Conclusion

This course was awesome! I really enjoyed learning the any perspectives to Human Sexuality.

This course looks at the material in all 3 of Habermas' Paradigms:

1)Empirical-Analytic
-->Statistics, Research about contraception, dysfuctions, cycles, STI's, etc.

2) Critical Theoretic
--> Feminism, Sexy Inc, Prostitution, etc.

3) Situational Interpretive
-->Private Dicks, Models of love, Sexual Orientation, etc

There was much more to this course then sex, I learned many things I was unaware of.

Course Overview:
*What is your most significant take away learning from our class?
--> There are 3 things I found to be the most significant;
First, Habermas' Paradigms, I liked being able to incorporate these 3 paradigms into everything we learned.
Second, I liked the many different models we learned about (Sternberg, Kinsey, Storm, Masters and Johnson) how each model was different but each one seemed accurate.
The third thing I found to be signifcant, was the discussion about Sexual Education and how we could use this knowledge to teach it ourselves and make it more beneficial for the students.

I enjoyed this class so much it is hard to think of individual things that were significant, when everything seemed to benefit my knowledge and will help me become a better teacher.

Thank you Robert Nellis!!

Prostitution

Prostitution is the sale of sexual activity for money or goods of value such as drugs."

A progression to the word prostitution is referring this occupation to "sex work" and the people working this job are referred to as "sex trade workers" This is a change to give the women, men and children some dignity.

It is known that the exchange of money for sex if legal, however everything else associated to this trade is illegal. Things such as;

1)Transporting, Directing or Offering someone to a common body house

2)Keeping, Being in or providing a common body house

3)Procurring or Obtaining and living from the profits of prostitution

Are illegal.

These are some of the issues identified in the following videa about Victor Malarek. Victor Malarek wrote a book, "The Johns", about these same issues.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6Mj2haletE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3iv8jOPc6k&feature=related

This video discusse the idea of Women Trafficing, that most prostitutes are drugged and forced to perform sexually for money. "96% of these women said they want out if they could."

What is a problem with prostitution being legalized??

*If prostitution becomes legal it will open the trade up to more people. Women who didn't think about "sex work" as an occupation might reconsider once it is legal. More men might become more likely to go and "rent" sex from a prostitute once it is legal.

In my opinion prostitution and all the aspects should remain illegal. More men should be aware of these ongoing issues and discontinue these bad habits, which would lead to a decrease in women working in this trade.

Contraception

According to the textbook, there are at least 20 forms on contraception. These include:

-Oral Contraceptives (The Pill): 97%-99.5% effective
-Emergency Contraception (EC or Morning After Pill or Plan B)
-Contraceotive Patch: 99% effective
-Vaginal Ring
-Injectable Contraception: 99.7% effective
-Intrauterine Devices (IUDs): 99% effecive
-Diaphragm: 94% effective
-The Cervical Cap: 64%-82% effective
-Spermicides: 79%-94% effective
-Contraceptive Sponge: 80%-91% effective
-Male Condom: 88% effctive
-Female Condom
-Douching
-Withdrawal: 80% effective
-Fertility Awareness Methods
-Basal Body Temperature Method
-The Cervical Mucus Method
-Ovulation Prediction Kits
-Male and Female Sterilization
-Abortion

It is proven than more than one form will help prevent pregnancy.

Are some methods of contraception morally and ethically unacceptable to you? Which ones? Why?
-Yes, there are two forms of contraception in particular that i believe are morally and ethically wrong. These are abortion and the emergency contraception (plan B). Although they are both forms of contraception and are both used after the fact, an abortin is the termination of a pregnancy and plan B is used to prevent a pregnancy. I believe abortions are morally and ethically wrong because of the many alternative forms of contraception available one shouldnt accidently become pregnant. This is the same for Plan B, this form can be used if the primary form of contraception fails I agree this is an appropriate purpose, but not if one is not responsible enough to prepare and use it to eliminate something they were to irresponsible to think about the night before.

I believe that my views of contraception are consistent with those of my socio-cultural background. My friends and I are familiar with the same types and my family believes in two types in particular. I have always been taught that these forms should always be used together and everytime until married and after that until ready to conceive a child.

``Bitch``

We viewed a video clip in class that was to do with the idea of degrading women:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HttJdIeiI-E

Madonna states in this clip, `Its ok for a girl to look like a boy, but for a boy to look like a girl that is degrading, because you think being a girl is degrading.`

The idea of mysogny is mentioned as a contributing idea. Mysogny is hatred towards women.

The word `Bitch` is offensive towards women, but even more offensive towards men. This word when directed towards a man tends to allude to homosexual violence.
-Like in prison, when someone says they are gonna make another man their bitch.
As if to talk down to someone and make sure they know who is more superior.

Although this word is offensive, it may also be used in many different contexts.
-It could in fact be used in the form of homosexual violence, to prove superiority.
-It could be used as a joke.
-It could be used to identify a female dog.

The following clip from the TV show Friends, is one where Joey, uses the word Bitch as a joke, but also as used in the movie Die Hard to show superiority.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3PLxXdLukg

Homophobia

Homophobia is a cluster of negative attitudes and feelings towards gay people including intolerance, hatred and fear.



According to the book, research shows that men tend to be more homophobic than women.

Why do you think this is?



In my opinion, men are masculine and gay men are, for the most part, feminine which is against the norm. A lesbian women and a straight women may differ just with one being more masculine or tom boy than the other. A women is more likely to befriend a gay male because of having similar interests and attitudes. Heterosexual males tend to be more open about their discomfort and their feelings compared to a heterosexual woman who keep their feelings more to themselves.

Some example of Homophobia:

-Fag
-Violence
-Bullying
-Accusations
-Using `Thats Gay` in a non-gay context

It is said that homophobic men tend to have homosexual tendancies themselves. A male more confortable with homosexuals are heterosexual and more confortable with his sexuality.

i brooke myself all the time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4dmjTzcauI

I chose this video to represent masturbation. This video clip is from the TV show One Tree Hill, one of the teenage girls gets caught masturbating in the bathroom and is so embarassed she denies doing it. Later the friend that caught her tells everyone, they all laugh and turn the whole thing into a joke.

"Tis nothing good or bad but thinking it makes it so "--William Shakespeare
-This quote was associated to the idea of masturbation. In some cultures masturbation is considered a taboo and people feel embarrassed and uncomfortable discussing this idea. It is considered self abuse to some people.

Most religions consider masturbation a waste because it is not male and female coitus.

Third wave feminists believe that masturbation is empowering, that each woman is reponsible for her own pleasure and orgasm.

In the clip posted previously, there is alot of embarassment about the whole idea of masturbation so much that the girl caught tries to deny having done it. On the other hand, the other girl playing "I Never" admits openly about doing it all the time without uncomfort or embarssment.

It definately depends on ones religion and culture that sways one's opinions and views about the idea of masturbation, and it still continues to be embarassing and uncomfortable to discuss.

Love

What is love?

There are two different classifications when it comes to what love really is; Infatuation and Romantic Love.

Infatuation is an intense absorption, very passionate, not quite love. Romantic Love is idealized, something that cannot be real, a deeper attachment that is more long-term than infatuation.

Were Romeo and Juliet really in Love?

Some believe that this play is the most romantic love story of all time, that these two star-crossed lovers were romantically in love and gave their lives for their love. But could these two young teens really have known what love is because of their age? Does age have anything to do with the feelings they possessed? Some believe that because of how old they were they could never possibly know what love is, they were perhaps in love as far as they knew. But too truly be in love takes experience to have the time to create the capacity for Romantic Love. So in my opinion these two young teens, Romeo and Juliet, were infatuated with one another. They possessed an intense absorption with each other and very passionate.

According to Sterbergs Triangular Model of Love:

I would interpret Romeo and Juliet as being in Fatuous Love, also known as Foolish love. Fatuous Love is having passion and commitment but no intimacy, these two were not together long enough to experience intimacy, not long enough to develop Consumate Love which is a combination of passion, intimacy and commitment.

Attraction

When a person is judging how attractive someone is, there are three different features that are considered:

1)Beauty

2)Non-Physical Traits

3)Long-Term Relationships

When a person is judged for beauty the looks of the following are considered:

-Body structure and shape

-Facial structure and good looks

-Hygiene, do they look and smell clean and healthy

When a person is judged by their non-physical traits the following are considered:

-Familiarity

-Do you like the person

-Do you respect the person

-Do you share the same goals and views

When a person is judged by being "Long-Term Relationship" worthy, the following are considered:

-Women look for a man who is a good provider, physically and emotionally

-Men still prefer sexual attractiveness for long-term.

It is studied that in terms of attractiveness in a long-term mate women choose someone with similar attitudes and men choose someone with similar attractiveness.

Why is this?

-- Women want someone who will be a good provider for her future family, but a man still wants someone who is attractive? This isn't how all men are some men, when looking for a long-term mate consider attractiveness important but not everything, they also want someone who wants a family and the same things he does, responsible, clean, a good cook and motherly.

--When looking for a mate, the first thing a person sees is attractiveness and then after they get to know that person, and like the other non-physical and long-term traits they are considered as a possible long-term mate.

Sexy Inc: Our Children Under Influence

http://www.nfb.ca/film/sexy_inc/

This National Film Board of Canada documentary focusses alot on hyper-sexualization in the media. How sexual representation in the media, television, music videos, etc.. effect the youth today.

This film was viewed as a representation of second wave feminism because it portrayed sexual representation as being demeaning towards women. That women in the media portray themselves as promiscuous, or as a sexual object for men. Feminist viewers find this to be demeaning to women who are not like this at all.

Another issue that was raised in the making of this documentary is the idea that this demeaning portrayal of promiscuity represented in the meaning is influencing "tweens" but for the most part girls in a negative way. Influencing them to behave in ways they observe from media.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J3vgcE5i2o (Promiscuous Girl Video)

-This video was referred to in the documentary, and had teenage girls criticizing the video. They were disappointed of the idea of behind this song, that the girl is promiscuous or a "slut" and she sleeps around and its alright. They didn't believe that the idea being portrayed in this video was appropriate to deliver to the youth. That you no longer should be in love to have sex, that it is normal to just have casual sex with one or more strangers.

Sexy Inc also discussed the idea that the media be responsible for introducing sexual behavior to teenagers at an early age. An example was given about a young girl "sexting" online with a male saying inappropriate things back and fourth. Children are almost believing that they need to grow up much faster than they should and are behaving inappropriately for their age group.

Some feminists believe that sexual representation is empowering for women, but it still doesn't make it alright for the "tween" females today to behave the way they are observing and this is partly the fault of the media and partly the fault of the parents. In my opinion it is the responsibility of the parents to be aware of what their child is watching, wearing and doing.

Sexy Inc touched on a serious issue that needs to be thought more about..

Sex Assignment

People are expected to act in specific ways according to their gender. This is referred to as a gender role; ways men and woman are expected to behave.

It is thought that men are referred to as strong, aggressive and intelligent; and women are beautiful, caring and nurturing. But this isn't always the case, because now we have to take into account the homosexuals who do not necessarily follow these expected gender roles.

Gender Ideal Activity

*Please select some well-known person as representing the ideal each of femininity and masculinity. 3 reasons.

A woman thought of as feminine would be Marilyn Monroe she is very petit, wears dresses and girly clothing.
A man thought of as masculine would be Arnold Schwarzenager he is very muscular, has a deep voice.

However,

There are also men and women who do not follow these gender roles:

A man thought of to not act in a masculine manner but more feminine would be Michael Jackson, he was very petite, had a soft high pitched voice, and dressed very flashy.

A woman thought of to not act in a feminine manner but more masculine would be Rosie O'Donnell, she is not petit, she dresses more like a tom boy.

Sexual Diversity and Sexual Commonality in our Community

1) What are some features of sexual diversity in our community?

-->In our community there are many features of diversity.

-->Homosexuality is very different than the "norm" in our community.

-->The choice to have children is also different among members of each community. Any couple has the individual choice whether or not they want to conceive and raise a child.

-->Many people are secretive about their sex lives. But this is also diverse, one person may feel very uncomfortable discussing their sex lives with anyone; friend, family member, lover or stranger. Whereas another person may feel very openly comfortable with the idea of discussing their sex lives with another person.

-->The reason a person may to choose to have sex is very different. The reasons are endless, a person may have sex for fun or recreation. They might have sex to distract themselves. Have sex because they are in love. Have sex because they want to have a child.

2) What are some features of sexual commonality in our community?

--> Heterosexuality, it is very common in our community to see a man and woman together, unlike a man and man or woman and woman.

-->Having sex, it is very common that everyone will experience sex at some point in their lives.

-->The most common purpose for sex is procreation.

Masters and Johnson

Masters and Johnson, a marred couple, developed a 4-phase sexual response cycle. Based on a common physiological or physical sequence men and women experiece when having sexual relations.

Two Definitions:
* Vasocongestion- refers to the filling or enlargement of the genital area.
*Myotonia- refers to muscle tension

4-Phase Sexual Response Cycle:

1) Excitement
Men- penis erects, testes enlarge and elevate
Women- Lubrication, erection of clitoris, breasts increase in size and elevate.
Both- mytonia, increased heart rate and increased blood pressure.

2) Plateau
Men- Testes further elevated into position for ejaculation, Cowper`s Gland secrets a few drops of viable semen.
Women- Outer one-third contracts, inner two-thirds expands, uterus increases in size and elevates, clitoris withdraws or disappears.

3)Orgasmic
Men- Contractions to gather semen in place for ejaculation, relaxation of the Sphincter muscle to allow release o fluid.
Women- 3-15 contractions in the plevic muscles around the vaginal barrel and uterus leading to a release.
Both- Body spasms, increas in heart rate and breathing rate.

4) Reolution
Men- Blood withdraws from genitals, penis relaxes.
Women- Release of blood in genitals and breasts.
Both- Muscular tension releases.

**After experiencing the 4 phases, Men need a resolution. Women are capable of multiple cycles without a resolution**

**If orgasm doesn`t occur then it takes longer to return to phase 1 which could cause `Blue Balls`**

**Resolution time depends on the age of the person**

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZcYTCo-D9s

Here is a video clip about Masters and Johnson, developing research about men and women, orgasms and the phases of sex.

The Male Anatomy and Physiology

The Male Anatomy Mediated through society, culture and political dimensions.

Opposing the Vagina Monologues we watched a video on the male perspective called:
Private Dicks: Men Exposed

This short clip is a peek at just one of the many men's stories.
Each man in the video shared with us many personal details about his sexual life. Including things such as penis size, ejaculation, masturbation, sex, etc. We even had the oppotunity to view each man's penis using this to compare each to another. Hearing their personal stories in a very serious manner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjYv07anfhMp

Reflection Activity:

*How do you compare Private Dicks to The Vagina Monologues?
-->Private Dicks was much more serious, touching on real issues of the male. This video showed us a more "naked" picture of the male form, and gave us the oppotunity to understand personal issues. The men in this film discussed personal information and memories with us allowing us to understand private details about life as a man. This film was shown in a Situational Interpretive manner. Whereas The Vagina Monologues was more about one woman portaying many universal issues in a more Critical Theorectic manner (Feminism).

Kinsey, Feminism and The Vagina Monologues

Alfred Kinsey was born in 1894, and died in 1956. Kinsey developed some large-scale interview research which was not represented from the overall population but mostly from white/middle class people.

The following video clip is a trailer from the movie Kinsey (2004)

Once we had a chance to view a few clips from the film, we were given a question to answer:

What is Kinsey's view of sexual normalcy?

--> I believe that in Kinsey's mind there is no sexual normalcy. That everything is normal and everything is accepted. That it is normal to explore sexually, and normal to expand one's knowledge.

My Thoughts....

Is there really any normalcy about human sexuality? In my opinion no, there is no real view of what sexual normalcy is or isn't. In the bible there is, this normalcy is achieved by a man and woman, this couple is married. The purpose of sex for this couple is for the conception of a child or for the hopes of procreation. The bible does not mention homosexuals, bisexuals, asexuals or transexuals, only heterosexuals. Most religious faith groups or nationalities agree with the bible. Nationalities among cultures believe that any sexual orientation other than heterosexuality is not normal and otherwise not accepted.

Four Waves of Feminism:

1. Early 20th Century--> issue was with women not having the right to vote.

2. 1960's-1990's-->Women's Liberation Movement; broadening and expanding equal rights between men and women. Such as, education, politics and health care.

3. Post-Feminism-->Poster woman for this wave was Madonna, the thought for this one was that sexual representation was not degrading it was empowering.

4. Modern--> Spirituality/Faith Groups/Uniting People

The Vagina Monologues:

--> Women talking about their bodies freely and openly in a cultural environment that discourages it.

Of these monologues we watched:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPH6LzlED6I

Avtivity..

-How do you respond? This monolgue is very out-spoken and opinionated.

-How did the audience respond? The audience seemed to be enjoying and encouraging it by laughing and clapping.

-How can we support women in developing healthy self-concepts related to their sexual anatomy?

At early ages when kids are learning about sex and anatomy for the first times, maybe have the health and sex ed classes divided. This way the girls are in a non-threatening environment and are more willing to participate and ask questions.

Habermas' Paradigms and Principles of Critical Thinking

Habermas' Paradigms...



Empirical-Analytic: Scientific Paradigm. Evidence is important, prediction and control.

Critical Theoretic: Political Paradigm.

Situational Interpretive: Personal Paradigm; Person's lived reality.

Paradigm Activity:

For this activity we were to chose any phenomenon relating to human sexuality and explain how that phenomenon looks from the perspective of each paradigm.
Here is my example:

Phenomenon: STD's

Empirical Analytic: This paradigm would look at statistics about STD's in the population.
Critical Theoretic: This paradigm would be a political view on the use of conraception and safesex to lower STD rates.
Situational Interpretive: This paradigm would take a look at a specific individuals life and reality of living with an STD and how it affects them.

Principles of Critical Thinking:

1. Be skeptical-->Do not accept any unsupported opinion as fact,
2. Examine Definitions of Terms--> Some statements are true whena term is defined in one way but are untrue when defined in another.
3. Exxamine the assumptions or premises of arguments--> A statement can be true until the many assumptions are dicovered.
4. Be cautious in drawing conclusions from evidence-->Eg. Research establishes that adolescents who listen to music with sexually explicit lyrics often engage in sex at an early age.
5.Consider alternative interpretations of research evidence-->Same example from 4, this shows that correlations between events do not necessarily reveal cause and effect.
6. Consider the kinds of evidence--> Personal opinions are not evidence.
7.Do not oversimplify-->Eg. Homosexuality is a result of being exposed to it, Do not simplify to just one reason.
8. Do not Overgeneralize--> Opposite of 7. Eg. All gay men are feminine and all lesbians are masculine.

*After going through all eight principles it is obvious that nothing can be assumed, all things must have accurate evidence to be true, and that evidence must be supported.

Human Sexuality Research Activity:

i) What is your research activity?
Are homosexuals a result of exposure at a young age?

ii) Hypthesis?
I predict that perhaps a small majority is a result of exposure.

iii) Testing the Hypothesis.
Conduct a survery/ interview of homosexuals to reveal reasons behind their choices.

iv) Drawing Conclusions.
Most homosexuals choose homosexuality without any influences, however some choose homosexuality based on exposure.

This research activity helps us realize that assumptions shouldn't be made without evidence, it is often proven that an ssumption is wrong.

Introduction to Family Studies

A Little About Me....

My name is Kayla Keessar. I am 19 years old, and this is my second year at Red Deer College. When I graduated from Stettler in 2009 I came directly to Red Deer in hopes of becoming a Teacher. I have known since about grade one that I wanted to be a teacher, changed my mind a few times, but managed to find my way back. So far I love the Bachelor of Education program, I hope to become a grade three teacher.

Introduction to Family Studies...

What is Human Sexuality?

"The term human sexuality refers to matters of gender, sexual behaviour, sexual feelings, and the biology of sex. Human sexuality concerns the ways in which we experience and express ourselves as sexual beings. The study of human sexuality draws upon the expertise of anthropologists, biologists, medical researchers, sociologists, psychologists, and other scientists. Our pluralistic society embraces a wide range of sexual attitudes and values." (Pearson Education Textbook, Human Sexuality in a World of Diversity).


I had no idea that human sexuality was made up of so much. I thought it just consisted of the biology (anatomy) of the human body, as well as sexual behaviour. But there is so much more to it. Im excited to learn about everything in between.





First Day of Class...

On the first day of Family Studies we did a writing activity, "What are some different ways to look at human sexuality?" During this activity we discovered many different perspectives that can be taken when exploring human sexuality, such as:

Biologically--> One could view human sexuality in a biological perspective, viewing the anatomy of the human body, and functions of those different components.
Socially--> One could view human sexuality in a social perspective, looking at the politics behind individual rights and opinions.
Personally--> One could view human sexuality in a personal perspective, viewing personal opinions about things such as, sexual orientation, abortion and homosexuality.

Human Sexuality may be viewed differently throughout different ages, races, genders and cultures.