Mark Limmer

Young men, masculinities and sex education

This paper draws on focus group and interview data from 45 young men from the north of England to explore the barriers to effective sex and relationships education (SRE). Recent policy debates in relation to establishing statutory SRE in schools provide an opportunity to revisit how it is currently delivered to, and received by, young men. The paper considers the central role played by masculinities and how this role is mediated by social exclusion and poor engagement; it is suggested that addressing masculinities directly should be a priority for future SRE. In conclusion, some tentative approaches to addressing the issues are suggested.

I Don't Shag Dirty Girls: Marginalized Masculinities and the Use of Partner Selection as a Sexual Health Risk Reduction Strategy in Heterosexual Young Men.

Understanding and addressing the sexual risk taking of young men remains a key research, policy, and practice concern in attempts to improve the emotional and physical sexual health of young men and their sexual partners. This article explores one of the ways in which young men attempt to mitigate sexual risk through the assigning of labels to particular young women and using these as a basis for their decisions in relation to sexual activity, contraception, and condom use. The article uses the lens of hegemonic masculinities theory to increase understanding of the role played by the construction and performance of marginalized masculinities and how these in turn are influenced by social exclusionary processes. The article draws on focus group and interview data from 46 young men aged 15 to 17 years living in the northwest of England, purposively selected on the basis of the prevailing policy definitions of social inclusion and exclusion. The article describes a form of marginalized masculinity pertaining to socially excluded young men, which as a result of limited access to other tenets of hegemonic masculinity, is disproportionately reliant on sexual expertise and voracity alongside overt demonstrations of their superiority over women. It is in this context that young women are assigned the labels of “dirty” or “clean” on the basis of a selection of arbitrary judgments relating to dress, demeanor, area of residence, and perceived sexual activities. The motivations of the young men, the impact on young women, and the policy and practice implications are all discussed.

Keeping the needs of teenage parents at the heart of services.

Substance abuse during pregnancy is common and, unfortunately, may have many adverse effects, particularly on the infant. These include an increased risk of fetal growth restriction and premature delivery. Infants may become dependent on drugs that they are exposed to in utero and after birth suffer withdrawal symptoms [neonatal abstinence syndrome, (NAS)]. Infants with NAS may require prolonged treatment and spend weeks or even months in hospital as a consequence. A variety of drugs have been used with the aim of alleviating NAS: these include morphine, methadone, chlorpromazine, phenobarbitone and diazepam. The limited evidence available suggests that opioids are the most appropriate treatment for NAS, but there are few data to determine the most appropriate management for the growing number of infants who have been exposed in utero to maternal polydrug abuse. Long-term neurode-velopmental and behavioural abnormalities are more common in infants exposed to substance abuse in pregnancy, and these include lower intelligence quotient scores, delays in motor skills, speech, perceptual and cognitive disturbances and behavioural problems. Affected children require long-term follow-up and assessment to identify and respond to their ongoing needs. In the UK, urine screening demonstrated that up to 16% of pregnant women in an inner city area had taken at least one illicit substance 1 and in the US, the prevalence may be as high as 44% in certain areas. It is important, then, to be aware of the adverse effects of substance abuse during pregnancy, particularly on the infant, and these will be described in this article. In addition, the efficacy of interventions aimed at reducing this morbidity will be discussed. During the first weeks of pregnancy, abuse of substances that severely affect embry-onic development can result in spontaneous abortion; later in the first trimester substance abuse can be associated with congenital malformations. Pregnancy complications, such as placental abruption and premature and prolonged rupture of the membranes, are more common in substance-abusing women, 2 and as a consequence their infants are more likely to be born prematurely and/or of low birthweight. There is also an increased rate of stillbirth and growth retardation. Intrauterine growth retardation is more common in infants of women taking methadone, 3 but even infants of women taking cannabis during pregnancy can suffer a reduction in birthweight. 1 Cocaine and nicotine have their maximum effect on fetal weight in the third trimester; 4 the reduction in birth-weight is directly proportional to the number …

Negotiating the Edge : The Rationalization of Sexual Risk Taking Among Western Male Sex Tourists to Thailand

Every year thousands of Western men travel to Thailand as sex tourists to participate in paid-for sex. Although many of these men will use condoms to protect themselves against sexually transmitted infections (STIs), others will not, despite the risks. By applying Steven Lyng’s (1990) concept of edgework to data collected from 14 face-to-face interviews with male sex tourists in Pattaya, Thailand, and 1,237 online discussion board posts, this article explores the ways in which these men understood and sought to rationalize the sexual risks they took. We argue that notions of likelihood of infection and significance of consequence underpin these behaviors, and we identify the existence of understandings of sexual risk that reject mainstream safer-sex messages and frame condomless sex as a broadly safe activity for heterosexual men. The article concludes by summarizing the difficulties inherent in driving behavior change among this group of men, for whom sexual risks appear to be easily rationalized away as either inconsequential or irrelevant.

The ‘lost tribe’ reconsidered: Teenagers and young adults treated for cancer in adult settings in the UK

PURPOSE Although the UK has pioneered the development of specialist adolescent cancer units, the majority of teenagers and young adults (TYAs) continue to be treated at their local hospital or at a cancer centre alongside adults of all ages. This study aimed to elicit young peoples views on this experience of having cancer treatment in an adult setting. METHODS Seventeen participants who had been treated for cancer in an adult hospital between the ages of 15 and 24 were recruited via cancer charities and social media. Telephone interviews were conducted with the participants and the resulting data were analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS Already feeling out of sync as a TYA with cancer, participants felt out of place in the adult setting. Four factors contributed to this negative experience: a lack of affinity with older patients; the challenging issues in the adult setting; the absence of empathy towards TYAs by staff; and the unsuitability of the environment for adolescents. CONCLUSION Staff working with TYAs with cancer in the adult setting should be aware of the potentially detrimental impact of this environment on this cohort of patients, and consider ways of adapting and modifying their approach.

Performance, power and condom use: reconceptualised masculinities amongst Western male sex tourists to Thailand

Abstract Each year large numbers of Western men travel to Thailand for sex tourism. Although many will use condoms during their sexual encounters, others will not, potentially exposing themselves to the risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Although sex tourism in Thailand has been well documented, the social drivers underpinning voluntary sexual risk-taking through the avoidance of condoms remain poorly understood. Engaging with R.W. Connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinity and drawing on data collected from 1237 online discussion board posts and 14 face-to-face interviews, this study considers the ways in which understandings and performances of masculinities may inform the sexual risk-taking behaviours of Western male sex tourists. It argues that for some of these men, unprotected sex is viewed not as a reckless behaviour but, instead, as a safe and appropriate masculine practice, supported by relationships that are often framed as romantic and within a setting where HIV is still largely considered a homosexual disease. With sex workers often disempowered to request safer sexual practices, and some men’s attitudes towards unprotected sex resistant to external health promotion advice, the paper concludes by considering what this might mean for policy and practice.

Planet porn: a resource pack for working with teens around porn

The sexualisation of young people and the role played by increasingly easy access to pornography through a range of new media rightly remain a key concern for all those working with young people. The evidence of the negative impact of pornography on the attitudes, values and behaviours of young people is strong, but there has been little in the way of practical guidance as to the most effective interventions to reduce harm and equip young people to challenge pornographic discourses and develop equitable and fulfilling relationships. Planet Porn seeks to address this gap, providing workers with a set of young-people-friendly group work exercises and supporting information and advice. The resource pack is well laid out, engaging and interactive, providing good opportunities for discussion and debate among participants and covering a wide range of issues in a relatively short amount of time. The first two exercises, Planet Porn and Porn Thoughts, enable participants to reflect on the fantasy and unreal aspects of pornography, while the third, Porn Debate, has a list of prompts to stimulate discussion. The purpose of the fourth exercise, Porn Challenge, is to explore the possibility of more responsible and ‘ethical’ pornography through the development of a storyboard. The fifth session uses a problempage approach as participants are asked to take on the role of Doctor Love, whilst the final session addresses pornography and the law, asking – Is it Legal? The layout and style of Planet Porn is good and clearly reflects the input of someone with expertise in developing creative and engaging resources – the problem lies with the content. The flaws in this resource essentially stem from a lack of clarity about what is meant by pornography and consequently a lack of an appropriate value base to underpin the activities. This is summed up by the use of the phrase ‘porn and sexy modelling’ with the implication that the two are somehow equivalent or interchangeable. The resource conceptualises pornography as the recording and reproduction of the consensual sexual activities of willing, relatively well-paid adults – that is to say that pornography is principally about sex and the problem is that the sex is ‘fantasy’ and may provoke feelings of inadequacy and poor body image. However, the real problem with pornography is not sex, but power – the reproduction and reinforcement of sexualised gender power relationships that collude to make young women vulnerable and which place unattainable expectations on young men. Young people are not accessing the bulk of their pornography through purchased, commercial sources as this resource implies, but through free-toaccess sites on the Internet showing short, uncontextualised and often exploitative scenes. A quick glance at any of the most well-used of these sites reveals titles such as ‘tight pussy gets smashed’, ‘sexy blond girl abused on the bus’, ‘Bobbi Starr gets her face gangbanged’ and ‘blond rough double assfuck’ among many, many others – this is not sexy modelling. The resource states in its introduction that its aim is, ‘to help young people . . . to