Taboo

Affluent Medical announces successful first-in-human implantation of its artificial sphincter Artus for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence.

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Affluent Medical announces successful first-in-human implantation of its artificial sphincter Artus for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence.

Key Points: 
  • Affluent Medical announces successful first-in-human implantation of its artificial sphincter Artus for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence.
  • This first implantation of the artificial urinary sphincter Artus was successfully performed by Prof. Roman Zachoval, MD, PhD, head of the Department of Urology at Thomayer University Hospital in Prague, Czech Republic, on a 68-year-old male with severe urinary incontinence.
  • “Artus is easy to prepare and implant due to its innovative design compared to the previous generation of urinary sphincters.
  • Artus is an implantable artificial urinary sphincter developed for the treatment of moderate to severe urinary incontinence in both men and women.

Fidelity Investments® Study Finds Three Key Money Moves That Minimize Financial Stress Among Women

Retrieved on: 
Friday, March 1, 2024

With financial stress a reality for more than 9-in-10 women, new research from Fidelity Investments® reveals the financial steps women can take to de-stress and increase their financial confidence.

Key Points: 
  • With financial stress a reality for more than 9-in-10 women, new research from Fidelity Investments® reveals the financial steps women can take to de-stress and increase their financial confidence.
  • Taking financial action, however, makes the biggest difference in decreasing stress, with women who made financial moves in the past 6 months indicating less stress than women who haven’t.
  • Once women save three months’ worth of emergency savings, only 1-in-4 women (26%) report high stress levels.
  • Saving for Retirement: Small increases in retirement savings can lead to big results when it comes to financial stress.

Spearmint Rhino Launches Rhino Society: A Bold Leap from Adult Entertainment to Fashion Storytelling

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 28, 2024

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Globally celebrated for its premier adult entertainment, Spearmint Rhino today unveils its latest innovation: Rhino Society .

Key Points: 
  • LOS ANGELES, Feb. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Globally celebrated for its premier adult entertainment, Spearmint Rhino today unveils its latest innovation: Rhino Society .
  • Months Spent Researching The Wild History Of Spearmint Rhino:
    "This couldn't be a merch line, or the same old trope.
  • Yet, her journey takes an exhilarating twist as she discovers an alternative path to stardom within the enigmatic embrace of the Spearmint Rhino.
  • "Rhino Society isn't just fashion; it's an ethos," said Kathy Vercher, President of Spearmint Rhino.

PARAMOUNT+ REVEALS THE OFFICIAL TRAILER AND KEY ART FOR THE ALL-NEW ORIGINAL ANIMATED SERIES, DORA, PREMIERING GLOBALLY ON FRIDAY, APRIL 12

Retrieved on: 
Monday, February 26, 2024

NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Paramount+ celebrates the triumphant return of iconic Latina heroine Dora the Explorer with the reveal of the official trailer and key art for the upcoming original preschool series DORA. Produced by Nickelodeon Animation and featuring 26 CG-animated 11-minute episodes, DORA will premiere on Friday, April 12, exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia. Twenty episodes will be available to stream in all Paramount+ international markets outside of France and Japan on April 12. The series will also air on Nick Jr. internationally.

Key Points: 
  • Produced by Nickelodeon Animation and featuring 26 CG-animated 11-minute episodes, DORA will premiere on Friday, April 12, exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia.
  • Twenty episodes will be available to stream in all Paramount+ international markets outside of France and Japan on April 12.
  • Kathleen Herles, the original voice of Dora the Explorer, returns to the new series as Mami, and Mike Smith Rivera joins the cast as Papi.
  • DORA is produced by Nickelodeon Animation in Burbank, California, and created by Chris Gifford and Valerie Walsh Valdes.

Showing love on Valentine’s Day by embracing disability

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Valentine’s Day is a time when love and intimacy are celebrated with fervor.

Key Points: 
  • Valentine’s Day is a time when love and intimacy are celebrated with fervor.
  • In particular, people with disabilities face discrimination and obstacles when seeking love, affection and sexual fulfillment.
  • Our team has undertaken a comprehensive series of interviews with individuals living with disabilities, delving into their personal journeys with love, romance and sexuality.

Stereotypes about disability and sexuality

  • Individuals with disabilities frequently confront a multitude of stereotypes that limit their opportunities to form intimate relationships and have sex.
  • These perceptions can deeply affect their experiences and how society treats the topic of disability and sexuality.
  • This view unfairly categorizes people with disability as a “danger” to the community, fostering unnecessary fear and discrimination.

Being told to wait

  • Infantilization often means people with disabilities are told to wait and delay their engagement in any romantic or sexual experiences.
  • For instance, Randy, a 39-year-old man with a mental disability, told us he was advised not to pursue intimate relationships.
  • Often, people with disabilities, especially those with intellectual disabilities, are told to wait.

Sex education inaccessible and inadequate

  • In ensuring individuals are informed about their options in terms of sex, sexuality and gender, sex education is often where these conversations begin.
  • Unfortunately sex education is often delivered in inaccessible and ineffective ways to people with disabilities, particularly those who are 2SLGBTQ+.
  • Sex education is often delivered in ways that focus on heterosexual and cisgender experiences.

2SLGBTQ+ disabled people being left behind

  • Individuals with disabilities who are also 2SLGBTQ+ often find themselves facing multiple forms of discrimination, including ableism, homophobia and transphobia.
  • Yet, our interviews with 2SLGBTQ+ adults with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities reveal not just the barriers these individuals face but also their profound resilience and desire for love.
  • For instance Tracey, a 19-year-old gender fluid person, said:
    “I just wish there were more like spaces where disabled people could also enter because you know, when you also think of like, people who are physically disabled, they can’t go out clubbing.

Disabled activists push back

  • It’s a fitting moment to reflect on how everyone desires to love and be loved.
  • The work of disabled activists like Andrew Gurza, host of the podcast Disability after Dark, and Eva Sweeney, creator of Cripping up Sex with Eva, is particularly illuminating.
  • Their efforts highlight a critical message: The more we talk about it, the less of a taboo topic it becomes.


Alan Santinele Martino receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Girls and pornography in South Africa: going beyond just the negative effects

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Academic research tends to focus on the negative aspects and sexual dangers of girls and young people viewing porn. But what do girls themselves say about growing up in a world where porn is so readily available from such a young age? It’s a question Deevia Bhana, a professor in gender and childhood sexuality, sets out to answer in her book Girls Negotiating Porn in South Africa: Power, Play and Sexuality. We asked her five questions.What’s the book’s central idea?In South Africa, these divisions are made deeper by sexual violence and gender inequalities where girls are seen as passive victims of sexuality.

Key Points: 


Academic research tends to focus on the negative aspects and sexual dangers of girls and young people viewing porn. But what do girls themselves say about growing up in a world where porn is so readily available from such a young age? It’s a question Deevia Bhana, a professor in gender and childhood sexuality, sets out to answer in her book Girls Negotiating Porn in South Africa: Power, Play and Sexuality. We asked her five questions.

What’s the book’s central idea?

  • In South Africa, these divisions are made deeper by sexual violence and gender inequalities where girls are seen as passive victims of sexuality.
  • And girls do engage with it to expand their knowledge – whether teachers and parents like this or not.
  • The book advocates for a more open and nonjudgmental approach to understanding teenage girls’ experiences with porn, focusing on their voices, experiences and perspectives.

What research was involved?


The book is based on focus group discussions and individual interviews with 30 teenage girls between 14 and 18. It draws on photo-elicitation methods, drawings and poster making. The girls presented visual images and drawings to describe what porn meant to them.

What did girls tell you about their experiences of viewing porn?

  • Like other girls in the study, she spoke about what online porn meant to her.
  • The girls in the study did not have to access porn online to see porn.
  • The book shows that girls may find themselves pursuing these elusive “ideals”, but may also challenge them.
  • Rather than reinforce outdated beauty norms, the girls suggested alternative media and social media platforms that celebrate the real variety of bodies.

Where do power, play and sexuality fit in?

  • Play also indicates the fun and pleasure they derive from talking about their online encounters with sexuality.
  • So, they play with porn, make jokes about its content, learn about sexual relationships, while they also critically object to the domination of heterosexuality and racialised and gendered patterns of inequalities.
  • In fact across the globe young people are denied sexuality education that actually takes heed of pleasure.

What do you hope readers will take away?


The research offers five key insights:
Girls are not passive recipients: The book challenges the prevailing notion that teenage girls are passive victims of sexuality. Instead, it highlights they actively engage with and navigate the complex world of online porn.
Girls’ experiences are complex: The research shows girls have a wide range of thoughts, feelings and reactions to porn, including curiosity, playfulness and critical thinking. This challenges the view that porn is universally harmful.
Context matters: The study highlights the importance of considering the specific social, economic and cultural contexts in which girls are growing up. It recognises that girls from privileged backgrounds may have different experiences and access to online resources that permit ways of learning about porn.
Better sexuality education is crucial: Instead of shunning discussions about sexuality and porn, the book shows that girls do want to have conversations about these topics. It is adults who refuse to do so.
We should listen to girls’ voices: The book underscores the importance of valuing girls’ voices and perspectives. It advocates for an approach that recognises that girls both desire and object to porn’s racialised and sexist messages.
Deevia Bhana receives funding from the National Research Foundation. This work is based on the research supported wholly by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant Number 98407).

‘It needs to be talked about earlier’: some children get periods at 8, years before menstruation is taught at school

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 8, 2024

You might need to change your pad during class and explain to your friends why you are not going to the swimming carnival.

Key Points: 
  • You might need to change your pad during class and explain to your friends why you are not going to the swimming carnival.
  • You might be scared you will bleed through your uniform because there aren’t any sanitary bins in the junior years’ bathroom.
  • It shows how schools can act as gatekeepers of knowledge about this essential and very normal part of human development.

Period shame exists but is not inevitable

  • Shame about periods has existed in many parts of the world for centuries.
  • A 2021 survey found 29% of 659 menstruating Australian students aged ten to 18 were concerned they would be teased at school for having their period.
  • A 2022 Australian survey of 410 university students who menstruate found only 16.2% felt completely confident in managing their periods at university.

What is taught in Australian schools?

  • We can assume schools would cover it under topics such as “understand the physical […] changes that are occurring for them”.
  • But without explicit mention to menstruation or periods, it is likely what is being taught across classrooms in Australia is variable and insufficient.

Our research

  • We asked staff about their awareness of students who have experienced early onset menstruation, how their students are educated about periods, and what support is available to them.
  • Staff spoke about how students who menstruated early “felt isolated” and voiced the need for earlier “matter-of-fact” menstruation education.
  • However, several participants shared apprehension around having discussions about periods with young students.

Can we tell boys about this?

  • As one teacher told us:
    It is a discussion that’s been done where they don’t really include the boys in it […].
  • It is a discussion that’s been done where they don’t really include the boys in it […].
  • School staff also raised concerns that teaching boys about menstruation might present an opportunity for bullying or teasing.

What needs to happen instead?

  • But it also showed how the issue is driven by perceptions of children’s capacity to learn about periods, based on their age and gender.
  • This research highlights the need for the Australian curriculum to introduce specific menstruation education by at least Year 3 or earlier.


Jessica Shipman receives funding from Flinders Foundation. Olivia Bellas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Some women enjoy anal sex – it shouldn’t be a guilty pleasure

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Do you think that anal sex is obscene, hardcore, adventurous, taboo, and perhaps dirtier than other forms of sex?

Key Points: 
  • Do you think that anal sex is obscene, hardcore, adventurous, taboo, and perhaps dirtier than other forms of sex?
  • Research suggests that it is common to associate anal sex with stigma, shame, and suspicion, with negative perceptions dominating understanding of anal sex behaviour.
  • Where anal sex is depicted as occurring between men and women, both medical research and popular culture tend to see men as the penetrators, women as the receivers, anal sex as a riskier sexual activity, and as having a coercive element.
  • The purpose of the study was to explore perceptions of anal sex, exploring questions such as: What is anal sex?
  • Participants expressed that women who desire anal sex are culturally perceived as adventurous, sexually experimental, or “out there” in some way.

Anal sex is commonplace – despite the stigma

  • Most of our participants thought that anal sex was a neglected area of relationships and sex education.
  • There is also no clear consensus over what constitutes anal sex, whether it’s rimming, pegging, fingering, penile-anal intercourse, anal massage, or other activities.
  • Contrary to immediate negative biases of – and concerns over – anal sex, these estimates suggest that it is a relatively common practice for women to engage in anal sex as part of their wider sexual repertoire.

Foregrounding women’s safety and pleasure

  • In our research we argue that anal sex must be included in sexual health education as part of a wider repertoire of sexual pleasure.
  • Providing knowledge on anal sex that centres women’s pleasure allows for a higher degree of choice to engage in sexual practices that feel right for all women involved.


The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Some women enjoy anal sex – here’s why it shouldn’t be a guilty pleasure

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Do you think that anal sex is obscene, hardcore, adventurous, taboo, and perhaps dirtier than other forms of sex?

Key Points: 
  • Do you think that anal sex is obscene, hardcore, adventurous, taboo, and perhaps dirtier than other forms of sex?
  • Research suggests that it is common to associate anal sex with stigma, shame, and suspicion, with negative perceptions dominating understanding of anal sex behaviours.
  • Where anal sex is depicted as occurring between men and women, both the medical literature and popular culture tend to see men as the penetrators, women as the receivers, anal sex as a riskier sexual activity, and as [having a coercive element].
  • The purpose of the study was to explore general perceptions of anal sex, exploring questions such as: What is anal sex?
  • Participants expressed that women who desire anal sex are culturally perceived as adventurous, sexually experimental, or “out there” in some way.

Anal sex is commonplace – despite the stigma

  • Most of our participants thought that anal sex was a neglected area of relationships and sex education.
  • There is also no clear consensus over what constitutes anal sex, whether it’s rimming, pegging, fingering, penile-anal intercourse, anal massage, or other activities.
  • Contrary to immediate negative biases of – and concerns over – anal sex, these estimates suggest that it is a relatively normative practice for women to engage in anal sex as part of their wider sexual repertoire.

Foregrounding women’s safety and pleasure

  • In our research we argue that anal sex must be included in sexual health education as part of a wider repertoire of sexual pleasure.
  • Providing knowledge on anal sex that centres women’s pleasure allows for a higher degree of choice to engage in sexual practices that feel right for all women involved.


The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Mental health and confidence - priorities for the girls of Generation Z

Retrieved on: 
Friday, January 26, 2024

NEW YORK, Jan. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In a time when Gen Z has become the focal point for numerous brands, there is a prevalent assumption that we understand how these young individuals think and what matters most to them. Gen Z is driven by purpose and world change. They are socially conscious and aim for success. As an intimate health brand, INTIMINA wanted to find out more about what young girls and women need and want in the complex tapestry of their lives - and has asked them directly.

Key Points: 
  • INTIMINA's survey conducted on 2,003 girls aged 13-20 in the UK, Italy, France and Spain, shows that the most important aspects of life for Gen Z girls are confidence (63%) and mental health (62%), followed by body image (47%) and successful career (45%).
  • Mental health takes center stage for Gen Z girls, highlighting its significance in shaping their well-being and life experiences.
  • For Gen Z girls, it's essential to chat about how they feel talking about periods and break those taboos.
  • Encouraging open discussions within families about the mental and physical changes that girls and young women undergo is crucial for maintaining mental health.