In class, we began discussing female genital mutilation (what an amazing topic to go into the weekend to). While I had briefly learned about this topic prior to this class, I definitely learned way more about it. I didn’t realize that their were four types; clitoridectomy, excision, infibulation, and all other types such as piercing and pricking. There is no health benefits at all in regards to this and it only harms those who it happens to.

According to the World Health Organization, the most common places this is practiced is in western, eastern, and north-eastern regions of Africa, in some countries in the Middle East and Asia, and migrants from these areas.

Some reasons why this occurs is because some people believe it is a natural part of raising a girl and preparing her for marriage, to help preserve virginity for marriage, to increase likelihood of marriage, the belief that it makes you “clean”, and because it is a social norm. It is shocking that this still happens for these reasons because it is proven that there are no benefits. However, people do so many things that have no benefits at all, so I really shouldn’t be surprised that this is still something that happens.

When hearing about all of this, all I could do it cringe. I could only imagine how traumatizing something like that could be. Not only would it cause physical pain, but I can only assume emotional trauma as well.

This issue has become more publicized with awareness being brought to it. Also on the website for the World Health Organization, it explains what they have done to try and bring attention and stop this issue. WHO has been strengthening health sector response, building evidence, and increasing advocacy. Some general responses not from WHO include wider international involvement to stop FGM, revision of legal frameworks, and releases of statements of elimination.

I think this issue is important to address more frequently. I am glad that in more recent years, this issue has been one that has had many actions taken against, but I know there is still a long way to go.

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/female-genital-mutilation

During class, we talked a lot about how important someone’s pronouns are. As someone who has seen friends be called wrong pronouns or go through telling people they have begun using different pronouns, I understand how important this can be for anyone. Even I try my best to use they/their/them with anyone I may not be 100% sure what their pronouns may be. I think this is an important thing for everyone to adapt as we go into this time where people become more comfortable with using any pronouns they choose.

I think another important thing brought up in class is if you accidentally use the wrong pronouns for someone, that you should apologize and correct yourself and move on and remember that for next time. It is better to be aware of your mistake rather than be super defensive about it or making a huge deal over it.

It is way better to ask than to assume what someone identifies as. For example, I am an RA in an all girls floor, however, that doesn’t mean there isn’t someone who identifies differently living there. That is why I sent out a form asking everyone’s preferred name and pronouns that way later on I can prepare for this with activities I may do in the hall.

One thing that I felt was interesting to learn about is those who are transgender and change their name, they do not refer to it as “birth name” but refer to it as “dead name”. This was something I wasn’t aware of and I am glad I am now that way I can be respectful to anyone that is transgender.

A lot of people may think that this isn’t a big deal, but if you’re not the one in that position, you can decide that for them. It is easier to be aware and accommodating rather than be disrespectful and argue with someone over their identity.

During class, we discussed the gender roles that are portrayed in media today. We talked a lot about how older Disney princess movies portray women usually as a pretty face who shouldn’t talk that much or usually the damsel in distress. This got me to thinking about shows that I watch and how men and women are portrayed in the episodes. One show that came to mind was The Office.

In the show, most of the employees are treated equally, however, there some instances that show otherwise. For example, there is one point the show where the Scranton branch received a new Regional Manager. Upon his arrival, he created his own little group that would get together and talk in his office. The only issue was he wouldn’t let any women join the group because he though men were better and all he really wanted to do was talk about sports and such. This led to the women and some men in the office viewing him as sexist.

Another issue that is brought up in the show is the many comments made by Michael Scott. For example, his famous catchphrase is “that’s what she said” which is very offensive to some people. He also makes comments at women in the office that can be deemed as sexual, which can be objectifying.

I believe The Office is still an amazing show and will always stand as one of my favorites, however, some of the instances I listed previously can be very demeaning. You never know how these comments may impact someone. When the show first aired, it was a bit more acceptable to stuff like that, but I don’t believe the show would have lasted or received positive feedback if it had been aired today. I found an article explaining why we still support this show today with all of the different movements happening (https://consequenceofsound.net/2018/03/why-we-still-laugh-at-the-office-in-the-metoo-era/). I thought it made some valid points and found it very interesting to read.

I believe media has come a long way with the way different genders are portrayed. Now, it is more common to see an all female cast or see men as the single fathers or being a stay at home parent in shows. We definitely still have a long way to go as there are still some shows using typical gender stereotypes or only one woman in an all male cast.

During our hurrication, I spent a lot of time watching Law and Order: SVU. In one episode in season 5, the unit had a case that surrounded a homosexual man being murdered by someone’s father for having sex with his son because he (the father) was homophobic. In the episode, it was found out that the victim was originally a part of a group that “taught” homosexuals to be straight. While it didn’t particularly go into detail on how the teachings were done, most people described the founders as nice people, but being in the group didn’t make them feel like their full authentic selves, so we can assume it was a non-violent organization. It did make me think about the topic of conversion therapy, however. On the website for the Trevor Project (https://www.thetrevorproject.org/get-involved/trevor-advocacy/50-bills-50-states/about-conversion-therapy/), I found out that conversion therapy originated from when homosexuality was listed as a mental illness (until 1973). Conversion therapy is harmful. It can be physically, mentally, and emotionally harmful to those being put through it. It is not “successful”, however. The only way it can make someone “straight” is if the person becomes too scared to admit that they are still part of the LGBTQ+ community.

I found an article from Time that proves that conversion therapy doesn’t work. It goes on to explain how an old conversion therapy leader came out as gay. The man even admitted himself that conversion is harmful and doesn’t work at all (https://time.com/5668351/mckrae-game-comes-out-gay-conversion/).

I feel as if we have come a long way with LGBTQ+ rights in the U.S., but I know we still have a long way to go. For example, conversion therapy for minor is only totally banned in 18 states (https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/conversion_therapy) and Florida is not included. I hope that in the near future everyone will get to live freely, no matter their sexual orientation.

I had never heard about Kinsey until class the other day. When we started the movie about him, I didn’t realize how interested I was going to be with it. I think my favorite part so far has to be when John Krasinski (or Jim Halpert for anyone who is actually cultured) appeared in a scene and the whole class screamed when they saw him. I also have really enjoyed watching uncomfortable we all were during this film. Literally half of us were almost hiding under our desks near the end of class.

This movie, however, really surprised me in a lot of ways. One way was how much was actually shown in the movie. Another way was how little everyone knew about sexuality or the way schools handled discussing it. So little knew about it, but so many people were interested in the topic which we came to realize when the auditorium was packed with students.

I really enjoyed watching how passionate Kinsey became about the topic. Sexuality wasn’t even his original line of work. He worked with wasps and animals. It was really cool to see his transition into that line of work.

It was also really interesting to watch how his relationship with his wife changed. When Kinsey came out as bisexual to her, she was very shocked, but became accepting of it, which ultimately led to them having an open sexual relationship. Open relationships are something I rarely hear about. I don’t doubt they exist, but I feel that maybe it’s a hard thing for people to talk about because they are scared of judgement. Or maybe they fear that even though both people in the relationship agreed to it, one person may end up being hurt by this.

I am excited to finish this movie and continue to learn about Kinsey. His research is very important and opened a lot of doors for the study of Sexuality.

In class, we began to learn about the history of sexuality. Before then, I never really looked into any history behind it and the ways it was viewed in different time periods and religions. I was aware of some of the topics talked about such as premarital sex being sinful, men were in charge of the women and that women were viewed as property, masturbation was a sin, and that same sex marriage was frowned upon in a lot of cultures. Even though I already knew about masturbation being “sinful”, I didn’t realize how many myths there were surrounding it. Some old ones we mentioned in class were you would have hairy palms if you masturbate or you will go blind if you masturbate. I decided to look up what some other ones were. In an article written by Sheri Stritof (https://www.verywellmind.com/myths-about-masturbation-2300804), some of the more “out there” myths included that a man’s penis will shrink, it will make you go insane, it will cause cancer, and that masturbation is self-abuse. These are obviously not true and were created by people who were against the idea of masturbation. This article also includes some other points on masturbation, so if you are interested in this topic, this may be a good read for you.

 This article does not mention, however, if these myths apply to both males and females.  I found another article about female masturbation by Suzannah Weiss (https://everydayfeminism.com/2016/01/myths-women-masturbation/). In this article she talks about the stigma surrounding female masturbation and some common myths about it. Some of the myths include that women are slutty if they masturbate, women don’t watch porn, or women just don’t masturbate. There is still a stigma around female masturbation (not as much as before) so it is a bit harder 😉 to find myths on it. This is also because the biggest myth is that females don’t masturbate, which is not true.

This topic mainly interested me because I didn’t realize all of the myths out there surrounding masturbation. I hope to learn more in this class about any myths about sexuality that I may already know and even ones I don’t know as well.