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THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION
When we compare the status of sex in our society today with that of earlier decades, the obvious differences are quite startling. Evidences of a new sexual morality and a new sense of sexual freedom confront us daily. The nearest bookstore or newspaper rack offers a variety of sex-related features and information. Even such formerly staid standard-bearers of conventional morality as Reader's Digest, Ladies' Home Journal, and Redbook offer sex information, sex survey reports, and self-administered questionnaires analyzing such topics as masturbation, sexual incompatibility, and so-called frigidity, as well as articles urging every reader to join the "happy orgasm of the week" club. Spend an evening watching television and, without fail, you will see at least one program that features erotic or sex-related content, if only mildly so. On some evenings television seems to be devoted entirely to the so-called T and A (a euphemism for tits and ass) genre.
This open atmosphere did not always prevail. In fact, as late as the mid-forties educational courses in human sexuality simply were not available and the presentation of sex in the popular media would have produced a public outcry. The typical American male teen-ager of the thirties and forties just becoming aware of his own sexuality and subject to the normal curiosity of his age had to rely on his peers for his sex education and often turned to pictures of bare-breasted African women in the National Geographic to satisfy his interest in female anatomy. (For some strange reason, the conventional morality of the thirties and forties did not regard such material as pornographic or erotically arousing.) Even fewer sources of information were available to meet the sex education needs of the female teen-ager of the times.
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Men's Health-Erectile Dysfunction
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Pharmacy Information
BIRTH CONTROL: LEGAL ASPECTS OF STERILIZATION
Sterilization for eugenic reasons is sanctioned in some states, particularly in tax-supported institutions. A doctor is free to perform sterilizing operations in these instances without concern for any legal consequences. If, however, the operation is done purely for reasons of health, the doctor's position is less safe, because he is not so well protected by state laws in these instances.
There are no uniform laws among the various states regarding sterilization. In California, malpractice suits against doctors resulting from surgery for sterilization are not usually covered by insurance companies. One study revealed269 that 87% of the physicians sampled who had performed vasectomies had never had suit brought against them because of this surgery, 8% had faced legal action, and 5% did not reply. Written consent by the patient affords the physician some measure of safety, but is no guarantee against a subsequent suit or even prosecution in a court of criminal law. Even eugenic sterilization is prohibited in four statesConnecticut, Kansas, Utah, and Montana.
Sterilization in Japan, though legal, is usually performed only upon women. In India, sterilization is limited to men, who are monetarily compensated for the time lost from work following the surgery.
As may be inferred from the foregoing, sterilization procedures are frequently preceded or followed by psychological repercussions that have their roots in anxiety: will there be a reduction of sexual desire; will masculinity or femininity be diminished? These fears can usually be assuaged by the reassurance of the surgeon through his careful explanation of all the ramifications of the operation. If emotional stress should persist, however, psychotherapy will often restore stability.
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Men's Health Erectile Dysfunction
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