The clare boothe luce pamphlet campus say
August 11, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a culture where cold, hard
science is king, one doctor is questioning whether the theory of “safe
sex” can measure up.
In her pamphlet “Sense and Sexuality: The College Girl’s Guide to Real
Protection in a Hooked-up World,” to be released later this month,
Miriam Grossman, M.D., uses her medical training and 10 years’
experience as a staff psychiatrist at the University of California,
Los Angeles (UCLA) to expose the physical and mental dangers of the
uninhibited sexual climate that dominates the modern college campus.
In the introduction, Grossman describes the tragic and recurring scene
in her campus office: a young woman, broken and in crisis, describes
the mistakes that have poisoned her dreams. Dr. Grossman laments: “The
worst part? Many times the crisis was 100 percent preventable. If only
I’d known… she says, if only someone had told me.”
These are the words, says Dr. Grossman, that young women should never
have to say. Hers is not a pamphlet for “safer sex,” but for giving
girls the information they need: the “critical health information”
that few others will tell them about.
One of the most striking features of this pamphlet is how Dr. Grossman
draws her arguments from her authoritative medical perspective. Well-
documented studies and statistics stand behind her objections to
common misconceptions. As one example, Grossman argues that anal
intercourse does not, as is sometimes erroneously believed, protect
from STDs: rather, it increases the risk of HIV to 20 times that of
vaginal intercourse. She also quotes a study that claims 91% of girls
on one campus have feelings of regret after a hook-up - a fact she
simply lets stand on its own.
In this pamphlet there are no arguments from moral standards; in fact,
there is little argumentation at all, only a wealth of scientific fact
that inevitably calls into question the safety of the “hook-up
culture” at college campuses.
The pamphlet, stylishly tinted pink and red, appeals directly to
college-age women in personal, but hard-line terms. It discusses in
familiar words the effects of oxytocin, a hormone released by intimate
behavior, on one’s ability to make clear choices and on the long term
consequences of the choices one makes: “Because of it [oxytocin], you
could develop feelings for a guy whose last intention is to bond with
you. You might think of him all day, but he can’t remember your name.”
Ultimately, Dr. Grossman’s theme is crystal clear: be informed. If you
do not take the time to ask right questions, you will be vulnerable to
the wrong answers. As she writes in her conclusion: “Learn about the
distinct sensitivities of being female - go beyond the brief
information provided here - and use that knowledge to inform your
decisions.”
Dr. Miriam Grossman is a board-certified psychiatrist and the once-
anonymous author of Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How
Political Correctness Endangers Every Student. She is a Senior Fellow
at the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute, a non-profit organization
that promotes conservative women in leadership roles.
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