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.