[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OopwzJdfIak?wmode=transparent]
This week many of the articles I came across were commentaries on the intersection of politics, sexual identity, sexual ideology and orientation. From an increase in the number of openly gay officials serving under Obama to the possible election of the transgender candidate Teresa Sparks in San Francisco in addition to the gay candidate, David Norris, vying for the presidency in Ireland, sexuality was an active part of the political discourse this week. And beyond the conversation of orientation, political figure Christine O'Donnell also made headlines this week, when an anonymous former romantic interest published intimate details of a sexual experience that occurred three years ago on Gawker.com. The piece went into detail about her lack of sexual abilities, descriptions of her pubic hair and her decision to maintain her virginity. According to New York Magazine, both O'Donnell and NOW, The National Organization for Women, has spoken out against Gawker's decision to run this piece. "It operates as public sexual harassment. And like all sexual harassment, it targets not only O'Donnell, but all women contemplating stepping into the public sphere," said NOW president Terry O'Neill. To read the original piece: http://gawker.com/5674353/i-had-a-one+night-stand-with-christine-odonnell?skyline=true&s=i as well as Gawker's response on why they published the article: http://gawker.com/5676725/why-we-published-the-christine-odonnell-story To read more about Teresa Sparks: http://www.theresasparks.com/about.htmlTo read more about David Norris: http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/could_ireland_elect_its_first_gay_president
To read more about Obama's cabinet: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2010/10/president_obama_leads_the_gaye.html?mid=daily-intel--20101026 In other news, our online inboxs will be receiving 20 percent less Viagra spam due to the shut down of a single Russian spamming provider: To learn more:http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/business/27spam.html?_r=2&ref=global-home Halloween is often viewed as a holiday for sexual permissiveness, with everyone in costume behind masks, and with many adults taking license to dress as a sexy version of everything ranging from a nurse to a superhero. But with the benefits of the holiday that embraces sexual freedom, there are also more serious concerns on hand for this evening, the protection of children from sex offenders. Several states have put curfews in place for known sex offenders and instructed them not to have their porch lights on or decorate for the holiday, as these efforts would be seen as invitations to children to visit them in their journey of trick or treating. This fear of sexual predators has translated into a smart phone app called Tracker launched by the background check company, Beenverified.com, which is linked to the DPS Sex Offender registry, which made headlines this week. To read a critique of the actual functionality of the app: http://blogs.forbes.com/kashmirhill/2010/10/26/antoine-dodsons-misleading-pitch-for-iphoneandroid-sex-offender-tracking-app/