The twerk effect-Lewis Jones

The Twerk effect

Twerking has been around for decades in the black community, but now since the emergence of urban life and culture into the mainstream media things that start in urban communities spread faster. The word twerk was added to the newest version of the Oxford dictionary with the definition being Twerk: v.: dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance[1]. Twerking is like a mating call in African American culture, once you see a good twerker you naturally want to go over and talk to her. The origins of word twerk still shrouded in mystery but most theorist suggest it came from Louisiana, since the type of twerking has evolved into the most extreme and difficult form of twerking called the “New Orleans Bounce”. The thing that makes this form of twerking so rare is the fast motion and violent shacking that goes on during this type of twerking, as you can see in the video below https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O8OJj_Wigk [2].So in the video you can see how intense and aggressive their movements are as compared to the more common and widely known less intense twerking http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ruB8Wds_JU[3]. As you can see from the video the twerking is more focused on the lower body. Since twerking has become more popular the amounts of twerking related accidents have also increased like, like in the case of video model Jonnie Blaze her miscarriage was thought to be caused by the excessive amounts of twerking that she would do on her job[4]. All of the hype around twerking is great but it is hurting women everyday and safety precautions need to be taken when twerking. Like wearing knee pads and stretching before and after.[5]

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[1] "Definition of Twerk in English:." Twerk: Definition of Twerk in Oxford Dictionary (American English) (US). N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.

[2] "J Roc - Take Your Man " New Orleans Bounce "" YouTube. YouTube, 31 Aug. 2013. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.

[3] "UK Twerking Championships 2013: Freestyle Round." YouTube. YouTube, 05 Dec. 2013. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.

[4] "Twerking Causes Miscarriage, Injury." Guardian Liberty Voice. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.

[5] "How a Ph.D. Explains ‘Twerking’…Scientifically." The Blaze. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.

Alfred Kinsey By Danny Karrs

Danny Karrs

Alfred Kinsey

Alfred Kinsey was a biologist who wrote 2 books, created a scale and had a life of revolutionizing the way people looked at and thought about sex. He founded the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction at Indiana University. The two books he wrote known as the Kinsey Reports are called Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female. Kinsey studied Gull Wasps and their sexual interactions; he used taxonomy to do this and used it again in his research on sexual human behavior. His research on the sexuality of humans caused controversy in the 40s and 50s, right as sex in America was evolving into more modern beliefs, Kinsey is a major contributor to this. [1]

            Dr. Kinsey and his team made up of economist Clyde Martin, psychologist Wardell Pomeroy, and anthropologist Paul Gebhard went around and interviewed 17,000 people for their research project. Kinsey was known for keeping a straight and non-judgmental environment for his interviews. He also was known for secrecy and even developed a code sheet and had a key that was never written down to ensure secrecy of his interviews. These interviews were the base for his two books known as the Kinsey Reports. [2]     

                                           

            Kinsey also developed a scale and talked about it in his first book, its called The Homosexual –Heterosexual Rating scale, or better known as the Kinsey scale. It is a 7-point scale (0-6) with 0 being exclusively heterosexual and 6 being Exclusively homosexual. The middle numbers are considered in between, for example predominantly heterosexual but incidentally or more then incidentally homosexual. This scale has been republished in many books and used in many topics of discussion.

            There is a lot of controversy over Kinsey’s work, more recently then ever. H “he believed pornography was harmless, that adultery can enhance a marriage and that children are sexual from birth.” 2 He is suspected to be very involved with pedophiles and other sexual miscreants. He gathered data from these people to support his hypothesis that children are sexual from birth. He introduced the ideas of contraceptives, abortions and the porn industry publicly and made the talks of them less taboo. Anti-contraceptive groups are really upset with Kinsey’s research, they say “Kinsey “myths” are the reason the porn industry is thriving and why abortion and contraception providers make millions every year”. [3]

The controversy will always shroud Kinsey but without his research America and the world would have never revolutionized the ideas of sex.

Work Cited

"The Kinsey Institute." The Kinsey Institute. http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/about/photo-tour.html tml (accessed March 31, 2014).

"The Kinsey Institute." The Kinsey Institute. http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/research/ak-hhscale.h (accessed March 31, 2014).

"The Truth Behind Alfred Kinsey | ZENIT - The World Seen From Rome." ZENIT. http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/the-truth-behind-alfred-kinsey (accessed March 31, 2014).

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[1] http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/about/photo-tour.html tml

[2] http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/research/ak-hhscale.h

[3]http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/the-truth-behind-alfred-kinsey

History of Mormons - Keona Holden

History of Mormons – Keona Holden

Utopian communities originated in the late 18^th though 19^th centuries. Utopian communities were for Americans who pursued moral perfectionism. Many citizens of the utopian communities were not pleased with the new customs of the industrializing America.₂ They thought that the new America was growing in the wrong direction, full of sin. This was acquired through different sexual systems. The people in utopian communities longed to recreate small-scale homogeneous communities in a time of rapid growth.₁

Joseph Smith, Founder of Mormons

Mormonism, whose citizens were known as Mormons, created in the 19^th century in New York. Joseph Smith Jr. was the founder of this utopian community.₃ As a young boy, Joseph Smith prayed continuously for spiritual guidance during Christian revivals.₄ After several years, his prayers were answered through a series of visions. The first vision occurred somewhere between 1820 and 1823. During this vision Smith is told by a higher power to create his own version of a church.₅ The second vision occurred in 1823; this is when Joseph Smith Jr. is visited by an angel named Moroni who instructs him to tell the history of the ancient Hebrews in America, that were written in Egyptian dialect on sheets of gold.₆ These sheets of gold were located in Palmyra, NC. This history was then translated in to the book of Mormon.₇After these events, Smith was a lead role in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a church for the Mormon society.₈

A Mormon Man with 27 wives

The Mormons believed in many key principles. First and foremost, Mormons believe that Jesus was the Son of God, who was sent to earth to redeem the world.₈ Additionally; they believe that is essential to ones salvation to repent their sins. They also believe that in order for a person to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that person must baptized by fire.₉ This is when the person receives the gift of the Holy Ghost by laying on of hands by one who is sanctioned to perform this ordinance, usually someone with high rankings throughout the church.₁₀ Mormons also believed in polygamy. They believed that male dominance was important, and it maximized reproduction of their society.₁₁ Pregnancy before marriage in this community was not very common. This is because masturbation, sex before marriage, and contraception was looked down on by this society.₁₂

There are many Mormons today, close to twelve million worldwide. Although they do not believe in polygamy announced by President Gordon B Hinckley in 1988. They also currently believe that women and men are equal when it comes to raising children and helping the household. Where before, during the 18^th century, women were not able to work, and be successful, now women have the same rights as the men in this society. Many of the other key principals are still practiced today.

The Mormon society is important to the sexual history of America because it shows a sexual breaking point in history. During this time, people were deviating away from the church, and began to do what they wanted instead of what was taught in church. This society was created to restore spiritual growth in the community.

  

Works Cited

1.     Crystal, Moore. "Utopian Communities in Victorian America." lecture., UNCC, 2014. . (Crystal 2014)

2.     Crystal, Moore. "Utopian Communities in Victorian America." lecture., UNCC, 2014. . (Crystal 2014)

3.     David , Golding. Mormon History Association, "A Brief History of Mormonism." Accessed March 30, 2014. http://www.mormonhistoryassociation.org/mormonism. (david)

4.     David , Golding. Mormon History Association, "A Brief History of Mormonism." Accessed March 30, 2014. http://www.mormonhistoryassociation.org/mormonism. (david)

5.     Crystal, Moore. "Utopian Communities in Victorian America." lecture., UNCC, 2014. . (Crystal 2014)

6.     Crystal, Moore. "Utopian Communities in Victorian America." lecture., UNCC, 2014. . (Crystal 2014)

7.     Crystal, Moore. "Utopian Communities in Victorian America." lecture., UNCC, 2014. . (Crystal 2014)

8.     Idiots Guide, "What Is Mormonism? The Basic Principles Explained." Accessed March 31, 2014. http://idiotsguides.com/static/quickguides/religionspirituality/what-is-mormonism-the-basic-principles-explained.html.

9.     Idiots Guide, "What Is Mormonism? The Basic Principles Explained." Accessed March 31, 2014. http://idiotsguides.com/static/quickguides/religionspirituality/what-is-mormonism-the-basic-principles-explained.html.

10. Idiots Guide, "What Is Mormonism? The Basic Principles Explained." Accessed March 31, 2014. http://idiotsguides.com/static/quickguides/religionspirituality/what-is-mormonism-the-basic-principles-explained.html.

11. Crystal, Moore. "Utopian Communities in Victorian America." lecture., UNCC, 2014. . (Crystal 2014)

12. Idiots Guide, "What Is Mormonism? The Basic Principles Explained." Accessed March 31, 2014. http://idiotsguides.com/static/quickguides/religionspirituality/what-is-mormonism-the-basic-principles-explained.html.

The choice is yours

Homosexuality is everywhere. It is talked about and even seen all over the word. Many people argue about whether it is morally right or not, but another big discussion has been if it is genetic or a choice from social environments. After thinking about it, I think that homosexuality is a choice and not genetic. I think that not just homosexuality, but sexual orientation in general are choices that are made and not genetically determined. I feel that choices are not genetic because they are decisions; and since when are decisions genetic? For example, if I like the color blue then I like the color blue. When I am born, a doctor can not scan my brain to tell what my favorite color will be. Something in my life could happen that could make me change it to green one day. It is similar with sexual orientation, which can change. I know a girl who used to like guys but became a lesbian after the relationship did not work with the guy. She never always identified as bisexual but then decided she was fully a lesbian after the relationship with the guy did not work. I also know another lady that decided to be a lesbian because she was not getting attention from guys and found it easier to approach females. We are all indeed born a certain way and we are the way we are, but anything that includes decision are altered by social surrounding and person preferences. Another reason why I do not think it is genetic is because it is still not proven to be genetic. According to the Epigenetic Theory of Homosexuality, “One is not gay due to DNA but due to the way our genes are expressed. Gene expression may regulate how fetus responds to testosterone and some epi-marks buffer a female fetus from high levels of testosterone by suppressing receptors that respond to it.”[1] This may be true, but it is only a theory. There is only theories out there that state possible ways to tell gay from straight but nothing is written in stone. I believe that the level of technology we are at today, would have been able to detect it if it was genetic. If we as a people, have studied the brains of other animals such as monkeys and dolphins, and have found ways of communication with them, then why is knowing how to decipher between gay and straight that hard? Because it can not be shown, is why I think it is a social choice.

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[1] Moore, Crystal. "Theories on origins of homosexuality." (online forum). Getting to the root of homosexuality.

how porn can hurt relationships

How Porn can Hurt Relationships

Mitchell Macauley

In this day and age the Internet is almost in escapable. We have it on our phones, computers, game consoles, cars, and so on. It has become a part of our everyday lives that everyone uses from young children, to the elderly. However, the large amount of good it does for us there is also some bad.

Many researchers show that the use of pornography in marriages has either severely hurt or in some cases ended marriages, however there are some cases when either spouse did not care. Melissa Orlov wrote in her blog article “9 reasons porn hurts”, 9 reasons why porn in fact hurts relationships, and they are as followed:  Porn is not personal, and it breaks the personal relationship with your spouse or significant other. Porn is revolting to many women. Some people view porn as the “perfect” woman or man. Porn is so readily available and easy to access that it is almost impossible to keep someone from it. 1. Those were just some of the reasons that she gave I her article. When two people get married, they make a very strong personal bond, and when a spouse watches porn some can view that as breaking that strong personal bond, and that can be traumatizing for some. Porn can be very discriminating and be very revolting to women because of the things that are done in the videos 1. Many who watch porn see the people they are watching as perfect, and they judge and compare many people to them 1. With the Internet so readily available, and porn being free, it is very easy for some to access porn even if they are not supposed to 1.

In an article titled “How Pornography Impacts marriage and family life”, it is said that through watching porn, people become very self critical o f their sexual performance, or becoming very dissatisfied with their partners sexual performance 2. This can lead to people ending relationships through either becoming very introverted and almost becoming obsessed with porn, or leaving their partner to find the “perfect” match 2. Also, the people who were researched showed an increase desire with the sexual aspect of the relationship, while having a decreased desire for the emotional aspect of a relationship, which especially in a marriage, the emotional aspect is the most important part of the marriage.

Porn can very badly hurt peoples relationships with loved ones, it can cause a distrust, hate, and even cause them to split up, and if they have a family, that can be traumatizing for children. Even though it does not hurt all relationships, and has even helped re-spark some, does not mean that it is not harmful.

1.                    Melissa Orlov, "9 Reasons porn hurts," ADHD and Marriage (blog), january 29, 2013, http://www.adhdmarriage.com/content/9-reasons-porn-hurts.

2.                    Corey, "How Pornography hurts Marriage and Family life," Simple Marriage, http://simplemarriage.net/how-pornography-impacts-marriage-and-family-life/ (accessed March 31, 2014).