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Dec. 1st, 2008 07:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
moominmuppetFat Naked Awesomeness
Experts want to lift taboo on nursing home sex
Survey shows staff feels it's a topic they need to be educated about
LiveScience
updated 2:45 p.m. MT, Tues., Nov. 18, 2008
Nursing-home residents have sexual needs too. And now researchers are
finding ways to educate staff on the taboo topic and provide
accommodations for the elderly to shack up under some privacy.
"Most staff have the same mindset many of us do, which is 'I don't
want to think about my parents having sex, let alone my
grandparents,'" Gayle Doll, who directs Kansas State University's
Center on Aging, told LiveScience.
The researchers suggest educating staff about sexuality and making
sex in nursing homes less hush-hush. In the long run, they hope
federal guidelines will help all nursing homes deal with sexuality in
a positive way, especially as baby boomers age and bring their 1950s
and 1960s attitudes about sex with them to the facilities.
The research, whose details were announced today, was presented in
October at the American Association of Homes and Services for the
Aging conference.
"By law, you can't always lock a room, but you can offer residents
some privacy," Doll said. The semi-private rooms that are typical in
nursing homes pose a problem for residents who want to engage in
sexual activity, either alone or with a partner, Doll added.
In fact, past research has shown that men and women continue to
participate in sexual intercourse and "solo activities" well into
their 70s and 80s.
Let's talk about sex
The researchers' suggestions come from studies about sexuality in
three Kansas nursing homes. In the study, Majka Jankowiak and Laci
Cornelison, research assistants at the Center on Aging, surveyed the
staff before and after a workshop on sexuality that they had
presented. Rather than telling nursing-home staff what to do, the
researchers used the workshop to get staff talking about sex and
asking questions.
The surveys, as well as anecdotal feedback from the participants,
showed a marked change in attitudes.
"They really felt this was a topic that they needed to be educated
on," Jankowiak said. "Part of it is that American society is not
supportive of older people and sex. It's been a taboo, and it's an
even bigger taboo in nursing homes."
Jankowiak added, "After the presentation, the participants felt more
confident talking about it and dealing with sexual expression of
residents."
Such shifting attitudes ended up having a positive effect on a
married couple who had moved into a nursing home room with two
hospital beds. One spouse had to have a leg elevated, but it was on
the same side as the partner's bed. The positioning made it tricky
for them to hold hands. Some staff members didn't see the importance
of allowing the couple intimacy and said the problem couldn't be
fixed.
"But someone who had been to our presentation encouraged everyone to
move the furniture," Cornelison said.
Safety first
Sex in nursing homes brings up some safety issues. For instance, HIV
and other sexually transmitted diseases can be concerns for a
generation that may not have the same awareness that younger people
do today, the researchers say.
Also, adult children may have concerns about their parents' safety or
how a new relationship will affect the family or their inheritance.
The researchers are developing materials to help family members deal
with these questions.
"What they fear is exploitation or that the role the parent played
will go away," Doll said.
In addition, Alzheimer's and dementia raise questions about the
ability to consent, and these conditions also may spur sexual
behavior that's inappropriate.
"Even though we advocate for residents' rights, there are things that
are inappropriate," Doll said. "But staff must be able handle this
without residents feeling embarrassed. Inappropriate behavior can
just come from people needing relationships, not necessarily sexual
ones."
© 2008 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27790746/
At Your Cervix Email List
Dear Cervix Supporters!
We have been so blessed! Check out the latest issue of BUST Magazine (Sarah Silverman on the cover)! There is an article about the GTA work and At Your Cervix, featuring an interview with At Your Cervix director and GTA, Amy Jo Goddard. BUST has been so supportive of our project and we are ever grateful to this amazing, smart feminist magazine—we can’t recommend it enough!
We know that patients want to talk about pelvic exams. We were written up on Jezebel.com on October 9, 2008, and not only did 8,000+ people check out the article, there were 220 comments! So many of the comments were about women’s exam experiences, and this is one of the things At Your Cervix will do: provide a context for women to discuss exams, get information on how to make them better, find good providers, and demystify and clarify the myths and misconceptions about gynecological care.
Also interesting in many responses is the disbelief that exams still happen on unconsenting anesthetized women. We can attest that indeed this practice is still unbelievably common. We have interviewed countless students about their experiences of being asked and expected to learn this way in teaching institutions or clinics affiliated with medical/nursing schools. We also have heard from patients who have verified that their provider engaged in this practice. We are making this film in part to expose this practice and create a movement to end it. We hope you’ll stay with us and join us in this venture.
At Your Cervix is in the editing stage!
We are pleased to announce that thanks to a grant from the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, our award-winning editor Leigh Anne Sides is now working on editing our rough cut ! However, we only have enough money to get to our rough cut stage. We still need funds to complete this film and get it out there. For those of you who have contributed, THANK YOU!
If you support what we are doing and have been thinking about contributing but haven’t done so yet, we need your support now more than ever. Every bit counts. Please send in a donation today and help us to improve pelvic exams and make them respectful and pain-free for all patients. If everyone on our mailing list sent us $50 we would have enough cash to finish the film! Some of you may be able to send less, some more. Send what you can. Help us meet our goal of raising $20,000 by the end of the year. Our immediate goal is to raise the first $5,000 by the end of November so we can complete our fine cut! Don’t forget that if you donate $500 you will get a screen credit in the film (and
that includes any previous donations, so if you want to donate again to screen credit level,
please do).
Finally, check out this new video made about At Your Cervix by the women at Shameless Magazine. They understand what we are trying to do and express it eloquently. Thank you Shameless for getting it!
http://www.shamelessmag.com/blog/2008/10/tgiff-at-your-cervix/
Again, this is grassroots project that has been supported primarily by community donations. This is the first and only film ever made about pelvic exams. We think it’s time.
Thanks for your support!
The Production Team of At Your Cervix
www.atyourcervixmovie.com
Barack Obama called on Gene Robinson three times this year to ask him
advice on being "the first."
Robinson, you'll recall, is the Episcopal Church's first openly gay
Bishop and received death threats before his ascension in 2004.
Obama, you may have heard, had just been elected our nation's first
black president, a position that's sure to be a bit stressful. Thus,
in his quest for understanding and advice, Obama gave Robinson a ring:
[Robinson] said That Mr Obama's campaign team had sought him last
year and he had the "honor" of three private conversations with the
future president of the United States last May and June.
"The first words out of his mouth were: `Well you're certainly
causing a lot of trouble', My response to him was: `Well that makes
two of us'."
He said that Mr Obama had indicated his support for equal civil
rights for gay and lesbian people and described the election as
a "religious experience".
…
The Anglican church's first gay bishop and the United States' first
black President-elect discussed in depth the place of religion in the
state.
Bishop Robinson said: "He and I would agree about the rightful place
of religion vis-a-vis the secular state. That is to say, we don't
impose our religious values on the secular state because God said so.
Our faith informs our own values and then we take those values into
the civil market place, the civil discourse, and then you argue for
them based on the Constitution. You don't say to someone, you must
believe this because this is what God believes."
Of Obama's personality, Robinson gushed, "He is impressive, he's
smart, he is an amazing listener. For someone who's called on to
speak all the time when he asks you a question, it is not for show,
he is actually wanting to know what you think and listens."
A link to the complete article and viewers responses is here:
http://www.queerty.com/gay-bishop-baracks-first-20081106/
I can't wait for My Name is Bruce
Oh, and I finished The Prehistory of Sex with very mixed feelings. He brings up a lot of interesting ideas, but he skips all over the place in terms of inserting his own theories, some of which I find more plausible and interesting than others. Interesting for a new perspective, and I really like his underlying views of sexuality, and willingness to look at the full breadth of sexual behaviour and gender identity, but I wouldn't recommend reading it as an authoritative source without some additional context.
Experts want to lift taboo on nursing home sex
Survey shows staff feels it's a topic they need to be educated about
LiveScience
updated 2:45 p.m. MT, Tues., Nov. 18, 2008
Nursing-home residents have sexual needs too. And now researchers are
finding ways to educate staff on the taboo topic and provide
accommodations for the elderly to shack up under some privacy.
"Most staff have the same mindset many of us do, which is 'I don't
want to think about my parents having sex, let alone my
grandparents,'" Gayle Doll, who directs Kansas State University's
Center on Aging, told LiveScience.
The researchers suggest educating staff about sexuality and making
sex in nursing homes less hush-hush. In the long run, they hope
federal guidelines will help all nursing homes deal with sexuality in
a positive way, especially as baby boomers age and bring their 1950s
and 1960s attitudes about sex with them to the facilities.
The research, whose details were announced today, was presented in
October at the American Association of Homes and Services for the
Aging conference.
"By law, you can't always lock a room, but you can offer residents
some privacy," Doll said. The semi-private rooms that are typical in
nursing homes pose a problem for residents who want to engage in
sexual activity, either alone or with a partner, Doll added.
In fact, past research has shown that men and women continue to
participate in sexual intercourse and "solo activities" well into
their 70s and 80s.
Let's talk about sex
The researchers' suggestions come from studies about sexuality in
three Kansas nursing homes. In the study, Majka Jankowiak and Laci
Cornelison, research assistants at the Center on Aging, surveyed the
staff before and after a workshop on sexuality that they had
presented. Rather than telling nursing-home staff what to do, the
researchers used the workshop to get staff talking about sex and
asking questions.
The surveys, as well as anecdotal feedback from the participants,
showed a marked change in attitudes.
"They really felt this was a topic that they needed to be educated
on," Jankowiak said. "Part of it is that American society is not
supportive of older people and sex. It's been a taboo, and it's an
even bigger taboo in nursing homes."
Jankowiak added, "After the presentation, the participants felt more
confident talking about it and dealing with sexual expression of
residents."
Such shifting attitudes ended up having a positive effect on a
married couple who had moved into a nursing home room with two
hospital beds. One spouse had to have a leg elevated, but it was on
the same side as the partner's bed. The positioning made it tricky
for them to hold hands. Some staff members didn't see the importance
of allowing the couple intimacy and said the problem couldn't be
fixed.
"But someone who had been to our presentation encouraged everyone to
move the furniture," Cornelison said.
Safety first
Sex in nursing homes brings up some safety issues. For instance, HIV
and other sexually transmitted diseases can be concerns for a
generation that may not have the same awareness that younger people
do today, the researchers say.
Also, adult children may have concerns about their parents' safety or
how a new relationship will affect the family or their inheritance.
The researchers are developing materials to help family members deal
with these questions.
"What they fear is exploitation or that the role the parent played
will go away," Doll said.
In addition, Alzheimer's and dementia raise questions about the
ability to consent, and these conditions also may spur sexual
behavior that's inappropriate.
"Even though we advocate for residents' rights, there are things that
are inappropriate," Doll said. "But staff must be able handle this
without residents feeling embarrassed. Inappropriate behavior can
just come from people needing relationships, not necessarily sexual
ones."
© 2008 LiveScience.com. All rights reserved.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27790746/
At Your Cervix Email List
Dear Cervix Supporters!
We have been so blessed! Check out the latest issue of BUST Magazine (Sarah Silverman on the cover)! There is an article about the GTA work and At Your Cervix, featuring an interview with At Your Cervix director and GTA, Amy Jo Goddard. BUST has been so supportive of our project and we are ever grateful to this amazing, smart feminist magazine—we can’t recommend it enough!
We know that patients want to talk about pelvic exams. We were written up on Jezebel.com on October 9, 2008, and not only did 8,000+ people check out the article, there were 220 comments! So many of the comments were about women’s exam experiences, and this is one of the things At Your Cervix will do: provide a context for women to discuss exams, get information on how to make them better, find good providers, and demystify and clarify the myths and misconceptions about gynecological care.
Also interesting in many responses is the disbelief that exams still happen on unconsenting anesthetized women. We can attest that indeed this practice is still unbelievably common. We have interviewed countless students about their experiences of being asked and expected to learn this way in teaching institutions or clinics affiliated with medical/nursing schools. We also have heard from patients who have verified that their provider engaged in this practice. We are making this film in part to expose this practice and create a movement to end it. We hope you’ll stay with us and join us in this venture.
At Your Cervix is in the editing stage!
We are pleased to announce that thanks to a grant from the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, our award-winning editor Leigh Anne Sides is now working on editing our rough cut ! However, we only have enough money to get to our rough cut stage. We still need funds to complete this film and get it out there. For those of you who have contributed, THANK YOU!
If you support what we are doing and have been thinking about contributing but haven’t done so yet, we need your support now more than ever. Every bit counts. Please send in a donation today and help us to improve pelvic exams and make them respectful and pain-free for all patients. If everyone on our mailing list sent us $50 we would have enough cash to finish the film! Some of you may be able to send less, some more. Send what you can. Help us meet our goal of raising $20,000 by the end of the year. Our immediate goal is to raise the first $5,000 by the end of November so we can complete our fine cut! Don’t forget that if you donate $500 you will get a screen credit in the film (and
that includes any previous donations, so if you want to donate again to screen credit level,
please do).
Finally, check out this new video made about At Your Cervix by the women at Shameless Magazine. They understand what we are trying to do and express it eloquently. Thank you Shameless for getting it!
http://www.shamelessmag.com/blog/2008/10/tgiff-at-your-cervix/
Again, this is grassroots project that has been supported primarily by community donations. This is the first and only film ever made about pelvic exams. We think it’s time.
Thanks for your support!
The Production Team of At Your Cervix
www.atyourcervixmovie.com
Barack Obama called on Gene Robinson three times this year to ask him
advice on being "the first."
Robinson, you'll recall, is the Episcopal Church's first openly gay
Bishop and received death threats before his ascension in 2004.
Obama, you may have heard, had just been elected our nation's first
black president, a position that's sure to be a bit stressful. Thus,
in his quest for understanding and advice, Obama gave Robinson a ring:
[Robinson] said That Mr Obama's campaign team had sought him last
year and he had the "honor" of three private conversations with the
future president of the United States last May and June.
"The first words out of his mouth were: `Well you're certainly
causing a lot of trouble', My response to him was: `Well that makes
two of us'."
He said that Mr Obama had indicated his support for equal civil
rights for gay and lesbian people and described the election as
a "religious experience".
…
The Anglican church's first gay bishop and the United States' first
black President-elect discussed in depth the place of religion in the
state.
Bishop Robinson said: "He and I would agree about the rightful place
of religion vis-a-vis the secular state. That is to say, we don't
impose our religious values on the secular state because God said so.
Our faith informs our own values and then we take those values into
the civil market place, the civil discourse, and then you argue for
them based on the Constitution. You don't say to someone, you must
believe this because this is what God believes."
Of Obama's personality, Robinson gushed, "He is impressive, he's
smart, he is an amazing listener. For someone who's called on to
speak all the time when he asks you a question, it is not for show,
he is actually wanting to know what you think and listens."
A link to the complete article and viewers responses is here:
http://www.queerty.com/gay-bishop-baracks-first-20081106/
I can't wait for My Name is Bruce
Oh, and I finished The Prehistory of Sex with very mixed feelings. He brings up a lot of interesting ideas, but he skips all over the place in terms of inserting his own theories, some of which I find more plausible and interesting than others. Interesting for a new perspective, and I really like his underlying views of sexuality, and willingness to look at the full breadth of sexual behaviour and gender identity, but I wouldn't recommend reading it as an authoritative source without some additional context.
