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 | Writing about sexual anatomy on the Internet is a frustrating job. It's frustrating because when I get to write or teach the way I want, I don't break every anatomy lesson down by sex or gender. When I'm talking with one person then it makes sense to talk about anatomy, sex, and gender together, since in our bodies and our lives they can't really ever be pulled apart. But when talking or writing generally, I don't see how starting with gender makes sense. But it's what people expect, it's what they search for. Most of us use terms like female genitals or male sexual anatomy without thinking too much about what those terms mean, and what they do. We also tend to think of our body parts as somehow separate from emotion, intellect, or politics. Our bodies are just our bodies. But this isn't ever the case. Something I was reminded of recently while browsing the Oxford English Dictionary. ~ Cory |
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Of Hymens, Homers, and the OED
As an About.com reader tweeted to me the other day, the Oxford English Dictionary is meant to be descriptive, not prescriptive. Which is why I was genuinely surprised when I read the first line of the OED's entry for hymen. And yes, looking up hymen in the dictionary is just one of the many glamorous parts of begin a sex educator.
| What Is the Difference Between Sex and Gender?
There's no cookie-cutter answer to this question since these aren't natural categories, they are words, or names, that we've decided to use to describe aspects of being human. But here's a start.
| Learn About Your Sexual Anatomy
Sometimes it feels like every one already knows to many things about their sexual bodies. Not that the things they know are helpful, or even reflective of their experience, but we are so bombarded with sexual messages that by the time we're adults we can easily come to think we know it all. I'd rather approach sexual anatomy as if I know nothing: since that's the best place to start if you want to actually learn something.
| Crime Against Nature: An Interview with Gwenn Seemel
Artist Gwenn Seemel delved deep into the animal kingdom to bring us a book about sexual and gender diversity and us animals.
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