Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2015 December 24

= December 24 =

How often does hazing include a sex act?
Do sorority girls have to do anything with a sexual nature to be accepted? Like shaving each other or showering together? --Scicurious (talk) 02:08, 24 December 2015 (UTC)
 * Neither of your examples are inherently of a sexual nature, even assuming you mean shaving each other's pubic hair, so your question is really confusing. Nil Einne (talk) 02:44, 24 December 2015 (UTC)
 * It surely is intimate, although not a sex act.--Scicurious (talk) 03:15, 24 December 2015 (UTC)
 * You said "sexual nature" and "sex act", you didn't say intimate until now. Anyway it depends what you mean by "intimate" and the context of the act and person, but simply put not necessarily particularly considering you seem to be concentrating on the "sexual aspect". (Noting in particular that showering together doesn't have to mean significant physical contact.) It's hardly uncommon for young siblings to shower together. Similar some beauty saloons will shave pubic hair (although much more common would be waxing or trimming), and likewise it may be performed before some medical procedures. This doesn't mean everyone, or even a majority are going to be comfortable with it. Nil Einne (talk) 05:38, 24 December 2015 (UTC)
 * He said showering together. How is that not sexual? And by sorority I think he/she is referring to a college sorority, which is basically a place where college students who are girls get together for some reason. Commonly, sororities and frattornities in college have to do dumb dares to get accepted. I'm not sure if you knew this, but I wanted to clarify is all. Philmonte101 (talk) 05:40, 24 December 2015 (UTC)
 * People using sports facilities often shower together in the UK and it's neither sexual, nor intimate. Admittedly, there's probably a tiny fraction of society who get a thrill from it, but then again, Rule 34 means that some people no doubt would find using scissors, eating popcorn and the national anthem sexual. --Dweller (talk) 10:45, 24 December 2015 (UTC)
 * You're saying that when siblings shower together there's always a sexual component? Very Freudian of you, but I don't think many people will agree (as Dweller's comment also emphasised). Anyway although I'm not an American, I do have some idea what a sorority is and about their hazing, however it's irrelevant to my point. My point was that the OP made a big deal about "sex/ual" mentioning it twice but then gave two examples which weren't inherently sexual to most people. (And only later mentioned intimate which while perhaps a little more likely to be seen that way, is still not a definitive description of these two examples.) Note that this isn't simply nitpicking but a key point as others have explained below. If the OP thinks these examples are inherently sexual then they are either using the words in a different way that most people use them; or they don't properly understand these acts, and how their nature will depend and context and person and therefore may be thinking things going on that aren't really. Ultimately, unless both we and the OP actually understands what they are asking about, there's no way the OP can hope to have a good answer. And the problem isn't related to our inability to understand sororities or what hazing is. Nil Einne (talk) 14:13, 25 December 2015 (UTC)
 * The key is that sororities (and fraternities) don't make their pledges do anything of an intentionally sexual nature (that exists only in fantasy sororities as depicted on internet porn websites). As Dweller notes... They might (unwittingly) ask a pledge do something that an individual pledge views as being sexual in nature.  (Suppose the pledge is asked to dump a pitcher of beer over her head... is the intent of this request sexual? Probably not, but the pledge might view it as the start of a "wet tee-shirt" contest.) Blueboar (talk) 14:39, 24 December 2015 (UTC)
 * I don't know how common it is but my first Google search immediately found many examples. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:13, 24 December 2015 (UTC)
 * Indeed, sexual hazing seems to be more of a porn theme than a real thing. In the same way as having sex with the pizza delivery guy, or two lesbians inviting a guy to join in. It's all fantasy. Denidi (talk) 16:39, 24 December 2015 (UTC)
 * I don't think "fantasy" really enters into it when we're talking about the acts performed in actual fraternity and sorority initiation, since the term "hazing" refers, almost by definition in a contemporary context, specifically to those elements of the initiation process which cross the line into assaults on personal integrity and dignity. And in that context, there have been many reported cases of sexual assault or parties being coerced into sexual activity or otherwise subjected to humiliation meant to underscore dominance roles, which often has a conceptual link to sexuality even when the act is not overtly sexual in form.  Please see the above-linked article for references to such cases or simply google the relevant terms to get many more.  This stuff does happen.  It doesn't surprise me that this exists also as a salacious porn theme sold to people on the same basis, but it's not a fiction of that industry, nor do I think "fantasy" is the best way to reference it.  However, it is also true that, historically at least, these assaults and other cases of extreme degradation, seem to be more common in fraternities, where the OP was inquiring specifically about sororities. Even so, there certainly have been cases of hazing that have risen to an extreme or even criminal level in sororities.  S n o w  let's rap 06:48, 26 December 2015 (UTC)

Star Trek theme
Was the theme from the original Star Trek based on the Piano Concerto (Barber), or is the appearance of the theme in the first movement an "accident"?  S ławomir Biały  14:43, 24 December 2015 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia has an article titled Theme from Star Trek.-- Jayron 32 01:49, 25 December 2015 (UTC)


 * Courage said he was inspired by "Beyond the Blue Horizon (song)" and there is a vague resemblance. The Barber piece you're talking about is interesting, because parts of it sound a bit like Courage's theme except in a minor key. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 06:12, 25 December 2015 (UTC)

Hunger Plan
Hi,

What sources do you recommend regarding the Hunger Plan?

Thanks,

GABHello! 16:25, 24 December 2015 (UTC)


 * According to HighBeam it's covered quite extensively by E. M. Collingham's "Taste of War: World War II and the Battle for Food" which was released in 2011 - a library may have a copy? -- samtar whisper 16:35, 24 December 2015 (UTC)


 * Thank you. I'm trying to get the article to GA, and I am looking for anything I can get my hands on. GABHello! 16:39, 24 December 2015 (UTC)


 * No worries, I'm sure some other people will wade in with some brilliant references :) Good luck - it's a great article! -- samtar whisper 16:41, 24 December 2015 (UTC)


 * GAB, you might try War, Economy, and Society, 1939-1945 By Alan S. Milwar which has a Google Books preview. Also, Management of Agriculture and Food in the German-occupied and Other Areas of Fortress Europe by Karl Brandt & Otto Schiller, and Ostkrieg: Hitler's War of Extermination in the East by Stephen Fritz. Apologies for arriving late at the party!  Alansplodge (talk) 14:55, 28 December 2015 (UTC)
 * Thank you! GABHello! 16:12, 28 December 2015 (UTC)