LGBT])