Pro- Life or Pro-Choice?

Pro-Life or Pro-Choice?

By: Bre-Ann Werner

The concept of Abortion is one of the most controversial topics to ever bring up in the American society. When I think of the word abortion I think of its technical definition; ending a pregnancy before the baby is in the initial phase of its existence. [1] While others may think of abortion as preventing what could possibly be a horrible life for the child, or for themselves due to a variety of potential reasons. As the topic of abortion is on the rise all over America, it may be a good time to consider all possible factors for or against abortion and ask yourself; are you pro- life or pro-choice? The fight for abortion, whether it should be banned or legal has been going on for decades because many believe that pro-life people are killing one of gods creations, while pro-choice people can’t seem to understand the “harm” that they are doing when looking at their circumstances. Has anyone ever looked at abortion being neither right nor wrong? I believe abortion is not right, but it is not wrong. I believe that it is all a matter of your personal opinion and the conditions that brought the individual to consider abortion as an option.  Taking all into consideration, I do believe that abortion should be legal. However the legality of abortion should be based upon a number of things, such as the reason why they are considering abortion, the status of that individual; how old are they? What are their health conditions? Do they have a family crisis? As well as, their home environment- were they planning on aborting the child because their home environment was not suitable for a child? Or were they a rape victim?

            Taking it back thousands of years to the beginning of history, the abortion procedure has been commonly performed on women in almost every American society. Up until the mid to late 1800’s a big portion of the United States were trying to pass laws to make abortion illegal for various different reasons. [2] One of the many reasons for trying to ban abortion in the United States back in the 1800’s was because of the risks and dangers that came along with the procedure. For instance, during the 1800’s hospitals in general were not common, and the ones that were around were not known for performing the safest surgical procedures due to their scarcity of antiseptics, and the doctors had little to no medical education. [3]Despite the fact that people wanted the abortion procedure outlawed due to its dangerous risks, people at the same time were fighting for the abortion law to be passed simple because the infant mortality rate during child birth were so particularly high without the help of today’s technology. [4]

            As technology began to advance, medical technologies and treatment also began to grow. Which then lead to much more reliable and safer medical care as well as infection prevention. The problem with the abortion procedure at this time was not the medical care and treatment, it was that the law was not yet passed to make this legal, which then forced women who needed this procedure done to go to an illegal practitioner. [5]Around the mid 1880’s to 1973 the want for legalizing abortion became real as the Comstock law was released, which outlawed the distribution and broadcasting of any type of birth control product.[6] The problem that came about during this time of history was that banning the abortion procedure did not reduce the amount of women that were going through with it, whether it was illegally or personally done. The real problem was that the number of women going through with the procedure was actually increasing due to the restrictions that were put on all birth control products and procedure. In the time frame of 1880’s- 1973 the number of legal abortions done to women sky rocketed to about 1.2 million per year. [7]

            With all of this being said, I think that the real problem with abortion even to this day is all of the restraints being put on the procedure. I understand that back in the day the procedure was very unsafe and it was being banned to protect the lives and overall health of the women who had the desire to go through with the abortion. However, with all of this new and advanced technology I do not see why we have to point fingers against those who agree or disagree with abortion. I think that abortion should not be labeled as right or wrong, it is 100% someone’s personal opinion. Legalizing abortion all over the United States would get rid of and prevent a lot of the controversy that has gone on in the past. However, if the procedure is going to be done there are a lot of restrictions and regulations that must be met prior to getting the procedure done. I am not an advocate of people getting abortions ‘just because’ they can, I am an advocate of someone getting an abortion because they desperately need one. For example, if you were a rape victim and got pregnant because of it, I do not think it is fair to hold an innocent women accountable or responsible for giving birth to that child and raising it when it was not planned in the first place, especially if they are at a young age. Therefore, I do believe that abortion should be legal. I also believe that we should once in for all stop pointing fingers at one another for what we believe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[1] Palo Alto Medical Foundation , "Abortion ." Last modified 2014. Date Accessed March 31, 2014. http://www.pamf.org/teen/sex/pregnancy/abortion.html.

[2] National Abortion Federation , "History of Abortion ." Last modified 2010. Date Accessed March 31, 2014. https://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/history_abortion.html.

[3] National Abortion Federation , "History of Abortion ." Last modified 2010. Date Accessed March 31, 2014. https://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/history_abortion.html.

[4] National Abortion Federation , "History of Abortion ." Last modified 2010. Date Accessed March 31, 2014. https://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/history_abortion.html.

[5] National Abortion Federation , "History of Abortion ." Last modified 2010. Date Accessed March 31, 2014. https://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/history_abortion.html.

[6] National Abortion Federation , "History of Abortion ." Last modified 2010. Date Accessed March 31, 2014. https://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/history_abortion.html.

[7] National Abortion Federation , "History of Abortion ." Last modified 2010. Date Accessed March 31, 2014. https://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/history_abortion.html.

Sex in the Civil War

By Stefanie Testa

As we learned by the documentary “Sex in the Civil War”, by Thomas Lowry, many of the stories about the soldiers were left untold. We know these soldiers to be honorable, dependable, and high with integrity, but we didn’t know until much later, that the sexuality and moral discrepencies among these troops was much more widely spread than society today would care to believe. Historians who specialize on this particular time in American history found many secret and titilating journals, letters, and old sexual novels belonging to these same soldiers. When the explicit novels didn’t do its justice, there were always pornography floating a round by the dozen.  Not to mention that prositution rose during this time as well. Prostitutes were sometimes grouped with the other camp followers, which are those who followed the troops as they moved from base to base. [1] Some believe these “camp followers” was the result of women suffering from depression after their husbands went off to war, and the necessity to support the family alone. [2]

Prostitution was infamous in Nashville, Tennessee where over 1500 women were claimed to be in the industry on Smokey Row. And, of course with prostitution, and seldom use of birth control and other contraceptative devices, sexually transmitted diseases also swept the nation. In the same titled book as the film by Lowry, he explains that “among the white Union soldiers there was a total of 73,382 syphilis cases and 109,397 gonorrhea cases.” [3] Prostitution even became legal for a short time where the known prostitutes would have a license and be examined by a physician each week to try to reduce the number of spreading cases of these venereal diseases. 

It is clear to see that the Repressive Hypothesis of Sexuality, which is the belief sexuality was more conservative in the earlier eras of our country, is just that, a false belief. [4] Human sexuality has been as radical and comprehensive as anything else in our modern society. We learned from somewhere, didn’t we?  

Nashoba, Shakers, Mormons, or Onieda – Which Do You Choose?

By: Allyson Wiggs

Throughout the late 18^th and 19^th century there was a huge push for perfection in a person’s spiritual life. This push was caused by the Second Great Awakening. As a result of this utopian communities were formed. These communities set a standard of living for the people who decided to join them. There were four main communities: Nashoba, Shakers, Mormons, and Oneida. Each of these communities had a leader, a set of ideals, and a reason as to why the community failed. Many of the ideals were based around spiritual preferences. Some of the communities were very conservative on the rules while others were more liberal.[1] Although all of these communities were very different from our society today, there is only one community that I personally would ever want to live in.

            The Nashoba Community is the community that I share the most ideals with and the one that I believe I would survive the best in. It was founded by Frances Wright. Frances Wright was very different than many women during this time period and definitely stood out. Wright was born and grew up in Scotland, but when she visited America she enjoyed everything about it and had her own opinions on some of the things going on. For example, she visited when religion was very important and slavery was going on. These were two things she felt strongly against. Wright was a free thinker who felt like she should control her own beliefs and that a religion should not.[2] She also believed that slavery should not be in place. Wright attempted to fix some of these issues in the Nashoba Community. [3]

            This utopian community was known as “free lovers” because of their ideals on the way that the world should work. Two of the main issues the Nashoba Community dealt with was slavery and sexual relations. Since the members did not believe in slavery, they allowed the slaves to buy freedom so that they could live in emancipation settlements. They also determined that people should have sexual relations with another person only if they loved them which meant they did not have to be married. This concept went against many religious beliefs, but was allowed in this community. Although this community seems to have a very modern approach on different views, it no longer exists in today’s society. This community ended because of a controversy over slaves. While some slaves were free, some slaves were not because they could not afford to purchase freedom. This controversy ended the community. [4]

            Overall, I believe that I would want to live in the Nashoba Community most because it seems like the community with the closest ideals as we have today. In today’s society, we have a very liberal view on most things. We are very opposed to slavery just as they were and many people do not follow strictly to their religion. In my opinion, I agree with Wright’s free spirit and believe that people should make their own decisions for the most part. If the Nashoba Community was never started, it makes me wonder what today’s society may be like. I wonder if anyone would have realized that slavery is cruel and if there is a possibility we may have it today. I also wonder if people would still follow strictly to their religion. In some ways this may be better for people, but others may feel as if it is a burden to them. In general, this community really opened some people’s eyes to a different and more liberal way of life that may have never been discovered otherwise.

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[1] Moore, Crystal. “Utopian Communities in Victorian America.” Lecture, History of Sexuality in America, UNCC. Charlotte, North Carolina.  March 3, 2014.

[2] “"The Cause of Human Improvement": Frances Wright and the Nashoba Community,” last modified 2011, http://www.ucs.louisiana.edu/~lxm8207/FannyWright.html.

[3] “Revisiting Nashoba: Slavery, Utopia, and Frances Wright in America, 1818–1826,” last modified 2014, http://alh.oxfordjournals.org/content/17/3/438.short.

[4] Moore, Crystal. “Utopian Communities in Victorian America.” Lecture, History of Sexuality in America, UNCC. Charlotte, North Carolina.  March 3, 2014.

Sex in the United States

Sex Trafficking in the United States

By: Rachel Valle

ECPAT USA (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes) reports that average age of entry into child prostitution is young girls between 12 and 14 years of age, however some incidents have been reported for children as young as 9 years old. When people think about sex trafficking the first thing that comes to their minds is young women or girls from other countries being smuggled into the United States to bring profit to these traffickers by being forced to participate in sexual acts, many choose to believe that something so horrible is happening right in their own home country.1  Some of the facts I have read about this incident have really made me think on how often these things go on seen right in our own neighborhood but we choose to look at the terrors in other country in a bigger light. Some of these facts I am refering to include, human trafficking generates 9.5 billion dollars in the United States yearly. Also, almost 300,000 children are at the risk of being prostituted in the United States and coming from this fact if you think about all the facts and knowing how young these girls are who get put into this horrible situation, then the next fact should just break your heart because these girls are being dragged into these situations they are forced anywhere from 24-40 times a day with completely different guys.2 Only 85% of women are referred to as victims in sex trafficking incidents according to the NHTRC. When people address the subject of sex trafficking they often see this as things such as prostitution, strip clubs, or swingers and their minds are often immediately drawn to the idea that these girls have been put into these situations by choice and if they wanted to they could remove themselves from the situations. So, when do we as Americans start to look deeper into the situation and get to the core or the “pimps” that have put these ladies here by either sweet talking or force. When are we going to start supporting our fellow neighbors and look and that as someone who has been drawn into an awful situation completely out of choice and treating them like victims instead of “sluts”? These victims usually come from an horrible past of physical or mental abuse and have grown up knowing only this way of life and for those who try to run away such as the young kids they often find themselves put right back into it by being drawn into sex trafficking within the first 48 hours of leaving the home.2 These abusers and “pimps” make empty promises to these young kids by listening to their parents trouble and giving them things they want and promising them love and necessities and once they have these innocent preteens in their web, they turn them into the young “whores” we see on the street, who actually have no intention of being their. I believe that just as we pay attention to those in sex trafficking being brought into the US from other parts of the world, we should try twice as hard to prevent it for those around us.

Diamond Jessie Hayman and the 1906 San Fran Earthquake

             By: Andrew Nakamura

           When you hear the word prostitute what do you think?  Hearing this, in my opinion, makes me think of someone who just has sex all the time, who is nasty and gross, and who is just selling his or her self for money.  I believe that there are not many positive connotations with prostitutes and it today is still a topic that is being discussed.  However there is a person in our history that did help out her community after a devastating tragedy in a positive manor, her name is “Diamond” Jessie Hayman.

            Jessie Mellon moved out to San Francisco, CA to become a prostitute.  She was working for a Madam that went by the name Mrs. Nina Hayman.  Mellon soon settled down and got married where her mentor decided to leave the three story brothel to her.  This is where Jessie’s last name arises from.  She took Mrs. Nina’s last name as part of a tribute in her honor.  Jessie became the new Madam of the brothel that is located at 225 Ellis St. which is now called the Globetrotters Inn [1].  When hiring her employees to fill her brothel, she provided them with a generous and luxurious wardrobe.  It consisted of fur coats, tailored suits, hats, shoes etc.  This fancy wardrobe cost around six thousand dollars at the time, which was a lot of money for that time.  Hayman ran the brothel very successfully where bought a couple pieces of land in the city, which made her a very successful woman for that time as well.  In 1906 San Francisco was hit by a major earthquake and Hayman and her employees helped out the community [3].

            On April 18, 1906 the Great 1906 San Francisco earthquake struck California.  Today it still ranks as the hardest hitting earthquake for that area.  San Francisco was the epicenter of the earthquake but was felt from places in Oregon, Los Angeles and all the way in Nevada for about a minute long.  The tragedy caused much damage throughout the city; it sparked many fires and caused a large amount of people their lives.  It is suspected that nearly 700 people throughout the quakes path perished, with 189 being outside the city. [2]

            Being known for her compassionate nature towards her employees, Hayman set out to help and assist people in need in her area.  Her brothel on 225 Ellis St. was unharmed by the quake and she and her employees helped by cooking for people in need from the house, and handed out clothes and other necessities’ to her community.  [1] Although this is just one small instance of positivity towards a community done by prostitutes, I think it shows that there can be positive outcomes from prostitutes in our society. 

[1] T. Julie. “Diamon Jessie Hayman” Last Modified: February 1, 2014 http://peopleandplacesofthetenderloin.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2014-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2015-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=1

[2] Lindh , E. USGS.gov “The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake” Last Modified: July 23, 2012

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/nca/1906/18april/index.php

[3] Moore, Crystal. “Sexual Commerce in Contemporary America.” Powerpoint. 2014. 19 March 2014. 

America’s war on masturbation and anti-masturbation devices of the 19^th century

By: Dominique Spence

 

       During the 19^th century, masturbation was not widely accepted like it somewhat is today. Christian Reformers, such as Sylvester Graham, saw masturbation as an action that would damage health. Graham developed the graham cracker because he believed that bland food would curb masturbation impulses. He even went on an anti-masturbation campaign and these writings trained children not to masturbate through a solid regimen of diet and exercise. The masturbation scare started with the belief that men had a limited amount of sperm and there would be nothing left for reproduction after masturbating. It was believed that masturbation could cause crooked spine, blindness, kidney disease and many other illnesses[1].

      Anti-masturbation devices became popular after many people, even doctors, believed that masturbation would case fatal illnesses. They thought on way to cure masturbation was to invent devices that would make it impossible to part take in the act. The US went on to issue thirty-three patents of anti-masturbation devices from the 1850s-1930s[2]. These devices prohibited users, mostly men, from masturbating by creating mechanisms that were hard to take off or even included dangerous sharp areas. Some devices included the Bowen Device, The Cage and the Spike Lined Cage. Anti-masturbation procedures against women were more radical and required surgeries to curb the urge. Women underwent clitoridechtomies that involved the removal of the clitoris and this ultimately removed any sexual feelings. In the United States these procedures ended in 1937. Today, many third world countries still practice this painful tradition.

      

Today, on the other hand, masturbation is looked at as something that is beneficial to our health and many people are taking part in it. Studies show that 7 out of 10 adult men and more than 5 out 10 adult women masturbate[3]. With this information compared to the 19^th century there has been a visible change in the way sexuality is viewed and accepted. Unlike views in the 19^th century, masturbation today is seen to have many health advantages. Masturbation is said to improve sleeping habits, relieve cramps, prevent prostate cancer, alleviate urinary tract infections and even boosts immunity[4].  

 

 

 

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[1] Moore, Crystal. “Masturbation The Rise of Reform Physiology.” Class Lecture, The History of Sexuality in America from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, March 13, 2014.

 

[2] Moore, Crystal. “Masturbation The Rise of Reform Physiology.” Class Lecture, The History of Sexuality in America from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, March 13, 2014.

[3] Planned Parenthood, "Masturbation." Accessed March 30, 2014. http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/sex-101/masturbation-23901.htm.

[4] Vilibert, Diana. Care 2, "7 Surprising Benefits of Masturbation ." Last modified October 02, 2013. Accessed March 30, 2014. http://www.care2.com/greenliving/7-surprising-benefits-of-masturbation.html.

Hugh Hefner

Hugh Hefner and His Contributions by Jackie Turner

Everyone knows Hugh Hefner and that he is a sex idol among men and women. He has hundreds of beautiful women surrounding him at all times. He has a huge mansion, beautiful women, magazines, television shows, radio shows, websites, casinos and at one time gentle men’s clubs. When you see Playboy you know the emblem and the Playboy magazine. He is truly idolized for sexual revolution he has caused upon the United States starting in the 1950’s. The women want to look like them and the men want to be with them. When you think Hugh Hefner you obviously think sex, but that is not all he started out to be. Though it is a large part of everything he is now, he started humble and with intention of creating a lifestyle magazine. He intended to include sex and start a sexual revolutional phenomenon. He says now that he hopes his magazine has made a huge change in the world for the better.[1] Before Hugh had started the Magazine, the United States believed sexuality was a bit taboo when it came to radio and obscene images being shown to the public. So he really put our country through a sexual transformation by publishing Playboy. His company went through a lot of strife getting this controversial magazine off the ground. He was faced with several lawsuits, not only for his obscene literature and short stories but for nude photographs included in the magazine.[2] Due to his liberal beliefs in things like a more public sexuality and liberal drug laws, he was ridiculed and harassed. Since he was becoming a well known man, it became aware that his influence could really make a difference. His company took off right around the time feminist movements were at their peak and in a strange way he really made way for them.  Without his contributions to society at such a repressive time for America women may have not felt as empowered. Being someone who believes you can not have such a connected world through, television, magazines and internet without including everything in the world. That includes sexuality as a whole  and his contribution of sexuality really changed our culture. It set the stage for publicity. Maybe that is how the lead up of sex is so dominant today. It is seen everywhere and used as a huge marketing tool. Hefner did a lot more than anyone realizes now. He was an entrepreneur with a huge idea that changed the way we see sexuality in our society. He can easily turn on the television and see anything without it being censored as well as log onto the internet and freely lookup, read and see absolutely anything you could possibly imagine. I think the contribution Hefner made to the world is a huge one and I am really glad he did it. I enjoy this free sexuality in our society and it would not be as liberating if he had not had been a part of it. 

1.] Zahn, . CNN , "People in the News." Accessed March 31, 2014. http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/hefner/profile.html 

2.] Wikipedia, "Hugh Hefner." Last modified march 31, 2014. Accessed March 31, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Hefner

Living in America with an STD

Kaitlyn Solotes

As a friend of someone who has contracted an STD, I have personally witnessed how quickly an STD/STI can change one's life. What seemed impossible became my friend's reality when she lost her virginity at 21 to someone with the Herpes virus. Even though her partner showed no symptoms, she still woke up with the worst pain she had ever experienced. While STDs still remain a sort of taboo topic in our society, it is no myth that 1 in 4 young adults has an STD. Being a Sophomore in college I have yet to undergo a true and unrestricted sex education class; my lack of education on STDs worries me into thinking about the millions of Americans who are also being denied crucial, factual information about sexually transmitted diseases. [1] A few of the most popular STDs we are faced with today are HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, Syphilis, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Genital herpes and HPV. Living in America with an STD today is different than in the past 60 years. However, there are still some facts about STDs that remain the same. For example, Herpes is still an incurable virus that never leaves the body once contracted. Although medication helps ease symptoms and reduce the number of outbreaks, herpes remains untreatable as do other viral STDs such as HPV and AIDS. Another fact about STDs that has stayed the same in history is there are often few, if any symptoms. This means that even though you recognize what an STD is and could look like, there is no way to know if you have one unless you get tested. It is essential for good sexual health to get tested in order to be aware and prevent infection of potential partners. [2] In the past Syphilis and Gonorrhea were the major STDs in America. Soon after in the 1960s and '70s, Herpes made a huge entrance and impact on the history of sexually transmitted diseases. The largest and most serious health epidemic emerged in the late 20th century when AIDS, caused by the HIV virus, started to spread at an extremely high rate. It is important to understand the history of STDs and know that while we are living in a changing America, STDs remain a huge and life-altering threat to sexually active individuals. Although medical advances are constantly in the works, nobody is immune from STDs; as long as you are having intercourse or engaging in oral sex, you are a candidate for STDs/STIs. With that being said, living in America with an STD raises a series of concerning questions, some harder to answer than others. One benefit of living in such an advanced society is the amount of resources available to us. The internet provides numerous websites, journals, and articles on STDs and how they can be transmitted. These resources weren't around until the early 90s when Internet began to boom. There are also tons of support groups to aid people in overcoming their nervousness of telling loved ones about their STD, which can be the hardest part of it all.

 

            1. "Living with an STD," Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, last modified March 29, 2014, http://www.nakedtruth.idaho.gov/living-with-an-std.aspx.

            2. "Sexually Transmitted Disease," Encyclopedia Britannica, last modified September 11, 2013, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/537217/sexually-transmitted-disease-STD.