Roundup: Masturbation as Natural as Breathing....Let's Ban That, Too

Roundup: Masturbation as Natural as Breathing….Let’s Ban That, Too

Sep 15, 2009, 9:42am

Jodi Jacobson

The far right continues to use the "sex boogeyman" as a scare tactic to undermine comprehensive sex ed, here and abroad. Agence-France Press reports that guidelines originally drafted by the UN cultural organisation Unesco will promote.....(gasp!)....masturbation.

Shades of Jocelyn Elders: Far right has its knickers in a twist on masturbation as part of sex ed curriculum

The far right continues to use the "sex boogeyman" as a scare tactic to undermine comprehensive sex ed, here and abroad.

Agence-France Press reports that guidelines originally drafted by the UN cultural organisation Unesco will promote…..(gasp!)….masturbation.

First of all, as a mother of two, I can tell you that children begin touching their bodies, including their genitalia, when they are infants. It is natural and there is nothing wrong with it. The thing that is wrong is the horrified reaction of adults to this natural behavior. Second, if we want teens to delay sexual activity as long as possible, then masturbation is a good tool to promote that. Finally, making masturbation dirty makes a natural act dirty, and can lead to lifelong sexual hangups. No matter whether you are "abstinent until marriage" or not, there is nothing wrong with masturbation.

Tell that to the far right. (I know none of these folks masturbates……).

The draft guidelines now under review, the International Guidelines on Sexual Education, are intended to improve the sexual education of the world’s
children by creating a platform that can be adapted by national governments in creating curricula and guiding policy discussions. Shockingly, these guidelines are based on evidence, human rights, and best practices.

But they have come under attack from parts of the American right, which
has accused UNESCO of "promoting masturbation" and, of course, no surprise….abortion.

The AFP story states:

Last week, the UN cultural organisation Unesco released the draft International Guidelines on Sexual Education intended for discussion among experts in the coming months before a final version is sent to national authorities.

The
guidelines are meant as a "global template" of ideas to help young
people make safe and responsible sexual choices, avoid sexually
transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy and escape prostitution or
other abuses.

But one section of the draft in particular appears
to have caught the eye of American headline writers. "UN report
advocates teaching masturbation to five-year-olds," ran one story on
the Fox News website.

AFP at least gets it right by noting that the Fox report and "many more like it from
mainly right-wing US media and internet outlets," focused on the Unesco
report’s suggested syllabus for school children aged between five and
eight years old.

What do the guidelines say on this issue?

"It is natural to explore and touch
parts of one’s own body. Bodies can feel good when touched. Touching
and rubbing one’s genitals is called masturbating. Some people
masturbate and some do not.

"Masturbation is not harmful, but should be done in private," it adds.

It’s kind of like saying "it is natural to breathe." But if that was "pleasurable," or otherwise political, the far right would also be after banning breathing (except for themselves, of course).

Liliana Segura of Alternet, citing Tampa Bay Online, writes about efforts to pass an "egg-as-person" law in Florida:

"Yes, the state that brought you Bush v. Gore, the sex offender colony under the bridge, and the shoot-first-ask-questions-later legislation known as the "Stand Your Ground Law" has another idea up its sleeve. And this one’s for the ladies."

Tampa Bay Online reports:

TALLAHASSEE – Anti-abortion conservatives are proposing a
new constitutional amendment that critics claim would make it a crime
to take birth control pills in Florida.

The
"Personhood Amendment" that conservative activists are filing today in
Tallahassee would add language to the state constitution that defines
someone as a "person," regardless of age or health status, "from the
beginning of the biological development of that human being."

Segura continues:

"This, of course, is just another twist on the conventional argument
by anti-choice groups that birth control pills are basically murder
weapons."

The pill will irritate the lining of the uterus so that the
newly formed human being cannot attach to his/her mother’s womb and
dies," reads an explanation on the website of the American Life League, which is supporting similar efforts in other states. "This is called a chemical abortion.

This is the same group that runs thepillkills.com, a site that "focuses on blood clots and other health risks that birth control pills pose to women."

Even if these people manage to collect the 676,811 signatures
they need to get by Feb. 1 in order for this idea to be considered by
Florida residents, even anti-choice politicians seem to be a bit
ambivalent about the idea of criminalizing birth control.

Other news:

SEPTEMBER 15

Tri-State News: Arizona abortion law faces court challenges

Catholic Exchange: Spanish Doctors Will Choose Jail over Committing Abortion

Chicago Tribune: Illinois gets funding for increasing adoptions

WaPo: Voices of Power: Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius

National Post: Incivility hurts the p ro-life cause

WaPo: When It Comes to Pollution, Less (Kids) May Be More

ABC News Australia: Ethiopian children exploited by US adoption agencies

News 24: UN ‘promoting masturbation’

SEPTEMBER 14

AlterNet: Anti-Choice Floridians Peddling Constitutional Amendment to Criminalize Birth Control Pill