Sexual Behavior, Politics and Communities Newsletter Summer 2010 NOTES FROM THE CHAIR Elisabeth Sheff Georgia State University esheff@gsu.edu Welcome to the summer edition of the Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities Division of the Society for the Study of Social Problems. We have an exciting array of sessions planned for the upcoming annual meeting in Atlanta. SBPC Divisional sessions include: session 2 Sexuality on the Edge on Friday August 13 from 8:30 - 10:10; session 9 The Global Sex Industry and Social Justice on Friday August 13 from 10:30 - 12:10; session 32 Queer Families and Social Justice on Friday August 13 from 2:30 to 4:10; session 56 Genders and Sexualities on Saturday August 14 from 12:30 to 2:10; session 90 Papers in the Round on Sunday August 15 from 8:30 to 10:10; and session 94 Queering Social Justice on Sunday August 15 from 10:30 to 12:10. SBPC is also cosponsoring sessions with other divisions: session 24 Bodies and Boundaries in Contemporary Sport on Friday August 13 from 12:30 to 2:10 cosponsored with Sport, Leisure, and the Body; session 63 Intimate Relationships Across the Lifecourse on Saturday August 14 from 2:30 to 4:10 cosponsored with the Youth, Aging, and the Life Course Division; and session 114 Law and Sexuality on Sunday August 15 from 4:30 to 6:10 cosponsored with the Crime and Juvenile Delinquency and Law and Society Divisions. These many sessions cover a wide range of topics and indicate the tremendous breadth of the SBPC Divisional members’ interests and the intellectual vibrancy of our academic community. This year the competition for the Outstanding Graduate Student Paper was again intense, and the committee considered many excellent submissions. In this challenging field, Brian Soller’s paper ‘Putting the Double Standard in Its Place: School Networks, Sexual Norms, and Adolescent Non-Romantic Sex Behavior’ stood out as truly excellent work. Stoller is a PhD candidate at the Ohio State University and will be presenting his work at the annual meeting this August. If you see him at the banquet please congratulate him on his award. Voting for a new chair for the SBPC Division has opened, please visit the website and select one of our excellent candidates for chair. This year we are also considering changing the name of the division from its current long string of descriptors to something simpler, easier to say, and/or shorter. Please vote for or write in your favorite option. As I end my term as chair of SBPC, I reflect on the Division and the larger organization. Amongst the forest of organizations that meet in conjunction with the American Sociological Association annual meeting, the Society for the Study of Social Problems stands out as the most vibrant, relevant, and dedicated to social equity. Thank you for the opportunity to serve this most excellent organization, and for being my academic home. I look forward to years of continued service. Cheers, Elisabeth Sheff WINNER’S CIRCLE, GRADUATE STUDENT PAPER COMPETITION Interview with Brian Soller, winner of the SBPC Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Competition for his paper ‘Putting the Double Standard in Its Place: School Networks, Sexual Norms, and Adolescent Non-Romantic Sex Behavior.’ 1) What inspired you to do this work? I had been reading a lot of Differential Association theory for my general exams. At the same time I was taking a seminar on adolescent social networks and reading research that focuses on adolescent sex behavior. I thought studying the interaction between network structure and cultural norms, and studying sexuality as an outcome would be a good way to advance Differential Association theory. 2) What has been most challenging? Most rewarding? I wrote this paper for Professor Haynie's seminar on Adolescent Social Networks this past winter quarter. I think the most challenging part was getting the paper out in a quarter. The most rewarding part was integrating my interests in multilevel modeling, network analysis, and cultural norms.   3) How was the IRB process for you? Because I was performing secondary data analysis, I only had to sign a form to gain access to the Add Health data. 4) Any other important pieces you think we should know regarding your paper specifically and your scholarship more generally? I am continuing to study adolescent sexual behavior. In the future hope to study the emergence of sexual networks with Add Health. I also hope to examine the effects of adolescent romantic and non-romantic relationships on health and well-being in adolescence and into adulthood. What’s in a name? Member opinions regarding the Sexual Behavior, Politics and Communities’ discussion of a possible division name change: “My comment on the suggestion of incorporating the Sexuality Division name is that the title is too close to the ASA Sexualities Section. We had this concern a number of years ago and decided not to challenge the name given the extant support by long-term members. Perhaps the contemporary climate is better for a suitable name change.” “ I actually like the longer name. I think when you change it to just "sexuality" -- and my preference would be "sexualities" if it has to be shortened. But I like the longer title because I think with just sexuality, the idea of politics and community sometimes gets left out.” Member suggestions for a possible new division name: Sexualities and Politics Sexual Politics and Communities Sexualit(ies) Unlimited Sexuality Division Pre to Post Sexuality Division Sexual Freedom from Political Correctness Division Do you have a suggestion or opinion about the division name? Contact the Division Chair, Dr. Elisabeth Sheff, or bring your thoughts on the issue to the Division meeting at this year’s conference! SEXUALITY IN THE NEWS A repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy makes another step forward: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/29/us/politics/29cong.html Children of Lesbian Couples Do Well in School, Life: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,594090,00.html Is this woman ‘too hot’ to be a banker? http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-06-01/news/is-this-woman-too-hot-to-work-in-a-bank/ Study finds gay men are slimmer and lesbian women are heavier than their heterosexual counterparts: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37557883/ns/health-behavior/ SSSP 2010 MEETING 60TH ANNUAL MEETING The Society for the Study of Social Problems presents the preliminary program including detailed information and the program schedule for its 60th Annual Meeting themed: "Social Justice Work" August 13-15 at The Sheraton Atlanta Hotel in Atlanta, GA.  This program offers a rich assortment of sessions and meetings. Divisional Meeting: Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities, Friday: 4:30-6:10pm, Room: Georgia 13 Division Sponsored Reception: August 13 from 6:30pm – 7:30pm Room: Athens Listed below are the division thematic sessions and the joint sessions that our division is co-sponsoring with other divisions. DIVISION THEMATIC SESSIONS Date: Friday, August 13 Time: 8:30 AM - 10:10 AM Session 2: Sexuality on the Edge Room: Georgia 4 Sponsor: Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities Organizer & Presider: Kathleen Asbury, Community College of Philadelphia Papers: “Gender as a Concern - Human Rights,” Shahida Murtaza, Moulana Azad National Urdu University “Stem Cells: Letting Go of the Fantasy,” Barbara Katz Rothman, City University of New York “Down Low Under the Influence,” Ellen Benoit, National Development and Research Institutes “Objectification and Ideal Beauty,” Abigail B. Reiter, George Mason University and Elizabeth M. Reiter, Utah State University “Cowgirls of the East: Transcending Gender,” Kathleen Asbury, Community College of Philadelphia Date: Friday, August 13 Time: 10:30 AM - 12:10 PM Session 9: The Global Sex Industry and Social Justice Room: Georgia 4 Sponsors: Global Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities Organizer & Presider: Laura E. Agnich, Virginia Tech Discussant: Jen Wyse, Virginia Tech Papers: “A Feminist Analysis of Sex Trafficking and the Spread of HIV/AIDS,” Laura E. Agnich, Virginia Tech “Contraceptives Risk Perception and Sexual Negotiation in Marriage Among Child Bearing Rural Women in Southwest Nigeria,” Ojo Melvin Agunbiade, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria and Ayotunde Titilayo, Dept. of Demography & Social Statistics, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria “PEER SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND COPING MECHANISMS OF FEMALE STUDENTS IN A NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY,” Bayode I. Popoola, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Nigeria “Sex Trafficking: Problems with Definitions, Measurement and Control,” Kimberly S. Smith, Virginia Tech Date: Friday, August 13 Time: 2:30 PM - 4:10 PM Session 32: Queer Families and Social Justice Room: Georgia 10 Sponsors: Family Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities Organizers: Ahoo Tabatabai, University of Cincinnati Jaime J. McCauley, University of Windsor Presider: Ahoo Tabatabai, University of Cincinnati Papers: “Who Am I in This Family? An Affect Control Theory Analysis of Same-Sex Parents,” Pam Hunt and Laurel Holland, University of West Georgia “From ‘Boston Marriage’ to Marriage Equality: How Massachusetts Resisted the United States Gay Marriage Panic,” Jaime J. McCauley and Barry D. Adam, University of Windsor “Love Work: Framings in Recent Contests about LGBTQ Families,” K L. Broad, University of Florida “Doing Queer Mothering: Parenting and Implications for Sexual Identity,” Ahoo Tabatabai, University of Cincinnati “If Single-Parenthood is Such a Problem, Why Object to Multiple Parents?: The Policy Implications of Taking Polyaffectivity Seriously,” Elisabeth Sheff, Georgia State University Date: Saturday, August 14 Time: 12:30 PM - 2:10 PM Session 56: Genders and Sexualities Room: Georgia 8 Sponsor: Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities Organizer & Presider: Corie Hammers, Macalester College Discussant: Elroi Windsor, Georgia State University Papers: “Virtual Sensation: Embodied Play in Second Life,” Cary Gabriel Costello, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee “Exploring the Gay Community Question: Neighborhood and Network Correlates of Perceived Gay Community among Urban Gay Men,” Brian C. Kelly, Purdue University, Richard M. Carpiano and Adam Easterbrook, University of British Columbia and Jeffrey T. Parsons, Hunter College - City University of New York “Pornography, In Theory,” Abigail B. Reiter, George Mason University and Elizabeth M. Reiter, Utah State University “Conventional Subversions: Queer Pariah Femininity as an Intervention into Hetero(Feminine) Gender,” Maura Ryan, Georgia State University Date: Sunday, August 15 Time: 8:30 AM - 10:10 AM Session 90: Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities (Papers in the Round) Room: Georgia 13 Sponsor: Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities Organizer, Presider & Discussant: David J. LaPorta, Georgia State University Roundtable Title: Terms of Inclusion Papers: “Gay and Lesbian Normalization as Absorption Through a Cycle of Incorporation,” Jeffrey A. Langstraat, University of North Dakota “Que(e)rying the Intersections of Faith and Action: Narratives of Self, Community and Social Justice among Unitarian Universalists,” Karen E. Macke, Syracuse University “Kinky Commodity or Liberating Attachment: A Neo-Marxist Critique of BDSM Relational Frames,” David J. LaPorta, Georgia State University “Views on Gender at UCF,” Abigail Marie Malick, University of Central Florida Date: Sunday, August 15 Time: 10:30 AM - 12:10 PM THEMATIC Session 94: Queering Social Justice Room: Georgia 5 Sponsor: Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities Organizer: Elisabeth Sheff, Georgia State University Discussant: Lloyd Allen, Georgia State University Papers: “Intersections of Invisibility: African American Lesbians and Intimate Partner Violence,” Barbara S. Fisher, Old Dominion University “What Did You Expect? Social Injustice and Lesbian Intimate Partner Violence,” Mikel L. Walters, Georgia State University “Competing Frames and (Non) Effects on Public Support for Same-Sex Marriage,” Eric Anthony Grollman, Hubert Izienicki, Oren Pizmony Levy and Aaron J. Ponce, Indiana University “Social Support Experiences of LGBTQ and Heterosexual Students: A Qualitative Study,” Kristin M. Brown, Florida State University Joint Sponsored Sessions Date: Friday, August 13 Time: 12:30 PM - 2:10 PM Session 24: Bodies and Boundaries in Contemporary Sport Room: Georgia 10 Sponsors: Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities Sport, Leisure, and the Body Organizer & Presider: PJ McGann, University of Michigan Papers: “‘How was I ‘sposed to Know He was a Girl?’ The Disruptive Potential of a Female Body in Men’s Sport,” PJ McGann, University of Michigan “‘Please keep the Queers Off the Court and let the Pretty Girls Play’: The Consequences of Crossing the Gender Normal Divide in Women’s Athletics,” Michela Musto, University of Southern California “‘Your Body is Your Business Card!’ Appearance, Gender, and Status in Personal Trainer-Client Relationships,” David J. Hutson, University of Michigan “Race, Sex, Gender, and Intersexuality Injustice: South Africa’s Response to the Caster Semenya Case,” Cheryl Cooky and Ranissa Dycus, Purdue University and Shari Dworkin, UC-San Francisco Date: Saturday, August 14 Time: 2:30 PM - 4:10 PM Session 63: Intimate Relationships Across the Lifecourse Room: Georgia 8 Sponsors: Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities Youth, Aging, and the Life Course Organizers: Heather Dillaway, Wayne State University Kristy M. Krivickas, Bowling Green State University Presider: Heather Dillaway, Wayne State University Papers: “Socialization and Sexual Scripts among Low-Income Black Men,” Eloise Dunlap and Ellen Benoit, National Development and Research Institutes and Edward V. Morse, Tulane University “Mothers on the Market: Assessing the Impact of Motherhood on Partner Selection and Union Dissolution,” Christie A. Sennott, University of Colorado at Boulder, Georges Reniers, Princeton University and F. Xavier Gómez-Olivé MD, MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa “Where the Hell are All the ‘Good’ Black Men Anyway? - A Look into the Dating Lives of African American Professional Women,” E. Helanda Crespin, Arizona State University “Leaving the Women’s Community: Lesbian Elders Opt Out,” Jessica Merrick, University of South Florida “Caregiving and Spillover among Older Adults,” Ronald E. Bulanda and Jennifer R. Bulanda, Miami University Date: Sunday, August 15 Time: 4:30 PM - 6:10 PM Session 114: Law and Sexuality Room: Georgia 4 Sponsors: Crime and Juvenile Delinquency Law and Society Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities Organizer & Presider: Lloyd Klein, St. Francis College Papers: “Forty Years After Stonewall: Legal and Political Movement in Gay Rights,” Joan Luxenburg, University of Central Oklahoma and Lloyd Klein, St. Francis College “Partner Rape/Sexual Assault, Marginal Legal Status, and Race/Ethnicity,” Stephen J. Morewitz, California State University, East Bay and J. Barry Gurdin, To Love and Work “Sex Offender Policy and Public Perceptions Post-Moral Panic,” Kristen Budd, Purdue University “Legislative Initiatives and Sex Offender Residency: Evaluating the Efficacy of Sex Offender Exclusion within Community Settings,” Lloyd Klein, St. Francis College “Determining Sex Offender Treatment Outcomes: An Analysis of Case-level Data at a Local Sex Offender Treatment Program in Kentucky,” Lincoln B. Sloas, George Mason University, Matthew R. Laurin, Paul D. Steele and Timothy S. Hare, Morehead State University Call for Applications Editor, Social Problems Forum The Newsletter of SSSP The Editorial and Publications Committee of the Society for the Study of Social Problems is seeking applications for the position of Editor of the Society’s newsletter, Social Problems Forum. The Editor’s three-year term will begin following publication of the last issue of Volume 41 in the fall of 2010. Members of SSSP are encouraged to apply for the position and/or nominate colleagues who are (or will become) members. The Newsletter has become a vital means of communication among SSSP members. Among other items, it includes official reports and announcements of the Society; exchanges between members; and special features, such as book reviews and debates. Beginning with Volume 42 in winter of 2011, the Newsletter is expected to be available in electronic format only. The Newsletter Editor will thus have the freedom to exercise considerable creativity in producing the Newsletter and may include video and audio clips in each issue. The Board of Directors of the Society wishes to ensure that the Newsletter remains an effective vehicle for generating interest and involvement in the Society, for facilitating communication across Divisions and among the membership, and for providing service to the Divisions and the members. The Newsletter Editor is responsible for preparing three newsletters per year (winter, summer, and fall). The Society provides a stipend for the Editor and a budget to pay for preparation expenses and a student assistant. Additional support from the host institution, including office space, a computer and other equipment is expected; release time is desirable. Because the Editor must coordinate with the Administrative Office and with officers of the Society and Division chairs, she/he must be able to work well with others. Familiarity with the operation of the Society is highly desirable. Individuals interested in applying for the editorship should submit their curriculum vitae with a cover letter detailing their relevant experience, the support their institution is willing to provide, and a proposed budget not to exceed $12,000 per calendar year. Letters from the applicant’s department chair, dean, or other authorized university administrator confirming specific institutional support should also be included. Please direct all questions, nominations, expressions of interest, and application materials to: Claire Renzetti, Chair, SSSP Editorial and Publications Committee, Email: Claire.Renzetti@notes.udayton.edu. All applications should be submitted electronically. Deadline for applications is July 1, 2010. MEMBER BOOK RELEASES The State of Sex: Tourism, Sex and Sin in the New American Heartland. (Routledge) Barbara G. Brents, Crystal A. Jackson and Kathryn Hausbeck The State of Sex is a study of Nevada’s brothels that situates the nation's only legal brothel industry in the political economy of contemporary tourism. Nevada is part of the "new American heartland," as its pastimes, people, and politics have become more central to the nation. The rise of a service and leisure economy over the past 60 years has propelled sexuality into the heart of contemporary markets. Yet, neo? liberal laws in the United States promote business but limit sexual commerce. How have Nevada's legal brothels survived, while the rest of the country criminalizes prostitution? How do brothels operate? Who works in them? This book brings social theory on globalizing economies, politics, leisure consumption, and emotional labor in interactive service work together with research on contemporary prostitution and sexual commerce. The authors employ an innovative, multi-method sociological approach, combining historical analysis of how the brothels came to be with over a decade's worth of ethnographic research on the current state of the industry. Member Profile: Dr. Elizabeth Bernstein Dr. Elizabeth Bernstein is an Associate Professor of Women’s Studies and Sociology at Barnard College. The author of “Temporarily Yours: Intimacy, Authenticity, and the Commerce of Sex” (University of Chicago Press, 2007) joined us for a discussion of her experiences doing research with sex workers, as well as her current projects: Q: In "Temporarily Yours" you explore the lives of a diverse group of sex workers - what was most surprising for you in conducting this ethnographic work? R:In many ways, my research with sex-workers was much easier to carry out than my research with other groups--such as police officers or state officials. This was particularly true with middle-class, indoor sexworkers affiliated with sex workers' rights groups like COYOTE. Initially, I was surprised to discover how much the sociodemographic profile of many of the members (in terms of criteria such as age, race, educational background, and neighborhood of residence) was strikingly similar to my own. Even more important, I already shared a good deal of the language, behaviors, practices, expectations, and perceptions that comprised their habitus. I did not anticipate that this would be the case before I began my study, but it did make the research process run surprisingly smoothly, both in formal fieldwork and through the provision of ample opportunities for more informal encounters that lead to an easy and natural deeping of social ties. Q: Some researchers who do work on marginalized groups find themselves being judged for choosing to do the work that they do - what has it been like for you? This is especially the case when the subject at hand is sex work, as Lynn Chancer demonstrated in her important 1994 Social Text essay ("Prostitution, Feminist Theory, and Ambivalence: Notes from the Sociological Underground" (1993)37: 143-73). Writing this book over a decade later, I think that the cautious optimism that she expressed about the eventual potential for researchers to delve into a fully participatory ethnographic study of prostitution with a sense of candor and permission has yet to be realized. Although my own project was multisited in design, it is revealing to me that none of my colleagues or acquaintances were ever particularly curious about whether or not I had purchased sex, or how intimately I was engaged in activist meetings. Instead, the salient question on MANY people's minds (often hinted at or insinuated, rather than spoken directly) was whether or not I had myself worked as a prostitute. Q: What are you working on these days? My current research analyzes the social construction of “sex trafficking” in discourse and policy, both within the United States and transnationally. Over the course of the last decade, a good deal of political attention--but very little empirical research--has been dedicated to “the traffic in women ” as a manifestation of global gendered inequalities. Within the United States, the advocacy of evangelical Christian and secular feminist actors has served to grant the issue of human trafficking unprecedented political prominence. In my new research, I take as a departure point my earlier research with migrant and domestic sex workers and the diverse social actors that attempt to regulate their movements. As an ethnographer, I have been attending state- and activist- sponsored policy meetings as well as evangelical Christian “pray-ins” in order to investigate the strategies and ambitions of the unlikely coalition of conservative Christians and feminist activists who have pressed this issue. The commitments and activities of these two groups are important to look at because they have produced policy transformations on a scale unparalleled since the White Slavery scare of the Progressive era. Q: What made you decide to join the SBPC division of SSSP? A: I think it is important to have more institutional locations where sociological research on sexuality is fostered, and generative intellectual dialogue can take place. This is particularly true now, when funding and institutional spaces for all kinds of critical research (not just on sexualities) are under assault. What I argue in my book about the sociological study of sexual labor pertains to the sociology of sexuality more generally: that normative discussions must begin with an understanding of the socially and historically specific meanings that affix to intimacy and sexuality. Sexuality ought to be situated squarely within contemporary sociological currents, rather than regarded as an exception to be judged apart. MEMBER PUBLICATIONS Koken, J.A., Bimbi, D. S., & Parsons, J. T. (2010). Experiences of familial acceptance-rejection among transwomen of color. Journal of Family Psychology, 23, 853 - 860. The Center for Feminist Research at the University of Southern California announces the release of GENDER IN TELEVISED SPORTS: NEWS AND HIGHLIGHTS SHOWS, 1989-2009, a research report authored by Michael Messner of the University of Southern California and Cheryl Cooky of Purdue University, with an Introduction by Diana Nyad. The study has tracked the quantity and quality of men's and women's sports on TV news and sports highlights shows over a 20-year time frame at five-year intervals. The 2010 report reveals that the amount of coverage of women's sports on three network affiliate news programs and on ESPN's SportsCenter nearly evaporated in 2009, falling to its lowest level in any year in the study. The report is available to the public and can be found at: http://www.usc.edu/dept/cfr/html/home.htm MEMBER AWARDS Congratulations to all of our members who have received awards for their work! Eric Anthony Grollman, a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology Indiana University, has been selected as one of six Diversity Fellows for the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee's Diversity Fellows Program. He will receive a generous stipend and mentorship from Dr. Cary Costello to teach Sociology of Sexuality this summer at UWM. Also, Eric recently received word that he was selected to receive a Ford Foundation Diversity Predoctoral fellowship. Verta Taylor, Katrina Kimport, Nella Van Dyke and Ellen Ann Andersen received the 2010 Best Published Article Award from the ASA section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements, for "Culture and Mobilization: Tactical Repertoires, Same-Sex Weddings, and the Impact on Gay Activism," which appeared in the American Sociological Review, December 2009. Karen L. Bune received the "Chief's Award" from Prince George's County Maryland Police Chief, Roberto Hylton. This award is the highest award within the department and customarily is not given to civilians. However, Ms. Bune was recognized for her writing that has facilitated and promoted positive police-community relations in all respects. Her work has been published in The Washington Times newspaper, The Gazette newspapers, Policeone.com and lawofficer.com Rashawn Ray, a Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellow in the Department of Sociology at Indiana University, has accepted a position as an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland, College Park, but first will spend the next two years as a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Research Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley. EDITORIAL NOTE Welcome to the Summer 2010 edition of the Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities Division Newsletter. Having been the newsletter editor for the last year, I am stepping down to begin a new job as the Director of Research at the Center for Motivation and Change – and we need a new editor for this Division Newsletter! If you are interested in taking the reins, please email me at Juline.koken@gmail.com. Happy Summer! Juline Koken, Ph.D.