Pharyngula

Posted by: k-dub | January 14, 2011 12:35 PM

Well, Priggish Neurotic Prudery is a semi-decent band name at least.

Posted by: Mudak | January 14, 2011 12:39 PM

Just use the logo for Dodge cars and trucks instead...

Posted by: https://www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawm8os9WK6fgW5htUH5HUYpQ7KNpggrZ8pk | January 14, 2011 12:42 PM

Hey, if learning about sex by talking with other kids at the back of the playground was good enough for me, it's good enough for my kids.

Posted by: Thebear, just an agent of peas | January 14, 2011 12:46 PM

But are they complaining about the boys who act like dicks in class all the time?

Posted by: ctoquin | January 14, 2011 12:47 PM

I teach Human Anatomy and Physiology lab to undergrads, and this is awesome. I think I might have to use Levin's approach this upcoming semester. Though I might modify it, with the arms being the Fallopian tubes and the hands being fimbrae at the end of them. Not sure what would be the ovaries yet.

And right on to Levin. If your high schooler doesn't know about penises, vaginas, ovaries, and how they all work, they are in for a big surprise..."I has no idea how she got that there baby in hers belly".

Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | January 14, 2011 12:48 PM

ovaries that their mommies have told them to keep covered and hidden away!

Hopefully their ovaries are covered as a rule.

Posted by: feralboy12 | January 14, 2011 12:52 PM

Well, you have to admit the subject is sort of...biological. Which means it's not a fit subject for families, right?

Posted by: Kryten | January 14, 2011 12:57 PM

I teach Human Anatomy and Physiology lab to undergrads, and this is awesome. I think I might have to use Levin's approach this upcoming semester. Though I might modify it, with the arms being the Fallopian tubes and the hands being fimbrae at the end of them. Not sure what would be the ovaries yet.

Two beach balls? Maybe not quite the right shape.

Posted by: legistech | January 14, 2011 1:01 PM

Shouldn't high school students also already know this level of basic anatomy? I think my son knows and he's ten. I'd be more embarrassed about the remedial education in general if this is representative.

Posted by: Sister marie | January 14, 2011 1:04 PM

"...they snatched the words..."

Careful on your use of the vocabulary. When you use any derivation of "snatch" in a sentence, the morals police will be on your case.

Posted by: Jules, Bride of Death | January 14, 2011 1:08 PM

I've no doubt that I will embarass the hell out of my sons as they get older. But I hope to choose slightly less... moronic? infantile? (having trouble choosing the right word) ways of doing it.

Posted by: Victor | January 14, 2011 1:10 PM

Ever think it's odd, that prudes always start their prudish comments with, "I'm not a prude, but ... ".

Posted by: raven | January 14, 2011 1:12 PM

..."I has no idea how she got that there baby in hers belly".

That actually happens occasionally in fundie households. The girls can't even explain what happened easily because they don't know the words that describe body parts involved in reproduction.

Posted by: Jules, Bride of Death | January 14, 2011 1:16 PM

I always liked that "Reproduction" song from Grease II. Now, I know no-one really saw that movie, but it cracks me up.

The Patriarchy Institute is one step away from forcing women to wear veils.

Posted by: blf | January 14, 2011 1:17 PM

PRUUUUUNES! Well, they're Ok. Why all the PRUUUUUNE-hate?
(Looks at the title more closely.) _{Oh, never mind…}

 ────────────────────────────

Why does all this remind me of the insane and inane ranting over the HPV vaccine? Can't give it to teenage girls because it turns them into prostitutes(or something). Similar thing here — Can't learn about the human body because ah, you become a pimp(or something).

Both HPV and this education are also health issues, albeit of somewhat different natures. The HPV vaccine can prevent a nasty disease; this sort of education could prevent unexpected babies raised by ill-prepared, and presumably generally immature, parents.

Posted by: Matt "Nora" Penfold | January 14, 2011 1:18 PM

That actually happens occasionally in fundie households. The girls can't even explain what happened easily because they don't know the words that describe body parts involved in reproduction.

There was an almost opposite example in Germany a few years ago. A couple had tried for several years to have a baby without success. Tests showed that neither had any physical problems that could explain the woman's inability to conceive. The problem was finally solved when a doctor asked them how often they had sex.

It turned out both had been raised in fundamentalist families, and did not realise that sex was required in order for the woman to become pregnant! Doctor explains the birds and bees to couple, and problem fixed.

Posted by: raven | January 14, 2011 1:20 PM

Anyone who thinks fallopian tubes and ovaries are sexy is pretty damn creepy.

Probably they spend a huge amount of time lurking around the meat counter at the store with a glassy look in their eyes while drooling.

Fundie xianity is perverted through and through.

Posted by: MMMMD | January 14, 2011 1:22 PM

When I was in medical school, I used the image of jebus on his cross to remember the orientation of the more posterior fallopian tubes to the ovaries, with the arms as the tubes and the hands grasping the ovaries. A sex organ sacrilege. How delicious!

Posted by: Simulation of Sapience | January 14, 2011 1:23 PM

Maybe what has the parents upset is that the teacher didn't just have the boy fold his arms in front of him to represent female breasts?

That's what the average scientifically illiterate American is expected to think of when someone mentions female reproductive anatomy.
Since you are what you eat,babies come from them in a round-about way,after all.

Posted by: blf | January 14, 2011 1:29 PM

I'm still trying to figure out why I should be ashamed of having a vagina.

Because it means you have a bad case of teh girl cooties.  ;-)

Posted by: Andreas Johansson | January 14, 2011 1:32 PM

The tentaculate overlord wrote:

Immodestly made aware of the existence of ovaries, ovaries that their mommies have told them to keep covered and hidden away!

I'm not entirely sure if I really want to know, but how would a girl go about not keeping her ovaries covered?

Posted by: Otranreg | January 14, 2011 1:35 PM

The latest SMBCT episode resonates well with it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AS5toi7Xxxg

Posted by: jafafahots | January 14, 2011 1:40 PM

We have to face up to the fact that the main way we learned about sex ( inaccurate as it often was) is simply disappearing.

Kids just don't have the ability anymore to rely on finding porn in the woods to learn these things. There is no more porn in the woods.

Posted by: Klatu | January 14, 2011 1:42 PM

Why are these people even parents if all that sex stuff is oh so yucky?
Maybe they should hide their children, lest the public finds out about them having (had) sex ("ew, gross!"). That would be truly modest.

Another thing:
Primarily, schools exist to educate, not to please. Just because a student doesn't like the curriclum doesn't give him/her the right to demand a change.
But the real problem are these parents, of course, with their completely misguided mission to "protect" their children.

Posted by: Dude... Real Men Watch Ponies! | January 14, 2011 1:43 PM

I'm not entirely sure if I really want to know, but how would a girl go about not keeping her ovaries covered?

Posted by: Somemadchef | January 14, 2011 1:46 PM

The Lord our God blessed be his name and peace on earth to all men except non christians fuck them.
It is not for us to challenge the wisdom of the moral leaders in our communities but rather follow their words of wisdom blindly.

If not we are surley doomed we should be teaching our children biblical morals,there we have guide lines set down for us for the fair treatment of slaves and how to stone to death those who step out of line.

Posted by: BrianX | January 14, 2011 1:48 PM

These hateful fucks truly scare me. The only thing I can think of is the reaction to repealing DADT -- I don't want my country being defended by cowards.

Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | January 14, 2011 1:48 PM

Kids just don't have the ability anymore to rely on finding porn in the woods to learn these things. There is no more porn in the woods.

And I thought it was only me that found porn in the woods.

I can actually still remember the Penthouse that I found. Looking back, it was fairly disturbing content.

Posted by: viridian1 | January 14, 2011 1:49 PM

I love how PZ gets very emotional when it comes to certain people's hangups interfering with basic and vitally important education for the youth of our culture, like how their bodies work, as illustrated by his use of all caps and multiple "UUUUUUU's" in the title. It's this kind of passion that's helped him earn his way up to #13 on the list of The 25 Most Influential Living Atheists.

That and his appreciation for fine fermented hops.

Posted by: Somemadchef | January 14, 2011 1:51 PM

Sex is for homos and perverts.

If Mary could get pregnant without it then I don't see why we can't revert to that form of purity.

Posted by: capandbid | January 14, 2011 1:53 PM

"I'm all for scholastically based sex education," King said. "But this dance is meant to take away modesty and is disrespectful to women."

Er...what? How is it...I don't...what?

Posted by: raven | January 14, 2011 1:56 PM

Kids just don't have the ability anymore to rely on finding porn in the woods to learn these things. There is no more porn in the woods.

True. In our brave new world, they can get a lifetime supply off of the internet in a few minutes. Kids have it easy today, compared to earlier generations.

Posted by: Jules, Bride of Death | January 14, 2011 1:57 PM

Kids just don't have the ability anymore to rely on finding porn in the woods to learn these things. There is no more porn in the woods.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I learned all I needed to know about sex from a trucker's son while riding along in a sleeper cab when I was eight.

Though, to be fair, I didn't particularly learn much about my own anatomy.

Posted by: Naked Bunny with a Whip | January 14, 2011 1:58 PM

no clue what i did there

Stop fapping to fallopian tube porn, Rev, and pay attention to your typing.

Now to find out if there's a testicle dance. For science!

Posted by: Gus Snarp | January 14, 2011 2:02 PM

@Jules - Well, really my lesson was more like, "No dude, they've got another hole down there, and that's where your boner goes in and babies come out." "Oh, that explains so much!"

Posted by: Blondin | January 14, 2011 2:03 PM

Sorry, I meant pudendum.

Posted by: Naked Bunny with a Whip | January 14, 2011 2:04 PM

Y'know, I had to do lots of things in PhysEd that embarrassed the hell out of me. Square dancing, gymnastics, and showering in front of other boys come to mind. It never occurred to me to go crying about it to my parents, much less my priest.

Posted by: JThompson | January 14, 2011 2:06 PM

Did she consider that some students might feel uncomfortable participating in or even watching this dance and that they might fear being ridiculed if they chose to opt-out?

Funny, that's the very fucking thing most of us have been saying about "voluntary" prayer in schools for years that they insist can't possibly be a problem. So brainwashed kids won't force another kid to worship their magic sky fairy, but they'll never let them live down missing the ovary dance? Or does he mean ridicule like: "I don't know how she got pregnant!" "You dumbass, you'd know if you'd ever gone to sex ed class. Now calm down and I'll explain how it works, dad."

Jaysis. If all you ever heard was the reaction these people have to Sex Ed classes you'd think the school brought in Ron Jeremy to wave his schlong around while yelling "This is what a penis looks like! Look, kids, it's a puppet show! Bwhahahahaha!" Enjoy that mental image.

Posted by: thorlax | January 14, 2011 2:09 PM

Lots of grandmothers 28 years old down here along the Gulf of Mex. Coast. Uh, how does the stork fit in to all this?

Posted by: Gus Snarp | January 14, 2011 2:13 PM

@Zabinatrix - I don't know how it gets there, but I found porn in the woods too. Maybe there's a secret organization kind of like the Gideons of porn.

Posted by: Randy (not Randy) | January 14, 2011 2:17 PM

Maybe there's a secret organization kind of like the Gideons of porn.

I just tried looking up "porn in woods" totally forgetting aboutthat over-paid spoiled brat athlete. So I need to try different search terms.

Posted by: Brianblackberry | January 14, 2011 2:22 PM

From the article it sounds like the teacher was standing there posing and naming the parts and asking the kids to do the same, but the Illinois Family Institute says they were essentially dancing to the "The Hokey Pokey" instead. It feels like we are getting two different stories here.

I hope if wasn't the latter with the dancing, only because that will be used by teenagers as an excuse not to take the lesson seriously. The former sounds fine to me as a simple visual aid (although it makes me wonder if they have no images in their text books and thus she was forced to do that pose to give the students their only visual representation of what the reproductive anatomy looks like). Worse, sophomore's in high school and they still don't know the basic structure of the female reproductive system?

Egad..my home town too...

Posted by: holeydood3 | January 14, 2011 2:24 PM

How do we know the IFI lied? I'll tell you why. I was the person who sent these stories. Ms. Levin was my HS health teacher, and we did indeed learn what is called "the vagina dance." It is exactly how the district characterizes it, and where the IFI got its information on the music and prancing about, I have zero idea. This woman had the utmost respect for our class material and her students.

It is very unfair how she was treated.

Posted by: Bethistopheles | January 14, 2011 2:27 PM

After all, there is a vas deferens between men and women. -- webriggs

Congratulations, webriggs. You win the title of Most Groan-worthy Thread Comment of the Day.

Oy.

haha

Posted by: Ogvorbis, Parenthetical Death | January 14, 2011 2:31 PM

When I moved from Arizona back to Maryland, in 6th grade, I experienced the most intense culture shock of my life. In AZ, I lived in a Park Service town -- Grand Canyon -- where many of the households had at least one member working for the NPS. Many masters and PhDs.

Move to the Cumberland Valley of Maryland and it was a different world. A girl in my sixth grade class was pregnant. The father was her 45-year-old uncle. She had absolutely no idea that what she was doing with Uncle JimmyBob made babies. Her parents decided it would be best for her to have the child so she would better remember god(s)'s teachings.

Sex ed came in 7th grade. And 2/3 of the class opted out. Including the girl with the little girl.

My freshman year I was partnered with the daughter of an evangelical preacher in biology class and she, after I asked her what version of the bible her church used, and she freaked out on me, got kicked out of school for a week. Baby came nine months later. And no, she did not participate in the extremely boring and marginally useful sex-ed class.

Right now, there are three girls in 7th grade in a local town who are pregnant (I know though the Girl's boyfriend's family). The father of all three is also in 7th grade. All four families are (were?) firmly in the 'no-sex-ed' camp. And none of the kids knew that 'tab-A into slot-B' made babies.

Having a teacher willing to use unconventional methods of teaching is all well and good. Having parents willing to allow the kids to participate in that teaching is far more important.

Sorry for the long comment. Kind of an occupational hazard.

Posted by: Gus Snarp | January 14, 2011 2:34 PM

My personal theory is that the porn is placed in the woods by other kids. Some kid gets hold of some of dad's/big brother's/uncle Steve's porn and finds a place in the woods to hide his stash and do his business. He tells some other kids where it is, they tell some other kids, some kids just happen upon it while exploring the woods, pretty soon every kid in town is whacking off to the same June 1978 issue of Hustler.

But I really prefer to think of the Gideons of Porn out there quietly stashing porn where kids will find it. Plus, it's a great name for a band. I hereby claim it.

Posted by: The Pint | January 14, 2011 2:38 PM

*face palm*

This is one of the many reasons why I'm happy my dad was a pathologist - there were no body hang-ups and the man loved explaining anatomy. Visiting his office in the hospital was always fun because he had scale models of human organs that you could open up to see where everything was/how things worked, so when Mom got pregnant with my kid brother when I was 3 and I asked where babies came from, out came the uterus model and what I seem to recall was a NOVA video about human reproduction. Although I could have done without the corny jokes about Mom "popping out" my baby brother like a cannonball...

Posted by: Heather | January 14, 2011 2:41 PM

I think you're reading too much unspoken misogyny into this PZ. I suspect the teacher would get a similar response for impersonating a penis, and from parents of both males and females. Perhaps even more so, since she would be seen to be impersonating an erect penis, and that simply would not do!

I just think it's a very sad commentary on the perverse culturally ingrained neuroticism that some people hold with respect to anything in any way involved with sexuality. That some people find it "immodest" to be taught about the inner workings of the reproductive tract. That they think of sexuality as something dirty and shameful and a disrespect to oneself and others by default, that is redeemed only in the context of heterosexual marriage. I sometimes call some of these perverse, strait-jacketed (figuratively speaking, but sometimes it turns out literally!) individuals "sexually ill". I can think of no better term…

Posted by: raven | January 14, 2011 2:43 PM

The father of all three is also in 7th grade. All four families are (were?) firmly in the 'no-sex-ed' camp. And none of the kids knew that 'tab-A into slot-B' made babies.

Fundies have higher rates of teenage pregnancy than the general population.

Ask Bristol Palin how that works.

It doesn't bother them to be cuckoo and dysfunctional.

Posted by: legistech | January 14, 2011 2:43 PM

But I really prefer to think of the Gideons of Porn out there quietly stashing porn where kids will find it.

Wow. I want to be a Gideon of Porn! I'm going to go out and buy some porn just so I can put it in the woods in a bag or something.

Posted by: MJM | January 14, 2011 2:47 PM

Guideons of Porn! That's exactly the image I was getting but couldn't get the words to come to me. I think they have a secret chapter in most rural towns across America. They had one in my home town, I know. And I thank them for their tireless efforts.

Posted by: llewelly | January 14, 2011 2:49 PM

Fred The Hun | January 14, 2011 2:31 PM:

http://www.ted.com/talks/mary_roach_10_things_you_didn_t_know_about_orgasm.html

It starts with a fascinating example of observations of a fetus masturbating while in the uterus!

Posted by: SEF | January 14, 2011 2:50 PM

@ ctoquin #10:

Not sure what would be the ovaries yet.

Big round (fake) sponges - so that they are light enough to hold downwards in your hands with minimal finger grip and with your arms extended for however long the demonstration takes.

You could try putting very small plastic (or bouncy rubber) balls into some surface holes to simulate developing eggs but I suspect they'd start getting too heavy quite rapidly.

Posted by: blf | January 14, 2011 2:56 PM

Huh. And I though the p0rn in the outdoors was just the fruit of the Horny pearwood (the embarrassing relative of the Sapient pearwood).

Posted by: Jules, Bride of Death | January 14, 2011 2:59 PM

But I really prefer to think of the Gideons of Porn out there quietly stashing porn where kids will find it. Plus, it's a great name for a band. I hereby claim it.

Perhaps even more so, since she would be seen to be impersonating an erect penis, and that simply would not do!

Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | January 14, 2011 3:01 PM

I'm fully behind the Gideon of porn movement.

Posted by: jafafahots | January 14, 2011 3:04 PM

I had a friend who used to do an impression of a penis. It was especially effective when he wore turtlenecks.

Sure, turtlenecks. That's fine for those of you who had that choice, not having had the abuse of V-necks forced upon them as young children before they could even consent.

Posted by: Gus Snarp | January 14, 2011 3:06 PM

@jafafahots - It appears to be available. So does gideonsofporn.org, .com, etc. I just can't bring myself to spend the money to register them though.

Posted by: Moggie | January 14, 2011 3:07 PM

I didn't find porn in the woods, but I did find beer. That can't be the Gideons too, can it?

Posted by: Gus Snarp | January 14, 2011 3:09 PM

@jafafahots -You're seriously cracking me up here. But Gideons of Porn = GOP - Definitely a good thing.

Posted by: Hairhead | January 14, 2011 3:09 PM

Not teaching children the correct words for their anatomy is child abuse. We had a case here in Vancouver where a six-year-old complained for over a year that his grandfather was "playing with my toy." When the abuse eventually came out, it was found that the parents had told him to call his penis his "toy." So even though the child knew he was being abused, knew it was bad, and told his fucking stupid parents, the abuse went on and on because he didn't even have the proper words . . .

I mean, words are failing me now, words to describe the horror I feel at the rampant idiocy playing out around me . .

Posted by: Dude... Real Men Watch Ponies! | January 14, 2011 3:12 PM

@arensb

There is nothing titillating or arousing about fallopian tubes, any more than there is about the common bile duct or the duct of Wirsung or the epididymus

Have you ever heard of a little thing called Rule 34?

I bet I can find fallopian tube porn online.

Thou it would guaranteed to be NSFW and not allowed on this site.

Try asking for it on 4chan, perhaps some helpful soul can plumb the deep-dark recess of the internet to find it for you.

Posted by: https://me.yahoo.com/a/nLzNsvBzjcVWHqXNyEN1lcQmrB7cxEBb#3b6bf | January 14, 2011 3:14 PM

Another datum for finding porn in the woods here.
Leaf-mold spontaneously generates porn, perhaps?

ShaunOTD

Posted by: Dude... Real Men Watch Ponies! | January 14, 2011 3:16 PM

I wish this board could "Like" things. I, too, groaned at the "vas deferens" comment, but secretly delighted in the wit behind it.

Incredible Lame Pun

Disclaimer: I take no responsibility to your well-being upon visiting the above link.

Posted by: Gregory Greenwood | January 14, 2011 3:19 PM

Her selection of this inappropriate instructional activity demonstrated a lack of empathy for those who may have a degree of modesty and self-respect that Levin does not possess. Did she consider that some students might feel uncomfortable participating in or even watching this dance and that they might fear being ridiculed if they chose to opt-out?

So, in essence, the argument of these idiots is;

"But... but... what about those poor people who can't deal with reality? The disgusting, slutty reality of internal organs that are somehow 'immodest' even when depicted solely by raising one's arms above one's head.

It is disrespectful to women... somehow. No one should ever have to deal with reproductive biology. It makes teh baby jebus cry!"

I wonder if these people ever stop to listen to themselves? If they did, they might be enlightened as to why the rest of us laugh at them and their antics.

The unintentional irony also tickles me;

Levin led her class in a puerile dance

Whereas, conversely, there is clearly nothing whatsoever puerile about an argument that basically boils down to 'urggh, girl-parts! That's soooo gross!'

Posted by: https://www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawlw4oH0l6k2YD0NCQUeu7nC2owgujUl77U | January 14, 2011 3:22 PM

Sex-fearing Fundies don't *want their kids to behave righteously. If the kids did, that would simply establish that kids *could, and that would be blasphemous.(1) Nope, they just want folks (especially kids) to be punished for sinful behavior.(2)

(1) As a baby Fundie I got yelled at for wearing a peace sign. It was explained to me thusly "The bible says that there will be war until the end of time. You want to stop this war (Viet Nam), which means you think all wars can be stopped, which is going against the bible." To which I, now enlightened, righteously replied "WTF?"

(2) They love atheist drunkards, for that shows the miserable life that the unrighteous lead. They hate sober, happy, productive atheists with healthy kids, for that flies in the face of their claim that God punishes wicked people.(3)

(3) This is why they hate sex ed and birth control, but don't freak out when their kids (e.g. Palin) get pregnant. As long as the girl(4) suffers for it by giving birth and raising the kid(5) all is right with the world.

(4) And it's *her fault, yes?

(5) Of course, if the grandparents have to be responsible, the girl might be shipped off to "boarding school" for nine months. There are limits, after all.

Posted by: MMMMD | January 14, 2011 3:42 PM

The GoP in my area were opened minded. My local wooded cache consisted only of hardcore mags of MSM. Not my particular cup of tea, but at least refreshing to know they appreciated diversity. Growing up next to a firehouse gave me a great chance to discover the other Variations.

Posted by: Snikkers | January 14, 2011 3:48 PM

The sooner they're all in burkas, the better.

Posted by: nomen-nescio.myopenid.com | January 14, 2011 3:52 PM

@#75:

Wait - is that a thing? I remember when I was a kid and we found discarded porn magazines in the forest. We thought it was just a fluke, but you seem to imply that it's supposed to be a common occurrence? Did people regularly leave porn in the woods back before the days of internet porn?

the innocence of youth consists, in no small part, of kids somehow deluding themselves that their experiences growing up are unique instead of routine.

(woods, sheds, garages, workshop shelves... where the next generation will hide the URLs for the free internet porn they'll be discovering and sharing with their peers i can scarcely imagine. wherever it turns out to be, they'll surely imagine it's only them doing it, or ever did. if sex ed never told them anything other than that it ISN'T just them, it would already win big.)

@#80:

Maybe there's a secret organization kind of like the Gideons of porn.

if by some chance there isn't, i'm starting one. or several. porncaching... best idea i've heard in a LONG time.

(i got my sex ed from my parents' bookshelves. there were some basic health-ed books, aimed at pre-teens and early teens, in there --- left over from my elder brother's education, to judge by the vintage. i never needed "the talk"; stash something like that in the GPS-tagged porncaches and one could be doing some serious public service, i should think.)

Posted by: viridian1 | January 14, 2011 3:53 PM

Someone should have done the Ovary Hokie-Pokie for the students at Frayser High School in Memphis...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1347241/Teen-mom-epidemic-NINETY-teenage-girls-pregnant-Memphis-High-School.html?ITO=1490

Posted by: BrianX | January 14, 2011 3:59 PM

Or if you're in a bookstore, you could "accidentally" leave a copy of the latest Letters from Penthouse within reach of the nearest mid-teenager...

Posted by: bananacat | January 14, 2011 4:01 PM

These students were lucky. When I was in 11th grade and had sex ed, we had a gym teacher who insisted that men have a "prostrate" gland. Luckily I had already figured this stuff out from teen magazines, which are surprisingly informative. It's almost worth the body image issues for the educational stuff they have about sex.

Posted by: --E | January 14, 2011 4:03 PM

"But this dance is meant to take away modesty and is disrespectful to women."

-->So what he's saying is that teh wimmens are too stupid to determine for themselves what they consider disrespectful to them?

I just don't understand what is wrong with these people. Have they never met actual women? Are their conversations with the female of the species limited to shouting "get me a beer" and grunting during sex?

Posted by: Rey Fox, Bird Caller Guy | January 14, 2011 4:06 PM

He says the word "modest" so much it pretty much loses all meaning. I think of "modest" as being from "moderate" or "mode", and thus being in the middle of something. A "modest" sum, a "modest" dwelling.

There's nothing MODEST about forbidding all acknowledgment of one's reproductive organs. It's deeply perverted.

Gus:

But I really prefer to think of the Gideons of Porn out there quietly stashing porn where kids will find it. Plus, it's a great name for a band. I hereby claim it.

I can do vox and tambourine.

Rev. BDC of the GOP:

scratch that extra "to" and that "it" and insert "their penises"

I don't know what you're talking about, but I can get on board with it.

Posted by: Gus Snarp | January 14, 2011 4:12 PM

@Tulse - I was just thinking we should really start this GoP group, a service organization dedicated to stamping out sexual illiteracy. Then I though the idea was pretty much obsolete, what with the ready availability of porn on the internet, who needs to leave it in the woods. But this USB idea has saved it for me. We can still be a meaningful force for knowledge. Thank you.

The Gideons of Porn, dedicated to ending sexual ignorance. And a pretty good bluegrass/punk band too. You guys are OK with punk, right?

Posted by: 'Tis Himself, OM | January 14, 2011 4:16 PM

Life in Lubbock, Texas, taught me two things: One is that God loves you and you're going to burn in hell. The other is that sex is the most awful, filthy thing on earth and you should save it for someone you love. ~Butch Hancock

Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | January 14, 2011 4:17 PM

Amazing the blasphemous uses poor JHC on his cross can be put to:

Oh that's nothing

Posted by: frog, Inc. | January 14, 2011 4:21 PM

@legistech: Shouldn't high school students also already know this level of basic anatomy? I think my son knows and he's ten

Ah back in the ancient days, I took "health" in high-school. When we did sex-ed, we had a "pre-test" -- and I was at the end of my row, I looked over the pre-tests that were passed down to me to hand in. The pre-test was "draw the male and female reproductive systems".

My, my, my, apparently all my classmates failed to ever turn on the lights. The males were unsurprisingly superficial -- but the females drew penises that were frightening things, like out of some horror anime.

But then, some of these folks ended up pregnant because they misunderstood what a "contraceptive jelly" was. They used Smucker's strawberry.

Posted by: Rey Fox, Bird Caller Guy | January 14, 2011 4:23 PM

Can I please be the one who sings our theme song?

Can you supply your own boxing gloves?

Posted by: SallyStrange, Spawn of Cthulhu | January 14, 2011 4:27 PM

GoP would HAVE to be punk. How could it be anything else? I'll play woodwind flourishes and provide percussion accents.

Posted by: Victor | January 14, 2011 4:29 PM

#32 & 139

I'm fairly certain that, considering what a man has to do with a little cup for a fertility test, that the "Germans who didn't know how to have babies" is an urban legend.

Posted by: Epikt | January 14, 2011 4:58 PM

Bethistopheles:

After all, there is a vas deferens between men and women. -- webriggs
Congratulations, webriggs. You win the title of Most Groan-worthy Thread Comment of the Day.

Feh. Hardly worth a glans.

Posted by: Dhorvath, OM | January 14, 2011 5:04 PM

Weed Monkey.
Not getting the reference, is your link borked?

Posted by: Audley Z. Darkheart OM, purveyor of candy and lies | January 14, 2011 5:13 PM

webriggs (from waaaay up there ar #77):

I've never seen a woman's ovaries. No idea if it would be a turnon on not. I'm betting that odds are very much against it.

Oddly enough, I've seen (photographs of) my own.

Posted by: Kieranfoy, Faerie Godfather of Death, GMKSC, OED | January 14, 2011 5:13 PM

@SallyStrange: Re: Porn in woods, obviously the Liberal Arts students just kept theirs on their shelves, and never had to sneak into the woods for a stroke (Sneak for Stroke, sounds like a government campaign!).

As for Punk Band: ... what Punk band has woodwinds? Weird punk band.

That said, can I do GoP's harp?

Posted by: Hercules Grytpype-Thynne | January 14, 2011 5:15 PM

Ha! That's so easy.

Clitoral membrain? Does this imply that women think with their genitalia too?

Posted by: Antiochus Epiphanes | January 14, 2011 5:21 PM

I grew up on a woodlot bordering a national forest in the foothills of the Appalachians, and never found porn anywhere. However, I did find small patches of cultivated, alien plants that were ultimately more rewarding. Hence, my interest in botany.

Posted by: Jules, Bride of Death | January 14, 2011 5:26 PM

Oddly enough, I've seen (photographs of) my own.

At the extreme edge, it's a psychological version of genital mutilation.

Posted by: corvustristis.wordpress.com | January 14, 2011 5:36 PM

My anatomy professor draped a sheet over his head/body, stuck his arms up in the air, and ran back and forth in front of 300+ students yelling "I'm a uterus! I'm a uterus!" I wonder how they'd handle that.

(Also: Best. Professor. Ever. Well, that I've had.)

Posted by: jafafahots | January 14, 2011 5:49 PM

Well, I play piano well enough to compose... and ocarina, melodica, native flute... I know three chords on ukulele (punk needs only 3 chords, right?)
And then there's all my other strange instruments.

Most would be more well placed at a renaissance fair than in a punk band.

Which kinda creeps me out come to think of it. Ren fairs. *Shudder*

Posted by: Jules, Bride of Death | January 14, 2011 5:50 PM

Being someone that deals with ovarian cysts, I'm pretty sure that if one was so big that you could feel it, it would also be wicked painful. The one I had removed was just over the size of a golf ball and put me in so much pain that I couldn't walk.

Secondly, I don't have PCOS or anything. It just hurts a little, and I can feel it when I apply pressure. Maybe it's just my scrawny little self. I've never been terribly concerned about it.

It's a neat party trick, like the third nipple and outie belly button.

Posted by: SallyStrange, Spawn of Cthulhu | January 14, 2011 6:01 PM

As for Punk Band: ... what Punk band has woodwinds? Weird punk band.

Well, for the punk/bluegrass band that was suggested, yes.

Posted by: David Marjanović | January 14, 2011 6:22 PM

Well if that was like a class of 15-16 year olds, ovaries could easily be considered a turn-on/embarassment. At that age I could get turned on at the mere THOUGHT of girls having internal organs

WTF.

Having been both 15 and 16 years old, I must side with PZ: you have, or had at that age, a particularly unusual paraphilia.

Posted by: ZK | January 14, 2011 6:39 PM

If you wait until kids are 15-16 before teaching them the about basic mechanics and organs of mammalian reproduction then you've left it too late.

At my (high) school we studied mammalian reproduction at age 11-12, and there wasn't a single teenage pregnancy in my school during the entire 7 years I was a pupil there.

Mind you, it was an all boys school :-)

ZK

Posted by: Numad | January 14, 2011 6:44 PM

"This has become a cause for the Illinois Patriarchy Institute, who have taken a brief moment from their usually obsession with homosexuality[...]"

Did they?

They did throw in the word "prancing."

Posted by: Aquaria | January 14, 2011 6:50 PM

I don't know about the rest of you, but I learned all I needed to know about sex from a trucker's son while riding along in a sleeper cab when I was eight.

I started my journey with some time alone in a tree with a redheaded boy named Luke.

I learned mine from the gap-toothed boy living down the road whose dad was a Pentecostal minister.

If dad had only known just how much of a pervert his son was... I got to find out, first, er, hand.

Posted by: Kamaka | January 14, 2011 6:59 PM

@ Gideons of Porn

Alright, I'll jump on the bandwagon. I play yidaki (didgeridoo)...

Plenty phallic enough for a punk band. And punk is no problem with a didge. rrroOowff...

Posted by: soulmangt | January 14, 2011 7:03 PM

Don't the prudes realise she did sanitise this? To be anatomically accurate she should have been tied to the roof with ropes around her wrists and neck.

She spared those precious children the confusion of learning about how sado masochistic their organs are

Posted by: 'Tis Himself, OM | January 14, 2011 7:32 PM

As for Punk Band: ... what Punk band has woodwinds? Weird punk band.

I know one which has cellos.

Posted by: Kirk | January 14, 2011 7:42 PM

Isn't there a law, or maybe unwritten rule, that the hokey pokey can only be played on Saturday afternoon at a small town roller skating rink?

I think that's really what the Illinois Patriarchy Institute is pissed about; they're just having a hard time isolating their emotions about this whole thing.

Posted by: SallyStrange, Spawn of Cthulhu | January 14, 2011 8:04 PM

Anyway, baritone sax counts as a woodwind, and baritone sax is totally punk.

WHONK.

Posted by: Samantha Vimes | January 14, 2011 8:13 PM

I can play alto saxophone. And I can't imagine the Gideons of Porn not having a saxophone.

On ways to remember things... going back to calculus last fall, I was having trouble with whether the rounded or square brackets were the ones that included the numbers next to them. Once the teacher reminded me which way it was suppsoed to go, I suddenly said, "I'll remember it this way; the square brackets include, because the squares-- the geeks-- are inclusive." he lit up with such a smile. "You'll never forget it again."

Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | January 14, 2011 8:24 PM

Urologist trying too hard to be clever.

You should spike the mic on the stage, throw your hands up and walk off with that.

Posted by: Janine, The Little Top Of Venom, OM | January 14, 2011 8:33 PM

I almost want to start a competing group called The Sultans Of Porn. But it sounds too male.

Posted by: crowepps | January 14, 2011 8:41 PM

I almost want to start a competing group called The Sultans Of Porn. But it sounds too male.

Posted by: Nerd of Redhead, OM | January 14, 2011 9:11 PM

You could call it the Sultanas of Porn.

Posted by: NMLevesque | January 14, 2011 9:18 PM

It seems as though Jacqulyn Levin forgot that it's more important to teach children to be ashamed of their bodies rather then have them learn valuable information about sex.

Posted by: Jules, Bride of Death | January 14, 2011 9:27 PM

I didn't realize we were choosing instruments we could actually play. I can't really play bass, nor can I sing.

Which totally rules me out for a punk band.

Oh wait.

Posted by: Monkey Genes | January 14, 2011 9:39 PM

I'd love to see the urology/gynecology journals editing papers to protect our sensitivities:

"In brief, our novel surgical method for removal of whoowhoo polyps requires gaining primary access through the lower abdominal musculature (within the region of the left superior ladypart artery), then manipulating the eggpipe and the wahowzas so that one ultimately can easily palpate and resect the jahoozals (secondary to manually retracting both wahoonzenagers)."

Posted by: Jules, Bride of Death | January 14, 2011 9:43 PM

Topic change from the GOP.

I was raised evangelical fundamentalist. I was also raised in a surprisingly sex positive home. Sure, there was supposed to be guilt if you did it when you weren't married, but all this "sex is icky" stuff was unheard of. My parents were pretty open about how awesome sex is, and they were careful to make the distinction that it was reserved for marriage because it's special not because it's to be avoided in general.

As a result, I've had very few issues when it comes to my sexuality.

As those on The Endless Thread can attest.

I think the fundies who hate sex prolly have some serious self-loathing issues.

Posted by: Epikt | January 14, 2011 9:47 PM

jafafahots:

Urologist trying too hard to be clever.

I can't believe you got that comment through peer review.

Posted by: Rey Fox, Bird Caller Guy | January 14, 2011 9:52 PM

A little further research reveals that "Do You Wanna Touch Me" was written and originally performed by Gary Glitter. I'm not sure if that makes it more or less appropriate for the GoP.

Posted by: Rey Fox, Bird Caller Guy | January 14, 2011 10:01 PM

it's yet another party trick

Geez. All I got are my double-jointed thumbs.

Posted by: Jules, Bride of Death | January 14, 2011 10:02 PM

Geez. All I got are my double-jointed thumbs.

Posted by: jafafahots | January 14, 2011 10:12 PM

Joan Jett was like the girl of my dreams when I was a teen.

Well, actually she kinda is now too, which might partially explain some things.

Posted by: https://me.yahoo.com/a/jUTXSNMKyYn2dV474eld47MpbTucJpCAHw--#636c6 | January 14, 2011 10:45 PM

Personally I don't think it's prudish at all to object to this dance. High school students dancing to the "hokey pokey"... It's a travesty!

Posted by: Dhorvath, OM | January 14, 2011 10:48 PM

Pacal,
Would you stop making me think of pink elephants.

Posted by: rushmc | January 14, 2011 11:05 PM

I can't even being to imagine what the definition of "essential modesty" could possibly be.

Posted by: Dhorvath, OM | January 14, 2011 11:12 PM

I so thought that was Jergin's.

Posted by: Marella | January 14, 2011 11:21 PM

I sing, but not like Joan Jett sorry, more blues and jazz.

Oh my god, if one of my teachers had tried to force me to participate in a lame-ass dance like that I would have pitched a fit!

Sigh, you took yourself awfully seriously didn't you? Sounds to me like these need to lighten up a bit more than anything else. Get over yourself.

Posted by: Rey Fox, Bird Caller Guy | January 14, 2011 11:28 PM

Can you not even being to imagine what the definition of "essential modesty" could possibly be?

Posted by: llewelly | January 14, 2011 11:35 PM

rushmc | January 14, 2011 11:23 PM:

I can't even being to imagine what the definition of "essential modesty" could possibly be.

Posted by: 'Tis Himself, OM | January 14, 2011 11:39 PM

Essential modesty is wearing your trousers when walking to and from the mailbox.

Posted by: ColonelZen | January 15, 2011 12:07 AM

Actually, it is a "dance". It achieves the same purpose by the same methods as any ritual dance. It creates an association between the subject matter and the participant by use of the most immediate, intimate and powerful sense we possess - kinesthia, and it psychologically re-enforces the connectedness of the subject matter between the student while simultaneously imprinting the connection of the student to the students around him/her with regard to that subject.

In matters of sexuality, for early pubescents getting that commonality and connectedness across is probably far more important than matters of physiology.

As pedagogy, it's f'n genius! Ms Levin or whomever invented the technique should be given accolades huge from all educational establishments.

No wonder the prudes squawked. It's effective at communicating a reality they would like to deny. So far as I am concerned they can cut off their denials and burn them for incense.

-- TWZ

Posted by: Ing: PhD Trollologist | January 15, 2011 12:20 AM

Jaine win

Posted by: FossilFishy | January 15, 2011 1:17 AM

I played in a punk band that had a french horn and a violin. We were pretty modest though, as far as I remember no one ever imitated any sort of genital, though the other guitar player was kind of a dick.

Posted by: Ichthyic | January 15, 2011 1:59 AM

Just how much spunk was being topically applied to teenagers when you were a kid, Ing?

Is it weird when I read that I flashed to the

HEAD ON

commercial?

Posted by: Aquaria | January 15, 2011 2:21 AM

For Gideons of Porn, I play no instruments and I'm allergic to publicity.

I'll be the band manager.

Posted by: OrchidGrowinMan | January 15, 2011 2:47 AM

Wow.

Just Wow. I've been looking for that Joan Jett video for years: Total Teen Torquing just to the memory; what a woman!

And then the Apocalyptica video: Am I coming late to a head-banger epiphany?

I'd add to the GoP playlist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gd2YKyEImY But can we make a punk-ish arrangement? The video at 3:40 and 5:15 is pretty cool, but maybe I'm just warped.

Oh, and one more to the "woods porn" tally.

I wonder how many "forts" have functioned as purile porn educational emporia? Maybe I should contribute?

http://scienceblogs.com/aardvarchaeology/2008/02/ruins_of_childhood.php

http://bansteadbotanyblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/rubbish-blog.html#comments

Posted by: Randy (not Randy) | January 15, 2011 3:11 AM

OrchidGrowinMan@260

Will this do?

Posted by: Giliell, connaiseuse des choses bonnes | January 15, 2011 4:59 AM

Such a thing really violates their right to remain ignorant of the reproductive system and therefore renounce any responsibilty for something called unwanted pregancy.
I should remeber this idea for if I ever get told to teach biology

Posted by: Citizen of the Cosmos | January 15, 2011 5:40 AM

Why is sex education such an issue for so many people? Why is it seen as a bad thing? This is the 21st century, not the 19th.

Posted by: secularguy | January 15, 2011 6:02 AM

They're part of ...

Posted by: Erik The Viking | January 15, 2011 6:33 AM

An old friend of mine has the Gray's Anatomy drawing of the female reproductive system tattooed on the relevant area of her body in full detail. If anything is going to make you think of the consequences of your actions, that sure as fuck will.

Posted by: FossilFishy | January 15, 2011 7:19 AM

Having now read the thread I was going to provide my bonifides to be considered for a spot in GoP. I did after all once play guitar for a rock opera in which the villain was Cthulu. But on googling it I've found that someone wrote what appears to be a serious paper on it. Even if this hasn't destroyed any shreds of punk cred I might've had left my mind is so blown that I may never recover.

WTF

Posted by: FossilFishy | January 15, 2011 7:43 AM

Shit, I'm pretty sure I didn't hit post twice. Sorry. And why the hell can't I delete my own posts anyway?

Posted by: 'Tis Himself, OM | January 15, 2011 7:45 AM

Marc Albian #271

+1

Posted by: Dannorth | January 15, 2011 8:23 AM

There is a highscholl boy who seems to have learn his lessons well, at least those from Sunday school. Because to the average highschool boy there ain't no such thing as to much information about anatomy.

Perhaps a future minister and IPI fellow.

Posted by: Dannorth | January 15, 2011 8:28 AM

Bad start as poster on this blog.

Previous post should had been "To the average highscholl there ain't no such thing as to much information about the FEMALE anatomy.

Posted by: https://me.yahoo.com/a/bSqpFlcvhtvUNJimueHCWgWPP__6FUvE#48845 | January 15, 2011 8:40 AM

PZ said:

"There is nothing immodest about the demonstration (which, by the way, the IFI portrays dishonestly and inaccurately)."

Hey PZ, have you seen the "demonstration" with your own eyes?

Posted by: Andreas Johansson | January 15, 2011 9:10 AM

@Ogvorbis: Well, thanks for sharing, but to be honest I was merely trying to point out the (presumably innocent) innuendo in your previous post - it reads like the freaking out was the cause of her having a baby nine months later. Which, I was told in sex ed, would require her to do a bit more than yell at you.

Posted by: Hekuni Cat, Champion of Oriana | January 15, 2011 10:28 AM

OurDeadSelves:

(And we should start a club of "Women Who Have Seen Their Own Ovaries".)

Sounds like a plan!

Posted by: EdinAnn | January 15, 2011 12:15 PM

Oh, does this bring back a memory, which is quite funny in retrospect, but at the time, not so much. In 1965, our entire 8th grade class took a field trip to the Hinsdale, Illinois Health Museum. The only thing I remember about the experience was sitting in a darkened auditorium with a life-size "invisible woman" on stage. As various parts of her anatomy lighted up a disembodied female voice would name the organ and describe its function. You can imagine what happened in an auditorium filled with 80, 13-year old boys when the invisible woman's boobs glowed red and we heard, "These are my mammary glands..." We girls, of course, were mortified.

Posted by: crowepps | January 15, 2011 12:49 PM

Posted by: hollyeberle27 | January 15, 2011 1:31 PM

That's funny...I went to that high school district, just a different school. I know what that is, my sophomore year health teacher made that up and it spread throughout the district. No one thought that it was offensive, in fact it was quite popular. I still remember how it goes too, therefore an effective educational tool. Idiots.
Would you care to know that they had a problem with football coaches embezzling money from the schools too?

Posted by: https://www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawle5AT5MdyqBI3wlu3aB_mqmgIbGY2413M | January 15, 2011 3:36 PM

She should have just used the Dodge RAM truck logo which looks just like Fallopian tubes

Posted by: David Marjanović | January 15, 2011 5:42 PM

"Wow. You can read Greek, Aramaic and Latin? I'm impressed."

Not Latin! Hebrew!!!

...Except that the Greek of the Gospel of Mark is a bit weird. At least parts of it look like imperfectly translated from Latin. Not terribly surprising, as Marcus is just about the most Roman name ever. (It's an adjective to the god Mars.)

Posted by: https://me.yahoo.com/a/.ESzU4YkvpCaGVcc_gE_bwoO_nHc#3d697 | January 15, 2011 7:54 PM

PZ said:

"There is nothing immodest about the demonstration (which, by the way, the IFI portrays dishonestly and inaccurately)."

Hey PZ, have you seen the "demonstration" with your own eyes?

Posted by: Erik The Viking | January 15, 2011 7:58 PM

Hey Yahoomess, how can you see the light with your head shoved up your fucking arse?

Posted by: Silič O'Nopolitanopoulos, Färschdbischuf Beesknees aus Ulm und Klein Elguth, Elector Pharynguline. | January 15, 2011 8:16 PM

You put your boner in, You take your boner out; You put your boner in, And you shake it all about. You do the Hokey-Pokey, And you turn yourself around. That's what it's all about!

Posted by: MacPrince | January 15, 2011 8:34 PM

Holy cow- that's the high school I graduated from! (Class of '03)

Yeah, Crystal Lake is pretty right-wing. Prairie Ridge always had a sizable FCA membership, and a decent turn-out for the "See You At The Pole" nonsense. They also had (don't know if they still do) a flirtation with abstinence-only sex ed pushed by some professional athlete or another.

Not the first time the school's been in the news, either. There was a special ed teacher from there a few years ago who turned out to be a child molester.

Posted by: Travis | January 15, 2011 10:45 PM

Dhorvath,
Oh, wicked, bad, naughty, evil MrProsser! Oh, he is a naughty person, and he must pay the penalty -- and here at Pharyngula, we have but one punishment for setting alight the porn-shaped beacon. You must tie him down on a bed and spank him!

That just feels weird to me being much more toppy.

Posted by: Josh, "Raquel Dommage," Porte-parole Gay Official | January 15, 2011 11:15 PM

Yahoomess:

You did well up until:

Is that how a 'scientist' should behave? Is that how you practice science? Do you make the same kind of biased assumptions when you're doing science?

You forgot to use enough scare quotes. Let me help:

Is that how a 'scientist' should behave? Is that how you practice "science"? Do you make the same kind of biased assumptions when you're doing "science"?

Also, it helps if you sign off, "Is that what a 'scientist' would do, 'Professor' Meyers?"

Posted by: Rey Fox, Bird Caller Guy | January 15, 2011 11:53 PM

You haven't seen the "demonstration" yet you talk as though you know all about it.

I suppose your next trick is to declare that PZ can't talk about evolution since he wasn't around to see the human-chimpanzee split or something.

Is that how a 'scientist' should behave?

Sure.

Is that how you practice science?

He uses more beakers and test tubes, but otherwise, yes.

Do you make the same kind of biased assumptions when you're doing science?

He doesn't tend to take the word of a band of bloviating homophobic dark ages christbots without question, no.

Since you obviously believe that biased assumptions are okay for you to make, and then to use to attack people who don't worship you, then why is it wrong for others to make biased assumptions?

Did you just learn the word "bias" or something?

Are you the one who is always right?

100%.

Does having your gang of name-calling supporters here automatically make whatever you say correct and unquestionable?

Doesn't hurt.

Are you above answering questions about what you say?

He's generally a little too busy to directly and promptly answer every little pissant with an ax to grind.

Are you above providing evidence for your claims?

Are you done yet?

Do you see yourself as a God?

Hardly matters when we're all willing to. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to sacrifice a few goats to the Almighty Myers.

Posted by: https://me.yahoo.com/a/.ESzU4YkvpCaGVcc_gE_bwoO_nHc#3d697 | January 16, 2011 1:02 AM

PZ Myers said:

"We have the testimony of an eyewitness right here in this thread.

We have a description of the performance from a school district administrator.

We have a newspaper account linked to above.

All of those sources back up the simple description of an uncontroversial demonstration.

Then we have IFI, which asserts there was the hokey-pokey and prancing, all without any substantiation at all.

Oh, and we also have an indignant yahoomess whining."

In other words, you have hearsay, and your own biases. Is that what you call evidence?

Asking you to back up your statements and speak for yourself is "whining"? Wow, you do think you're a God.

And what's with the "We" stuff? Did you say "We" because you think it makes your claims stronger?

If a creationist said "We", would it make their claims stronger?

You're using the oldest tricks in the book in an attempt to con people who read this blog. You obviously think that your biased opinions are proof and that since other religion haters agree with you and speak for you that you must be right, and infallible.

Apparently you haven't noticed that your belief system is in the minority. Whatever you do, don't even think about the way you speak here, and how you allow others to speak here, and that it just may have something to do with being in the minority. It's a big world out there PZ and there are far more people who disagree with you than agree with you. If you and others would think about revamping the way you speak, you might be more effective. Just because you can get away with acting like a God on this little website, with your small gang of sycophants, doesn't mean the rest of the world has ever even heard of you.

Of course you and the other religion haters here can just go on in the same manner as you always have, and blindly wonder why your message isn't getting across to the masses. There's a big difference between hating religion, and promoting science in an effective, popular way. Most people are turned off by constant negativity and arrogance.

Posted by: dartigen | January 16, 2011 1:13 AM

I don't get prudes. Sex is going to happen at some point in everyone's lives (don't look at me like that, it will, and you can't escape it! It's like taxes only more fun and doesn't usually cost money.) so we might as well all get used to it.

However, not knowing a damn thing about it causes all kinds of problems, the least being teen pregnancy and awkwardness in relationships (among other things). Nobody seems to have a problem with telling kids what happens when you get a concussion (which scared me more - I freaked out any time I hit my head for months after that, imagining my poor brain bouncing around my skull like a basketball) - so why do we have a problem with telling them about sex? Heck, we tell them about the digestive tract - and to me, that's far grosser (and to all the kids in my Bio class, including the kid who threw up and provided us with a nice first-hand demonstration of the vomit reflex).
The best analogy I can think of is driving a car without knowing what any of the pedals or the wheel does.

I learned everything I needed to know from medical textbooks at the library though - and I sort of had to, as I was diagnosed with enodmetriosis so I wanted to know if it was a) fixable (no) and b) dangerous (sometimes). I was happy to find out that my case is not dangerous, just bloody painful. (I had been hoping for the variety that creates scar tissue in the Fallopian tubes. No such luck - I'll have to get an artificial doodad for that.)
Sex Ed in high school, however, was gender segregated. We had a 30 minute talk in which we were supposed to have learned the basic parts and what they do, and how to recognise symptoms of problems (things like thrush and UTIs, crabs, and suchlike). All we got told about pregnancy was that if we suspected it, go see a doctor - nothing about what was actually involved. That was pretty much it. It was pathetic, but I heard later that the reason it wasn't more in-depth was because the female teachers weren't comfortable with talking about the specifics - which tells me that they shouldn't have been involved in the presentation.

Posted by: blf | January 16, 2011 6:54 AM

[She screamed at me] that I was the spawn of Satan, that I was trying to corrupt America, that I was trying to destroy the faith of Christians, that I consorted with daemons, that I was an unrepentent sinner, and on, and on, and on, and . . .

She was complaining?

Posted by: David Marjanović | January 16, 2011 10:02 AM

Anyway, this thread got me thinking - do any of you Pharyngulites know of a decent sex ed textbook? Mine was facepalmingly awful, but then I went to Catholic school, so what can you expect. It doesn't seem like anybody else here had what could be termed a "good" sex ed class either, though. Does such a thing as a useful sex ed textbook exist? Anyone? Bueller?

Over here, sex ed is part of the ordinary compulsory biology classes, so there's no separate textbook for it.

"Over here", of course, is not in the USA. It's Austria.

she'd pulled kindergarten kids off each other more than once -- the kids were naked and engaged in coitus, imitating actions they'd seen adults doing

What... the... literal... fuck.

How did they get to see adults fucking? In America no less?

My more religiously conservative acquaintances see innuendo in everything (behind every bush?).

Ooooh. She said "bush". And "behind every bush" there is... <faint>

Posted by: KG | January 16, 2011 10:12 AM

Of course you and the other religion haters here can just go on in the same manner as you always have, and blindly wonder why your message isn't getting across to the masses. - yahoomess tone troll

Oh but it is, ytt, it is. Haven't you noticed the huge book-sales of Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris etc.? Or the rapid growth of the non-religious section of the population, even in the backward USA (in most of Europe, we're way ahead of you in this regard)? Or that this growth is most marked in the younger age-groups, while churches are hemorrhaging adolescents and young adults, and constantly whining about it? Whenever a religidiot starts advising atheists not to be so shrill, we know that this "shrillness" has them running scared.

Posted by: drbunsen | January 16, 2011 10:55 AM

MMMMD:

When I was in medical school, I used the image of jebus on his cross to remember the orientation of the more posterior fallopian tubes to the ovaries, with the arms as the tubes and the hands grasping the ovaries.

Oh please let this happen in schools, oh please oh please. The resulting youtube uploads of fundie headsplosions would be so worth it.

Gus Snarp #80

Maybe there's a secret organization kind of like the Gideons of porn

At last, I have found my life's purpose.

Am I the only one here who misread Gus #109 as:

the Gideons of Porn 'staches

Posted by: drbunsen | January 16, 2011 11:21 AM

Another GoP theme song nomination.

I'll be in my bunk.

Posted by: drbunsen | January 16, 2011 12:08 PM

Well, this thread has certainly been a musical education! Thanks go to everyone who has posted links.

opposablethumbstoo #191:

I could only remember which was which of the cathode and the anode because catholics are negative

THANKYOU! I can never keep those two straight :)

Erik the Viking #270:

the Gray's Anatomy drawing of the female reproductive system tattooed on the relevant area of her body in full detail

Annotated?

Professor Myers, PZ, batsignal: we still have a spammer on the loose: hedefraf @ #320

Posted by: jaybgee | January 18, 2011 8:13 PM

Ugh. I cannot stand these kind of people. They're simply offended by reality, and the only way they can cope with it is by pretending it's not there.

Am I understanding correctly that these are sophomores in high school getting sex ed for the FIRST time?! I remember being done with sex ed by then. We had sex ed first in 6th grade (around age 11/12), again in 8th grade, and once more in 9th grade. By the time I was in 10th grade/sophomore, my classmates were teaching sex ed to the middle schoolers (through one of Kaiser's programs). I did grow up in a more liberal part of the country, but I had assumed that since it was 1999 when I had sex ed in 6th grade, the rest of the country would have progressed by now.