Let’s talk about sex for a moment, since Mr. McCain seems so determined to bring it up in his attack ads against Mr. Obama. Mr. Obama, McCain tells us, wants to teach kindergartners about sex before they can read, clearly as part of some complex liberal scheme which will be revealed at some point in the future. McCain, of course, supports abstinence-only sex education.

First of all, McCain totally misrepresented comprehensive sex education, which is what Obama was supporting, and, in the process, he totally dismissed a very serious issue. This seems to be pretty typical of the kind of politics the McCain campaign is engaging in, which apparently involves creating trumped-up charges to skirt actual issues. I realize that this is pretty common in politics, but I hope Mr. Obama can get Mr. McCain back on track with the issues soon, because we’re in some pretty darn muddy waters at the moment.

So what is comprehensive sex education? Well, for kindergartners, it’s basically about learning that bodies come in all shapes and sizes, that there are some differences between boy bodies and girl bodies, that you should love and respect and care for your body, oh, and that sometimes people want to violate your body. For kindergartners, that basically boils down to good touching and bad touching, and a discussion of stranger danger, and when you should go to an adult for help. (And which adults you should seek help from.)

McCain apparently thinks that we shouldn’t be empowering kindergartners with tools they could use to resist predators. Mr. Obama disagrees, and released a great comment on it (which I linked to last week), in which he discussed the fact that, unfortunately, child predators do go after kindergartners, and that sexual abuse of children is a very real issue, and that, therefore, we do need to talk to young children about these issues. Personally, I think that if comprehensive sex education saves one child in a class of 30, it’s worth it.

Does Obama support handing out condoms to kindergartners and discussing anal sex? No, of course not, because that is not age-appropriate sex education. But he does support laying the groundwork early, so that when children do start to receive more direct sex-ed in middle school, they are prepared for it, and they can make educated choices about the issues which will face them as they grow up. So that children know that their bodies should be respected, and that they do have the power to enforce personal boundaries (and to save themselves thousands in therapy bills later).

McCain just wants us to say “close your legs,” and leave it at that.

Needless to say, I support Obama’s stance on sex education, because I think that comprehensive sex education has proved to be for more effective, valuable, and useful. I was talking to a gynecologist recently who was telling me that in her practice, she’s run into young women who barely understand what a menstrual cycle is, let alone how they can become pregnant. I find this deeply disturbing. Abstinence-only sex education harms young men and women pretty directly, and it also promotes body shame and embarrassment, rather than telling people that their bodies are pretty cool things.

McCain is missing the point if he thinks that sexual education is just about sexuality. A good sex education program is about physical and psychological health, gender, and a variety of social issues. Graduates of abstinence-only programs are really missing out, and I think that’s a fundamental failing that could bite America in the ass later.

Rachel has some thoughts on gender, baby clothes, and the remarkably early age at which gender identities are thrust onto children. As she points out, the sexual ambiguity of babies is distressing for some people, and this may explain why gendered baby clothes are so widespread.

Think your bank might be failing? The FDIC has a great resource listing what will happen and when right here.

Riot grrrannies? Hell yeah!

Why aren’t we taxing beef consumption? (Probably for the same reason that consumption taxes in general are not popular in North America?)

Old news, but worth repeating if you haven’t seen it: American waterways are seething with dumped pharmaceuticals.

Some brains appear to promote monogamy (although I am reluctant to say that the results of this study can be generalized, giving the widespread infidelity in the human race).