Human Sexuality 2010

My Last Post

Well today was a little bitter sweet. I am excited to be done classes however this was my last class with Rob for the year.

I will take away a lot from this class! One thing in particular is Habermas’s paradigms. I feel by using them it allows you to really look at something at every angle. It is hard not to immediately judge something or someone but by using the three paradigms it allows you to stop and try to understand it or them better. The one I find myself using the most is the situational interpretive paradigm. Because my focus in education is psychology I always try to see things through a lived reality. I feel it is the easiest way to understand why people do the things they do. I hope to someday be a school counsellor teacher and I intend to use these paradigms. Children are particularly hard to really understand but I intend on trying my best to stay open minded. I am a very caring and compassionate person and hope that it will help me reach out to others and help.

Rob has taught me so much. Not just in content but as a future educator. I have said many times before how his passionate and caring attitude is very contagious. He makes you want to learn more. I have never had a teacher that showed me what I was capable all by allowing me to talk about my opinions. Rob always asks his students for their opinions and thanks them for sharing no matter how irrelevant their answer may be. He truly appreciates what you have to say and always listens with a supportive ear. When I interviewed Rob last year for a school project I came to discover that his favourite class was one in which he was able to express himself and his beliefs. It is to no surprise that this is the way he structures his classes. I hope to get into the middle years program so that I will be fortunate enough to have Rob as a teacher again. I hope he knows just how much he has made a difference in my life and as a future teacher. I hope to stay in touch with Rob for years to come as he will allows me to be myself and I think he appreciates my hard work and enthusiasm. I feel he believes in me and it means the world to me. Thanks Rob! What a great semester!

Thanks for reading My Thoughts and My Beliefs!

Ps. I am grateful for this opportunity to Blog about this class. I am glad I structured it the way I did as it allows me to see what we covered in this class. I really enjoyed this project. I hope Rob continues this project as it allows people the opportunity to reflect on topics which may make them uncomfortable speaking about in class.

Post Number Fourteen

On December 6, 2010

Well today was the last FAM 322 class. Rob continued talking about prostitution and showed us a video clip. The video was of a man named Victor Malarek talking about his views on prostitution. He felt that it was not the women’s fault but the men who engage in the act. I found it interesting when he mentioned that in Sweden they see it as an act of violence and that it is illegal for men to purchase sex. It was surprising to hear that even with making it illegal they are still having issues with it. I feel it is a hard thing to enforce as it can be done in a very sneaky manner. The reason I feel so strongly against prostitution is because I feel for the women who are involved. I believe that there must have been something horrible happen to them that would cause them to put themselves at such risk. I guess I am looking through the critical theoretic perspective. There must be something else going on.

Post Number Thirteen

On November 29, 2010

Rob showed us a video of a man named Stephen Lewis. He was a very famous Canadian, who was passionate about making a difference against the spread of HIV. His speech was very empowering and honest. You could tell that he was very driven and hard working man. I am a proud that we have such a man that is Canadian and making a difference! I will post the link to this video because I feel it really showed how passionate this man was about trying to make a change.

On December 1, 2010

During this class Rob talked about HIV, which is an STD that destroys white blood cells in the immune system leaving the body vulnerable to life threatening diseases. It can lead to AIDS. People can prevent HIV from turning into AIDS through medication. AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome which is caused by HIV characterized by destruction of the immune system so the body is stripped of its ability to fend off life threatening diseases.  I was shocked to hear that 33 million people live with HIV AIDS and the majority of them live in poverty in Africa.

During the class Rob had mentioned that the critical theoretic perspective would ask why the west has taken so long to respond. Potentially maybe there is underlying global racism. I would have to agree with that question. Why? Whenever there is a natural disaster people rush to help make a difference. Yet, there is a global issue and it has yet to be resolved. How can that be? Well I can’t say I have an answer and apparently no one else does otherwise this question would have been resolved by now.

Rob ended the class with a video from a show called, “Kinked.” This video was very sexually explicit. Rob posed a question for us to blog about: What are contours of your own limits of comfort level and why? I am a very comfortable person. It doesn’t take much to make me uncomfortable. I am lucky to be in a relationship with my best friend as it allows us to be very open and honest with each other. We both know each other’s comfort level and I believe that is very important. Public affection or people talking about sexual issues do not make me feel uncomfortable because I feel it is something we all are aware of and should be mature enough to deal with it.  I personally choose not to be overly affectionate in public as I feel there is a time and place for things and making out in public is not my idea of appropriate behaviour. But that is just how I feel.

On December 3, 2010

During this class Rob talked about paraphilia and prostitution. Paraphilia is a typical pattern of sexual arousal or behaviour that becomes problematic in the eyes of the individual or society. Examples of this could be fetishism and exhibitionism. Kinked is a television show that proudly represents paraphilia. Our society is definitely becoming a lot more open when it comes to discussing sexual content. I wished that families would be more open with their children as it is so important to know what and why your body experiences the things it does.

Rob second topic was about prostitution, which is defined as the sale of sexual activity for money or goods of value such as drugs. I personally feel that prostitution is wrong and should be illegal in every way. I feel it is degrading to women and is extremely unsafe. Not only does it increase the risk of STD’s but it is generally unsafe as you do not know the person and what their intentions are. It scares me to think that someone’s life could be so bad that they would have to resort to prostitution just to provide for themselves or their families. Prostitution is a topic that I have a hard time considering the reasons people would chose to be involved with. Drugs, gangs, human trafficking and or past trauma histories are all things that could lead to involvement, I just feel that there is resources available to get help with issues such as those. I do however feel that our societies need to make those resources more available and affordable. Human trafficking and gangs need a bit more involvement from our societies as they need to become more aware of these problems. Preventative measures need to be enforced and enhanced. I know our world will never be free of this situation however, I do feel it could be lessened.

Post Number Twelve

On November 22, 2010

In this class Rob asked us this question: What is your own sex education history? Did you receive sex ed in school? How was it taught? Did you find it valuable? What would you do differently should you find yourself with the opportunity? We talked about in small groups and then talked about it as a class. I received sex education in grade eight. It was very vulgar and I felt it was targeted to scare us. Because I attended a catholic school it does not surprise me. I feel it was a waste of time as it was very uninformative and was not presented in a manner that we could really grasp. As I want to teach junior high health I feel that I would do many things differently. I would not just make it a one time conversation and then avoid it for the remainder of the year. I don’t feel like our education system understands that to prevent teen pregnancies or to prevent the spread of STD’s we need to EDUCATE our students! They have the right to know what they potentially could get involved with. I also believe it would be vital to include the parents. They are the ones who will inevitably follow up with the information on a day to day basis.

On November 24, 2010

Rob talked about sexual relationship patterns in adulthood. He mentioned three patterns singlehood, cohabitation and marriage. Singlehood has become a lot more popular than in past years. This topics hits home with me as my sister who is 27 still currently lives at home. She has chosen to stay at home as she hasn’t found that special someone to share a home with. She owns her own business and is a very beautiful girl. Unfortunately she has never come across Mr. Right.  I however have met my Mr. Right have chosen to live together. We have been together for eight years and with talk of marriage in the future I feel our relationship is strong enough to survive the statistic that states people who cohabitate stand a less chance of lasting than a couple who do not. Ironically enough my oldest sister is married so the three of us girls cover all the types of sexual relationship patterns in adulthood.

On November 26, 2010

 At the beginning of this class Rob passed out a handout asking us whether or not we believed humans are naturally monogamous. To be classified natural means to be without human intervention. To me monogamy is a choice made between two people. Monogamy maybe classified as normative. However with the numerous amounts of cheating spouses it poses the question, are humans naturally polygamous? It is natural to be attracted to another so in that sense I do not believe humans are naturally monogamous.  

Rob then showed us some ads about Viagra. They look at sexual dysfunctions from a humorous perspective. Maybe they believed that by doing so it would make light of the topic and encourage men with sexual dysfunctions to seek help.  Considering most sexual dysfunctions go unreported. We also learned that there are four different types of disorders: sexual desire disorders, sexual arousal disorders, orgasmic disorders and sexual pain disorders which all pretty much explain themselves.

Post Number Eleven

On November 15, 2010

In today’s class Rob talked about the very controversial topic, Abortion. Everyone has their own beliefs of whether or not abortion is right or wrong and I would love to share my personal opinion on the matter. I would first like to make very clear that in no way do I expect people to believe what I believe as I feel everyone has their own opinions from their own lived realities. In high school I was very against abortion. Near the end of grade 12 a friend of mine had an abortion and it took her a month before she had told me. I was so upset and hurt that we didn’t speak for three months. After I had realized how selfish and unsupportive I was being we began to reconnect. I never took into consideration what she must have been going through and how much she probably needed me to just listen and keep my mouth shut. Looking back it surprises me how foolish it all was. During the situation I should have been there for her regardless of my beliefs. After the whole situation was over I took a hard look at my values. Who was I to say that she made a mistake? It wasn’t my life or my choice. I now see abortion as a personal choice and one that is made based on the situation. I myself do not foresee ever having an abortion but that doesn’t mean that I will ever push my beliefs on to another. I believe that everything happens for a reason and that if I were able to become pregnant I would embrace it. I believe my sister’s troubles have made me believe very passionately that every child is a blessing. So that is how I feel towards the subject of abortion.

On November 19, 2010

Rob started the class off by talking about Sue Johanson. She is a sex educator who has become very publicly known through her television show and her radio broadcast.  This class was spent mostly talking about sources of information about sex. The book tells us that sexual education is quite uneven across the country. I am not surprised as even within our city the sexual education given is uneven. Although sexual education is a uncomfortable subject to talk about it is one area I would like to teach. I feel it is very important to inform our students and have someone there for them to talk to if they have questions. After all that is our job isn’t it? In the 1970’s the main problem was justifying sexual educations existence was the anxiety of teen pregnancy. However, in the 1980’s the main problem was HIV AIDS. Crazy how within 10 years the focus could change is a very drastic way. Rob mentioned bill C44 which stated that teachers needed to give the parents notice, if they are going to talk about sex, religion or sexual orientation. As they have the right to take their children out of those lessons. I personally disagree with this bill in a sense. Yes I do believe that there should be notice given that teachers are going to talk about those topics, however I feel that students should be taught about these things in a professional manner. A lot of the time parents feel uncomfortable talking to their children about it and some parents just ignore it. It is crucial to provide them with the correct information and allow them to ask questions and feel comfortable doing so. Rob told us that there is no universal guideline for sexual health education within our school systems. I wish this was not true. We all know the information is available so why is it so hard to pass it on to the ones who need it the most.

I found it extremely interesting that to be considered a sexual health professional you do not need any formal training. I feel that if there was maybe then sex education would become universal and become as important as I feel it is. I would love to teach this area as I feel I would be very self-fulfilling to know I would be teaching a subject that will forever be a part of the students.

Post Number Ten

On November 8, 2010

During this class we talked about Homophobia. Rob stated that the book says that research shows that men tend to be more homophobic than woman. Rob then asked us why do we think that is the case? He wanted us to draw from personal experiences/observations and our learning in the course so far.

This was my response: I feel that through my own experiences this is true. I feel that our society has made it more acceptable for women to befriend gay men and men to view gay women to be “hot”. Also our society believes that gay men always possess feminine traits which are not always the case!

Rob wanted us to understand that masculinity is very fragile. Rob also stated that gender functions as a kind of ideology police force and that social expectations are enforced by gender. I believe this to be true. Our society puts a huge importance on gender and how if you are not within the “norms” than there is something wrong with you.

All this talk about sexual orientation and gender roles really makes me think about the recent suicides that were caused by bullying do to the kids not playing their “normal” gender role. I know that by becoming a teacher I will probably teach some children who may be homosexual and I feel that by being the compassionate, caring and open-minded person I am it will give me an advantage. I hope to help those children feel accepted and confident in themselves.

Rob concluded the class with Madonna’s, “What it feels like for a girl,” music video.  Rob told us that the video was telling us that it is ok for a girl to look like a guy but for a guy to look like a girl is degrading. I feel the video was a great way of opening the controversial topic and saying look enough is enough. It personally bothers me when people act like a person who is homosexual is less of a person than a heterosexual person. I feel a lot of the negative beliefs have been taught and embedded through religion. I think it is becoming more of an accepted thing now because many people are choosing to not follow a religion.  I feel it is a lot to do with how you were raised. I am very fortunate that my parents were both very open minded.

On November 10, 2010

At the beginning of this class Rob mentioned the term Mysogny, which is the hatred of woman. We talked about the word bitch and what it is meant when it is said by women versus when it is said by men. As a class we discussed this idea and it was almost unanimous that we believed that men say it as a sign of hatred towards gay men. I personally believe that the term is very degrading to women but especially when it is said towards a man, as it implies that the person is acting like a woman which implies there is something wrong with being a woman.

Rob talked about contraception, pregnancy and childbirth. One important statement that Rob made was that your life is not over when you have a child. I am super happy to hear that! My two best friend’s have had children at a young age and I hate when people tell me that they have ruined their lives. Because my sister had such a hard time conceiving that I now see every child as a miracle. I think it is very important to surround yourself with a positive support system. Rob talked about some pregnancy issues. He talked about baby blues, postpartum depression, influences of narcotics, alcohol and smoking while pregnancy.  In my Psychology classes we look at these pregnancy issues and effects in detail.

On November 12, 2010

Rob started the class off by showing us a video from Monty Pythons the meaning of life: the miracle of birth part II- Every Sperm is special. I found this video to be hilarious! I was raised Roman Catholic and I am very familiar with the belief of not using any form of contraception. I personally believe in the use of contraception as I would rather be prepared and ready to give my child the best life possible rather than struggling to provide for them. I know that I would be a great mother but I would prefer to have my education behind me.

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