Sex Education

1. Sex Education http://cart.mn/f8su6m

2. Small group discussion • Make a list of all the places/sources where you got info about sex while growing up. • Discuss the impact that each of these sources had on the accuracy of your info about sex & the impact of these sources on the majority of people you know. • Imagine you are parents, how would you rate the acceptability of each source of info for your “children”? • Who should be responsible for educating children about sex? • Make a list of the sources that you wish you would have had.

3. Why sex education? • You cannot avoid sex education, it surrounds us from birth • Much of what we learn in our society about sex is negative • Sex is one of the most important parts of a happy & satisfying life • It is important to know in order to be safe and prepared

4. SEX : The most dangerous, controversial subject in human history • There are 3 major factors in our society that makes sexuality dangerous: • SECRECY: we are encouraged not to talk about sex, particularly our own sexual behavior, and not to observe or ask others about their sexual behavior. • IGNORANCE: it is the policy of our society and government to withhold factual information from people regarding sex, such as contraception, protection, & pleasure….perfect example: p. 485

5. Is sex dangerous? cont’ • FEAR: sex is sin and should be avoided except for procreation. Shame & guilt are very powerful…for example: Wilhelm Reich -Theorized that without the suppression of sexuality and the imposition of anti-sexual morality, you could not have an authoritarian government because people would be free from shame, and would trust their own sense of right and wrong. Such people are unlikely to march to war…or for that matter, run death camps. Sex: Positivehttp://bit.ly/h4eHtf

6. Kinds of sex education • Comprehensive • Medically correct, contraception, disease protection • Questions are answered • Responsible behavior is emphasized

7. Abstinence only No sexual or physical contact until marriage No contraception info allowed Not required to be medically accurate No real funding for evaluation, but hundreds of millions a year to teach it

8. Media surrounded by sex in marketing, entertainment, internet Ask yourself: How accurate is the media????

9. SEX NEGATIVITYVS.SEX POSITIVITY • Sex is something to be feared or endured • Sex is linked with sin or pain • Sex is part of our animalistic behavior and must be overcome • Sex is not rational or logical • Sex is a necessary evil • Some types of sex are good while the rest is bad

10. Are you shocked that these people are indeed sexual just like you and me? Our society’s vision of sex does not allow for aging, disabled, overweight, transgender, and a myriad of others….this reinforces sex negativity

11. “Our fear of sexuality in childhood leads us to deny it in ourselves; our fear of sexuality in adulthood then leads us to deny it in the world around us.” –Dr. Marty Klein Sex negativity is deeply intertwined with our cultural norms…it is tough to admit our internalized sex-negativity, just as it is to admit homophobia or even racism… Please strive to understand that sex is a subjective experience & we each have a different relationship with it… Become more sex positive….but first, we have to answer a very important question…

12. What is “normal” sexual behavior?? • “Normal is not an exact scientific term. It can mean what most people consider healthy, moral, regular, or natural, as opposed to sick, sinful, weird, or unnatural. It can mean what my mother, my priest, or psychologist on Oprah Winfrey says is okay” –Levine, 2002.

13. “The very concept of sexual normality implies that there is a clear line dividing acceptable and unacceptable sexuality. Regardless of which side you land on, the very existence of the line is oppressive. Most of us don't have the information, courage, or sexual self-confidence to question the placement of that line, much less to assert its total irrelevance.” – Dr. Marty Klein Any deviation from what society deems as “normal” sexual behavior leads to rejection What we consider to be normal or natural is clearly RELATIVE, an arbitrary social construct….

14. An Anthropological Perspective What is culture? “The acquired knowledge people use to interpret experience & generate behavior.” –Spradley, 1980. Let’s seek to learn about culture & individual experiences to understand human sexuality better…..

15. An Anthropological Perspective Cont’ • What is encouraged & condoned in one culture is condemned & punished in another. • Every society shapes, structures, & constrains the development & expression of sexuality. • The culture of a society defines the boundaries between what is sexual & what is not sexual. • Psychosocial orientation: refers to the combination of psychological & social factors…crucial impact on sexual attitudes, values, & behaviors

16. A Cross-Cultural Perspective Inis Beag One of the most sexually naïve of the world’s societies.. Heavily Roman Catholic Sex is considered ugly & sinful They show almost no knowledge of any sexual behavior other than direct male insertion with little or no foreplay

17. Mangaia sex is the principle concern of this group of Polynesians Term for orgasm is the same as that for the achievement of perfection Both male & female adolescents receive expert training in the giving & receiving of pleasure from older, experienced partners They are then free to enjoy sex vigorously for their entire lives, with as many different partners as they may wish

18. Sambia tribe of Papa New Guinea Women are considered dangerous to men, feminization is a degradable characteristic Believe that adolescent men can die from heterosexual intercourse Initiation ritual consists of 6 stages & lasts for most of the males life Boys are unable to mature into men unless they ingest semen “eat the penis” Wife’s genital odor is considered “pollution”

19. Islamic Middle East Fastest growing religion, Muhammad Sex enjoyed by both sexes Women more sexual than men Power controlled through veils, segregation, female circumcision, oppression & many sexually related restrictions stem from patriarchal cultural traditions & fundamentalist sects, not from the Qur’an “A key desire of fundamentalists is to impose their sole concept of truth on a diverse and plural world” (White, 2006) Homosexuality, moral cleansing

20. China Ancient history promoted sexual activity until Confucianism Sexual conservatism increased with communist rule (1949) Lack of basic info on sexuality Sex outside of marriage & frequent sex within marriage discouraged Almost no STD’s…. Current trends: increasing rates of pre-marital sex & STD’s, slightly more open to homosexuality, still a lack of sexual knowledge & safe-sex skills

21. “To have an analytic or theoretical framework for sexual behavior in all cultures, we must develop a single set of concepts and principles into which all cultures can be fitted without violating the uniqueness of each.” - William H. Davenport

22. Our Cultural Legacy • Sex for procreation & rigid gender roles • Is sex & intercourse synonymous? • Emphasis on penetration • Narrow view = pressure, unrealistic expectations, lack of intimacy… • Sex for pleasure…masturbation & oral are sinful! • Oral & anal were illegal in 10 states until 2003 • Texas law on vibrators • http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5540395.html

23. Small group discussion • Where did these ideas come from and how relevant are they to us today??

24. Sexuality in the Western World • Judeo-Christian Perspective • Ancient Hebrews • Rigid gender roles, however, sex seen as a profound experience…”be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth” - Genesis 1:28 • Christianity • Developed during the later years of the Roman Empire, a period of social instability...exotic cults • Paul of Tarsus (died 66 CE): associated spirituality with sexual abstinence (celibacy) a necessary evil • Bishop Augustine (354-430): declared Adam & Eve original sin, sex for procreation, missionary only position • Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274): sex only for procreation, anything other was “unnatural acts” • Homosexuality sinful • Eve vs. Mary, antagonism of women, witch hunts • Jezebel vs. Mammy

25. A Sex-Positive Shift • Protestant Reformation • Martin Luther & John Calvin (1483-1564) state the value of sex in marriage • Temporary increase of respect for women • Sex was more than just a means for procreation • School books, not dolls

26. Victorian Era • Madonna & Eve evolved into the Madonna-Whore dichotomy • Women constrained (literally) & asexual • Prostitution flourished • Mosher’s research found that Victorian women did indeed experience sexual desire, enjoy intercourse & have orgasms

27. The 20th Century • “The historical events and surrounding controversies discussed in the previous sections show that the sex-for-procreation and gender-role issues are legacies of the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, of Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, of the Victorian era, and of slavery. These legacies are still with us, found in the complex conflicts between the values of personal pleasure, practicality, and tradition in the 20th-century Western life.” -Jacobsen & Pellegrini, 2003