Florida Sends 'Appalling' Sex Survey to Thousands of Women

Are these questions offensive?

A survey sent out by Florida's Health Department to 4,100 women aged 18 to 24 has attracted national attention, and in some cases, offense. The 12-page quiz is said to have "appalled" some of those who saw it, according to the Florida Sun-Sentinel.

State officials say the survey was intended to help Florida health care workers meet women's family planning needs. The full survey is here; the most controversial questions included:

- How did you feel emotionally when you had unprotected sex - were you trying to get pregnant, were you in the "heat of the moment and just went with the flow," or did you find the man attractive and "thought it would be nice to have a baby with him?" Did you feel "powerless"? Or was it that you "felt emotionally connected with your partner during sex"?

- Has a sexual partner ever "told you he would have a baby with someone else if you didn't get pregnant?" "Hurt you physically because you did not agree to get pregnant?"

The NY Daily News reports that the survey cost $45,000 - most which was presumably allocated for the $10 gift cards that young women were promised for returning completed quizzes.

Via the Florida Sun-Sentinel and the NY Daily News.

Are the questions offensive, or reasonable for a public health survey?

[thejimbo]

What???? This is not the governments business...

[marine1]

what a bingo topic at the villages??

[Jack-Black]

it is if they are going to take care of them from cradle to grave.

[Keyjo]

It's condescending and offensive.
Leave it to Florida. The most backward of all the "sunshine playground" states.

[Fishbone345]

"God's waiting room"

[Nat]

Yet someone thought it appropriate. You have to wonder about the governing of Florida.

[MBernard]

Stuff like that happens only in Florida.

[martydotcom]

Our bizarre Tea Party Gov. in action. his approval rating have ranged from a high of 41% to a record low of 29% He's living testament to everything Romney said in his 47% talk and then add in a healthy dose of bigotry. Despite lines as long as nine hours on Election Day in Florida, Scott said he stands by the new law. "Well I'm very comfortable that the right thing happened," he told WKMG Orlando after the election.

[Fishbone345]

Yep. The state that has election issues every four years. You'd think they'd take a hint, but nope. We'll hear the same sh!t again in four more years. Bet on it.

[MBernard]

@martydotcom Florida is irrelevant. The best thing in this country happened without them. The election was decided without them.

[Fishbone345]

@martydotcom I love how Scott insists that welfare users take drug tests, then refuses to himself. The same money pays his salary as goes to the users right? Shouldn't tax payers have the right to know if he's getting high?
Give him a cup!!

[martydotcom]

@Fishbone345 The courts threw out the drug testing no probable cause. State appealed. They caught all of 108 welfare recipients + it cost the state a fortune.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/florida-d...

[PNWest]

Florida has a GOP governor, a GOP congress and a GOP senate. Therefore this must be Obama's fault.

[FollowTheMoney]

GOP? Not a fan either, but come on.....

[Neo_NtheMatrix]

I agree, it is obama's fault. Anyhow, whoever signed off on this disgusting survey is beneath contempt. I'd be livid if my wife or niece got something like this in the mail. There is no excusing this ignorance. Drug testing people that abuse the safety net system? Yes. Harassing young women? NO!

[Fishbone345]

@Neo_NtheMatrix They don't do this in Canada, the land of milk and honey.
You there yet?

[Neo_NtheMatrix]

@Fishbone345 - They don't do it in Michigan either. You're stuck with me until at least August of next year.

[PNWest]

@Neo_NtheMatrix You'll stay at least until 2016 won't you? Don't you want to vote for Hillary like Rush told you to do?

[stepped_in_it]

Hmmm,... would send it back to them blank with my own 12 page "survey". And trust me, the Florida's Health Department has never been questioned like I could question them >> :-)

[Thegrif]

Lol

[woodtick57]

What would you question them about?

[marine1]

This is just one example of what promotes the total ignorance of our goverment mind set.Sad that we have to depend on these people to keep us save

[woodtick57]

Why are some people offended by sex?

[dances-weebles]

because their mommies told them that it was dirty and they feel horribly guilty for enjoying it.

[Sabio]

maybe they can use the info to suck more tax dollars out of people to fund sexual stimulants and devices if needed?

[dances-weebles]

well, at least the tax dollars would be going for something important, right?

[songbird]

Just another example of the GOP's disdain for women.

[FollowTheMoney]

Again with the GOP. give it a rest already, the election is over.

[dances-weebles]

@FollowTheMoney how about going the other way, too? some people can get off the obama horse and accept the fact that he won the election no matter how badly some people wish otherwise. the best man won.

[FollowTheMoney]

@dances-weebles Agreed...I'm done the Obama whine too..... Obama won, but the nation lost. Again and again and again.

[dances-weebles]

@FollowTheMoney maybe so, but not as badly as they would have if he had lost the election.

[PoliticalSpice]

@dances-weebles
Did you just say "some people can get off the obama horse" in a comment about a sex survey. Jaded. Lol.

[FollowTheMoney]

Oh please...Spare me.....We have so many problems that matter. This isn't one of them

[jessejaymes]

Woah Florida!!!! When did you get in the sex therapy business?

[MaxPain]

What do you expect from Florida..Cant run a election to save their lives,So what makes you all think they can Handle womans Health or Sexuality

[Thegrif]

I don't know if it is offensive, but it seems intrusive.

[dances-weebles]

did you read the entire thing, grif? i would describe it more as 'moronic' than anything else.

[Thegrif]

@dances-weebles well I read the blurb, never was sure from the questions what the objective was. I got the feeling it was more about why women have sex.
Idk it seemed strange, the type of questions I mean.

[dances-weebles]

@Thegrif mary posted the link to the complete survey. it only takes a couple of minutes to read through it. to me it seems a hodge-podge.

[Denizen_Kate]

I read the survey. See question #20, there is one answer listed that makes absolutely no sense. See question #41, asking you to state your religion; there's no selection for "None" or "Atheist." I find that interesting.

[Thegrif]

@Denizen_Kate yea something seemed off about that survey to me. That and my state spent 45,000 to come up with it. Oh hell, guess we got money to burn!

[hwyangel]

LOL, public nudity, explicitly sexual T.V programing and music, sexual identity advocacy, sex education, promiscuity, sexual extroverted parades, in an already over sexed society and we find a few questions "appalling"?
Now that's rich. LOL

[CanisCanemEdit]

HAHAHA! Agreed!!!

[Nat]

Yes, it's appalling for government entities to send out sex surveys. If any woman in my family had gotten one of those, I'd be madder than hell. It's none of their damned business.

[hwyangel]

@Nat

From what I read it was an elective proposition with monetary benefits. Junk mail doesn't normally upset me, so I apologize for making light of your feelings regarding the survey.

[PoliticalSpice]

Over sexed soceity sounds better then the violence our military, racist policing policies and border patrols inflict...

[Hireman]

What's offensive is that they used taxpayer money on it.

[Zoe2012]

More like stupid, reminds me of the 69% of people in Ohio without a high school diploma voting for Obama.

[Jet_Silverman]

Romney.

[classychazy]

What the hell is your problem with Ohio? There are some who may not have a high school degree, but they do have G.E.D.'s and you are counting the older population it was not a big priority back then as it has been the last 30 years! I know some very hardworking blue color people without diplomas and they are just as smart as you and I some maybe even more so. I have said this before you are young, dumb, and come from a privileged up bringing. Just because you hold a degree does not make you intelligent its just means you can read and retain information. Its sure as hell doesn't make you better then any other person on the planet!

[Zoe2012]

@classychazy Problem in Ohio? The issue is 69% of the people in Ohio without a high school diploma voted for Obama. Sad fact but true! You have a problem with a fact? Are you implying they are not bright? Are you embarrassed by this?

[Zoe2012]

@classychazy Do you have your high school diploma?

[classychazy]

@Zoe2012 Yes and I am an R.N., but I know some who do not have a degree of any kind and they are just as intelligent as us.

[John_Matrix]

Here's an idea, just don't fill the damn thing out and forget about it instead of whining and bitching about it.

[SophieB]

I had the same response. What's the big deal? Nobody is forced to answer. If you don't like it, throw it in the trash. End of problem.

[dances-weebles]

mary, i'd have to see the entire survey before i can make an intelligent decision on it... is it possible to post it?

[PolitixMary K]

Good question,@dances-weebles. The full survey is here: http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/wtvt/html/misc...
The most controversial questions are #21 and #25. I'll add a link to the survey in the piece.

[woodtick57]

@PolitixMary

Thanx mary!

But wait, this survey is a fill in the circle kind?!? no way even one of these would be finished correctly in Florida. hanging chads left and right from the #3 pencil poking through...

[dances-weebles]

@PolitixMary

thanks, mary. it's interesting to say the least, but rather nebulous. as far as 'offensive' goes... i asked my wife if she would take it and she said,'no'. i asked her if it was because it was offensive, and she again said,'no... it is because there's no clear reason for this survey that is evident. she is an educator, and when she asks questions it's always obvious that she has an evident goal in mind. she expects the same from survey of any sort. in this one the questions are all over the map, so to speak, so nothing's really clear. for example, what does the question,'how old were you when you first had sex?' got to do with anything else in the survey? the same goes for 'were you ever physically abused?'

without any clear reason for the survey being taken, and a clear indication as to who is going to use the information nobody should have filled it out. but offensive? even our 11 year old daughter didn't find it so.

[woodtick57]

@dances-weebles

i would think all the questions had to do with womens' health services. there are many aspects to that. contraceptive education, in the case of age of first sexual congress and partner abuse in the case of the abuse question.

i didn''t find it offensive either, but i did think it had a reason although across many parts of womens' health issues...

[dances-weebles]

@woodtick57 the problem is that they never made those reasons clear. some information would have helped a good bit.

if you read further into it, they said that the questionnaire was put together by a committee and is made up of questions from other surveys taken nationwide... it's sort of a potpourri, i guess you could say, and therefore comes across as being confusing at best, and inane at least...

how did you feel after the last time you had unprotected sex? um... satisfied?

who on earth would have ever stopped to think about it at all? it seems to me to be baiting.

[ACTSmom]

The Health Dept. asks questions if you get an HIV test too...partners, etc. I think I could have developed a better questionnaire, however. This one was done by the former head of the DOH... "The survey's never been used before, and is "unique," Armstrong said, created using questions that already appear in other surveys in use nationally. They were pulled together into one, in this case. The survey went through 48 revisions as it was vetted by two institutional review boards, one at the state health department and one at FAMU, Armstrong [Surgeon General] said." http://fcir.org/2012/06/20/former-official-sa...

[dances-weebles]

is that 'doh' as in a homer simpson 'doh'?

[ACTSmom]

@dances-weebles ...lol! Sorta fits doesn't it?

[dances-weebles]

@ACTSmom surprisingly well... especially if you've read the entire survey.

[tomincali]

gov writing a romance novel?

[blue_yahoo]

At that age I would have been offended but by the age of 32 I would have found them viable questions.