MetaFilter posts tagged with sex and children

Poland Approves Mandatory "Chemical Castration" Drug Treatment for Convicted Pedophiles

zarq — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 10:56:48 -0800

In response to an incest case in which a man imprisoned, raped and fathered two children with his own daughter, Poland's Lower House of Parliament has approved an amendment to their penal code which makes chemical castration of pedophiles mandatory in certain cases. The bill still needs final approval from the Upper House of Parliament and President Lech Kaczynski, but passage is considered inevitable. Poland would be the first nation in the EU to make such drug treatment obligatory. Similar, voluntary policies for convicted sex offenders currently exist in Sweden, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Canada, eight US states (pdf) and South Korea. The severity of the impending Polish law has sparked a debate in the EU as well as increased attention on whether the Czech Republic's voluntary chemical castration program is humane and effective.

Marching through the claims like Sherman through Georgia

cashman — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:30:09 -0800

Neuroscientist Lise Eliot finds that claims of sex differences fall apart. In one study, scientists dressed newborns in gender-neutral clothes and misled adults about their sex. The adults described the "boys" (actually girls) as angry or distressed more often than did adults who thought they were observing girls, and described the "girls" (actually boys) as happy and socially engaged more than adults who knew the babies were boys. Dozens of such disguised-gender experiments have shown that adults perceive baby boys and girls differently, seeing identical behavior through a gender-tinted lens. "Eliot immersed herself in hundreds of scientific papers (her bibliography runs 46 pages). Marching through the claims like Sherman through Georgia, she explains that assertions of innate sex differences in the brain are either "blatantly false," "cherry-picked from single studies," or "extrapolated from rodent research" without being confirmed in people. For instance, the idea that the band of fibers connecting the right and left brain is larger in women, supposedly supporting their more "holistic" thinking, is based on a single 1982 study of only 14 brains. Fifty other studies, taken together, found no such sex difference—not in adults, not in newborns. Other baseless claims: that women are hard-wired to read faces and tone of voice, to defuse conflict, and to form deep friendships; and that "girls' brains are wired for communication and boys' for aggression." Eliot's inescapable conclusion: there is "little solid evidence of sex differences in children's brains.""

Defining passion, as a mother

Brandon Blatcher — Wed, 27 May 2009 08:38:48 -0800

"Yes, I have four children. Four children with whom I spend a good part of every day: bathing them, combing their hair, sitting with them while they do their homework, holding them while they weep their tragic tears. But I'm not in love with any of them. I am in love with my husband."

You know, for kids

elgilito — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:34:38 -0800

Sex: wot's the big deal is a sex exhibition for kids currently taking place at the Cité des Sciences in Paris. Pre-teens can learn about love, puberty, making love and making babies, and they can also experiment a little bit. The show is based on Willies: a user's guide (in French: Le zizi sexuel) by Swiss comics creator Zep, and features the rising star of French playgrounds, Titeuf (NSFW unless you're a French preteen)

Growing up sexually: a world atlas

Rumple — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 19:33:29 -0800

Growing Up Sexually: A world atlas and encyclopedia of cross-cultural practices in the sexual enculturation of children. The project overview gives context for the site, which is a subproject of the frighteningly comprehensive International Encyclopedia of Sexuality. Primary author of site is an M.D. No images, text may not be safe for work.

The Mind-Booty problem

goodnewsfortheinsane — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 16:08:51 -0800

Having sex at 12 is a bad idea. But if you're pubescent, it might be, in part, your bad idea. Slate rethinks the age of consent.

Mapping Sex Offenders

JWright — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 20:24:20 -0800

A map of sex offenders in YOUR neighborhood. People can change, and mistakes can be redeemed, but then again, looking at map of colored dots in my own neighborhood kind of gives me the creeps.

Girls, Girls, XXs...

lilboo — Wed, 27 Oct 2004 09:34:13 -0800

Girl Power or: Partnership status and the human sex ratio at birth: a paper by Karen Norberg

Could the sex of a child be influenced by the status of the parents' relationship at the time of conception? In a sample of 86,436 births in the United States, we find a small excess of sons among births to parents who were married or living with an opposite sex partner before the child's conception, compared to births to parents who were not. This is the first evidence that household arrangements can affect the human sex ratio at birth, and could explain the fall in the proportion of male births in some developed countries over the past thirty years.

(Data published on FirstCite registration required) via The Economist

(special note for mathowie: No word yet as to whether or not those single moms can also reliably produce offspring with an astigmatism.)

Classic Underage Misconceptions

five fresh fish — Wed, 01 Sep 2004 10:55:45 -0800

NSFW: Childhood misconceptions about sex. Both the male and female (linked as this post's title). I found them quite amusing. In a similar vein, we also have I Used to Believe, which I think has been MeFied previously.

Have more sex

jonvaughan — Wed, 24 Sep 2003 04:44:50 -0800

Have more sex says the Conservative party in the UK, procreate for the good of the economy and solve the looming pensions crisis. "Europe's real demographic crisis is not longevity but birth rates". Research says, apparently, that most women want more children than they have, but could it also be the case that a growing number of people just don't see the attraction?

Postroad — Thu, 05 Sep 2002 04:35:16 -0800

Teens, sex, and power of parents How did you "discover" sex? from mom? school? Or the pals down the block?

onegoodmove — Thu, 04 Apr 2002 14:59:10 -0800

Harmful to Minors In the introduction to her book she writes that " 'Harmful to Minors' launches from two negatives: Sex is not ipso facto harmful to minors; and America's drive to protect kids from sex is protecting them from nothing. Instead, often it is harming them." Is she right, some think she is just evil.

RylandDotNet — Sat, 12 Jan 2002 12:08:38 -0800

A 9-year-old girl has been arrested on sex charges, perhaps the youngest suspect ever to face such charges in Manchester, local police say. [...] The alleged incident occurred in the fall, when the girl and three other children a 3-year-old boy and two girls, 4 and 5 were playing in a bedroom, [Police Sgt. John] Maston said. The girl is charged with initiating sex between the younger children and then with her, Maston said. (From Boston.com, via Billy Wildhack.) I admit I don't have all the facts, but it seems like this little girl's life about to be ruined because a game of Doctor went out of hand.

shauna — Wed, 20 Jun 2001 08:03:48 -0800

Studies Show That Children Are Solicited Online (from the NY Times, free registration required) -- "One in five children who regularly go online is approached by strangers for sex, according to a new study."

mgtrott — Mon, 09 Apr 2001 22:25:17 -0800

A FIFTH-grade girl at Cincinnati's Mount Airy School says at least 15 boys have been trading soda and cash for sex with at least five girls, according to WLWT Eyewitness News. Police and school officials are looking into the allegation, which claims the students -- some as young as 10 -- were sneaking into closets to do it.

Doug — Mon, 25 Sep 2000 07:45:50 -0800

Two men may be able to have a child. Together. Without a woman. This is a pretty interesting article, and to tell the truth, I can't wait for it to happen. But I do have one problem with it...What would Dr. Laura think? Via Drudge