6.26.2008

I demand answers!

Someone please read this slate.com article and tell me why I'm gay. Or why I care. Ooh, I just had a flash of all the millions of people reading this blog recoiling in horror: he doesn't care why he's gay?

Um, no, not really.

But you know what I do find fascinating? Hymenoplasty. Faithful readers of Going40 know that we don't spend too much time thinking about womany parts; in fact, we couldn't even draw them on a map. But in this article, slate.com caught my eye with the simple phrase "hiring a doctor to restore your hymen." And yes, before you get all indignant, I know there are huge religiousgenderbiassexualityfreedompowermisogynypolitical issues to consider regarding this important topic.

I would simply like credit for using the word hymen without passing out.

5 comments:

RodgerPM said...

Wait.

We're supposed to care about *why* we're gay?

Golly. I've been so caught up with trying to live in a world that cares about it at all that I didn't have any idea.

Do you think I can skip this chore if I promise to do it twice tomorrow>

Meema said...

Woah - you even made hymen an official post label. Just how many times are you planning on hymenizing out here in boyland?

(BTW, I applaud your maintenance of consciousness. Being upright is a good thing.)

Stephanie said...

A careful reading of the first article reveals that gay men are gay because their mothers are attracted to men. But lesbian women are not lesbians because their fathers are attracted to women. I'm glad we got that cleared up.

I find it interesting that the author of the the hymenoplasty article was praising a doctor who had made the surgery so non-invasive and had decreased the coital pain and bleeding to the extent that he also provided patients with vials of blood to spill on their wedding-night sheets. Um, wouldn't it be even MORE non-invasive to just skip the surgery entirely and go straight to the blood vials?

More importantly, what's the deal with slate.com?

deb said...

I didn't mean to ignore this milestone post - I've been overwhelmed with the mess. As you've seen.

I think it's adorable that you're trying again to be knowledgeable about the womany stuff.

And it's good to do some E-RP (exposure and response-prevention) before the biology class.

As for the intact hymen creepiness, it's 99% myth. (The disgusting reconstructive surgery is based on ignorance, and should be considered yet another human rights violation. We'll discuss clitoral infibulation at a later date.) "First-time" problems are almost entirely a result of abuse, and maybe a little bit a result of cluelessness. Rarely is there an actual anatomical concern.

Breathe. Relax. Bear down.

I could say more, but I think that's enough for tonight.

deb said...

And I'm actually quite interested in why you're gay. If we're evolutionary biologists (and we are) then the persistence of gayness has some survival benefit for our species.

Plus, there's all the cool embryology and brain development things to think about.