Social media influencers are asking why BMW in Saudi Arabia, and international brands in general are not changing their famous logos to the colors of the LGBT movement, a rainbow flag to celebrate Pride Month? BMW has changed its international logo to reflect Pride, but the Saudi Arabian version remains unchanged.

It is common for international brands to celebrate and reflect certain holidays and celebrations throughout the year. Local branding is usually left to local marketing companies who handle the brand and its expression in respectiev countries. Should Saudi Arabia go rainbow?

Homosexuals and people who have affairs outside marriage can face death by stoning in Saudi Arabia. It is legal for a man to have more than one wife in Saudi Arabia. They are by law allowed to have up to 4.

Women were only allowed to start driving in 2018.

According to Islamic Shariah law homosexuality is punishable by death. Men in Iran are sentenced to death if they are found engaging in love partnerships or sexual acts with other men. A Palestinian man was beheaded for being gay while seeking asylum in Canada. Canadians encourage people to explore their sexuality choices starting in grade school so it a safe place to live if you seek sexual freedom.

Being gay is not allowed in most Islamic countries. Be careful in countries like Iran, the UAE or Saudi Arabia if you engage in sexual freedom. You can be arrested or worse.

The post Should Pride flag colors appear on BMW Saudi Arabia? appeared first on Green Prophet.

Score one small victory for consumer groups and ecosexuals everywhere: The United State’s ban on bisphenol-A or BPA is a small step towards ending our romance with toxins. That’s the good news. The downside is that this ruling by the Food and Drug Administrations has no direct bearing on consumers in the Middle East. A ban on BPA in bottles is insufficient in the long term, failing to address the many sources of this compound or the long list of other compounds tweaking our reproductive health.

BPA is a hormonally active chemical found in everything from cash register receipts to soup and beverage cans to plastic wrap and bottles. An ‘estrogen mimicker’, it has been linked to precocious puberty in females and the feminization of males including urogenital defects, such as penises that are malformed, among other things.

It is simply insufficient protection against the potential harm to all of us.

The Wall Street Journal reports: “BPA is found in hundreds of plastic items from water bottles to CDs to dental sealants. Some researchers say ingesting the chemical can interfere with development of the reproductive and nervous systems in babies and young children. They point to dozens of studies showing such an effect from BPA in rodents and other animals.

“But the FDA has repeatedly stated that those findings cannot be applied to humans. The federal government is currently spending $30 million on its own studies assessing the chemical’s health effects on humans.

“It is estimated that ‘about 90 percent of Americans have traces of BPA in their urine, mainly as a result of food and beverage packaging.

Despite the FDA’s caution regarding applying the results of animal studies to human outcomes, consumer groups have taken a stronger stance

For example, the Plastic Pollution Coalition states that “the alarm over the widespread use of BPA is entirely warranted. BPA has been linked with increased risk for cardiovascular disease, breast and prostate cancer, early puberty, obesity, diabetes, infertility, erectile dysfunction, and learning and attention-related disorders.”

They reference a review of more than 800 studies published last month in the journal Endocrine Reviews [that] shows that even extremely small doses of BPA can be toxic.

“The study authors conclude that due to the effects of low doses of hormone-disrupting chemicals, “fundamental changes in chemical testing and safety determination are needed to protect human health.”

BPA is just one worrisome compound in some plastics.  According to an October 2011 list compiled by TEDx’s Endocrine Disruption Exchange, there are at least 870 known chemicals that can mimic hormones and therefore alter our bodies and our systems.

In a May 2012 article on harmful chemicals, Nicholas D. Kristof of the New York Times wrote that “nation’s safety system for endocrine disruptors is broken.”

Citing several studies and conclusions by scientists  – linking things like congenital birth defects in boys to micro-penises in alligators – it’s the opinion of this author that regulatory agencies and governments around the world have essentially failed to protect their citizens from a decades long assault on our sexual and reproductive health.

Kristoff writes: “Scientists have long known the tiniest variations in hormone levels influence fetal development. For example, a female twin is very slightly masculinized if the other twin is a male, because she is exposed to some of his hormones. Studies have found that these female twins, on average, end up slightly more aggressive and sensation-seeking as adults but have lower rates of eating disorders.”

Why after almost 20 years since the term endocrine disrupters was coined are we still so exposed and at risk from these chemicals? Aside from a failure of adaquate protection, in part it may also be because mos don’t fully appreciate how nuanced and sensitive the endocrine system is.

It takes very little of a hormone, synthetic or not, to impact us. Microscopic levels of exposure (parts per billions), the timing of exposure (fetal exposure is often far riskier) or long-term damage (in some cases, it is children of those who were exposed who suffer the consequences) means we are all at risk.

What can you do besides avoid plastic bottles with or without BPA? The answer is simple: Avoid plastics all together.

Read More BPA News:
BPA Chemical Banned From Baby Bottles, Cups in the US
BPA Disrupts the Quality of Eggs Retrieved in IVF Treatment
BPA- What’s the Big Deal, Baby?
The author is a regular contributor to Greenprophet.com and blogs at www.tinamariebernard.com.

Image of hormones by Shutterstock

The post BPA is One of Hundreds of Endocrine Disrupters appeared first on Green Prophet.

Jet fuel in breast milk? Breasts getting bigger than generations ago? These are just two discoveries that investigative journalist, Florence William’s, shares in her latest book about the environmental impact on breasts.

Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History (2012) is more than an ode to those beguiling curves; it is part of the growing body of research and awareness about eco-conscious intimacy, a movement some are calling ‘ecosexuality.’ A term originally coined by Greenpeace about 10 years ago, among other things ecosexuality invites us to examine the impact of toxins on our reproductive selves.

“For such an enormously popular feature of the human race — even today, when they are frequently bikinied, bared, flaunted, measured, inflated, sexted, YouTubed, suckled, pierced, tattooed, tassled and in every way fetishized — it’s remarkable how little we know about their basic biology,” Williams says.

Being made primarily of fat and glandular tissue, “breasts, it turns out, are a particularly fine mirror of our industrial lives,” Williams explains. “In the course of a lifetime, [they] meet many friends and foes: lovers, babies, ill-fitting undergarments, persistent pollutants, maybe a nipple ring, a baggie of silicone or a dose of therapeutic radiation. It’s a lot to ask of breasts.”

Measurable consequences include bigger breasts developed earlier with toxins finding hiding places in unsuspecting bosoms. Toxins come from industrial sources including air pollution. William’s had her breast milk tested and found that it was laced with miniscule amounts of jet fuel. However, consumers are also inadvertently exposed to daily household use items.

Many of those are in our beauty, cleaning and pleasure aid products. For example, lead in lipsticks reduces fertility in men and women. Toluene in nail polish and hair dye stops menstruation and decreases sperm count. Phthalates are reproductive toxins found in fragrances, cosmetics, and personal care products (even many vibrators and dildos). Bisphenol-A in plastics has been shown to cause spontaneous abortions and alter a man’s sperm.

Breast cancer rates vary around the globe, with women in Israel having rates similar to the west. It kills fewer women than heart disease, but because its scars reach deeper than our skin, it’s the rallying call that resonates with women’s private erotic selves. This touches on another aspect of the ecosex movement; our attitudes towards pleasure, our bodies and what is considered ‘natural.’ For better or for worse, Williams message about breast health underscores the complicated relationship society often has with the female body.

From the author’s website:

“Feted and fetishized, the breast is an evolutionary masterpiece. But in the modern world, the breast is changing… and attracting newfangled chemicals. Increasingly, the odds are stacked against us in the struggle with breast cancer – even among men. What makes breasts so mercurial – and so vulnerable?”

Her investigation follows the life cycle of the breast from puberty to pregnancy to menopause, bringing her from a plastic surgeon’s office where she learns about the importance of cup size in Texas to a lab where she discovers the presence of environmental toxins in her own breast milk.

Endowed with a witty and inquisitive voice, Williams explores where breasts came from, where they have ended up, and what we can do to save them.

Florence Williams work often focuses on the environment, health and science. She is a contributing editor at Outside Magazine and a freelance writer for New York Times, New York Times Magazine and numerous other publications.

Read more breast health news:
Ecosex and Why Environmentalists Are Avoiding the e-Spot
Are Hormones in the Environment Making Women’s Breasts Bigger?
Natural Breast Enhancement

The post Breast Milk Worth More Than Oil appeared first on Green Prophet.

Julie McIntyre, an ‘Earth ceremonialist’ and director for the Center for Earth Relations is an ecological visionary. Trained in plant medicine, Ayurveda, Reiki, medical herbalism, wilderness survival and holistic health, she’s the lastest to write a book about human relationships and the environmental movement: Sex and the Intelligence of the Heart: Nature, Intimacy and Sexual Energy (Destiny Books, 2012).

In this exclusive Earth Day interview, Julie shares her vision for falling in love with the planet, explains why she thinks the environmental movement has shied away from Ecosex, and how the Ecosex movement can mentor in greater environmental awareness in the Middle East.

Green Prophet: How do you foster a love affiar with nature?

Julie McIntyre: One of at least two ways: You have to want to have a love affair with nature, sometimes it happens spontaneously like going to a favorite spot in the forest or a beach and over time you notice you are falling in love with that particular place of Earth, becoming protective of it and calling it your special place where you go to sit, to think, to be inspired, to be stirred up or calmed down, to feel whole again, and be put back together when you may feel like you’re falling apart. This place becomes your friend, your confidant you tell all your secrets to and you find you are getting authentic knowledge and insights you have not had access to before.

To start with, slow down. Take off your shoes and feel the Earth beneath your feet; sand between your toes, pebbles massaging your souls, be in your body; how does it feel? Feel the air and sun on your skin; do you lean into the wind or brace your back against it? Really see the details in flowers and leaves, look with the eyes of a child as if you are seeing each pebble, each boulder, each tree, each insect as if for the first time. Feel them, smell them, let the experience fill your senses.

Become intoxicated with the sounds and scents flowing around and through you. Go to the Earth, as you would your lover; go the holy waters of hot springs and oceans, go to the tops of mountains, smell the pines, the air after a rain storm, use all your senses. Fall in love with life, with this experience of being a fully alive, fully sensing, fully playing member of the circle of life.

Green Prophet: What message can readers in the Middle East get from your book?

Sex is sex all over the planet. Sex is expressed in many ways and forms but when sex is repressed, the damage it causes goes deep into our personal, social and cultural psyches. Sex cannot be stopped or prevented even though there are attempts to do so. And because sexual energy can not be stopped, as energy it must keep moving and it must be released somewhere in some form; the ideal is to have out in the open, to own our sexual natures, the sexual nature of the Earth and talk honestly about it with each other and our children.  Sexual health and freedom translates to healthier individuals and a healthier culture.

Green Prophet: Why has the environmental movement resisted authentic discussions about sex?

I believe it has resisted authentic discussions about sex because to do so would require that we actually start talking about sex, out loud. It would require looking at personal values, beliefs and behaviors about sex, contaminated baggage many of us carry into childhood into adult sexual relationships. It’s a slippery and wet topic that makes many people uncomfortable because we are uncomfortable about it ourselves, uncomfortable in our own bodies even.

Often in discussions about the environment there is a theme that sounds something like: Men’s sexuality is bad and aggressive and women’s sexual natures are vulnerable and need protecting. Language like: Mother Earth needs protecting; men (and large corporations) have raped and pillaged the land and forests; have created birth control measures on rivers with lock and dams, and so on. So for us to have honest discussions about sex and the environment, men have to own their sexual natures, all of it in its magnificence and beauty and power and the environmental movement must give up seeing women in the victim role and as women we must own our own inherent mysterious, creative and powerful force of our sexual natures.

If we were to actually have honest, real conversations about the sexual natures of ourselves and each other and the sexuality, and sensuality of Earth, our current behaviors would have to change to reflect new beliefs; belief that Earth is a living, breathing, aware, intelligent organism engaged in sexual reproduction on many levels.

Green Prophet: What has been the consequence of that?

The consequences have been dire. Omitting sex from discussions about the environment has created an insanity in our psyches widening the gaping chasm between human beings and Earth, human beings and the other species we live with. It has taken the element of the sacred completely out of the discussion; secularizing our relationship with the Earth. Discussions about the environment without discussions about sex is essentially a lie by omission.

Green Prophet: Share your understanding of intimacy, love and sustainablity in relationship?

Relationships are sustained because you want to sustain it. When you decide this relationship is what you want, you put energy into it, keep it alive and dynamic through intimacy and falling in love with your beloved over and over again; see them new each day. Notice the little things they do, really see them, wrap your heart field and love around them each day.  For love to grow and flourish there must be a commitment to intimacy which is to say, you have a commitment to being vulnerable, to being undefended, to allowing yourself to be seen and naked in the deepest parts of you; who you were, what your hopes and dreams are, what secrets you’ve carried and not spoken out loud.

For intimacy and relationships to survive you must have an intimate relationship with yourself; what inspires you, what are your hopes and dreams and fears? What part of your body do you not have a relationship with or that you hate? What do you do with the fears and disappointments you have? Who would you trust your life with? How do you feel being seen naked? What do you do to get your needs and wants met? Do you hide your feelings and the deep parts of yourself?

Sex and the Intelligence of the Heart: Nature, Intimacy and Sexual Energy explores how nature underlies sexuality and intimacy. It is published by Destiny Books and available this month in bookstores and on Amazon. You can learn more about Julie at the Foundation for Gaian Studies.

The post Earth Day Exclusive: Interview with Julie McIntyre, author of new Ecosex Book appeared first on Green Prophet.

Take a hike to fall in love with Planet Earth and embody green loving? End your romance with plastic because the evidence is irrefutable; BPA is nasty to your naked bits? You bet! From healthy habits in the bedroom to eating for optimum performance, Ecosex is the optimal way to experience intimacy that is good for you and safe for the planet. With rare exception however (Green Prophet is notably cool), the green blogosphere has yet to catch the enthusiasm; even though it is this writer’s opinion that Ecosex has the potential to revitalize enthusiasm for eco-conscious living among a populace grown bored, weary or deaf. Yes, Ecosex can save the world. But greenies have to finally listen.

Fortunately, other visionaries are. Annie Sprinkle and Elizabeth Stephens, champions of the movement, have started walking tours in the United States to introduce participants to the beauty of the outdoors. They call it finding your e-Spot. Stefanie Iris Weiss, author of Ecosex: Go Green Between the Sheets and Make Your Love Life Sustainable (2010) is doing workshops at adult pleasure shops.

Sacred sexuality educators, Alan Strydom and Farhana Goga (whose ancestry is a colorful mix of Jewish, Christian and Muslim) interviewed a dozen Ecosex thoughtleaders for the newly minted EcoSex Summit: Live Organically, Love Orgasmically.

Strangely, most of the contributing voices are from outside the traditional green movement.

As a ardent advocate for Ecosexuality (or sexecology, another term to describe the philosophy), I was honored to speak with Alan and Farhana twice. My first lecture introduces the basic tenets of Ecosex, and my subsequent telesummit focuses on my eBook. People Planet Pleasure Purpose: Five Meaningful Ways to Embody Eco-Conscious Intimacy (Available EarthDay, April 22, 2012 to subscribers of www.tinamariebernard.com), does more than discuss the joys of making love organically. It links these green intentions to better stewardship of the planet.

I’m on fire for this topic. In the past six months, I started a dynamic Facebook Ecosex Group with participants from around the globe. This summer will mark the third Ecosex Summit in the states, of which I’ll be participating. My gratitude the editor of Green Prophet, Karin Kloosterman, cannot be overstated. She opened the door to exploring the interplay between our planet and our private lives. When we first discussed the idea, we were both taking a chance. Karin, because of the sensitive nature for a conservative audience, and me because my green blogging experience was until then limited.

In the intervening three years, I’ve observed the sex-positive community commandeers the Ecosex discussion.  Ecosex has exploded in popularity among those whose sexual proclivities would make many blush. They are serious about their efforts and intention to green their intimate ecosystems for more than pleasure’s sake. This is about environmentalism through and through. Sustainability in the bedroom translating into absolute adoration and caretaking of planet earth. It covers sexual health, spirituality, ancient wisdom, optimal nutrition, women’s issues and eco-feminism and love and relationships.

So why the dull echo amongst those who proclaim to care so much about these very subjects?

How do I know – because I’ve pitched dozens of stories on deaf, non-responsive ears. One could suppose the problem is me. My writing stinks or my lack of green credentials deem me unworthy for the likes of the big wigs on the other side of the Atlantic. Except, I can say with strong confidence that there’s more than rejecting my stories to this story.

You see, cccasionally, another traditional environmental site has picked up the narrative, but what they’ve had to say about Ecosex has often been as unimaginative as a turnip. Take this silly nonsense (I’m not naming the site or the author to save them embarrassment):

 Take this quiz and tally your points at the end to find out how eco you actually are.

1. What’s in your top drawer?

A. Underpants and socks (1 point)

B. Underpants and a copy of World Changing (2 points)

C. Underpants and a Secrets of Sacred Sex DVD (3 points)

2. What is climate porn?

A. A scary way to describe global warming (3 points)

B. Pornography watched in a hot room (1 point)

C. A sexy movie shot in an equatorial country (2 points)

Seriously, that’s all they can say about Ecosex? Some silly quiz about sock drawers. A lack of understanding about how this matters throws us all under the bus, leaving us to choke on the fumes.

Do they not understand the importance of sex in everyday living? Nevermind that it is the most natural thing for all living things to do – procreate and please – but that our current sexualove experiences are muted by environmental pollutants cutting at the very core of our sexual health, vitality and wellbeing. Quite simply, the Environmental movement is missing a robust opportunity to garner a major influx of enthusiastic green beings.  By refusing to acknowledge that intimacy is at the heart of all matters, including correct stewardship of our natural resources, green activists are being upstaged by polyamorists, queers, tantrikas, doms and all sorts of alternative folks (no judgement call here – I’m just glad someone is loving the green way).

Really, that’s the best environmentalists can do?

I wrote my book to wake ordinary people up. If the environmentalists won’t take charge en masse of Ecosex, maybe soccer moms (or in the case of the Middle East, Shuk Moms) will see this light. Mother Earth doesn’t need us to survive, but we need her first. Better make sure comes first. There’s no clearer path that I can see to illuminate that need than by pointing out where our neglect will hurt most – our sexual lives and procreative futures.

Sex sells. In this case, it also really matters. My book, People Planet Pleasure Purpose: 5 Meaningful Ways to Embody Eco-Conscious Intimacy will be available on Sunday, April 22, 2012 in time for Earth Day. It’s free to subscribers to my site, at least for the time being. My hope – and this is a planetary goal, not just a concerned blogger tooting her horn – is that enough people will read it and become Ambassadors of the Ecosex revolution.

And maybe, just maybe, one of those editors or publishers in the green writing world will give the topic a second glance.

They’ll know where to find me. I’ve sent them dozens of emails, tweets, Facebook requests and more.

Tinamarie Bernard is the author of People Planet Pleasure Purpose, an Ecosex eBook, out Earth Day, 2012. Follow her @ModernLoveMuse. She also blogs at www.tinamariebernard.com.

The post Ecosex and Why Environmentalists are Avoiding the e-Spot appeared first on Green Prophet.

Contraception for those under age 18 is a controversial topic that challenges the conservative morays in the Middle East and, apparently the United States government. In the case of a new ruling by the Obama Administration, health care and human rights advocates appear pitted against those who form public policy. Lost in the fray are under-aged and sexually active individuals who may not get access to medically approved pregnancy prevention pills.

Case in point: condoms are okay to sell on the shelves in the United States, but the morning after pill is not. In a surprise decision and against the advice of the Food and Drug Administration, the contraception in question, Plan B, is being kept locked up behind the pharmacy counter even though it has been approved for sale without a prescription to those over the age of 17. The reason?

“Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled scientists at the Food and Drug Administration who were preparing to let Plan B sell without a prescription to people of any age.” According to the same report, President Obama backed Sebelius’ decision.

Plan-B is manufactured and distributed by Teva Pharmaceuticals, the international pharmaceutical giant headquartered in Israel. It contains a higher dose of Progestin to prevent ovulation and fertilization, and 1.5 mg of levonorgestrel, an ingredient that “has been used in many birth control pills for several decades.”

It does not terminate a pregnancy but prevents a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterine lining. It works best when taken with 24 hours of unprotected sex, but can be used up to three days (72 hours).

Plan B, when used correctly, prevents pregnancy up to 89% of the time.

Read more on the effects of hormones, our health and the environment.

Sexual health advocates are displeased with the decision. Dr. Robert Block of the American Academy of Pediatrics said Sebelius’ decision was “medically inexplicable.”

Other medical professionals who support the availability of Plan B to all ages assert that few sexually active adolescents will be readily able to pay for the pill, which retails for approximately $50.00. Putting the morning after pill next to condoms and spermicides will increase access to contraception for those who are sexually active of all ages, they have contended.

One source reported on a Teva-funded study that tracked 11-17 year olds seeking emergency contraception:

“Nearly 90 percent of them used Plan B safely and correctly without professional guidance, said Teva Vice President Amy Niemann. But Teva wouldn’t say how many of the youngest girls were part of the study,” Yahoo! Health News stated.

Is the pill the most environmentally way to prevent pregnancy?

In an article relating reproductive rights news, it’s important to address the bigger environmental picture. Hormone use to prevent pregnancy revolutionized sexual health, though more recent concerns about the impact on our waterways – prococious puberty and feminized fish are two commonly discussed possible consequences to excess hormone waste – has led to environmentalists advocating for other, greener contraception, a topic we discuss in How Do Treehumpers Prevent Pregnancy?

Read More Ecosexual Health News:
The Ins and Outs of Eco-Friendly Vaginal Lubrication

GM Foods Shrinking Reproductive Health in Womb Near You

Ecosexual Condom ‘Company Love Begins with L’ Empowering Third World Sexual Health

Kinsey Report Finds the Pill isn’t Making Her Feel Sexy

The post Teva Pharmacueticals’ Morning-After Pill Kept Locked Up by US Ruling appeared first on Green Prophet.

The birth control pill is one of the most popular forms of birth control in the world, but a new study finds that it can greatly diminish the sexual experience.

Pregnancy prevention, reproductive rights and health go hand in hand, with activists touting the importance of the birth control pill to advancing women’s sovereignty over their own bodies despite also deleterious consequences of those hormones making it into our water.  In our previous post on more eco-friendly ways to prevent pregnancy, we discussed some of the pros and cons of hormones and the alternatives. What was left unsaid, and often assumed by many, is that today’s birth control pills are vastly different from those used generations ago. Specifically, modern options have lower levels of hormones, and this could translate to fewer waste products finding its way into our water streams.

This may or may not be the case, however, a new study from Indiana University examined another assumption about those lower hormone levels, and found they interfere with a woman’s ability to enjoy her body to the fullest.

Specifically, many of the same problems related to women’s pleasure remain, despite formula and delivery changes to the birth control pill. What’s doubling vexing is that studies on a male pill are intent on pleasure first by making sure they don’t interfere with a man’s ability to maintain an erection.

From Sciencedaily.com:

An Indiana University study that examined how newer forms of hormonal contraception affect things such as arousal, lubrication and orgasm, found that they could still hamper important aspects of sexuality despite the family planning benefits and convenience.

“Contraception in general is a wonderful way for women to plan their families,” said lead researcher Nicole Smith, project coordinator at IU’s Center for Sexual Health Promotion. “It’s something women are often on for as many as 30 years or more; it plays a huge part in their life. If they’re experiencing these negative effects, they might stop using contraception correctly or altogether. They need to know that there are options, such as lubricants or other sexual enhancement products that may help to alleviate some of the negative effects they are experiencing.

“Women should also be counseled on the many highly effective forms of birth control currently available; switching to another method might work better for them,” she said.

The study involved 1,101 sexually active women split almost evenly between those using a hormonal form of contraception such as the pill, patch, ring or shot, and those women using a non-hormonal form, such as a condom, diaphragm, cervical cap or withdrawal.

The study, based on data collected by the Kinsey Institute’s Women’s Well-being study, which used an online questionnaire, found that the women reported similar levels of sexual satisfaction, which included things such as intimacy and romance, but the women using hormonal contraception experienced less arousal, fewer orgasms, difficulties with lubrication, decreased pleasure and less frequent sex.

“A great effort has been made to make condoms more pleasurable for men,” Smith said. “But you don’t hear about this same effort going toward reducing the negative impact of contraception on women’s sexual functioning. It’s just not part of the discussion.”

What’s the relevance to sustainability in the Middle East? In addition to opening up the dialogue about women’s reproductive well-being, studies like this support efforts to make love better, more organically, to fully unleash the numerous health benefits: improved mood, increased immune and cardio functions, brain growth, etc.

After all, chemistry without chemicals is an essential part of ecosex.

Read More Reproductive Health News:

GM Foods Shrinking Sexual Health in a Womb Near You

Ecosexy Condom Company “Love Begins With L” Empowering Female Health

Can a Male Birth Control Pill Save the Environment?

The post Birth control pills make women feel unsexy appeared first on Green Prophet.

As a philosophy, ecosexuality is quite new even to many environmentalists who are keen on greening their personal lives yet are unaware of this socially transformative movement.  From using eco-friendly lubrication to maintaining healthy reproductive and sexual well-being, to adopting the ideals of ecology in one’s primary relationship, ecosex is many things to many observers and mavericks, including myself, who support the idea of sustainable love that is good for people and the planet. Now those who imagine a greener way to love, including lovers in the Middle East, can lend their voice to the symphony and help create as well as advance the idea of what it means to go “green between the sheets.”

Green Prophet is the sole English-language voice in the Middle East that offers a platform for discussing the tenets of ecosexuality, and we’ve expressed the regional importance of the relationship between ecosex and global peace.  Other venues are also advancing the vision of more earth friendly relations between partners and lovers. Specifically, ecosex advocates are collaborating to create an anthology of essays and other creative contributions to highlight eco-sexual practices and their importance to the environmental movement.

From the call for submissions:

Ecosexuality has emerged as a socially transformative movement where the energies of activism, art, theory, and practice coalesce…Ecosex activism brings more fun, passion, hope and diversity to the environmental and holistic health movements.  It generates global awareness of love as the ecology of life on planet Earth…Ecosexuality revisits every aspect of life as an opportunity for the intellectual, spiritual, political and artistic expression of ecosexual love…

Contributions will be accepted in various forms, including academic studies, philosophical, theoretical, and critical articles, reports from the field, testimonial narratives, interviews, poems, performance pieces, artists’ pages or other visual representations, reports from events, courses, and other transformative experiences.

Submissions and inquiries, due March 1, 2012, should be sent to serena.anderlini@gmail.com or bethstephens@me.com.

Read More Ecosexuality News:
GMOs Shrinking Reproductive Health in a Womb Near You
Fundamentals of Ecosexuality: Is Conscious Love the Way Towards Global Peace?
World Renowned Author Dishes on GINKS, Green Sex and Making Love to Planet Earth

Tinamarie is a regualr contributor to Greenprophet.com.  She blogs at www.tinamariebernard.com

The post International Call for Papers: Ecosexuality Anthology appeared first on Green Prophet.

It’s name is inconspicuous enough, not something that would make the average consumer squirm as they read the ingredients label on a loaf of bread. The problem isn’t what L-cysteine does – it’s a non-essential amino acid used by many commercial bakers to condition the dough – but where it comes from: human hair. According to NaturalNews.com, much of it is from China, a country with a less than glowing track record for food contaminants.

According to the author, synthetic L-cysteine is sometimes used, while natural sources include human hair, chicken and duck feathers, cow horns and petroleum byproducts. “The hair is dissolved in acid and L-cysteine is isolated through a chemical process, then packaged and shipped off to commercial bread producers.”

Gag factor aside from the thought of eating dissolved hair, there are religious concerns for Jews and Muslims.

“Muslims are forbidden from eating anything derived from a human body, and many rabbis forbid hair consumption for similar reasons. Even rabbis who permit the consumption of hair would forbid it if it came from corpses — and since much L-cysteine comes from China, where sourcing and manufacturing practices are notoriously questionable, this is a real concern.”

“In one case, a rabbi forbade the consumption of L-cysteine because the hair had been harvested during a ritual at a temple in India.”

From the perspective of the burgeoning eco-sexual community, there are many delightful uses for hair, from the pleasure of caressing your lover’s scalp to reap the benefits of all that tingling sensation to donating locks to make a wig for someone who has lost their own. Despite our vivid imaginations, however, consuming hair that’s been harvested from the floor of remote corners around the globe is not our idea of recycling.

:: photo credit NaturalNews.com

Read More Food News:

 Israel’s Frozen Fish Processed In China Pumped with Water and Chemicals

Aphrodisiacs of the Middle East

Bake Bread Like an Egyptian

Tinamarie is a regular contributor to Greenprophet.com. Follow her @ModernLoveMuse. She blogs at www.tinamariebernard.com.

The post Shocking Ingredient in Bread That’s Problematic for Jews and Muslims appeared first on Green Prophet.

Breast cancer is the boogey man lurking underneath our breastbones, and organizations committed to eradicating the disease are the super heroines wearing pink capes, except when they are selling something that can cause cancer.

That Susan G. Komen’s fragrance ‘Promise Me’ may be laced with cancer-causing ingredients is a blessing in disguise. The world needs a smoking gun to wake up consumers to the toxins we are lathering in as we pursue dangerous beauty.  An ecosexual revolution will gain the necessary traction when enough people recognize the inherent value of greening their personal and intimate lives, one vibrator, lipstick, bubble bath, massage oil, sanitary hygiene, condom, lubricant and bottle of perfume at a time. (Just to be clear, that’s a truncated list of ways everyone reading this can be kinder to their somatic and erotic selves; being an ecosexual is actually fairly easy, green and consummately pleasurable.)

‘Promise Me’ isn’t the only scent accused of having a stinky formulation; most perfumes have proprietary compound lists that include nasty and often carcinogenic agents. It is all kept hush-hush because who in their right mind wants to smell like Bergamot, rosewood, musk and other heady notes mixed with the neurotoxin Toluene and hormone disrupter Galaxolide?

Apparently, the folks at Komen didn’t do their due diligence when the decided to launch their signature scent. These last two – Toluene and Galaxolide- are ingredients banned by the International Fragrance Association (IFRA).  Breast Cancer Action (BCA) claims to have found via independent laboratory testing in ‘Promise Me.’

The International Fragrance Association is a worldwide representative body working to ensure the safety of fragrance materials both to the consumer and the environment. Both Turkey and Israel have IFRA offices.

Because the Komen foundation helped put breast cancer awareness on the cultural map, it’s reasonable to hold them to higher standards. BCA writes an excellent article about the consequences of pinkwashing, and arguing for changes in how the Komen foundation operates, spends their resources and promotes breast health and cancer prevention awareness.

Breast cancer kills fewer women than heart disease, but because its scars reach deeper than our skin, it’s the rallying call that resonates with women’s private erotic selves. For better or for worse, we are our breasts, and how they present to the world undermines and informs our sense of self-acceptance, attractiveness and confidence.

You want healthier breasts, sex that is optimally pleasurable, fertility unburdened by modern toxins, restorative sleep, clearer skin, stronger erections and the like? If the answer to any of these questions is a remote yes, then may we gently suggest you transform your private life to reflect sustainable living. Become a wiser eco-sexually savvy consumer, and be part of the paradigm that promotes a world in which a green lens determines our ideals of beauty and health from the crowns of our heads past our natural bust lines down to our toes.

photo credit: sliverofice.com

Read more Ecosexuality News:

Fundamentals of Ecosexuality: Is Conscious Love the Way Towards Global Peace?

Natural Herbs for Breast Health and Enhancement

‘Scentual’ Natural Perfumes that Won’t Turn You a Puckish Shade of Green

The post Making an Ecosexual Stink about Komen’s ‘Promise Me’ Perfume appeared first on Green Prophet.