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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Post Number Nine

On November 1, 2010

Rob showed us a video from, “Brokeback Mountain.” It was an interesting video to say the least. I haven’t seen the video but from the clip that we saw it seemed to be very sensitive to the topic of gay love. Our society is forever changing and I am glad that this video was very upfront about this controversial issue. It is about time that people open their minds and their hearts to our people’s decisions. It is not our life to live so why should anyone have the right to say if it is wrong or right. I am glad that the video received so many awards as it shows that our world is becoming more accepted. This clip opened us up to the topic of sexual orientation.

On November 3, 2010

Rob started this class off with a general introduction to the topic of sexual orientation. He mentioned that it only becomes an issue when you are talking about the minority orientation. I wasn’t surprised to hear that our generation is more accepting compared to those of in past.

We then furthered the subject by talking about some terms related to sexual orientation. We defined sexual orientation, heterosexual orientation, homosexual orientation, homoerotic and heteroerotic.

Kinsey and Michael Storm both came up with a method to classify sexual orientation. Kinsey’s Continuum measured homosexuality on a scale from 0-6, 0 being heterosexual and 6 being homosexual. Michael Storm believed that there were different dimensions of sexuality. The dimensions were determined by either being low or high in homo and hetero eroticism.

Rob mentioned the show, “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.” He felt that these men had turned the negative things society said and turned it into a positive. I have never seen the show but I find it empowering that men that have so much riding against them can stand up and say they are proud of who they are.