Meet John Penisman
So, last Wednesday wasn’t really about sex in the end, was it? At the behest of our narcissist-in-chief, rioters stormed the Capitol in an impotent attempt to change the outcome of our election. They threatened the lives of our elected officials, ransacked offices, and stole laptops, a podium, and AOC’s shoes. And, by virtue of being white and conservative, most managed to leave without being shot or even arrested. These hypocrites, who spent last summer screaming that blue lives matter, dragged a police officer down the steps and beat him with a flagpole. Five people, including the officer, have died. In the aftermath, the hypocrites in the GOP, who spent years enabling our president’s worst instincts, suddenly said they’d had enough. Elaine and Betsy quit. Mitch whispered stop. Lindsey admitted Trump lost.
To them, I say, too little, way too late. If you really cared about preventing violence, you would have stopped him during his first campaign when he started blowing the dog whistles of uprising, or after the deadly protest in Charlottesville when he said there were some very nice Nazis. Or when, instead of denouncing the Proud Boys, he told them to “stand back and stand by.” Or, you would have spoken up in the months since the election to say flat out that he was lying about the results. Calling it at T-13 days is nothing more than reputation management. Even Twitter’s removal seems lame—look at the power it had all along to stop his endless attacks on the truth.
I will say one positive thing. Even as the attack was happening, I never worried that it would succeed in changing the outcome of our election. Maybe it’s my repeated viewing of Hamilton in recent weeks, but I had faith in our democracy. I still do. By next Wednesday we will have a new administration, one that believes in science and facts, condemns violence, and upholds our constitution. Let’s just hope we can make it until then without any more bloodshed.
Facebook Spreads Misinformation about HPV Vaccine
A new study found that almost 40% of public Facebook posts about the HPV vaccine amplified its risk. The study, published in this month’s Vaccine, is the second article based on research by a professor at the Missouri School of Journalism who analyzed all public posts about the vaccine between 2006, when it first received FDA approval, and 2016. Her research included 6,506 public posts.
The first analysis, published in June 2020, found that 47% of posts focused on the barriers to vaccines compared to 19% which focused on the benefits. Moreover, 45% of the posts were negative in tone. What’s more disturbing, however, is that the negative posts were more likely to get attention. The most popular post was anti-HPV vaccine and received 11,000 reactions, 6,100 comments, and 329,000 shares. (I hate to say it but Sex on Wednesday has not gotten that much attention. Yet.) In the current study, the author once again found that the negative messages—the ones focused on the vaccine’s risk—got the most attention.
This is not news to those of us who have spent any (or in my case way too much) time arguing with anti-vaxxers on Facebook. The HPV vaccine, Gardasil, has faced pushback on two fronts—it’s gotten caught up in the generalized anti-vaccine rhetoric that suggests they are not just unsafe but cause harm and, in some extreme cases, are part of a conspiracy by Big Pharma, Bill Gates, and/or George Soros to microchip us all. But, because HPV is a sexually transmitted infection, the vaccine also got pushback from groups who think access to prevention methods turns young women into sluts and we can prevent all STIs by having them press their knees together really hard.
I shouldn’t make light of these conspiracy theories because we saw this week what can happen when large portions of the population believe in an alternative reality.
The truth is that Gardasil prevents cancer. Research has shown that the vaccine is working to bring down rates of cervical cancer. Research has also shown that it does not change young people’s sexual behavior—they don’t start boffing like bunnies. And, experts believe that wide uptake of the vaccine would prevent 90 percent of cases of all cervical, vulvar, vaginal, and anal cancer. Australia, which has an aggressive vaccination and screening program, is on track to eliminate cervical cancer—its rates were down to 7 cases per 100,000 in 2018.
In order to do this here, we need to combat the negative messages on Facebook that these two studies found. Of course, combating misinformation—as we’ve seen since the election—is never as easy as just giving out real facts. In fact, calling people out and presenting them with facts that counter their worldview has been found to make them retreat further into their flawed beliefs. One study years ago found that correcting parents’ misinformation about vaccines and autism made them more likely to believe the truth but even less likely to get their kids vaccinated.
Misinformation about vaccines is getting a lot of attention right now as it threatens to undermine efforts to vaccinate the world population against Covid-19. The World Health Organization (WHO) has explained that in addition to being in the middle of a global pandemic, we are in the middle of a global infodemic where harmful misinformation can spread faster than a virus. It has common sense advice for all of us from verifying sources before posting, reposting, or liking anything to spending less time on social media in the first place. When we do see inaccurate information online, WHO suggests that we calmly counter it with facts and refer people to trusted organizations for more information.
This new video—featuring a young man who got vaccinated at 17 against his mother’s wishes—also has good advice on talking to anti-vaxxers in your life or on your page. It suggests we start by understanding where the poster or re-poster of misinformation is coming from, and resist replying with the top 10 scientific studies that prove them wrong. Instead, make your response personal. In the case of Gardasil, explain why you chose to get it for yourself or your child, or talk about a friend who suffered with cervical cancer.
When talking about Gardasil, you don’t necessarily have to take on the fact that HPV is sexually transmitted. I noticed that when it was time for my daughter’s shot, our pediatrician simply referred to it as the cervical cancer vaccine. I liked this approach because even pro-vaccine parents may balk at the idea of their 11-year-old being at risk for an STI (the vaccine is recommended at that age so that all doses are given before young people become sexually active). Of course, I changed the subject right back to STIs and then took a picture of her giving my daughter the shot and posted it to Facebook (with the kid’s permission).
My post was positive but, alas, not public, so unlikely to have been part of this research.
John Penisman Premiers on Danish TV
He’s no Calliou. He’s not Sid the Science Kid. He’s not Daniel Tiger. Or Clifford the Big Red Dog. He’s John Dillermand. In English, John Penisman. And, no, he’s not coming to a PBS station near you.
The premise of this animated series, which recently premiered in Denmark, is that John has a very long penis and can do very many things with it. The show is animated in Claymation style and said penis is not at all realistic—it’s more rope than snake and it’s red and white striped like his outfit. Apparently with this penis, John is able to walk his dog, light a stubborn grill, and fend off a lion.
The show, which is aimed at children four to eight, is not meant to be sexual at all. According to the head of children’s programming at the station that airs it, the show “acknowledges children’s growing curiosity about the body: both the things that are embarrassing, and the things that are fun” and sends a message “about being true to one’s self — including your flaws.” While some Danish parents have complained that the show is too sexualized, he points out that it’s important not to view it through too much of an adult lens. Kids think genitals are funny, and they are enjoying the show.
For the most part, I agree with that line of thinking. I don’t mind when kids make up dances that look like stripping to adult eyes or sing lyrics like “I’m sexy and I know it.” (In the era of WAP that seems tame but I remember when a first grader got suspended for singing it in the school cafeteria.) Kids don’t ascribe the same meaning to those moves or words that adults do. My hackles go up when adults are the ones choreographing the moves, choosing the songs, or dressing the kids like playboy bunnies. (Read what I said after my then-kindergartener’s dance recital; it was almost 10 years ago but it still rings true.)
And penises are funny. They just are.
That said, some commentators and friends have brought up concerns about the “boys will be boys” and “penises are better” messages that kids might take away from this show. Dr. Lea Lis, a child psychiatrist who specializes in sexuality issues, wrote in Psychology Today that she doesn’t like the idea that boys can “get themselves into trouble because of a penis that cannot be controlled.” She notes, “It is the brain that controls the penis and not the other way around.” My friend and colleague Logan Levkoff put it this way in a text, “A penis CANNOT DO IT ALL.” And, another friend of mine wrote on Facebook, “No one would greenlight a kids' show about a fantastic, supersized vagina because *in reality* lady parts do vagical things such as birth humans the size of standard bowling balls on the regular. Also, patriarchy.”
In general, European countries have much better attitudes about sex and much better sex education than we do. It’s probably not fair for us to be commenting on this show outside of the complete cultural context. I forwarded the clip to another friend who is half-Danish and she replied: “Too funny. The Danes are quite up front about sex.”
Being quite up front about sex is a good thing. Especially on Wednesdays.