Breakthroughs Today

SOMETIME in 1988 I came to know a person in Zamboanga City whose way of showing feelings defied my understanding of emotions. Male and married, he spoke softly and showed no sign of roughness or aggression—even at times when my own aggression meter rose. I learned from his wife that his way of speaking came from his family. Even when pissed off, only those who closely knew him could detect... ( Read more. )  This article appears in Sun-Star Cebu newspaper on 21 July 2010.

ZOSIMO T. LITERATUS, RMT Harvard obstetrician-gynecologist Nawal Nour reported to the Reviews in Obstetrics & Gynecology (2008 issue): “The origins of FGC are a mystery.” The World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) jointly issued in 1997 a statement defining female genital cutting (FGC) or female circumcision as “all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs whether for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons.” [1] Amnesty International estimated in October 1997 that more than 130 million women worldwide had FGC, with over 2 million procedures being performed each year. According to a UNICEF report [2] in 2005, 80% or more women in Africa had FGC including such countries as at the top: Guinea (99%), Egypt (97%), Mali (92%), Sudan north (90%), Eritrea (89%), and Ethiopia (80%). Ranked below Ethiopia in FGC prevalence are B

ZOSIMO T. LITERATUS, RMT Sex is one intimate activity that reflects a lot the health and the stability of a heterosexual relationship. In fact, oftentimes, it can be used as indicator if the relationship is doing well or not. The reason for this is communication. A loving relationship thrives and grows through good and effective communication. Needless to say, bad communication can potentially, and has been known to, destroy a relationship. The same is true with sexual interaction, or euphemistically speaking, “making love.” The current study of Daniel M. Purnine and Michael P. Carey of the Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, tried to test male and female sexual satisfaction (or, as they called “sexual adjustment”) against the factors of understanding and agreement. That is, understanding the opposite’s preferences; and deriving an agreement on which sexual activities and behaviors to use and pursue together. Understanding, according to Purnine and Carey, “allows one to know ho